NXT Talent Shocked WWE Recently Turned Down This AEW Star

WWE's loss is very much AEW's game.

by Andrew Pollard
Wheeler Yuta
AEW.com

Having impressed on AEW programming across the past several weeks, Wheeler Yuta is reported to have had an unsuccessful WWE tryout this past May.

As per Fightful Select, WWE decided to pass on Yuta; something which came as a major surprise to some within the company.

Yuta ticks plentiful boxes for what NXT staff have looked for in recent signings, with him 6ft, 24 years of age, extremely talented in the ring, and already having TV experience under his belt thanks to his appearances for, amongst others, Ring of Honor and NJPW Strong.

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This Fightful report claims three members of the roster were left in "shock" that WWE decided to pass on the Philadelphia native, with this also seen as an indicator that major changes were coming for the NXT brand.

Regardless of WWE deciding not to sign Yuta, he made his AEW bow in June, losing to Karl Anderson on an episode of AEW Dark. Shortly after that, Wheeler became aligned with the Best Friends and has gone on to make a further eight appearances on AEW programming - including competing in six-man action on last night's AEW Dynamite.

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While Wheeler Yuta has yet to officially become #AllElite, it certainly looks like WWE's loss is going to very much be AEW's game.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.