Konosuke Takeshita

[10.0] "Best wrestler in the world right now. Physical specimen with elite atheticism and a really strong moveset. Incredible striker with springboard legs to boot, and of course the best german suplex in the game right now. He's only 31 and is no doubt among the future main eventers for AEW. His English is improving and the crowd loves, if not quite as much as Fletch or Okada, but he will get there I'm sure. Absolutely a surefire future AEW world champion."

[8.0] "He is an excellent and talented Japanese wrestler. His matches are a visual spectacle, and with every new rivalry, it feels like--no matter who he faces--the encounter will leave a lasting impression. He fits perfectly into the worlds of NJPW and AEW. Plus, he is young, so there is a real chance he could win the top AEW title or receive a major push in the near future. He is doing so well that I don't see him switching employers to, say, WWE, TNA, or AAA. Sure, he would fit in there--and likely have significant input into his own booking--but I worry he might eventually end up as a jobber or get released, just like other great wrestlers. I'm curious to see what's next for him after losing the International Championship match at AEW All In in London. My guess is he'll spend some time working in NJPW before returning for a major title feud."

[10.0] "Genuinely generational talent. Takeshita is one of the most compelling in-ring performers in recent memory."

[10.0] "His absence was definitely felt in AEW while he was at G1 Climax. His in-ring intensity is on an otherworldly level and he's done a very good job at playing the face role in AEW."

[10.0] "One of the greatest in-ring performers of the 2020s. Has seemingly excellent chemistry with every high-level wrestler he faces, and is capable to have a good match with almost anyone. Excellent strikes, some spectacular power moves and appears to be almost fearless. I also appreciate his willingness to work in the indies. The promo work in English is pretty much his only limiting factor."

[9.0] "As a performer, Takeshita is incredible, and the fact he's barely in his thirties means the sky is the limit for him. His character work has gotten better over the years, leading to his fantastic rivalry with Okada, but I think it's the one element he needs to work on before I could consider him a potential all-time great."

"Konosuke Takeshita wrestles like momentum has become annoyed with the normal laws of physics. The first few movements can look almost casual, but then he accelerates and the entire scale of the match changes. What impresses me is not merely the speed or strength. It is the way he makes those qualities arrive as consequences. A shoulder strike does not feel included because the sequence needed another move; it feels like the answer to a problem that has been developing for several minutes. His best performances create a strange tension between elegance and blunt force. He can move with surprising smoothness, then interrupt that beauty with an impact that looks deeply unpleasant. Occasionally, the abundance of physical gifts makes the character harder to define because every solution seems available to him. Greater limitation might actually reveal more personality. Still, few wrestlers make escalation feel this natural. By the closing stretch, he does not appear to be performing faster. He appears to have changed the speed of the match itself."

[10.0] "My absolute favorite wrestler in the world at this moment. What a talent he is, i just hope he keeps rising up everywhere he goes, he has that IT factor, you can feel how he's different from the rest"

[10.0] "In my opinion, he's the best wrestler in the world by far. I believe he'll have the best decade of any active wrestler in the business."

[9.0] "He has the potential to be one of the best japanese wrestlers in history and one of the best in the business today. He is only 31 years old with 13 years expierence already and starting to be in his prime. Can't wait for the future how far he's gonna go."

[7.0] "Konosuke Takeshita is a pretty good wrestler already, he's still really prone at overdo his matches and to do too much, but he is still young and can progress a lot, i do prefer the DDT Takeshita because he doesnt felt the need to be a star there and thats where he shine the most"

[6.0] "Konosuke Takeshita is a hit and a miss depends on the occasion he can drop an all time classic followed by 10 below average matches but he's barely 30 which means he has so much more ahead of him "hopefully"."

"For me this match was really impressive, I wasn't surprised with the kind of banger that they would put on. I loved the apron rainmaker, I'm not a big fan of the kickout at one and Don Callis trying to stop them from destroying each other on the outside was hilarious."

[9.0] "Takeshita is an incredible wrestler with an amazing upside, as he is young and still reaching his prime. He understands the business on a level that is rarely seen in someone in their early 30s, but Takeshita continues to prove his incredible talent. Takeshita has the makings of an absolutely legendary career and his matches with Tsuji, Bandido, and Okada just to name a few have been absolutely incredible."

[7.0] "Takeshita is a great mid-card wrestler. I don't think he's ever going to be anything more, unfortunately. Maybe I'm wrong and 2026 will be the year Takeshita becomes a massive part of AEW. He's definitely the best Japanese wrestler AEW has at the moment."

[9.0] "Very, very good. I would love to rate him higher but he's still fairly young and I feel he has a lot of room to grow and become an elite wrestler. The biggest thing that stands out is his size, he's not the typical Japanese wrestler, he's fairly big and he wrestles like somebody who is a Junior Heavyweight. I really feel like he has the potential to be a 10 rating in the future, I can't wait to see how he grows in AEW and hopefully he can do some stuff in NJPW. Takeshita in a G1 Climax would be so damn fun to watch and I think it would do him good to wrestle that many matches in a short amount of time, simply due to the fact it would give him more experience. Personally, I think he's a guy who will 100% be a heel, he doesn't really have the look that could help him thrive as a babyface, unless he becomes one of those "cool" babyfaces in the future."

[6.0] "A few years ago I gave Takeshita an optimistic 8 because I thought AEW would fit his style more than DDT; he's very much in the Mike Awesome mold of a tall guy with an insanely cool set of power moves that could be great if put in sprints with guys willing to take them. In the years since, AEW & NJPW have used Takeshita the same way DDT used to, in long matches where he's required to sell, and he's not very good at them. To be blunt, Takeshita is bad at selling. His best matches are ones where he's constantly on offense or shown to power through pain in spite of his opponent's targeting (see vs Darby for the former and his C2 vs Claudio for the latter) but in 15, 20, 30-minute back and forth epics where he has to sell either exhaustion or limb targeting like normal he's not good. He was bad at it in DDT and he hasn't gotten any better at it. It annoys me constantly when watching his matches to the point where even his awesome power moves like his Wheelbarrow German don't feel as impactful. AEW is right to push him, he's absolutely over with the crowd and carries himself like a top guy, I just roll my eyes at his matches more often than not (and again, that's been the case for the better part of a decade now)."

[10.0] "Takeshita is without a doubt the best male Japanese performer in the world right now. He's very athletic and has in incredibly deep, and technical moveset. Most of his matches are always barn burners and he has boat loads of charisma. I really hope he gets out of the DCF soon. It's slowly hurting him more and more."

[10.0] "My favorite current talent in AEW. Fantastic in ring talent. Can do anything you want from a guy in the ring. Has had great matches in AEW, ROH and Japan. Biggest obstacle is the language barrier here. Having a manager or English speaking partner helps in interviews. Inconsistent booking is also problematic, but you could say that about alot of AEW talent. Still young so has lots of time to have issues resolved, but if you need a guy to go 30 and have a great match he's the one."

[8.0] "Konsuke Takeshita is very Good Young Talent he one of the most athletic Japanese wrestlers that I every seen at his size and he great at elevating Wrestler below his skill level I would love for his Booking to get better because his Great."

[10.0] "Like Fletcher, Takeshita is the future and present of professional wrestling, his heavy strikes, entrance, amazing high energy matches, his connection with the fans he as it all. Future AEW World champion, love to see it."

[9.0] "I used to hate him, but the more I watch, the more I understand why people love him. Insane athlete, really good in-ring worker, and all of this just before 30. He is deffo the future of the company, hope we see more of him."

[7.0] "TAKESHITA is very good at elevating people beneath him in skill level but his matches against people on equal or greater footing than him always leave me wanting. He's a very giving performer but I'm not sure that he really understands the basic theory of when and why to do things and - unsurprising given he's heavily inspired by the Golden Lovers - when and why NOT to do them."

[9.0] "Takeshita is an incredible athlete, has great looking strikes, and is phenomenal at bomb fests. His main issue is selling, and lack of versatility. Often does too much due to his style as well."

[9.0] "So unbelievably athletic. I absolutely love him and everything he does means something. Huge huge fan"

[9.0] "A phenomenal talent. A guy with great power, skill, and amazing matches. With classics against guys like Ospreay, Moxley, Bandido, etc., this guy is a guy to look out for."

[9.0] "Most people don't know it, but when Takeshita faced Tanahashi for the first time in his career, I guess it was ten years ago or something close to, he picked the phrase most people use to talk about Tanahashi saying "he is one in a generation" and said that his talent is also is one in a generation...counting from the jurassic area. And guess what? Maybe he wasn't lying. Him and PAC, for example, are two of the only wrestlers that I already saw MANY MANY times pushing themselves low in a match, because they were able to do plenty of more. They need to limit their own skills for the others shine a bit, lmao. Anyway, he was for me the first male wrestler in America that understood how wrestling here works and build himself at that area. He is not perfect, don't even come close to be but for me he might had not reached his peak as a pro wrestler YET. Let's wait and see."

[10.0] "Konosuke Takeshita is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Every time this guy steps in the ring, he has bangers, he's just allergic to bad matches."

[10.0] "I had never heard of Takeshita until he showed up in AEW but my god, what a talent he is! The match with Claudio was what first blew me away but everything he's done in the last couple of years is just on another level. Cannot wait to see him reach the top of AEW."

[8.0] "He is going to be AEW Champion That's just a fact i don't know when Tony Khan will pull the trigger on him as a main event talent but I hope it's soon because he could be one of the greats in this industry and if you don't believe in his potential you should"

[6.0] "Takeshita greatly impressed me when I was intermittently watching him in DDT back in 2016-2018, but I haven't been thrilled with the vast majority of his work these last few years since he became a more well-known commodity, since it seems he's become a lazier worker in terms of offence and match structure. He's athletic, energetic, and carries himself quite confidently, but he still has far too much offence that looks overly safe and/or light. Some people probably scoff at the mere idea of that criticism and instead have this idea that he has an array of brutal attacks, but the truth is that he's an incredibly safe worker, and I'd say it's at the point where he's *overly* safe and thus not super exciting. There's definitely some impressive flashiness on display with his movements, but then his strikes are almost always accompanied by those hokey thigh-slap sound effects that he almost never bothers to hide, so whenever I hear that high-pitched 'snap' that comes with his various strikes I immediately know to think: "oh, that's not what that sort of strike would actually sound like, so that was a fake sound and therefore that's not a move I can find compelling". It's a great shame because I've seen that he's still capable of getting great impact on his strikes whenever he chooses to forgo the thigh slaps and instead go for legitimate flesh-on-flesh contact, which mostly results in a wonderfully solid 'thud' that actually sounds somewhat realistic, but those are few and far between, as he's mostly happy to just proudly thigh-slap for his elbows, big boots, knee strikes, and headbutts, which instantly undercuts them, especially since he often doesn't even deliver them with the sort of speed to otherwise make up for that. Most of his power moves aren't that special either, despite how he might set them up with some admittedly impressive displays of strength or athleticism, since his opponents usually still take perfectly tidy bumps for all of them (and sometimes even immediately popping up from them, which is a whole other, greater issue). There are definitely some times where he's either more reckless or just intentionally going for more spectacular power moves, resulting in some that have his opponents almost landing on their heads, and those do usually look really good at the absolute least, but then it's a toss up between going for dangerous moves or mediocre moves, when really he should be trying to make his safer power moves look more explosive.. Am I saying Takeshita should be trying to break necks with his power moves or leave big red bruises on chests after hitting his strikes? No, but I'm pointing out how I don't understand why he's sometimes talked about as if he's one of the best in the world or even a future GOAT when, at least for these last few years, I've never got even 1/2th the same sense of danger, viciousness, or just general spectacle from Takeshita compared to the wrestlers I truly consider world-class or even just great. His offence is decent enough and at times really good, but it's really nothing more because nothing he goes for ever strays from the mechanical path he's steadfastly committed himself to. There's also just the issue where literally all his matches end up being the exact same 50/50 bombfest sprints, and all his performances are copy-and-pasted from one match to the next, regardless of who his opponent is, which makes him an incredibly boring wrestler to follow because he'll have more or less the same match for an AEW main-event that he would for a mid-card indie match. He'll do all the same rapid bomb trades, mirrored no-selling, mindless strike trades, contrived run-on sequences, dorky 'fighting spirit' power ups, and bunch of the same strikes and power moves spammed over and over. Try this: can you think of a single 'great' Takeshita match from the last 3 years where it was focussed on selling, or character work, or a feud/story that developed in the long term, and that DIDN'T ultimately devolve into him and his opponent rapidly trading bombs, no-selling, kicking out of a bunch of big moves and finishers, and all usual 'fighting spirit' fire-up spots? Because to me, that's what basically every Takeshita match is, only with rotating opponents that feature slightly different moves but still hit in the exact same ways. I didn't used to mind that too much from him and similar wrestlers because I thought those sorts of non-stop action-packed matches were great, but eventually you get sick of having takeaways for dinner every night and want something with more substance. All my criticisms for the mechanics of his offence really pale in comparison to these issues I've mentioned with his match structures, since the mindless 50/50 no-sell style is MUCH more egregious than his soft-looking strikes or occasionally flat power moves. He's probably still too athletic and energetic for me to ever rate lower than a 6, but with so much of the wrestling world obsessed with the "more is more" overkill philosophy, there's sadly a chance that he ends up as someone I consider truly mediocre, which would be immensely disappointing."

[10.0] "One of my current favourite wrestlers around. Manages to put on banger after banger, regardless of the opponent. His in-ring work is mesmerising and his presence adds so much to any promotion."

[6.0] "I'm not a fan of NJPW, and I don't really rate him because I just don't dig that kind of wrestling show format. I'm more used to American wrestling, and that's subjective. So I don't really get involved with a promotion that just doesn't appeal to me. But Takeshita wrestles in AEW, which is targeting the American market, so I can evaluate him. Honestly, I probably don't like any NJPW wrestler at all -- again, that's subjective. But this particular wrestler has definitely made some noise in the wrestling community, and I've kind of taken a shine to him too. I wanted to understand what his deal is and why he has such a high rating. And honestly, he's not as cringey as Okada -- I even liked his segment with Okada in the match, hinting at their feud. He has charisma. And unlike Shinsuke Nakamura, who just sits on his salary and does absolutely nothing in his company -- Takeshita is actually building his career, and for that, he deserves some praise. He's genuinely a good wrestler for his size. But his matches and his moveset are almost identical, repeated over and over again in his bouts -- like a carousel of the same set of moves. And most of the time, it's hard to say he's doing anything truly extraordinary. Someone pointed out that he really uses the same knee strikes, which makes his matches pretty boring and monotonous. You can't really say he does anything groundbreaking or distinctive in the ring -- nothing that really breaks new ground in wrestling. Also, I'm wary because he basically gained hype thanks to matches with Ospreay and Zack Sabre. Ospreay and the like are pretty much the strongholds of Memzer's propaganda. Memzer is totally disconnected from real wrestling knowledge. They think that the perfect wrestling match is whatever Ospreay or Sabre show -- but in reality, their matches are horrendous, eye-gougingly bad in terms of logic and spectacle, and they're supposedly praised by Memzer. I find it worrying that Takeshita is basically part of that camp of wrestlers. And maybe it's not his fault -- he's an NJPW guy, and he has to work matches with them. But the fact that he's getting feedback mainly from matches with Ospreay and Sabre is a downside. Those kinds of matches and wrestlers are only capable of destroying and wrecking the wrestling industry. Overall, Takeshita is not bad. But for me, he's just an average wrestler -- though possibly the best NJPW wrestler I've seen so far."

[10.0] "One of the the most complete package you can imagine, he can do anything: heel or face, freak athlete who can work as a powerhouse, stiff striker and high flyer seamlessly. He mix both poise and intensity, can deliver confident promos even with language barrier. Coming from DDT he is also no stranger to comedy, also a very giving performer."

[10.0] "Takeshita is the future when it comes to in-ring ability. He's fantastic and can keep up with the absolute best of the best without issue. His match earlier this year with Bandido at ROH Supercard was a CLINIC. His match against Ospreay earlier this year on dynamite (16.04.2025) is hands down my favorite match at the moment. He has the ability to carry promotions RIGHT NOW. He is The Alpha and he is The Future."

[10.0] "Takeshita is finally reaching his peak after years of being an excellent wrestler. He might be one of the wrestlers who defines the next decade. He's been great since he was only 17, and has constantly improved. The sky is truly the limit for Takeshita."

[10.0] "Konosuke Takeshita has 13 years of experience and is already one of the best wrestlers in history. His in-ring skills and natural charisma are simply impressive."

[9.0] "As long as AEW and NJPW properly work with him and don't fuck up his creative, his babyface turn will be incredible and will launch him even further into stardom. One of the absolute best in the world and very well could end up a 10 from me if his career continues in the same trajectory. Insane physical abilities and build, fantastic presentation in both AEW/DDT/NJPW, and may have found a wrestling soulmate in Bandido and Ospreay. Nowhere to go but up, and I expect him to main event an All In at some point."

[10.0] "Holy shit I'm proud of him. Future aew world champion. He has the look, the moves, the skills congrats on that big win Konosuke"

[9.0] "I agree with some people on this site, Takesoup is very mixed, hes my favorite wrestler but when he goes against guys that are better than him (take Omega for instance) he just kinda falls bland, he tries to match guys that are higher than him and it just doesnt work sometimes. But aside from that i think Take is one of the best wrestler right now, his matches are great and has this aura behind him, although he doesnt speak much but when he does, he just has this alpha like presence, great wrestler."

"I believe this man is the best wrestler on the planet right now. He, alongside bandido, hangman, and toni storm are in my running for wrestler of the year. He is always consistent, his moveset does not get repetitive and can easily be in the world title picture without even needing to talk much. I do believe he is held back by the people around him. I think pairing him with don callis puts more glory on don, and i believe the aew production team do not do his presentation justice. He is the best wrestler on the planet and is not presented like one."

[10.0] "I love this man so so much. He's a legend. He's the greatest wrestler of all time. He's for sure a future hall of famer. His wrestling skills are matched by just a few."

[10.0] "This guy is just simply amazing. Out of all the guys that's clearly inspired by the Omega-ism style of pro wrestling, he's the one that comes the closest to being on the same level Omega was when he was in his peak. He's elevated the AEW international title in a similar vein to what Nakamura did for the IWGP intercontinental belt. He's reinvigorated the NEVER belt and made it a must-watch every time he defended it. Winning a G1 and literally winning the new japan crowd with his amazing performance against EVIL of all people. He's one of the very few people that I could see winning and holding world titles from different promotions simultaneously in this era. He's gonna surely be the ace, not just of AEW or NJPW but of his generation of professional wrestling for sure. Love u, big Take."

[10.0] "Whole guys like Okada and omega make me disappoint, guys like Ospreay and Takeshita give me hope. He has such a bright future ahead of him."

[10.0] "This man right here is one of the Best wrestlers on the planet. He is the Young Future Goat of this industry My favorite wrestler from AEW"

[10.0] "Greatest wrestler alive on planet earth. Would need lots of future mediocre work and convincing to talk me off him being a 10 for life at this point."

[10.0] "An outstanding Awesome talented Professional Wrestler. Big Take is Awesome dude he should win the AEW Title in the Next Year or two he's that Good. Just have Amazing matches every time he's out there"

[10.0] "An outstandingly talented wrestler and a true high point of AEW programming both now and for the future! Takeshita is essentially the total package at this point save English language promo ability but lacking this does not hinder him in the slightest. He radiates aura and his moveset is both extremely diverse and also super well refined. I see him being a world champion by next year at the absolute latest, it would be a crime to wait much longer to pull the trigger on him. I look forward to seeing how far The Alpha can go!"

[9.0] "This man is one of the best wrestlers in the world today and in the future he will probably be one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers in history."

[9.0] "Is obviously immense and if purely on ability, should be in the top echelon of any company's roster. Pretty much guaranteed a 20 minute 8/10 minimum every PPV. He'll be even better once turned face but do slightly wonder if he's destined to have a Claudio type career, excellent worker with a slight glass ceiling. Occasionally a little loose on his Blue Thunder finisher. Only annoyance is that in those little upcoming corner trailers, he somehow contrives to make himself look like an 80 year old Indian woman instead of the Don that he clearly is."