Konosuke Takeshita on Plans To Return to AEW Before End of Year, Dream Opponents

Konosuke Takeshita has at least one more 2022 run of matches in the United States via All Elite Wrestling remaining.

The “Japanese Phenom” recently spoke with Wrestling Republic’s Eric Novak on the latest installment of “The All Real Wrestling” podcast for an interview, during which he spoke about his plans to return Stateside before the end of the year.

Takeshita told Novak a couple of tag-teams and singles stars he would like to share the ring with if-and-when he gets the opportunity.

“In the U.S., I don’t have a tag partner, singles match only,” he said when asked about potential ‘dream match opponents’ for his next run in AEW. “But I like the tag match style, so I want to fight in more tag matches in the US.”

He would go on to name The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) and FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) as a pair of tag-teams he would like to square off against in tag-team action inside the AEW ring.

Additionally, the DDT Pro Wrestling veteran listed some individual competitors he would like to see standing across from himself inside the squared circle in AEW.

Takeshita listed promising prospects Daniel Garcia of the Jericho Appreciation Society (J.A.S.) and Lee Moriarty as two of the singles stars in AEW he would like to mix it up with.

As the interview continued, the Japanese veteran spoke about how some of the names he would have said prior to his last pair of runs in AEW he ended up wrestling against already, such as AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Josh Alexander and former ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham.

Before closing out the appearance on “The All Real Wrestling” podcast, Takeshita spoke about one particular name that has always been on his independent wrestling “dream match opponent” wish-list.

“Alex Shelley spent a lot of time in Japan,” Takeshita explained. “I watched his matches and I liked his matches. I want to fight [him] one day.”

That battle could become a reality, as Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, collectively known as The Motor City Machine Guns, recently turned up in AEW as the tag-team partners of Jay Lethal in the ongoing AEW Trios Tag-Team Championship Tournament.

Check out the complete episode of “The All Real Wrestling” podcast featuring the new Konosuke Takeshita interview below:


(H/T to WrestlingInc.com for transcribing the above quotes.)