Konosuke Takeshita Says He Has Stopped Having Fun In Wrestling Since Moving To America
Konosuke Takeshita has opened up about his struggles as a Japanese wrestler trying to make his mark on an American wrestling program.
The 28-year-old recently spoke to DDT Pro to promote his upcoming match with Minoru Suzuki at Referee Matsui's 30th-anniversary produce show on May 19th.
During the interview, the AEW star opened up about his struggles in America. He mentioned that he thought hard work would get him the spot he desired in the company. There have been aspects at play, however, that have gone against him:
"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.”
Takeshita also discussed the effect these conditions have had on his psyche. He explained that everyone wrestling in Japan felt like they were having fun, which isn't necessarily the case in US:
“I didn’t had 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 its not proportional.”
The young star later took his Twitter to clarify this part of the interview. He explained that he is taking the current phase of his career as a challenge:
Konosuke Takeshita was considered one of the most promising prospects when he made his AEW debut in 2021. His matches with people such as Hangman Page and Eddie Kingston helped showcase his talent and led to his official signing with Tony Khan's promotion in late 2022.
Since signing a contract with the promotion, however, things have not gone the way he had hoped. While Takeshita has continued delivering impressive performances in the ring, the lack of character development and the company's backstage troubles have stopped the Japanese star from being featured as prominently as he had hoped.
Takeshita has most recently been announced to face Jon Moxley in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament at the upcoming Double or Nothing PPV.
