Published: Sep 28, 2025 by Sanchez Taylor | Last Updated: Sep 28, 2025 by Sanchez Taylor
Sanchez has over six years of pro-wrestling news writing experience, covering the biggest news stories in WWE, NXT, AEW, TNA Wrestling and more. He has personally interviewed a number of top stars, producing exclusive content with the likes of AEW's Swerve Strickland and WWE's Nick Aldis.
AEW
A world championship match has been confirmed for AEW and NJPW star Konosuke Takeshita, following NJPW Destruction in Kobe.
With Takeshita winning the G1 Climax tournament, the popular star earned a shot at NJPW’s top prize, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
With Takeshita choosing to challenge for the gold at the October 13 King of Pro Wrestling event – with the intention of walking into Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January as champion – the AEW star has been waiting to see who would be champion heading into the event.
It has now been confirmed that Zack Sabre Jr will be the champion heading into King of Pro Wrestling, with Sabre Jr wrestling his final title defence ahead of October 13 during the September 28 Destruction in Kobe event.
Zack Sabre Jr defeated Ren Narita on this show to retain his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Confirming that Zack Sabre Jr vs Konosuke Takeshita is now official, NJPW shared this recap of the closing moments of Sabre Jr vs Narita:
“In the final moments, both men displayed extraordinary technical skill, trading counters and strikes.
“Sabre Jr. ultimately hit the decisive Zack Driver, securing his second successful defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in his current reign, and seeing him advance to face the challenge of Konosuke Takeshita on October 13 at King of Pro-Wrestling.”
Konosuke Takeshita notably defeated Zack Sabre Jr in the G1 Climax semifinals, ahead of pinning Evil in the finals to win the tournament.
Takeshita – who currently has contracts with both AEW and NJPW – most recently wrestled for AEW on the September 24 Dynamite episode, teaming with Hechicero and Kazuchika Okada in a losing effort against Hologram, Mark Briscoe and Orange Cassidy.
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