Tony Khan Says He Is Proud Of Konosuke Takeshita Winning IWGP World Heavyweight Title, ‘He’s An AEW Guy’
Konosuke Takeshita captured the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling, defeating Zack Sabre Jr.
Takeshita returned to AEW for WrestleDream, teaming with Kazuchika Okada against Brodido (Bandido & Brody King).
Speaking at the AEW WrestleDream press conference, Tony Khan was asked by Phil Lindsey of Bleacher Report about Takeshita winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
“Takeshita winning the championship is good for AEW and New Japan, even his original home promotion of DDT, where he first came to AEW from. He represents multiple promotions, but make no mistake, Takeshita is an AEW wrestler. He is an AEW guy. We’re all really proud of him.
“Takeshita is somebody that joined AEW at Daily’s Place. He’s been with us for a long time. Even though he wasn’t here at the very beginning of AEW, he came at a time where we were all spending time together at Daily’s Place and the bubble. Even though he wasn’t at the beginning of AEW, in America, he’s gotten all this TV experience in AEW. He feels like an AEW homegrown person, even though he had experience before he came here. To have somebody that came from our locker room and came up in Daily’s Place and worked his way up, somebody that I believe debuted on Elevation and worked his way into the shows and main event spots and has become the AEW International Champion and now IWGP World Heavyweight champion is a really cool thing.”
As a follow up, Tony was asked about the possibility of Takeshita vs. Hangman Page in an IWGP World Heavyweight Champion vs. AEW World Champion bout.
“Gedo and the team, President (Hiroshi) Tanahashi, we’d all have to talk. I certainly have no control over what the IWGP World Champion does in New Japan. Takeshita is a big part of our roster and he’s definitely in our plans in a major way,” he said.
Takeshita will next defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Title against Hirooki Goto at NJPW Tanahashi Final Homecoming.
Fans can find Fightful’s coverage of AEW WrestleDream here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review here.
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