"You gotta go to war" - Wheeler Yuta opens up after shocking betrayal of Bryan Danielson
Wheeler Yuta shocked AEW fans when he turned on his mentor, Bryan Danielson, at WrestleDream 2024. He's now opened up about why he did it and what he expects for the future.
Wheeler Yuta was inducted into The Blackpool Combat Club after demonstrating his willpower and fighting spirit against Jon Moxley in April 2022. He was quickly taken in and trained by Bryan Danielson. He and The American Dragon became close, but that all came to an end earlier this month.
Yuta stood by Danielson after the latter was betrayed by Jon Moxley and The Blackpool Combat Club at All Out. However, the faction managed to reel him back in and forced him to take part in the brutal attack on his mentor at WrestleDream.
Speaking to Mark Hoke on The Mark Hoke Show, Wheeler Yuta revealed his reason for sticking with the BCC:
"I got in the ring, and I think the decision was pretty clear. Bryan’s done a lot for me in my life and my career, but so have Claudio and Jon. So when you get in the ring in that situation, and my choices were either I could cut my losses, I could stay with the two guys that have the world championship, the guys that are gonna be there, another guy who I hold a trios championship with. I could stay with them, or I could just blindly stick by Bryan. But maybe they were right because two of them are still wrestling, and one of them’s not. So it’s a difficult decision, it’s not one that I took lightly, not one that I enjoyed, but it is what it is."
The 27-year-old admitted that he was conflicted but has accepted that he must go to war:
"Yeah, of course, there’s a lot of internal conflict. As I talked about, how much I looked up to these guys, how much I respected these guys, I didn’t think it would really get to the level that we’re at right now, but there’s work that needs to be done. So if the work’s a little bit dirty, I gotta come to grips with that, I guess. But it is what it is. It’s the job that needs to be done. When you get drafted to go to war, whether you agree or not, you gotta go to war," Wheeler Yuta said. [H/T Fightful]
Bully Ray praises Wheeler Yuta's role in Bryan Danielson's retirement
Bryan Danielson's current status is unclear, but his loss at WrestleDream might have been his last match as a full-time wrestler. However, the Blackpool Combat Club's attack and subsequent takeover of AEW has set up a storyline that could potentially carry the company for the next year.
Bully Ray was intrigued by Wheeler Yuta's role in the angle. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, the WWE Hall of Famer claimed that the 27-year-old joining the attack on Danielson was almost like getting "jumped in" by a gang:
"What bigger final nail in the coffin for Bryan Danielson than to have the babyface friend who came down to make the save, an original member of The BCC, who then tried to help Danielson, but now he's forced to do the most despicable of things, which is to choke Danielson out? It's almost like in a gang being jumped in, or having to reprove yourself, and they made Yuta reprove himself by putting that plastic bag over Danielson's head. So, I liked that little touch," he said.
Wheeler Yuta has shown that he is conflicted about what he and the BCC are doing, but with Jon Moxley now calling the shots as AEW World Champion, there doesn't seem to be much he can do to change things. Whether the young star will take part in this year's Continental Classic tournament remains to be seen.