AEW's Wheeler Yuta Discusses Blood & Guts Preparation, Working With Bryan Danielson (Exclusive)

By Liam Crowley

AEW's most violent match returns in just a matter of hours. AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts will bring back the titular bout for its third consecutive year, this time pitting The Golden Elite against Blackpool Combat Club. Even before the double steel cage is lowered tonight, members from both factions have been dealing with some nagging injuries. BCC's Bryan Danielson was medically disqualified from competing in the match after suffering a fractured arm during his match against Kazuchika Okada at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, and it appeared that Wheeler Yuta could join him on the disabled list after he suffered a hamstring scare on AEW TV a couple weeks back.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Yuta emphasized that his lower body injury was nothing more than a stinger.

"I'm feeling good. I definitely had a little issue with my hamstring, but it's nothing that pro wrestlers haven't been dealing with for years and years," Yuta said. "I'll be alright and will be good to go for Blood and Guts."

AEW President Tony Khan had been hyping up the intense training regiments that various participants in the Blood & Guts match were enduring, specifically mentioning that Claudio Castagnoli took a sabbatical to Switzerland to prepare for the bout.

"We've done physical preparations, and of course we always do like to be well-prepared, upping the cardio a little bit just in case. You never know, this match could be very long," Yuta said when asked about his physical preparations. "You don't know if you're going to be first or last in the order, so you got to be prepared for really any duration. A lot of it's just been the mental toughness for this particular match, because you know it's going to be crazy, you know it's going to be insane. There's 10 guys, there's two cages, there's all kinds of weapons and insanity that can go on."

Yuta is one of the few that already has Blood & Guts experience to his name, as he fought in last year's cage contest against Jericho Appreciation Society. While much of his regular training happens alongside Danielson, Yuta mentioned that he's relying on himself to get ready for this bout.

"I checked in with Bryan and he's in good spirits," Yuta said regarding Danielson's arm injury. "Hopefully he'll recover and he'll be back soon. He actually wound up missing last year's Blood and Guts as well. I've definitely, for this particular one, leaned on my own experience and then leaned on the guidance of the other guys in the BCC."

One variable Yuta cannot draw experience from is Kota Ibushi. The Elite have enlisted the help of the inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion for this match, a man that every member of BCC is aware of but not all have stepped in the ring with. While Yuta has yet to share the squared circle with Ibushi, he has walked in his footsteps a little, as he competed in New Japan's Best of the Super Juniors last year, a tournament Ibushi won in 2011.

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"There's parallels that can be drawn, that's a tournament that he was in as well. I mean, it's a tournament that Kenny Omega was in as well. I think that a lot of the style is definitely going to be there," Yuta said. "Ibushi has really evolved since his days as junior and he's really obviously become one of the greatest heavyweights in the world."

AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts goes down at 8 PM ET on TBS.

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