Wheeler Yuta has had some incredible matches with Ring of Honor.
He’s also put on some incredible matches in his hometown of Philadelphia.
But due to bad timing, he really didn’t get a chance to have incredible Ring of Honor matches in Philly.
“I was never able to wrestle in front of a Ring of Honor crowd because that was all during COVID,” said Yuta, the star professional wrestler who is best known for being part of the Blackpool Combat Club in All Elite Wrestling.
Until now.
Yuta doesn’t just get to wrestle for Ring of Honor in front of his hometown, he’s coming back home as a champion and will be one of the headliners when Ring of Honor holds Supercard of Honor at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on Friday night.
The event will be held not far from Yuta’s home, as ROH brings one of its biggest cards of the year to the city where it all began for the promotion a little over 20 years ago.
“I’m just excited to be part of the team and ride the wave,” said Yuta, who will defend his Ring of Honor Pure Championship against an opponent to be named. “A lot of things AEW and Ring of Honor have given me the honor to do. When I started with AEW, I thought Ring of Honor was closed.
“I was never able to wrestle in front of an ROH crowd. It was all during COVID. First Supercard of Honor, it was all without fans (because of the pandemic). Being able to reclaim that part of my career is awesome. And to see where we’re moving. Look what we’ve done. We did Wembley Stadium and sold it out. We have all these free agents, Kazuchika Okada, Mercedes Mone, Will Osprey. It’s only getting bigger.”
Every AEW show is a big one. And every Ring of Honor show, especially pay per views, is massive.
But this one is a little more special for Yuta because it’s his house.
Yuta is a graduate of Villanova University and he’s been spending time in Philadelphia for as long as he can remember. He didn’t live here, but growing up he had family living in Fishtown and he would spend a lot of time with them.
Then he became a true Philly boy after beginning his career as a professional wrestler. He worked all over the area, and some of his biggest and best matches occurred in his new hometown.
“I think the Philly crowd has seen me grow up,” Yuta said. “The Liacouras Center will obviously have a lot more fans than an indie show, but a lot of the same core. Philly has a strong connection with pro wrestling. And if you work hard, they love you. You’ll see someone grind, wrestle in rec center, or the 2300 Arena, which was the biggest deal for me.
“The fans are great. They can follow the journey, they can relate to me. I have that connection, but Philly wants athletes to work hard and be tough and keep going.”
That’s why the fans love Ring of Honor.
Since it started, Ring of Honor has prided itself on having the best wrestlers in the world.
With so much great wrestling, including AEW, it’s not easy to keep that title, but it’s one every Ring of Honor wrestler does their best to achieve every time they take the mat.
“It excites me to see how ROH has its fingerprints throughout the world,” Yuta said. “ROH was so ahead of its time to cultivate it to a place where people can learn and become the best version of themselves.”
Supercard of Honor will be more of that.
On top of Yuta’s match, Eddie Kingston will defend his ROH championship against Mark Briscoe, Athena will defend the ROH women’s championship against Hikaru Shida and Kyle Fletcher will oppose Lee Johnson in three of the featured bouts already announced.
While Yuta will do everything in his power to make his match the match everyone is talking about as they head toward the exits, he can’t help but be excited about the rest of the card.
“I was an ROH (fan), I enjoyed Kevin Steen. Bryan Danielson helped get me in ROH and now I’m a member of the BCC with him, that always blows my mind. Nigel McGinniss as the Pure Champions, he would bend the rules, I’ve tried to emulate that. All kinds of guys. The Briscoe Brothers tag team. Really cool to watch Mark challenge. First ever singles match in Philly, he was manager, he was too young to wrestle so he couldn’t wrestle in Pennsylvania. He’s come full circle, from teenager to main event.
Something Yuta himself plans to do.
From cutting his teeth on opening matches at indie shows to defending a championship on pay per view, Yuta continues to make great strides. And as one of the younger members of the roster, he’s only getting better.
And now he gets to come home in front of his fans.
“It’s going to be packed and sold out, but anytime you have wrestling fans from all over the world, it creates a special feeling,” Yuta said. “Everyone wants to be there. I’m really excited about all the fans to experience Philadelphia as a wrestling culture. So many great young wrestlers, we have so many great wrestlers. Philly is a wrestling cultural center. All the different things it has to offer. I’m more excited for fans. I’m excited to see people drive past ECW Arena. I’m excited for Philadelphia.”
