Is A Notable AEW Star Unhappy With Their Spot Ahead Of Huge Match At AEW: Double Or Nothing?

Konosuke Takeshita is viewed as one of AEW’s bright young stars from the land of the rising sun, however, it seems the New Japan veteran is not thrilled with how his time working for the company has gone.

Since first appearing for the company in 2021, AEW has made a concerted effort to promote Konosuke Takeshita as one of the building blocks of the promotion going forward. He has been put in some high-profile storylines, scored a win over company icon Kenny Omega, and had his weaknesses in speaking English on the microphone covered up with the help of gifted manager Don Callis.

However, how he has been promoted and the inconsistent ways he has been used — a common problem for many talents in AEW — is becoming an issue for the 28-year-old prospect.

“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 [in America],” Takeshita told DDT Pro this week. “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.”

It can be difficult for Japanese wrestlers to make the transition to the United States and the more entertainment-driven style of how the industry is promoted here. Konosuke Takeshita admits he “didn’t have any fun wrestling” ever since he arrived in the States, but claims when that happened his matches were more well-received.

Konosuke Takeshita set to face Jon Moxley at AEW: Double or Nothing 2024