Konnan Has Changed His Mind On Wheeler Yuta's Spot In AEW

Wheeler Yuta has had a roller coaster journey in AEW since joining the company in 2021. When he first arrived on the scene, he was the protege of Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor of Best Friends, both of whom trained him to become a professional wrestler nearly a decade ago.

But after he became the Ring of Honor Pure Champion in May 2022, he started to get the attention of William Regal and the Blackpool Combat Club.

Ever since then, Yuta became as hyper-focused and violent as his new stablemates — Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Claudio Castagnoli. But the members of BCC weren't the only ones paying attention to his evolution. Former WCW star Konnan also took notice of his progression and the veteran performer's feelings about the up-and-coming competitor have changed over the years. 

During a bonus mailbag episode of the "K100" podcast, the lucha libre legend was asked his thoughts on Yuta's progression in AEW so far.

Konnan said he felt like the AEW star didn't stand out among the crop of similarly talented young wrestlers at first. However, other aspects of his presentation started to catch up to his technical prowess as he spent more time with the Blackpool Combat Club.

"At the beginning, I thought he was pushed too fast," said Konnan. "He was over-pushed and he wasn't ready for prime time. Plus, he reminded me of 40 other wrestlers who did the same thing. They all did the same thing [and had], the same match. 

As he adopted the more feral demeanor of the faction, Yuta began to slowly but surely ascend to the level of his teammates, according to Konnan.

"But since he's been with these guys, he's gotten a lot better. His work has changed. I was in San Diego in the arena, and when he won, he had a lot of heat. Now that I remember, he won at the pay-per-view and that's smart. He doesn't have the credibility of the other guys, right? Danielson, Moxley, and Castagnoli. But by letting him win, they're starting to elevate him. That's the way you make somebody."

The 26-year-old has come a long way in his professional wrestling career, and now that he's seemingly found experienced stars to point him in the right direction, he's equipped with all of the tools to take him much further.