Wheeler Yuta says he’s happy to see AEW star’s recent success
Wheeler Yuta is ‘happy’ to see fellow Death Riders star Marina Shafir succeed.
Last year, following Jon Moxley’s heel turn, fans witnessed him join forces with Marina Shafir and form a new faction while breaking away from The Blackpool Combat Club. While his old allies remained, Moxley discovered a new found arsenal in Shafir. Long overlooked in mainstream wrestling, Shafir’s alliance with Moxley put her back on the map. Now, nearly a year after their partnership began, Wheeler Yuta has finally commented on Shafir’s hard work and praised the former MMA star’s achievements.
Speaking to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Yuta claimed, “Watching Marina’s growth has been like incredible. She is probably one of, if not the hardest worker, I would say in AEW. She’s still out busting her butt on the independents every time. She’s the one texting the Death Riders group chat like, ‘Hey, when are we going to the building? When are we going to go get some work in?’ She’s always there. She’s shadow boxing, jumping rope. She’s rolling around in the ring, picking people’s brains at ringsides.”
He added, “She’s always incredibly determined to get better. I’m so happy that people can finally see it. She’s been putting in this work for so long that to see it really come to fruition has been awesome. Like watching her just absolutely shine in the women’s Blood & Guts match was incredible.”
Marina Shafir has had a huge influence on the female roster. Commenting on her dominance, Yuta commented, “She’s obviously been such a commanding presence the whole time in the death riders, but now that she’s wrestling more and getting those opportunities too, it’s been great. We had such a fun time in that tornado tag match against Statlander and Darby and just seeing her now just go off on her own and blossom has been great.”
Alongside her All Elite Wrestling run, Shafir is also the reigning DEFY Women’s Champion. She further impressed fans and critics with her performance in the first-ever women’s Blood and Guts match.
Ronda Rousey is also proud of Marina Shafir’s AEW run
Earlier this year during an interview with Yahoo Sports, UFC veteran Ronda Rousey opened up on her friend Marina Shafir’s AEW run. Expressing her glee and pride in Shafir’s work, Rousey said, “coming into her own in that space and feeling really confident and just becoming like a real f—ing pro. Going from being like, ‘How do I do an arm drag?’ To being part of five-star matches and stuff like that, it’s really great to see her just having so much joy with it and rising to the top level of the industry.”
Following Rousey’s WWE departure, the duo teamed thrice in late 2023, winning on two occassions.
