Konosuke Takeshita Speaks Candidly On AEW Booking

"It was the most mentally exhausting period in all 12 years of my wrestling career"

Konosuke Takeshita Christopher Daniels

Konosuke Takeshita has spoken in detail about how his time working in America has gone so far, noting some of the struggles since breaking out in the North American mainstream.

Speaking to DDT Pro, he said (h/t 411Mania);

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"I thought hard work could cover for everything else before getting there. If I showed how good I am I could get more airtime, but there are other aspects that come to play when competing here (in America). Discrimination is not the word here, but unfortunately, there’s a lack of space for an Asian person to be on a TV show watched by Americans. No matter how good my condition was nor the amount of matches I was put it, or how many times they said my match was good, it felt like I couldn’t make it in the starting lineup, to put it in Baseball terms".

Noting just how difficult he'd found adjusting to how different he felt, he added;

"Everyone felt like they’re having fun Wrestling here (in Japan). I didn’t have any fun wrestling ever since I got to America. The effort was bearing fruit, but I didn’t feel the enjoyment. It was the most mentally exhausting period in all 12 years of my wrestling career. However, when I stopped having fun, my matches were better received, and I gained more recognition. And it’s not proportional.”

Takeshita will take on Jon Moxley at Double Or Nothing in a IWGP Championship contenders match, with the Don Callis Family representative bound to a title shot if he wins. Takeshita joined up with Callis one year earlier, turning heel on The Elite to join up with 'The Invisible Hand'.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett