AEW Star Reveals He Considered Joining WWE

AEW, WWE

An AEW star has revealed that he considered joining WWE prior to signing with AEW in late 2022.

Considered one of AEW’s brightest stars, Konosuke Takeshita first appeared for the company in April 2021 whilst he was still competing for DDT Pro Wrestling in Japan.

After impressing in matches throughout 2022 with the likes of Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston, Takeshita was officially signed to a full-time contract with AEW in November 2022.

Speaking in an interview with DDT Pro-Wrestling’s official website, the Takeshita spoke on his decision to sign with AEW, revealing that Tony Khan’s promotion wasn’t his only consideration.

Takeshita said:

“When I lost the KO-D belt to Tetsuya Endo at Ryogoku Kokugikan last March, I said, ‘This is the second chapter for Konosuke Takeshita…’ As a champion, I had already been around the world one or two times, so I felt that the only way to show what I could do was to cross the ocean.

“So the choice was WWE or AEW. At that time, there were not that many main male wrestlers in AEW, and moreover, there were no Japanese who wore the singles belt, except for women.

“I wanted to do something that no one else was doing. At that point, I wasn’t sure if AEW would become as huge as it is now, but it was still a choice I made. Then, over the next year or so, the number of wrestlers steadily increased, and I don’t think I would have had a chance if I had waited another year. It was all a matter of timing…

“When the Coronavirus pandemic made it impossible for Japanese professional wrestling to make its voice heard, I thought to myself, this is no good for me to be wrestling.

“I’ve been doing it for 10 years, so I’ve had enough. I went to the U.S. because I wanted to give it one last try, and I think that may have been my destiny.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without AEW, which guided me, and DDT, which sent me here, so the best way for me to repay them would be to fight Chris Jericho.”

Takeshita will return to DDT to face off with fellow AEW star Chris Jericho, who will be making his first appearance for the promotion.

Takeshita discussed the match and its importance to him on a personal level, saying:

“First of all, I wanted to fight Jericho in a singles match, which is what I had wanted to do when I became a member of AEW.

“I had reached the point where I could imagine myself doing that in the AEW ring, but I wanted to do it in a DDT ring.

“In the past, DDT has done things like parodying WWE superstars, but when you think back to the beginning of the organization, it was unthinkable to have an active superstar appear instead of an impersonator in the ring.

“So it was a secret ambition of mine to make it a reality. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I saw it come true… So when I felt the reaction at that moment, I was honestly happy.”

Takeshita vs Jericho will take place on November 12 at the DDT Ultimate Party event from Ryōgoku Sumo Hall.

One member of the Don Callis Family who seems to have a major decision to make regarding his future is Will Ospreay.

To find out the latest on Ospreay’s future amid reports of ‘heavy’ interest from WWE check here.

Transcript courtesy of POST Wrestling

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• Konosuke Takeshita
• AEW
• wwe

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