Takeshita also commented on the current KO-D Openweight Champion.
The reigning AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita is gearing up for his title defense against Powerhouse Hobbs at the Worlds End pay-per-view on December 28th.
Takeshita is two months into his title run. He won the belt in a three-way match involving Ricochet and Will Ospreay at WrestleDream. While being interviewed for DDT Pro-Wrestling’s official website, Takeshita shared that he was happy to hear his colleagues telling him he deserved the win.
After 19-year-old Konosuke Takeshita had a match at Korakuen Hall, Antonio Honda, who I can call my father in professional wrestling, said to me, ‘Take-chan, if you look at professional wrestling broadly, everyone is a family. Even if DDT, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and WWE are different organizations, they are all family, and legendary wrestlers are like grandparents. Because everything is connected, you have to love your family. That is the foundation of what I value in professional wrestling. At the time, I was jokingly mentioning the names of WWE athletes, but now, as I work with these people, I feel that those words were true and that we are truly connected. If they don’t trust you, you can’t become family. That’s why I’ve been putting my heart into every match. When I won the (AEW International Title) belt, the other wrestlers said to me, ‘You are the man who deserves this belt!’ I was happy to hear such words, even though we live in a competitive world.
Although he is signed to AEW, Takeshita continues to make dates for DDT. He is a five-time holder of the promotion’s KO-D Openweight Championship.
He shared his thoughts about the current champion, Chris Brookes. Takeshita hopes Brookes turns DDT into the ‘utopia’ he wants it to be.
When you win the biggest belt of a promotion, the first time you are happy, but the next moment you feel the pressure of having to defend it, and you get desperate. However, humans are creatures that adapt, so by the second time, you can see things clearly. I also set the record for most defenses when I wore it (KO-D Openweight Championship) for the second time. I was desperate at the time, but I was able to show that I wanted to make DDT this kind of organization, and that I showed this kind of attitude as a champion. I think Chris (Brookes) was very emotional when he won the title for the first time, and he drew up a storyline in his mind with his opponent for the defense. But the second time, even if the opponent doesn’t have a particular story, he has a role to play in creating such a story. Even with his opponent this time, Daisuke Sasaki, I don’t think he’s been able to create a story for himself, even though they’ve fought many times before. But even though they’re polar opposites in their words and actions, I think that deep down, they both have a commonality, a rock side, as seen in the leather jacket they both wear when they enter the ring. I think it would be interesting if they were to expose that side of each other. I believe that Chris can create such an interesting story, and I hope that he will make DDT the utopia that he thinks it should be. That is the privilege of being a two-time champion.
Takeshita is returning to DDT for their January 3rd event. He’ll be tagging with Jun Akiyama to take on Yuki Iino and Yukio Naya.Â
The following day, he’ll be in action at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19. Takeshita is going to be challenging Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship. The winner will head to Wrestle Dynasty on January 5th to defend against Tomohiro Ishii.