Konosuke Takeshita explains why he wanted to face Chris Jericho.
Chris Jericho will wrestle in Japan for the first time since 2020 when he faces Konosuke Takeshita at DDT Ultimate Party 2023 on November 12. The match will be an extension of their rivalry in AEW.
Speaking with DDT Pro-Wrestling's website (via DeepL), Takeshita shares this thoughts ahead of the bout and stated that he has wanted to face Jericho since he joined AEW.
"First of all, I wanted to fight Jericho in a singles match 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 fulfill that in the DDT ring. In the past, DDT has done things like parodying WWE Superstars, but when I think back to the beginning of the organization, it was unthinkable to have an active Superstar in the ring, not just an impersonator, 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 said.
Takeshita went on to reflect on his road up to this point. He stated that he wanted to keep in touch with Jericho, and he explained why he chose the former world champion in the first place. Takeshita stated that Jericho calling him a future world champion in a tweet meant a lot to him. He then noted that having the bout in DDT would be a way to repay the company for sending him to the United States in the first place.
"It was a very long year for me. One of my missions was to keep in touch with Jericho. I have been doing that since I became affiliated, and it has been one year. Now, let me tell you why I chose Jericho in the first place. Before I became a member of AEW, I came to the U.S. from DDT in April of last year, and I was there for about four months as a warrior trainee, and I completed those four months, but...I wonder if this is something that is reaching the fans in Japan. I had gained recognition in the U.S., but there were times when I wondered if I was giving back to DDT. At that time, Jericho tweeted that I was a 'future world champion,' and when I saw that, I felt like I was rewarded for the hardest four months of my 11-year wrestling career. At the same time, I thought, if he said that, there must be something I can do with Jericho that no one has done yet...Jericho came to Japan several times after he became a world superstar, and he was always in a very special guest position, wasn't he? I think I could fight him now as an equal. I thought that if we were in the ring, instead of superstar vs. DDT hopeful Konosuke Takeshita, we could really go at it on an even footing. Of course, it would be a hot topic in the U.S., but what I could do in DDT would be a way to repay DDT for sending me to the U.S. I wanted to do that, and that's what I did. That is what solidified my desire to bring Chris Jericho to DDT," Takeshita said.
In the same interview, Takeshita looked back on joining AEW. Click here to see what he had to say.
Jericho recently commented on AEW potentially coming to Japan. Check out his comments here.
Click here to check out the card for the November 8 episode of AEW Dynamite. Fightful will have live coverage of the show as it airs.
