---
title: "AEW Star Addresses Criticisms About Championship Reign"
canonical: "https://wrestletalk.com/news/aew-criticism-champion-konosuke-takeshita/"
type: "post"
language: "en-US"
author: "Sanchez Taylor"
section: "News"
published: "2025-12-31T13:21:30Z"
modified: "2025-12-31T13:23:38Z"
---

# AEW Star Addresses Criticisms About Championship Reign

An AEW star who currently holds a world title in another promotion has addressed criticisms about a lack of appearances.

Konosuke Takeshita reached the top of the mountain in NJPW at King of Pro-Wrestling on October 13, defeating Zack Sabre Jr to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Since then, Takeshita has only wrestled once for NJPW, defending his gold against Hirooki Goto.

The AEW, NJPW and DDT-Pro triple-contracted star commented on criticisms about his lack of matches in Japan in an interview with [NJPW](https://www.njpw1972.com/621664).

When asked about criticism about him not being in the road in Japan, Takeshita noted that his intention has been to represent the company as world champion around the globe, noting:

*“That’s a tough one. Look, when I was a fan growing up in Osaka, I would always get mad that the great matches were all in Tokyo.*

*“So I get that, and if I put myself in a fan’s shoes, hearing the champion say what I’ve been saying about showing the world this belt, I would think ‘who cares! Why aren’t you here?’*

*“So I get it, I do. But it’s called the IWGP World Heavyweight title. So I have to be on a worldwide stage.”*

When asked if he wants to wrestle in NJPW more to end criticisms about his lack of appearances, he responded:

*“I don’t want to be in NJPW more to silence critics, I want to do it because I like wrestling.*

*“There’s a different flavor to a NEVER title match and an IWGP title match, and when you add the Global title to the mix, that will be something different again.”*

Konosuke Takeshita will defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji in a Winner Takes All match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20.

Two more AEW stars have been confirmed for appearances at the January 4 show, [click here to read more.](https://wrestletalk.com/news/will-ospreay-aew-njpw-wrestle-kingdom-20/)

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