Top AEW Prospect Shoots Down Idea of Working for WWE
Konosuke Takeshita has become one of AEW's hottest prospects over the past year, with impressive TV matches against the likes of Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli. The 27-year-old star is currently under contract with DDT Pro-Wrestling in Japan and has been on an excursion to work in promotions like AEW, Progress, Defy, PWG and GCW. He's currently headed back to Japan to work an upcoming DDT event this weekend, but recently told Cultaholic that he's looking to get back to the United States. And while WWE has changed its creative direction under Paul Levesque, he admitted he has no interest in working for that promotion.
"To be honest, now I'm not interested in WWE. My next goal is more fights in AEW I hope. So I have to go to back to Japan in August and September. Maybe, not decided yet, I hope I go back to America in October. Then if I stay in the US I can come to the UK more times. From Japan to the UK is so far but US to UK is maybe seven hours. It's possible," Takeshita said.
There's been plenty of speculation that former WWE stars who have since jumped to AEW could potentially go back now that Vince McMahon is no longer calling the shots. AEW President Tony Khan has pushed back against that idea, pointing out the contracts his stars are signed to.
"I am a little amused that changes in the competition (McMahon leaving, Levesque taking over as WWE's booker), people think that it's going to magically change the landscape. ...Some of the narratives that I've seen (on Twitter) for the last week are really amusing me. I've got people signed here for five years and people think just because the CEO, the Chairman, the Head of Creative, those positions change in the competition, people that I have five-year contracts with are just going to magically switch teams? Good luck with that. Adam Cole is signed until about 2027 now. I wouldn't expect to see him go anywhere any time soon," Khan said on Busted Open Radio last month.
"...So just because these guys had some success under a previous administration, they're not going to magically be going anywhere else," Khan later added.