Before COVID-19 brought indie wrestling to a halt Wheeler Yuta was a talent primed for a breakout. 2018 and 2019 were successful years for him as he was a regular with Beyond Wrestling, wrestled in Europe for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), debuted for Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), and wrestled on television for Major League Wrestling (MLW). 2020 felt like it would be the breakthrough year for Wheeler Yuta where he would announce himself as a top star of the independent scene after years of consistency and building his reputation.
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As we all know 2020 didn’t go to plan for anybody as COVID-19 restrictions halted sporting events entirely and forced major pro wrestling promotions to run without crowds for months. Yuta, like many other independent talents, had his career ground to a halt, but he didn’t stop making moves. In late 2020 as more shows resumed Yuta picked up where he left off and got a big opportunity with Ring Of Honor to compete in their pure rules tournament. Yuta had an acclaimed match in the tournament with eventual winner Jonathan Gresham that put himself back on the map.
Really good episode of Ring of Honor this week. Go out of your way to watch Gresham vs. YUTA.https://t.co/f3wrPBgKDh
— Luis Perez (@zerepwrestling) September 15, 2020
Wheeler Yuta hit the ground running in 2021 as his home promotion Beyond Wrestling kicked back up. It was here that he would defeat Lee Moriarty to win the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship as the title closes in on its much-publicized 100th defense. If Yuta can hold on to the title until defense number 100 he will headline one of the biggest IWTV produced events yet.
On top of his independent wrestling work, Yuta has been competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling on their NJPW Strong brand. This work with NJPW led to him and Karl Anderson carrying their feud over to AEW Dark resulting in Yuta’s AEW debut. Yuta hit the ground running in AEW winning his second match and aligning himself with the Best Friends, he impressed AEW so much that he will make his televised debut on Fyter Fest against Sammy Guevara just weeks after first arriving in the promotion.
After a few years of waiting to break through Wheeler Yuta is now competing for NJPW, AEW, and ROH at the same time, all while holding the premier championship in independent wrestling. 2021 is the year of Wheeler Yuta and whoever manages to lock the 24-year-old down will be gaining a major asset for their promotion.
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