Vertical Bison | MP
By: Lewis Carlan
For New Japan Pro-Wrestling superstar “Heat Storm” Yuya Uemura, 2026 has arguably proven to be a breakthrough year. Uemura reached the finals of two major NJPW tournaments for the first time and his in-ring potential appears to be limitless.
Uemura was one of the finalists in the New Japan Cup 2026 tournament back on March 21st as he faced rival Callum Newman. Despite losing to Newman, Uemura had shown vast improvement from the prior year’s New Japan Cup Tournament where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
In July 2026, the most prestigious tournament in all of pro-wrestling, the NJPW G1 Climax, kicked off the in USA. Despite losing two of his first three matches in the tournament, Uemura persevered and proved his in-ring maturity as he wound up finishing with 12 points in the B Block and advanced to the semifinals.
Uemura scored a massive victory in the semifinals when he defeated the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji to earn a spot in the finals of the G1 Climax for the first time in his career.
In the G1 Climax 36 finals, Uemura faced Ryohei Oiwa in a match that turned out being an instant classic and received high praise throughout the pro-wrestling world. Again, despite losing to Oiwa in a spectacular match, Uemura showed just how much he had improved over the course of a year.
Uemura has demonstrated that he made great strides as a pro-wrestler and is more than qualified to be called one of the leaders of the new generation of superstars within NJPW.
Monthly Puroresu had the opportunity to catch up with Yuya Uemura and discuss a number of topics with the NJPW superstar.
Monthly Puroresu:
You reached the G1 finals this year but lost to Ryohei Oiwa. What was the level of disappointment you felt by losing to Oiwa?
Yuya Uemura:
Obviously the result was disappointing, but I feel I was able to present my ideal of pro-wrestling. I’ve been talking about representing a new standard since last year’s G1 and this year I was finally able to give that form. As for Oiwa, he just seemed to be full of confidence right from the midway point of the G1. He’s going to be a critical rival for me going forward.
Photo Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling
Monthly Puroresu:
You lost to Callum Newman in the New Japan Cup finals and now to Oiwa in the G1 finals. What steps do you feel you need to take to get to that next level?
Yuya Uemura:
I think it’s important to live my life constantly thinking about how to get stronger. Not just in the ring and in the gym, but in every aspect, I need to bring all of that into my wrestling. And I want to develop and refine every single move that I do. Especially my wrist lock, I want to be able to submit anyone on the roster with my wristlock.
Photo Credit: New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Monthly Puroresu:
You defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji in the G1 semifinals. Should he remain champion after Goto and Oiwa, do you believe you earned the right to challenge him for the title?
Yuya Uemura:
Winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is a massive goal of mine, but beating Tsuji in the semifinals isn’t enough to justify a shot. I lost the G1 in the end after all. I wanted to challenge him as the G1 winner and see whether the IWGP Champion or the G1 Champion was the better man, but I couldn’t make it happen. I’m still constantly aiming for that belt though.
Monthly Puroresu:
You recently trained at the Sendai Girls dojo. Why did you train there and what was that experience like?
Yuya Uemura:
I really love the passion and the dedication the girls there have both for their own wrestling and to develop the promotion. I don’t watch much Joshi wrestling, but I’ve been checking them out, and got really into Reina Takano’s debut on YouTube.
Photo Credit: Sendai Girls Pro-Wrestling
Monthly Puroresu:
You do many signing sessions for fans. How does it feel that so many fans are looking to meet you and what message do you have for everyone that shows up at these signings?
Yuya Uemura:
I think some Japanese people still have this idea that all pro-wrestling is really scary, really violent stuff, when that’s quite an outdated idea. Now we have a lot of kids at our shows and it’s a vibrant atmosphere in the building. So I want to show people that as well as embody what the Heat Storm is, I want to warm people’s hearts in the ring and out of it. I always feel like I want pro-wrestling to be the talking point in school playgrounds, I want kids to choose ‘pro-wrestler’ on their surveys when they’re asked what they want to be when they grow up. So I want for wrestling to have a broader impact on society.
Photo Credit: Yuya Uemura
Monthly Puroresu:
Yota Tsuji has been very vocal in his about his feelings for AEW. What are your thoughts on AEW, Tony Khan and the working agreement between the promotions?
Yuya Uemura:
Hmm, I’d love to be able to wrestle Katsuyori Shibata but I don’t really watch AEW. I want to bring a kind of wrestling you don’t see over there.
Monthly Puroresu:
What are some of things you enjoy doing on off days from competing?
Yuya Uemura:
I love to drive. I drive a pretty sweet Mustang that I’m proud of.
Photo Courtesy of Yuya Uemura
Monthly Puroresu:
Who do you consider to be your main rival at this point in your career and why?
Yuya Uemura:
I can’t choose just one, that’s just how great NJPW’s roster is right now. So I’d say Tsuji, Narita, Oiwa, Umino, Callum Newman, Yuto-Ice and Boltin for a few.
Monthly Puroresu:
What is next for you? Do you have any goals to close out 2026?
Yuya Uemura:
This year, I’ve fallen at the final hurdle twice. Before the year is out I plan to earn my spot in the Tokyo Dome on January 4, and I’ll be doing all I can to become a champion.
Monthly Puroresu would like to extend our sincere gratitude to New Japan Pro-Wrestling for facilitating this interview with Yuya Uemura and providing the English text translation.
Date:
October 4, 2026
