BRINGING THE HEAT:
NJPW YOUNG LION, YUYA UEMURA
AND THE SUPER JUNIOR TAG LEAGUE
By Jasmine Olan
This year’s Super Junior Tag League tournament was with filled great matches and memorable moments. Throughout the tournament, one name began to get a lot attention due to a breakout performance. That name is Yuya Uemura. Paired with the legendary Tiger Mask, the talented young lion managed to make his presence known in a big way without his team even winning a single match in the tournament. All through block competition, Uemura consistently showed growth and progress in each match. Since his debut in April of 2018 at the age of twenty-three, he has become well known for his passion and amateur prowess and has been winning the hearts of NJPW fans.
Fans could see an unmistakable fire in Uemura from pretty much the very beginning. That fire was on full display during this year’s Young Lion’s Cup. Despite struggling through most of that tournament, Uemura was truly able to shine towards the end when he got a huge win over American young lion, Clark Connors. That match definitely helped put the wrestling world on notice. His move set had grown by this point his move to include a double underhook belly to belly suplex that is truly a thing of beauty.
One of the best moments in that match was when Uemura absolutely let loose on Connors who had been bullying him a bit. He went to win the match, forcing Connors to tap out to the Boston crab. This may have set the stage for Uemura to be announced as one of the participants in the 2019 Super Junior Tag League. Throughout the tournament, it became clear that Tiger Mask was giving his young partner the opportunity to continue learning as Uemura was given a lot of ring time in each match. The team would ultimately come up scoreless in the tournament, but Uemura’s performance now has many eyes on him.
When he and Tiger Mask faced El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru of Suzuki-gun at Korakuen Hall, the entire crowd was going crazy for the talented twenty-four year old. By the end of the Super Junior Tag League, he had definitely made fans and his senpai very proud. You could sense the pride in Tiger Mask during the post match comments. The best thing about Uemura’s performance in the 2019 Super Junior Tag League is how this young lion was able to open the eyes of fans and critics throughout the tournament. He is growing in leaps and bounds and is proving himself as a potential force to be reckoned with in the future. Yuya Uemura is one performer who will no doubt be bringing the heat for years to come.
