Konosuke Takeshita Officially Signs With AEW

The impressive DDT standout is now formally #AllElite.

by Andrew Pollard
Konosuke Takeshita
AEW

Konosuke Takeshita is officially #AllElite.

This news was announced by Tony Khan and AEW prior to Full Gear, and Takeshita himself was interviewed by Renee Paquette on the Zero Hour pre-show for last night's PPV.

It had long been speculated that Takeshita would be returning to AEW on a full-time basis, and this past Friday's episode of Rampage saw the 27-year-old team with the legendary Jun Akiyama to best Eddie Kingston and Ortiz.

Advertisement

Takeshita embarked on a US excursion earlier this year, with part of said excursion seeing him compete for AEW between April and August. During that time, the DDT standout put on memorable bouts with the likes of Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, 'Hangman' Adam Page, and Claudio Castagnoli.

Due to his impressive showings for All Elite Wrestling, WWE reportedly had significant interest in bringing in Takeshita, though the talent himself has commented several times about his affinity for AEW. Thus, it's no major surprise to see Konosuke now formally becoming #AllElite.

Advertisement

Per the Wrestling Observer, Konosuke Takeshita will still continue to work for DDT, with the promotion in full support of him penning a deal with AEW.

 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.