AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita On Plans To Defend New Title

Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

Through a surprising turn of events, Konosuke Takeshita claimed possession of the AEW International Championship at AEW WrestleDream. Naturally, Takeshita was then asked about his plans for the respective title on the WrestleDream post-show media scrum, specifically if he'd defend it globally like in past reigns.

Advertisement

"I said [I'd take this title] all over the world," Takeshita said, "so Italy, Australia, America, Canada, Japan. I will accept any challenge that is worthy of me."

Since its establishment in 2022, the AEW International Championship (formerly All-Atlantic and American Championship) has been defended across several countries, namely Canada, Mexico, Ireland, England and the United States. Its most recent non-USA showing occurred under the reign of MJF, which spanned 39 days. During that time, MJF defended it at Mexico's CMLL and England's Revolution Pro Wrestling.

MJF eventually dropped the International Championship to Will Ospreay at AEW All In. Fast forward to WrestleDream, Ospreay put the title on the line against Takeshita and Ricochet. Unfortunately for Ospreay, his second run with the championship would too suffer a short-tenure, though in his case it came at the hands of his long-time friend Kyle Fletcher, who blindsided him with a screwdriver. This betrayal ultimately paved a clear path for Takeshita to then nail Ospreay with a running knee for the win, and the title.

Advertisement

While it has yet to be seen how long Takeshita will hold the International Championship, it is worth noting that AEW will head over to Australia for Grand Slam in February 2025, which presents an opportunity to showcase the title in yet another country.