Konosuke Takeshita Heading To WWE?

Having wowed in AEW, the DDT man is "exactly" what WWE is looking for.

by Andrew Pollard
Konosuke Takeshita WWE
AEW/WWE

With his time in AEW seemingly soon coming to an end, could Konosuke Takeshita end up in WWE?

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio earlier today, Dave Meltzer stated WWE is currently on the hunt for a major Japanese star and that Takeshita is "exactly" the sort of talent the promotion is looking for.

While discussing how long the DDT standout's venture to the US was intended to last, Meltzer said:

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"A year or so. Enough time to make him something. He's living here, but even if he goes back, they [AEW] can bring him in any time they want. It's not like he'll be here for a year and then they can never use him again. So, the fact that they don't have him under a five-year deal or anything like that, shouldn't be incumbent [to how AEW use him]. I don't know what his deal is with DDT."

Throwing WWE into the mix, Dave continued:

"If he doesn't have a full-time deal somewhere, WWE is looking for a big Japanese guy as we speak, and this guy's got some size and he's young and he's got a good body and he's a fantastic wrestler. So, somebody there [WWE] may stumble upon him and be interested, because he's exactly what they're looking for."

As alluded to by Meltzer, it's not known what Takeshita's contract status is with DDT or exactly what plans lie ahead for him in AEW in the immediate future.

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The 27-year-old revealed last month that he'll be returning to Japan for DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2022 on 20 August. There, Takeshita will be teaming with 37Kamiina cohort Mao and Yasu Urano to take on Dick Togo and Damnation T.A.'s Daisuke Sasaki and Kanon.

While it's not been outright confirmed that Konosuke's time in the United States is done for the foreseeable, his tweet about the aforementioned DDT show included a line about how he doesn't have much time left in the US.

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In addition to Takeshita's contract status, it remains to be seen whether there is concrete WWE interest in the star. Of course, one has to think that simply watching the fella's match against Claudio Castagnoli at AEW Battle of the Belts III over the weekend would be enough to win over anyone...

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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.