Konosuke Takeshita: I Don’t Want To Be In NJPW More To Silence Critics, I Want To Do It Because I Like Wrestling

Konosuke Takeshita comments on criticism he has received from NJPW fans for being an absent world champion.

Since winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship following his G1 Climax victory earlier this year, Takeshita has split his time in both AEW and NJPW, being a contracted wrestler to both companies. Now, he has addressed some of the criticism that has come his way from fans of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

While speaking to NJPW in a new interview, Konosuke Takeshita discussed fans being critical of him being absent from NJPW, noting that he understands the fans displeasure.

“That’s a tough one. Look, when I was a fan growing up in Osaka, I would always get mad that the great matches were all in Tokyo. So I get that, and if I put myself in a fan’s shoes, hearing the champion say what I’ve been saying about showing the world this belt, I would think ‘who cares! Why aren’t you here?’ So I get it, I do. But it’s called the IWGP World Heavyweight title. So I have to be on a worldwide stage.”

Takeshita continued, noting that he doesn’t want to be in NJPW just to silence critics.

“I don’t want to be in NJPW more to silence critics, I want to do it because I like wrestling. There’s a different flavor to a NEVER title match and an IWGP title match, and when you add the Global title to the mix, that will be something different again.”

At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20, Takeshita is currently scheduled to face off with Yota Tsuji in singles action for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Elsewhere in the same interview, Takeshita spoke about Hiroshi Tanahashi’s upcoming retirement match. You can read more about that here.