AEW's Wheeler Yuta Details Advice Claudio Castagnoli Gave Him
As the youngest of the Blackpool Combat Club, Wheeler Yuta naturally looks up to his more-experienced stablemates — Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Jon Moxley. During a recent interview with "The Mark Hoke Show," Yuta recalled a particular piece of advice offered to him by Castagnoli, with whom he reigns as an AEW World Trios Champion.
"I started to let my physique go a little bit, and then Claudio is like 'Hey man, you have to stand next to me every week on television. You might want to work on that a little bit,'" Yuta said. "He was very kind when he said it, but there's definitely been some moments where some guys have been like 'Let me give you this piece of advice and then it's up to you to take it or not.' You always have those people that are looking out for you, and once you know that guys have your best interest in mind, then you can really gravitate to them.
"That's something I've been very fortunate to have with the guys in the BCC is they're always very honest with me. If they see flaws in my game, they will tell me; if they think I did something good, they'll tell me as well."
Yuta, currently 28-years-old, joined All Elite Wrestling in 2021, initially aligned with the Best Friends stable. The following year, however, Yuta left Best Friends and subsequently aligned himself with the Blackpool Combat Club. Fast forward to 2024, Yuta, now a former ROH Pure Champion and current AEW Trios Champion, has seized control of AEW alongside Castagnoli, PAC, Moxley, and Marina Shafir after Moxley dethroned Bryan Danielson at AEW WrestleDream.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Mark Hoke Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.