Wheeler Yuta
Yuta in 2021
Birth name	Paul Soren Gruber[1]
Born	(1996-10-26)October 26, 1996 (age 28) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Villanova University.[2][3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Alex Kai[4] Hackman[4] Kabuki Ni[4] Jimmy Yuta[4] Sylverhawk[4] Wheeler Yuta[4] Wyldkat[4] Yuta[4]
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[4]
Billed weight	189 lb (86 kg)[4]
Trained by	AC Collins[4] Chuck Taylor[4] Drew Gulak[4] Mike Quackenbush[4] Orange Cassidy[4] Tracy Williams[4] World Famous CB[4]
Debut	2014[4]

Paul Soren Gruber (born October 26, 1996) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under thering nameWheeler Yuta and is a member of theDeath Riders, formerly known as theBlackpool Combat Club. He is one-third of theAEW World Trios Champions alongside stablematesClaudio Castagnoli andPac. He also makes appearances for AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH), where he is a former three-timeROH Pure Champion, andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a member of theChaos stable.

Paul Soren Gruber^[2][1] was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania on October 26, 1996,^[5] the son of a Japanese mother and an American father fromPhiladelphia.^[3] His parents met while his father was on tour as amaster chief petty officer in theU.S. Navy.^[3] He moved with his parents toSouth Carolina, where he graduated fromCarolina Forest High School.^[2] The family then settled in Philadelphia, where he earned a degree fromVillanova University.^[2][3]

Yuta locks up withMatt Riddle during a match in 2018

Yuta placing Riddle in anOctopus hold

Yuta debuted in 2014.^[4] He made hisCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut in late 2015 and consistently appeared for CZW until late 2016. On October 5, 2017, atOne Shot, he made his debut forMajor League Wrestling (MLW) in a losing effort toMJF.^[6] His last match for the promotion would be in 2019 againstLow-Ki.^[7]

On September 11, 2020 episode ofRing of Honor Wrestling, Yuta made his debut forRing of Honor (ROH) in the first round of theROH Pure Tournament, where he was defeated byJonathan Gresham.^[8] AtFinal Battle, Yuta teamed withFred Yehi against The Foundation (Rhett Titus andTracy Williams) in the first-ever Pure Rules tag team match.^[9] Yuta and Yehi lost the match.^[10]

On the June 29, 2021 episode ofDark: Elevation, Yuta made his debut forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) againstKarl Anderson, and would consistently appear on AEW's YouTube shows throughout the coming months. He also joined theBest Friends stable, filling in for the injuredTrent Beretta in trios matches. On the November 10 episode ofDynamite,Rocky Romero announced that Best Friends would become a sub-group within the NJPW stableChaos and would represent Chaos in AEW.^[11]

After losing toBryan Danielson on the March 30, 2022 episode ofDynamite, Yuta walked away from his Best Friends teammates and teased a potential alliance with Danielson'sBlackpool Combat Club faction.^[12] After AEW ownerTony Khan's purchase of ROH, it was announced that Yuta would return to the promotion at the revivedSupercard of Honor XV to challengeJosh Woods for theROH Pure Championship. At the event, Yuta defeated Woods to win the title.^[13] On the April 8 episode ofRampage, Yuta was defeated by Blackpool Combat Club memberJon Moxley in a hard-fought match that saw him earn the group's respect. After the match, he was accepted into the group by its creator and then-managerWilliam Regal.^[14] On the May 24, 2022 episode ofDark, which aired almost two months after their bout at Supercard of Honor XV, Yuta would successfully defend the ROH Pure Championship against Woods in a rematch.^[15] Yuta once again defended the title on the June 29 episode ofDark, defeatingTony Nese. After the match, Yuta was attacked by2point0 andDaniel Garcia.^[16] This led to a match between Garcia and Yuta for the title atDeath Before Dishonor, in which Yuta successfully retained the championship.^[17] Yuta lost the title on the September 7 episode ofAEW Dynamite to Garcia, ending his reign at 159 days.^[18] On December 10, Yuta regained the ROH Pure Championship from Garcia atFinal Battle, in turn becoming the first person to hold the title on multiple occasions.^[19]

On January 18, 2023 Yuta made his first title defense againstHagane Shinno atThe Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life.^[20] Following the start of ROH programming onHonor Club, Yuta successfully defended the title againstTimothy Thatcher. After the match, Yuta called out the NJPW LA Dojo, causing dojo graduateClark Connors to confront Yuta seeking a title shot, which Yuta granted.^[21] The following week, Yuta defeated Connors to retain the Pure title. Post-match Yuta called out LA Dojo trainer,Katsuyori Shibata.^[22] On the March 8, episode ofDynamite, after his Blackpool Combat Club teammates Moxley andClaudio Castagnoli defeatedThe Dark Order membersJohn Silver andAlex Reynolds, Yuta joined them in beating down"Hangman" Adam Page, turning heel for the first time in his AEW career.^[23] On March 30, after successfully retaining the title againstLeon Ruffin, Yuta was confronted by Shibata, setting up their title match the following day atSupercard of Honor.^[24] At the event, Yuta lost the Pure Championship to Shibata, ending his second reign at 111 days.^[25] AtDouble or Nothing, the Blackpool Combat Club defeatedThe Elite (Kenny Omega, Page,Matt Jackson, andNick Jackson) in anAnarchy in the Arena match after Yuta pinned its leader Omega.^[26] At theForbidden Door event on June 25, Yuta, Moxley and Castagnoli teamed withKonosuke Takeshita andShota Umino to take on Page, The Young Bucks,Eddie Kingston andTomohiro Ishii in a ten-man tag team match, but were defeated.^[27] On July 19 atBlood and Guts, the Blackpool Combat Club, Takeshita, andPac were defeated by The Elite in aBlood and Guts match. On August 27 atAll In, the Blackpool Combat Club along withMike Santana and Ortiz were defeated by Best Friends, Eddie Kingston, andPenta El Zero Miedo in aStadium Stampede match. On the November 25 episode ofAEW Rampage, Yuta defeated Katsuyori Shibata to win the ROH Pure Championship for a record-setting third time.^[28] Yuta retained the title againstTom Lawlor atFinal Battle.

Between February 2024 and June 2024, Yuta was sidelined by an injury. Yuta returned to action in AEW on the June 5 edition ofDynamite, teaming with his BCC teammates to defeatEsfinge,Magnus,Rugido, andVolador Jr..^[29] Yuta lost the Pure Championship toLee Moriarty atDeath Before Dishonor, ending his third reign at 244 days.

On August 25 atAll In, Yuta and Castagnoli teamed with Pac in theFour-way London Ladder match for theAEW World Trios Championship, which they won. The trio later appeared in show after the main event to celebrate Bryan Danielson winning theAEW World Championship.^[30] On September 7 atAll Out, Yuta and Castagnoli unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for theAEW World Tag Team Championships. Later in show, Castagnoli and Moxley turned on Danielson after his successful title defense. Yuta did not participate in the turn as he was held back by Pac.^[31] Over the following weeks, Yuta was left conflicted over which side to choose before making his choice on October 12 atWrestleDream, where he joined the BCC in attacking Danielson after Moxley defeated Danielson for his title.^[32] In November 2024, the BCC was renamed to Death Riders with Pac andMarina Shafir joining the group.^[33]

In April 2021, Yuta made his debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) with the promotion's American subsidiary, appearing onNJPW Strong. On May 1, 2022, Yuta was announced to be competing in the 29thBest of the Super Juniors tournament as part of the B Block.^[34] Yuta finished with a record of five wins and four losses, resulting in 10 points, failing to advance to the finals.^[35] On the tournament finals day, Yuta,Ace Austin,Alex Zayne andEl Lindaman defeatedRobbie Eagles,Yoh,Clark Connors andTitán in a tag-team match.^[36]

In January 2022, Yuta made his debut forPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) at theBattle of Los Angeles. He defeatedBlake Christian in the first round,^[37] but would lose the second round match toMike Bailey.^[38]

In his spare time, Gruber enjoys playingsteel drums.^[3] Gruber currently resides inOrlando, Florida.^[1]

• All Elite Wrestling
  • AEW World Trios Championship (1 time, current) – withPac andClaudio Castagnoli
• Chikara
  • Chikara Young Lions Cup (1 time)^[39][40][41]
• Combat Zone Wrestling
  • Dramatic Destination Series (2016)^[42][43]
  • Trifecta (2018)^[44][45]
• Dojo Pro Wrestling
  • Dojo Pro White Belt Championship (1 time)^[46][47][48]
• ESPN
  • Ranked No. 20 of the 30 best Pro Wrestlers Under 30 in 2023^[49]
• NOVA Pro Wrestling
  • Men's Commonwealth Cup (2018)^[50][51]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 43 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in thePWI 500 in 2022^[52]
• Powerbomb.tv
  • IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship (1 time)^[53][54][55]
• Ring of Honor
  • ROH Pure Championship (3 times)^[56][57]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWheeler Yuta.

• Wheeler Yuta'sRing of Honor profile
• Wheeler Yuta's profile atCagematch.net,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database
• Wheeler Yuta onTwitter
• Jimmy Yuta atIMDb

• 1996 births
• Living people
• Professional wrestlers from Philadelphia
• American male professional wrestlers
• American sportspeople of Japanese descent
• All Elite Wrestling personnel
• AEW World Trios Champions
• 21st-century male professional wrestlers
• 21st-century American professional wrestlers
• Villanova University alumni
• ROH Pure Champions

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
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