On the same day that Raw broadcasted live at 8 AM to finish up the lucrative TKO loop of shows in Australia, there was a key title switch in New Japan Pro Wrestling roughly an hour before the Netflix episode started. AEW competitor, Konosuke Takeshita beat talented British grappler, Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP Heavyweight championship after a 40-minute bout at the signature King Of Pto Wrestling event.
There are several different layers to this story, and depending on where the pieces of the puzzle fall within the next few months, particularly ahead of January’s trademark Wrestle Kingdom, there could potentially be opportunities for All Elite Wrestling and New Japan, not necessarily on a direct collaboration, but in terms of overall perception with Takeshita as somewhat of a bridge between the two leagues.
While Takeashita has been a focus within the Don Callis stable this year, it’s ironic that a few years ago, he was publicly very dissatisfied with his lack of status within the organization, as he didn’t want to become one of the countless AEW contracts that were left at home to simply collect a check. As I wrote at the time, Takeshita is simply too talented to spend at least some of the prime years of his career in catering because Tony Khan didn’t have anything scripted for him. As a result of his public comments and some speculation about his future, Takeshita got the previously mentioned spot alongside Callis.
I’ve written about it several times previously so I don’t want to retread everything again here, but the bottom line is, Takeshita checks all the boxes for a top guy in a modern promotion. He can go in the ring, he looks like a movie villain, and he’s only 30 so theoretically, the majority of his prime years are still ahead of him.
Make no mistake about it, if a promotion truly runs with Konosuke Takeshita, they could have a main event star on the roster for at least the next decade.
I also wrote a few weeks ago that All Elite Wrestling should consider booking Takeshita to win the world championship as a way to brand him as an “AEW guy” before New Japan had the chance to do the same. Now, with this title victory, things become a little murky in international waters. This is different from when Jon Moxley won the IWGP belt, as it was understood that it was a guest star type of role, as he was the former WWE guy that had a lot of notoriety from that original run before he went to work for the other company that had a working agreement with New Japan. It was clear that Moxley’s run was a way to bring some shine to New Japan after their core group of stars were signed away by Tony Khan, and his involvement was more to help keep the Japanese league stable than to forge another chapter of his career in Japan.
For Takeshita, even though he’s known as an AEW wrestler, I’m not 100% sure that means that the perception won’t shift to his value as a potential next ace for New Japan, especially with the unanimously praised ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi set to retire at Wrestle Kingdom in 2026.
This is where there could be bigger plans for Takeshita in Japan than in the United States, mostly because of the significance of the upcoming Tokyo Dome card.
As talented as Zack Sabre Jr. truly is, he’s undoubtedly a Jr. heavyweight wrestler, and for decades in Japan, there was a definitively line between the light weight division and the main event scene. This sounds like a snub to Sabre’s top-notch talent, but it absolutely isn’t meant to be, if I had to guess, the reason that NJPW management decided to book him to win the title is because the roster was simply so thin on star power that he was the best option left. If the office didn’t have a performer with major star power, they picked one of the best technical wrestlers in the world as a substitute for it. It was a very tough position to put a talent into, as it’s no secret that the organization has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic and Tony cherry-picking the best talent on the roster hasn’t helped either.
Sabre’s uninspiring main event against Shota Umino last year, which said more about the challenger than the champion, made it clear that the office had to do something major to not only get more interest in the current product, but also something that they could build on for the future.
The retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi, who completely carried the company on his back for several years before The Bullet Club sparked a surge in popularity that the organization used to generate six or seven really successful years, will draw a big house for the Tokyo Dome. I wouldn’t be surprised if 30,000 tickets are sold for the event by the end of the year. Tanahashi concluding his legendary career is enough to draw for the Tokyo Dome in 2026, but with the audience, it also brings with it the chance to make a statement for the future.
Usually, the winner of the G1 Climax tournament goes to the Tokyo Dome to challenge the IWGP champion, but instead of that, Takeshita’s title shot was moved up to this week. I could be wrong, but I’d have to guess that there’s a specific reason for that and it’s probably more than just the notion to promote Takeshita for Wrestle Kingdom. As mentioned, Tanahashi’s retirement will move the tickets, and it wouldn’t make sense to position Takeshita at the top of the card of the biggest event of the New Japan calendar for basically a one-off.
Tanahashi’s final match will have the world of pro wrestling following what happens at the Tokyo Dome, and it’s more than possible that the platform is used to cement Konosuke Takeshita as the top star of New Japan.
However, the international waters are murky, at least right now.
It’s somewhat of a puzzling scenario, as the Japanese star technically has three contracts between AEW, New Japan, and DDT. His deal with DDT is probably only for the occasional cameo since he started his career with the promotion, and the majority of his schedule will consistent of the two major promotions. It might depend on what contract specifically has priority, and you’d think that it would be AEW since Tony can pay exponentially more cash than New Japan, but if Takeshita isn’t planned for a big spot in the near future, it’s possible that Tony would yield dates to New Japan as to not hinder their business.
It will be interesting to see if Takeshita’s title win is acknowledged on this week’s episode of Dynamite, and more specifically, if it’s used to add anything to his status in AEW. On one hand, it’s understandable that Tony might want to keep the two runs separate so that he doesn’t have to book around the concerns of another organization’s champion, but on the other hand, it allows for something that might be very unique for both groups. If Takeshita shows up on TBS with the IWGP championship, it undoubtedly makes him a bigger deal in AEW, and it gives more international exposure for New Japan, which has decreased in recent years.
In some ways, Takeshita could organically be presented as the international superstar that AEW is trying to shoehorn Mercedes Mone to be in recent months. If nothing else, it creates some intrigue, an aspect of the industry that has almost exclusively belonged to WWE this year with the debut on Netflix, the purchase of AAA, and the continued international expansion. Right now, Takeshita’s title win brings more stability to New Japan, and it also gives AEW something unique to promote so at this point, it’s a win-win situation.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
