Wheeler Yuta stood tall in the spotlight on AEW Rampage

All Elite Wrestling is excelling when it comes to building new stars. Britt Baker, Hook, Darby Allin, Ricky Starks, and plenty of others adorn the list of names that AEW has elevated in the years since the company’s launch. After this week’s episode of AEW Rampage, add the name Wheeler Yuta to that conversation.

Yuta battled Jon Moxley for 12 minutes in the main event of Rampage. This match will be recognized as one of the best of 2022 when the year comes to an end. The story was set in stone and told perfectly from start to finish. Moxley picked up the victory and told Yuta that “The real work begins,” but AEW has already succeeded in the first step of the equation: making Yuta into a competitor that fans are prepared to invest themselves in.

At just 25-years of age, Yuta was an individual that everyone had their eye on. He was brought into the WWE for tryouts and a name that they were interested in signing, but that did not come to fruition. For much of 2021, he spent time bouncing between AEW, New Japan, and other independents across the industry.

Fans pushed AEW to sign him to the company, already showing the promotion that there is value in what he brings to the roster. Excitement grew with the announcement of his match against Josh Woods for the ROH Pure Title at the Supercard of Honor. That match delivered and gave fans two moments they wanted to see, Yuta becoming a respected champion and his signing to All Elite Wrestling.

As with much of AEW storytelling and booking, the simple things continue to work. Yuta doesn’t need a name change, extraordinary ring gear, or long-winded promos. Match after Match he simply goes out to the ring and puts on a battle. That is the key piece that AEW pulls off so well that has allowed this company to build so many wrestlers that fans want to see more of in such a short amount of time. WWE has several young performers on their roster that fans want to get behind and see succeed. Names such as Rhea Ripley, Pete Dunne, and Angel Garza are all under 30 and could be the future of the company, but consistently lukewarm booking has limited just how much fans are willing to invest in the long term. AEW has perfectly avoided that issue for the most part.

These last two weeks have been major for Wheeler Yuta and fans should be excited to see what is next for him as he continues his push in AEW. The Blackpool Combat Club is now one man stronger and the violence that cometh will be an enjoyable sight to behold. Not only is that group stronger, but the entire AEW roster as the company is on the cusp of building another long-term star.