When Tony Khan made the decision to “strap a rocket” – in his words – to the back of Daniel Garcia and the 2.0 duo now known as Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, it was far from universally acclaimed by the AEW Galaxy.
Sure, Garcia was an indie talent darling “smart marks” on the internet knew very well, but he was incredibly raw on the national stage, with the goofballs previously known as Ever-Rise having far more of an expansive platform than the “Red Death.” Would he really be able to get himself over without a flashy gimmick, strong mentor, or the sort of hot-shot booking that makes a fanbase turn faster than a David Arquette reference?
As it turns out, the answer was yes. While Garcia did ultimately join the Jericho Appreciation Society, where the traditional grappler was confusingly cast as a “sports entertainer,” he was having some very good matches on Dynamite and Rampage fairly regularly before he teamed up with “The Wizard,” including a win over Josh Woods and a narrow loss to CM Punk on Rampage. With Chris Jericho giving him a defined push and a specific lens from which to get his work down, Garcia has been on an absolute tear in AEW and even outside of it. He wrestled Jon Moxley, won the PWG World Championship over Bandido, and has wrestled Bryan Danielson on two occasions, amassing a 1-2 record overall record against the “American Dragon” over their shared time in AEW.
And yet, despite his best efforts, Jericho hasn't totally been able to indoctrinate Garcia into the world of sports entertainment. Garcia continues to “wrestle” against some of the best performers in the world, from Bandido and Konosuke Takeshita in PWG, to Trey Miguel in DEFY, and even Wheeler Yuta in Ring of Honor, and his status in the professional grappling world has continued to elevate, as his spot in the 2023 PWI Rankings will clearly show. After losing to Danielson on the “House of the Dragon” edition of AEW Dynamite, Garcia was offered a hand from his opponent in an attempt to maintain the “code of honor,” but before he could accept it, Jericho jumped the “American Dragon” before his in-ring opponents interveined. Garcia slapped Jericho's hand away and put his status in the JAS up in the air.
Would Garcia, who was showered with chants of “you're a wrestler” before he left the ring alone, opt to stick with what he knows and what has afforded him the best success of his career? Or would he attempt to join Danielson in the Blackpool Combat Club and learn how to become one of the best technical grapplers in the world from the man The Wrestling Observer named the literal award after? Fortunately, Garcia doesn't just have to take the endorsement of Rick “The Dragon” Steamboat to side with Danielson. No, all he has to do to know what the BCC can do for his career is ask Yuta, his former opponent from Death Before Dishonor and IWTV 100, who is having the run of his life under the tutelage of Danielson, Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and William Regal.
The disrespect shown by Jericho causes Garcia to intervene; is there dissension growing within the #JerichoAppreciationSociety? It’s #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! pic.twitter.com/7SxeWD7yf6
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 18, 2022
Wheeler Yuta is proof that the AEW's Blackpool Combat Club is a career changer.
Wheeler Yuta's career in AEW would have been just fine if he hadn't joined the Blackpool Combat Club; he was a member of the Best Friends, and while Trent Beretta didn't like him all that much, he had a friend in Orange Cassidy, a mentor in Chuck Taylor, and a frenemy in Kris Statlander who seemed to genuinely care for him when she wasn't choking him out in their hotel room. While he didn't win a ton of singles matches, Yuta was consistently featured on AEW programming and grew increasingly popular with each passing week.
Teaming up with Moxley, Danielson, Regal, and eventually Castagnoli, however, was like hitting the warp pipe in World 1-2 of Super Mario and advancing all the way to World 8.
Since joining the BCC, Yuta's confidence has grown by leaps and bounds, and he's become a star before fans' very eyes. He defeated Josh Woods for the ROH Pure Championship, showed out very well in NJPW's Best Of The Super Juniors, and yes, even defeated Garcia at Death Before Dishonor while the crowd cheered him on. Would Garcia be afforded the same, or even more hype than Yuta if he too joined the BCC? Only time will tell, but when even Jericho is celebrating Yuta for his improvements under the watchful eye of Danielson, Moxley, Castagnoli, and Regal via his Instagram, it certainly can't hurt.
“Great match with Wheeler Yuta on AEW Dynamite last night!! He did a good job….but not good enough. He will have many world title shots in the future, but not at Quake By The Lake next week!! Pandoras Box has opened Jon Moxley, and next week there WILL be a new All Elite Wrestling champion… LIONHART CHRIS JERICHO!”
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