A rivalry has been brewing between Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia for quite some time now. Both wrestlers are currently signed to All Elite Wrestling where they have been involved in a feud with their respected factions, Yuta with the Blackpool Combat Club and Garcia with the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Wheeler Yuta vs Daniel Garcia
Similar Paths
However, AEW was not the first time these two men had crossed paths. In August 2021 the pair met in a match hosted by IndependantWrestling.TV. Yuta, then the current IWTV World Champion, defended his championship against Garcia. The match went to a 60-minute time limit draw as either man failed to gain the win.
Daniel Garcia made his first AEW appearance in September 2020 before deciding to return to the company in May 2021. Wheeler Yuta made his first AEW appearance in June 2021 and soon after joined the Best Friends faction alongside Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Kris Statlander, and Trent Beretta. Garcia officially signed with AEW in October 2021. He was then featured alongside Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, formally known as 2.0.
Just sweatier than all hell, man.
Watch @GarciaWrestling fail to beat me for a whole hour right now on @indiewrestling!#IWTV100 pic.twitter.com/SGQlkDS1eC
— YUTA (@WheelerYuta) August 10, 2021
In January 2022, Yuta and Garcia both participated in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament. Yuta made his PWG debut by defeating Blake Christian in the first round of the tournament but would lose his second-round match to Mike Bailey. Garcia would go on to win the tournament by defeating Bailey in the finals.
In February, Bryan Danielson cut a promo where he mentioned that he, alongside Jon Moxley, could mentor the younger wrestlers on the roster, including Yuta and Garcia. Soon after Danielson and Moxley, along with William Regal formed the Blackpool Combat Club. In March, Garcia alongside Parker and Menard joined the newly formed faction, the Jericho Appreciation Society, led by Chris Jericho.
In April, Yuta defeated Josh Woods at the Supercard of Honor XV pay-per-view to win the ROH Pure Championship. On an April episode of AEW Rampage, Yuta joined the BCC after a bloody match against Moxley. In May, Garcia won the PWG World Championship by defeating Bandido at PWG’s Delivering the Goods show.
The Rivalry
Yuta and Garcia met again when the BCC assisted Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz in their feud with the JAS. A 5-on-5 match took place at the AEW’s Double or Nothing PPV. The match, nicknamed “Anarchy in the Arena” saw the JAS defeat Danielson, Moxley, Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. Yuta was not able to compete as he was participating in New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament. On the June 1st episode of AEW Dynamite, Garcia faced off against Jon Moxley. Garcia was able to make Moxley bleed throughout the match. Following the match, Garcia took to Twitter to say that no one could make him bleed. Yuta replied with a bold two-word statement.
Check out the exchange below:
I can. https://t.co/yFYXqJMHGi
— YUTA (@WheelerYuta) June 2, 2022
Yuta would return from Japan to AEW in June. He participated in a match at the AEWxNJPW PPV, Forbidden Door, where he teamed up Eddie Kingston and Shota Umino in a losing effort against Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki. On the June 28th episode of AEW Dark, Garcia, along with Parker and Menard, attacked Yuta after his match. Garcia then declared that he would take Yuta’s ROH Pure Championship from him. The June 29th special episode of AEW Dynamite saw Moxley, Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz defeat the JAS in AEW’s second ever ‘Blood and Guts’ match. With Garcia and Yuta both participating fans saw the two face off for the first time, officially, in an AEW ring.
The two will face off in a highly anticipated match when Yuta defends his ROH Pure Championship against Garcia at the ROH PPV, Death Before Dishonor on July 23rd. Ahead of the PPV, the pair sat down with ROH’s Caprice Coleman to discuss their upcoming match:
Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia have had very similar careers. They both came from the independent scene and made their way to AEW within months of one another. They have found success within their respected factions as well as success outside of AEW. Heading into their upcoming match both men are out to prove that they are the best. Given their heated history, they are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS and AEW Dark: Elevation (Monday nights) and AEW: Dark (Tuesday nights) at 7 PM ET on YouTube. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night.
