Konosuke Takeshita Comments On Whether He Will Continue Wrestling In AEW
While there are no absolutes in life, it's a fair statement to suggest that anyone who saw Konosuke Takeshita during his summer-long run in the United States didn't come away disappointed. Between his time in AEW, where he wrestled top stars like Jon Moxley, "Hangman" Adam Page, Eddie Kingston, and Claudio Castagnoli, and his work on the independent scene, the DDT star developed a strong following and made a case for being one of the best wrestlers in the world today.
Speaking with Wrestling Republic's Eric Novak on "The All Real Wrestling Podcast," Takeshita, along with his translator, AEW's Michael Nakazawa, discussed the process of him coming to the U.S. to wrestle for AEW and the independents.
"Takeshita came here on his own," Nakazawa said. "It's not like AEW told him to come or wanted him to come here. He wanted to come here himself. And at the time, when he came here, he had no match prepared for him ... They gave him a match against Brandon Cutler. But after that, he got so many good things from other promotions. And now, many of you have seen his matches on TV already. That's how he gets over.
"It wasn't DDT that told him to go, it was Takeshita himself who wanted to come here. DDT knew how badly he wanted to come here and prove himself to the American fans. That's why he made the excursion."
Takeshita Isn't Done Wrestling In The United States
Through Nakazawa, Takeshita also revealed that his journey to the U.S. wasn't meant to be the usual brief international tour.
"He didn't mean it to be an excursion," Nakazawa said. "His goal is to move here, and make his living by wrestling here. So this is not an excursion. Maybe he might have to go back to Japan eventually, but who knows? This is not an excursion for him. He tried to come here, move here, make a living on his own by wrestling. That's why he chose AEW."
The DDT star also noted that he plans on returning to the U.S. later this year.
"I had to go back to Japan in August because DDT had big shows on August 20 and September 4, and show in my hometown, Osaka, on September 10," Takeshita said. "But I hope that I'll return to the U.S. ASAP. Maybe October or November. I hope so. I have to talk with DDT, but absolutely. I've never had a contract with another Japanese promotion. But I don't know if DDT will continue to contract me, or for example, a US promotion I contract with. I don't know. But I hope I keep contract with DDT and a U.S. promotion."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The All Real Wrestling Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.