DDT Pro Wrestling star Konosuke Takeshita made a surprise appearance at AEW’s first house show in Jacksonville.
The show, entitled ‘The House Always Wins‘, featured a 10 man tag team match pitting Death Triangle and the Sydal Brothers against The Elite, Michael Nakazawa and the debuting Takeshita.
Though on the losing team, Takeshita’s arrival in AEW is an exciting development and adds further credence to the company’s working relationship with CyberFight subsidiaries DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (the home promotion of Maki Itoh and Yuka Sakazaki).
Takeshita had alarmed some DDT fans in March when he requested time away from the promotion, with some pointing to a spate of high profile losses or the dissolution of his ALL OUT stable earlier this year as possible reasons.
怪我や病気ではないこの欠場期間。
竹下幸之介が進化する1ヶ月にします。 https://t.co/XOXH5yLiyM— Konosuke Takeshita 竹下幸之介 (@Takesoup) March 29, 2021
However, it has now become clear that the sabbatical was to facilitate a stint in All Elite Wrestling, with Takeshita tweeting that he would ‘use this month to evolve further.’
The Wrestling Observer noted that the former 4-time KO-D Openweight Champion was scheduled for several shows prior to his return to Japan, in time for DDT’s May 4th show at Korakuen Hall.
Takeshita is also slated to be a part of the huge CyberFight Festival event in June.
It will be intriguing to see if Takeshita remains aligned with Kenny Omega throughout his stint in AEW, particularly given the pair’s close relationship stemming from their days together in DDT.
To learn more about Takeshita, check out episode 4 of The Wrstling Podcast which features a rare, English interview with the man many consider to be ‘The Ace’ of DDT Pro Wrestling.