The Backstage Story Of Wheeler Yuta's Transformative Moment In AEW Against Jon Moxley (Exclusive)

AEW star, Wheeler Yuta, had his debut pro wrestling match in 2014. From that point forward, Yuta would have a lot of "firsts" including his CZW debut in 2015, his MLW debut in 2017, and his debut in Ring of Honor during the ROH Pure Championship tournament in 2020.

Just a year later, Yuta would debut for AEW in a match on the Dark: Elevation YouTube show against Karl Anderson. Not long after that, Yuta's career would be transformed in one night.

The night was April 8 in 2022. Yuta had just left the Best Friends faction after losing a match to Bryan Danielson. Yuta flew solo after that loss, but had a big opportunity to deliver as a solo act in a match on AEW Rampage against Jon Moxley.

In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Yuta told the behind the scenes story of that match, why it's so special, and how it set the table for his pro wrestling career.

"Yeah, that was a very interesting day," Yuta said of April 8, 2022. So, I didn't know that I was going to be having that match until that day. That's pretty typical in wrestling. You take things as they come. On Rampage for the main event, they used to have, we called them the three box promo. Mark Henry would interview the two sides of the main event. So, I'm standing there, I'm getting mic'd up for it, and I remember it all happened so quickly.

"I'm standing by the ring. Someone rushes down. They're like, 'Hey, you have to go record this.' I was like, 'What do you mean?' I'm literally standing there, mic'd up in frame, and I go, 'Hey guys, who's my opponent? I was like, I'm pretty sure I know who it's gonna be, but don't actually know. And then in the monitor, I see [Jon Moxley] step into frame. Then I go 'all right, here we go.'"

Wheeler Yuta was prepared for last-minute transformative AEW match against Jon Moxley

Wheeler Yuta - All Elite Wrestling — AEW.com

Yuta had been preparing for that moment because he felt things with Moxley were headed in the direction of a potential match. Yuta said he needed to flip the switch and help the moment become a special one.

Yuta said the fact that the match aired via delay on AEW Rampage instead of AEW Dynamite, helped it gain notoriety before it actually aired. In today's wrestling landscape, it's nearly impossible for that to happen.

"It was very interesting, because this is something you don't really get in wrestling a lot," Yuta said. Because Rampage used to be a taped show, the match happened on Wednesday, but it didn't air until Friday. Word kind of got out from the live crowd of like, 'Oh, you guys, you need to check this one out.' Like, this is going to be something special.

"So, being able to have those two days of anticipation where, like, I knew what happened. I knew how it felt for me, at least. And I was excited to see what the rest of the crowd and the rest of the people would do. I got to watch it with an ice pack on my head from my couch."

Yuta lost this match to Moxley, but it changed the course of his career forever. Because of Yuta's performance, he earned respect from Moxley and the then Blackpool Combat Club. Yuta joined the group that was comprised of Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and managed by William Regal.

MORE: Wheeler Yuta Gives Update On Death Riders Status After AEW Blood And Guts Loss (Exclusive)

In addition to being the match that got him into one of AEW's most notorious factions, it also earned him the respect of his peers.

"It's, I think, the only time ever, like, whoever was sitting around behind the curtain gave me a little bit of a round of applause. I think that's the only time that's happened in my career, like in the back. So that was really cool."
Wheeler Yuta

Yuta's opponent on that special night, Jon Moxley, is a four-time AEW Men's World Champion, which is the most ever world title reigns in company history. Yuta said working with Moxley is a big deal and that it takes one key ingredient to do it successfully. Intensity.

"You have to step up to match his intensity," Yuta said of working against Moxley. "He is so singularly focused when he's in there. When they (Moxley and Danielson) are in the ring, it really just feels like that's where they're meant to be. That's so true of Moxley. When he's in there, you just see him, and you're like, 'Oh yeah, he's he's meant to be in there.' Mentally, you have to step up and you have to get on that level.

"He's (Moxley) always moving in the right way. He always doing the right thing. There's very little things that he does without a purpose and that those are kind of things that it's been really exciting for me to watch from the apron. There's definitely been a lot that you learn, just like being that close and seeing what he does. When he retires, we'll be considering him as one of the greats to ever do it."

Yuta, Moxley, and The Death Riders are at a bit of a crossroads as a team. Moxley lost the AEW Men's World Championship to Adam Page at All In this summer, he lost by saying "I Quit" to Darby Allin at WrestleDream, and he lost Blood and Guts for his team by tapping out. What's next is anyone's guess.

AEW returns to PPV with Full Gear this weekend on November 22. The Death Riders are not announced for any matches on the show at this time.

Announced matches include an AEW Men's World Championship match between Adam Page and Samoa Joe inside a steel cage and an AEW Women's World Championship match between Kris Statlander and Mercedes Moné.

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