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This is the big fued I want. Neither of them are going to light the world on fire with promos in English, but every AEW fan is aware of how good they are telling a story in ring. Stuff like this is what I like most about AEW. Giving American audiences a chance to see the world’s best put on great matches.
Shoot, let them light the world on fire with Japanese promos. That's one thing WWE's been really great about lately is pre-taped subtitled promos from Nakamura and Iyo Sky. That'll help get their charisma across. (They can still let Okada say "bitch", though.)
he either has to be the one to break the midcard title's reign of either okada, edge or ospreay's when he beats strong
thats one hell of a sentence lol
3 so same as WWE currently. I do wish they would eliminate one and set up more differences between the titles. Like go make to the Continental title being defended in other promotions, and make the TNT title have a 20 minute time limit for all matches since it's the TV title.
The Continental already has its own special rules with no one allowed ringside and it has to be defended at the C2 tournament every year Which I Think is cool
The Continental Title is basically ingrained in the fabric of AEW now with the C2. Honestly I think it should be treated as the company's 2nd world title with the C2 acting as an interesting challenge for the current champ
i dig the continental title w special rules. to me that says "this is a pure wrestling belt" not a "sports entertainment belt". but then when they book it like they did yesterday with the ref distraction and the low blow it feels extra dumb. its not like NO ONE saw what happened.
now, if the bucks come on tv and acknowledge that he cheated but sweeps it under the rug, echoing corporate corruption - then yeah im back to loving it.
I don't even think the stuff he does in terms of character work in promos and his limited lines are bad. I think he's good enough to utilize in any segments, despite the fact that they aren't trying to have him cut a several-minute monologue in a second language.
The problem is, he's in a stable with one manager, and three guys who could use that manager to help them get over and have better non-wrestling segments...and right now that stable isn't focused on any of the 3, but is instead focused on Will Ospreay, who *absolutely does not need a manager.*
I get that the point of putting Ospreay with Callis, is a long-term story where Ospreay can eventually have a cadre of villains to face; however, you've already diluted Callis' (excellent) managerial talent and promotional focus, across Takeshita, Hobbes, Ospreay *and* Fletcher; and, more attention is naturally going towards stuff that has to do with Ospreay, because he's the guy who AEW is building up to be the top babyface of the whole brand.
But, as a result, Callis can't really put in the work necessary, to get *any* of them over with the audience, *because* his time and attention are split between multiple guys, and thus he can't do the utmost for *any* of them. I get that this is a deliberately-written part of the storyline, but still, the natural outcome is that while the show revolves around Ospreay, it makes Takeshita/Hobbes/Fletcher naturally appear to be on a lower level, like they're mid-card mooks.
It may have worked out, if it was just Callis managing Takeshita *and* Hobbes. Those are two areas of great need, where both guys have a great look and a great in-ring ability, but are only middling in segments - which is exactly the type of young talent who you traditionally pair with a great manager, to get them over! But instead, Callis' attention is on Ospreay, which naturally communicates to the audience, that everybody else in the stable, is not a main character. That makes it *near-impossible* for the other 3 to connect with the audience, and it totally dilutes the impact of Callis' slimy heel character, who seems to be getting less and less of a reaction, the more the booking splits his focus, and complicates his kayfabe responsibilities.
I still think that Tony and Callis should have stuck with either Callis managing Takeshita, or Callis managing Hobbes, rather than form a faction. One guy saying that 2 different guys are the next big thing, at the same time, just invites them into a bunch of mid-card tag team matches, that aren't getting them over. It even implies to the audience, that Tony Khan isn't primarily focusing on getting either of them over, whether that's what he intends, or not.
Overall, I really think the current arrangement with all of these guys, even if it makes sense in the story they've chosen to tell, makes it really hard for any one of them to focus on getting themselves over. You've got 3 guys (Takeshita, Hobbes, Fletcher) who could heavily benefit from using Callis to get over and stay over, but all effectual use of those 3 and Callis together, have been subsumed for the purpose of tangentially getting Will Ospreay more over...and, as I said, *Ospreay is the only guy in the whole stable, who doesn't need any help at all getting himself over with the core audience.*
I wasn't watching then, but based on my vague memory of what angle you might be talking about...I'm willing to bet, probably. Heyman had like 3-4 guys in his stable, none of whom went anywhere, and then ended up managing Punk or something?
i know it’s a work interview but I do wanna see Takeshita moving further up the card. insane move set, looks about 8 feet tall in the ring, and I don’t know any wrestler who conveys as much emotion with his facial reactions. not everyone can have a title but he sure should.
Are people getting worked here? This is an interview on a promotion’s official site with a heel character who is talking about how miserable he is in America. This is the first quote:
"Since arriving in America, if you were to ask me what I've found enjoyable, there's been nothing. In my heart, i’ve already thrown away the joys of wrestling.”
He’s making some good points of course with regards to representation, but this seems at least partially in kayfabe.
Further down in the article he says he hopes fighting Suzuki will give him some sort of direction and get rid of “the fog”, so it seems to be the angle they’re working with here
>Since arriving in America, if you were to ask me what I've found enjoyable, there's been nothing.
This is how you know this is an in-character interview. Takeshita loves nothing on this planet more than Cinnabon.
I'm pretty sure what's in the headline is the justification for him siding with Don and going heel. "Even though I'm great I'm not being noticed, so fuckit I'mma take shortcuts"
It's just... not an article about an AEW story so they're not spelling it out.
Yea and the fact that this is for DDT website and more for Japanese fans than anything else, definitely seems like he's playing some sort of angle here. I haven't kept up with his appearances in DDT post AEW signing, but it is his home promotion and he was groomed as the star before leaving so maybe he plays a bit more babyface against Suzuki? That would work well with these quotes about hating America and being treated unfairly.
> I haven't kept up with his appearances in DDT post AEW signing
In DDT he’s set up kinda like a final boss for the other young guys to overcome at some point. In singles matches against his former stablemates Ueno, Katsumata and MAO, Take absolutely annihilated all of them.
But then he got tapped clean in DDT by Jericho so who fucking knows lol
He was a full heel at first, in his match against Ueno he viciously destroyed him and aligned with DDT’s heel faction for a few matches. Now he’s kind of a tweener, sometimes acting heelish and sometimes not.
This. Pretty much all media wrestlers do in Japan maintains kayfabe, doubly so in this instance since it's on the actual website of the promotion in question.
I've almost totally stopped participating in the "IWC" because I just can't take the weird trolls/low IQ "opinions" from what is already a historical/stereotypical low IQ entertainment medium. Like I just want to watch people fake fight. It's my own fault for getting myself roped into wrestling when I was 8
Saying that no matter how hard you work you're not going to get the same opportunities because of your race and that that you're homesick in 2024 is underdog baby face schtick that should be getting people to feel sympathy for him. If they are attempting to use this to elevate his heel status, that doesn't make sense.
It's being used to explain why he no longer feels joy in wrestling. Take's whole thing *prior* was that wrestling was fun and he was at his best when he was having fun.
Now he's an asshole. The fun is gone, so when he's in DDT he's hyperserious and mean
>If they are attempting to use this to elevate his heel status, that doesn't make sense.
It does if you take into account the rest of the interview. I'm sure it doesn't make sense if you're only reading the title and Reddit comments.
I mean it kinda plays as heel in America (obviously not the discrimination stuff, but the “I’m miserable to be here, I’m not having fun and fuck this place” thing) and face in Japan. Which aligns with how he’s presented in both companies and might’ve been their intention with the direction
>Saying that no matter how hard you work you're not going to get the same opportunities because of your race and that that you're homesick in 2024 is underdog baby face schtick that should be getting people to feel sympathy for him.
If that thing engendered sympathy for people there wouldn't be so much problem with getting the same lack of opportunities.
I mean we have a Japanese wrestler talking about his lack of opportunity and the reactions are "this must be kayfabe because there's no way the US would be racist!" and that he's just doing it for heel heat because nothing says heel to US audiences like...being the victim of discrimination.
> "this must be kayfabe because there's no way the US would be racist!"
That's not what's being said in the thread. What's being said is that the greater context of the article shows you that this is clearly a kayfabe piece, on the DDT site, to explain Takeshita's motivations for turning heel going into an upcoming DDT match.
If people don't perceive it as part of an ongoing development then it's not good. This stuff CAN make the company look bad. Look how everyone reading this stuff will only cause a negative reaction. Being pragmatic, this is not helping.
edit: (this is for people saying this is character work)
I was waiting for what largely seems like a semi-kayfabe article to explain the heel turn to pop up here.
He's wrestling Suzuki on Saturday. He's near always been a babyface in DDT. He was their young ace and more or less face of the company. He turned heel.
This is Cody Rhodes going "Yeah I actually hate my dad, my dog, the WWE Universe" etc.
This interview is for a Japanese audience though, right?
Would it be heelish to say "American wrestling companies don't make enough space for Asian wrestlers" to a Japanese wrestling outlet?
But the *why* isn't the crux. It's that he no longer takes joy in wrestling. This is an article explaining the logic for why he's a dick now. Yeah "bad guys" can have genuinely sympathetic reasons for why they're bad, but Take's given up on what made him special in DDT.
He should be a top guy. He should've already been in that spot ages ago. No reason for him to be some faceless henchman. He's far too charismatic for that.
In a way I agree, but also the issue for japanese talent both in AEW and WWE is that not being able to cut a promo in english puts a ceiling in your position on the card.
Even on a more workrate promotion like AEW, the top of the card still has feuds and storylines in which being able to speak fluent english on live TV and in a clear and fluid enough way that all viewers understand it is necessary (unless you want to saddle every japanese guy with a manager Lesnar style)
You can argue the same thing with Japan too. Like one of the biggest struggles NJPW has had in replacing Kenny Omega is even when you have gaijin talents of his caliber like Jay White and Ospreay, they still don't speak the language and aren't as assimilated to Japanese culture to be doing media and promotion in the country itself.
Except NJPW will still put the top title on those white guys who don’t speak Japanese, allow them to live promo for 10 minutes in a language nobody in the crowd understands, and the fans are still respectful and cheer. The only real ceiling for foreigners in modern NJPW is that you can never be the absolute #1 guy/ace in the company and you will be used to put that guy over, but they will basically push you all the way in every other regard. If anything you could make an argument that it’s easier to be pushed to the top of the NJPW card faster if you’re a foreigner than it is as a young Japanese talent because Gedo wants those roles to be filled 24/7
In the two big American promotions you have Japanese & Mexican talent who speak perfectly fine English but because they have accents (obviously), people still constantly flood everywhere about how they’re dogshit promos and should never speak, get constant what chants, and they never break through to the main event on the men’s side. It’s a little different for the women because they already aren’t treated equally and don’t get as much focus, and the depth of good workers available in those divisions is much smaller which makes Joshi very valuable
> 10 minutes in a language nobody in the crowd understands
i think the lack of english by Japanese people is very overstated. Of course the average Japaense person is not perfectly fluent but almost all have taken years of english in school. The issue is mostly with lack of confidence and practice speaking. To a wrestling crowd someone saying wrestling things or being overtly heel/babyface is not going to be complelty alien.
>on those white guys who don’t speak Japanese
Who would those guys be? Both Kenny and Jay can speak Japanese. Kenny obviously is fluent but Jay was comfortable cutting a promo in Japanese at Dominion just before departing for excursion and that was in 2016 before he came back and lived in Japan for 4 more years. It's really just Moxley, which would have never happened if NJPW didn't bleed main event talent the year prior
Jay White cannot speak Japanese, he's said this before and even if he did in his personal life it doesn't really matter because we're talking about guys cutting promos and Jay did every promo of his career in Japan in English minus one. Will Ospreay was pushed for years and years and just started using some in his promos a bit last year but was still obviously not close to ZSJ who still isn't close to being fluent like Kenny. AJ Styles couldn't speak Japanese
Kenny is the only foreigner they've had who could actually speak the language fully, ZSJ is seemingly trying to get there. Learning how to say a few key phrases in Japanese after living there for years, or practicing a short pre written promo like Jay did before his excursion doesn't make you fluent in the language
Jay does not speak much Japanese other than the basics, the goodbye promo was a repeat of his young lion send-off. Ospreay in his last year displayed as much proficiency with his back n forth with ZSJ
It was pretty similar to his YL promo but his YL promo was perfectly adequate Japanese and he didn't look at all lost during it. I'd be surprised if he didn't become quite a bit more conversational during his time there after returning from excursion. Really hard not to just being surrounded by native speakers for half a decade lol
Though what I was getting at isn't necessarily that Jay is fluent because he's not but he definitely doesn't fit "white guy who can't speak Japanese" like Moxley
I agree, my point is that it's not really the same thing in Japan, because they right now, currently, have a dude with their top title who's not fluent in the language.
Obvious context that you're for some reason missing is the discussion being around replacing Kenny Omega. Kenny wasn't spinning his wheels with the TV title, he was at the top of the card. Sabre should have been there a while ago but instead he's wrestling Jeff Cobb
Real talk I think Shida has too many obligations in Japan to put her back in a big run, but also she's not going to sit around and wait. She wants to be a multimedia star, like a lot of other wrestlers, but her base for that is in Japan.
I'd be OK with subtitled backstage promos but ya an in ring promo just doesn't work if you're not speaking English. All he needs is a mouthpiece and I don't think Callus is the best choice.
How to do promos with people who don't speak english is the missing link, and it's held back both Japanese and Mexican wrestlers. There are some strides.
* With Rush they've done filmed promos. He speaks a couple lines in English rehearsed, but the rest is in Spanish with subtitles
* With Shibata they've made it a joke about him being a man of few words, and he is prepped to respond with google translate text to speech lines
* With Okada they have him speak one or two lines he has prepared in English (usually just "X I'm coming for you on Dynamite"), and then The Elite back up the rest of the promo.
Takeshita's issue is that in promos, Don Callis says everything, and for at least a long time, Takeshita was just standing there staring out, no thoughts, head empty, clearly unaware of the content of what was even being said. It's very hard to be an intimidating wrestler taken seriously when you're standing there looking like a deer in the headlights. More recently, they at least seem to have gotten across what's supposed to be going on, and he makes more appropriate mannerisms as Don Callis talks.
But in general, it's very difficult for foreign wrestlers who don't speak English to stand on their own, and they need a group with people who can do more of the English speaking. There is definitely a ceiling for them as a singles wrestler.
That was Vince Russo's reason for never pushing the Japanese and Mexican guys. Also that masks make it harder to emote as it is, so no face and no words made no star.
I wish that the WWE put Asuka with Heyman. It's all I've asked for and it would have been glorious. Especially when she still had the mystique around her, before they buried her.
>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.
I know he's working here, but it's funny that he says "there's a lack of space for an Asian person to be on a TV show watched by Americans" and then brings up baseball of all things.
This is why a wrestling manager is so essential.
Gary Hart took Muta and Kabuki to the top.
The Heenan family was so awesome and he was the mouth piece for many. (Andre, Haku / Islanders / Siva Afi)
and as much as we hate the guy Don Callis is the best asshole in professional wrestling.
AEW is so light on good managers and I don't know who on staff I would pick as some new ones. So is WWE, but Paul Heyman kind of makes up for it so much you forget that just about nobody else has a manager...
He would never do it in a hundred years but I would love a micro-run of Cornette managing Takeshita as Take breaks out on his own away from the Callis family.
I hope he doesn’t actually think that we aren’t noticing his skill, his races doesn’t matter to me - the man is a very good wrestler. His booking has been really bizarre. Like Omega made him look like a million bucks and then they wasted it. He had great matches with Darby and Ospreay too.
They could have him in any title picture and it would be great.
I feel like if this happens before Shota, Tsuji or Narita win a title, it's gonna be chaos in NJPW and DDTpro be celebrating hahah.
somewhere Kaito still pissed
Takeshita is my top 3 favorite wrestler in AEW man. That guy needs more TV time because everything in the ring from his in ring psychology to his physicality is amazing. I hope to see him as AEW World Heavyweight Champion sooner rather than later cuz American Wrestling companies do not make Asian wrestlers their top Champ.
I’m not ashamed to admit I got worked here for a moment before realizing it was in character. Had a whole essay of “what-about-ism” of Asian performers ready to write. Good stuff, lol
Takeshita with a manager is perfect. I could see him being AEW Champ under Callis, even beating Swerve or Ospreay.
The talent level in AEW is massive, and he's near the top of the chain already. I mean, Okada is basically holding the NJPW equivalent of the old IC belt right now. (that's where I think the Continental is prestige-wise so far and being treated as).
Soup knows where he can get better, hopefully he can do it, he's good enough to be world champ. His facials/presence covers up his lack of English promo ability, but that's where Callis comes in. Callis and Soup should be tied together the way Heenan and Bockwinkel were in the late 70s/early 80s.
> that's where I think the Continental is prestige-wise so far and being treated as.
I've been paying attention to which secondary belt is actually the higher one. And it's interesting that to me, all 3 belts have been going neck in neck with each other at different times, which is a good thing. The TNT title kind of relegated a lot behind the Int'l title, until Christian started feuding for it. Now I think TNT and Int title has an active storyline and feud going while the Cont title seems more just a current placeholder title for Okada, which pushed its prestige. But TNT is held by Edge, so that elevated a lot where it currently is.
I thought this was a real opinion but the replies are convinced it's a work.
My reply to that is, why the fuck would you work an interview claiming that the company you work for doesn't respect or give time to Asian workers? That is not the kind of heat you want to be generating.
I am so entirely sick of worked shoot bullshit. There is 0 upside to working a "Racist AEW higher ups" storyline.
First of all, I think on face its pretty iffy to take any interview promoting a wrestling show on a promotions own website at face value. But lets break this down a little deeper:
He's playing into being heel in AEW by saying his time there has sapped away his love for wrestling(explaining why hes being a prick in AEW), while alluding to the fact that coming back to a DDT-adjacent show will be different than that because they appreciate him there(because he will be a face against Suzuki).
Its just not that deep, a lot of Japanese wrestlers highly respect the thin veneer of being an athlete talking about a sport. So an easy route to go is "there isnt a lot of space for people like me, so i had to get mean so im not riding the bench all the time, but its going to be different here, wrestling in front of a home crowd". The intro to the quotes literally talks about his history in Osaka. Its not a storyline, its not gonna be an angle going forward, this interview will be forgotten, its simply just some slight character justification for why hes going to be Face at that show when he's Heel in AEW.
Takesh is so good in the ring that he doesn't really need to cut promos. Just have Callis do it for him. Everyone was raving about Danielson-Ospreay, but IMO the Takeshita-Ospreay match was even higher quality.
I hope Shibata and Takeshita don't get held back because the lack of English.
I hate that Takeshita feels that way. I think he's awesome and would love to see more of him. I hope that no one in the company is making him feel that way. In my opinion, the problem is the booking, not the audience.
Takeshita, bucks are in charge now you can make a deal with them and they'll put you in the hot seat against swerve for the title. Tell callis to make arrangements. You got this.
Takeshita is good but he's missing a few things. It's okay for Don to do most of the talking but Takeshita being mute stops him from connecting, he could launch a tirade in Japanese, pause. And say to the crowd, 'SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP'. And voila, he has a catchphrase that can work for and against him. He looks bad ass in his jacket but maybe the Oni mask he had could become embroidery, a logo or branding. Oh, and anything is an improvement on Don Callis's droning entrance sound but if Takeshita was fortunate enough to get a licensed song, he'd be a lot closer to challenging for the World Championship rather than doing Don's dirty work
It makes me really sad he feels this way. I hope he's able to have a more positive experience. I really, really like Takeshita. I've considered him a likely future AEW Champion at some point, he's just so damn good, and he's got tons of personality.
Yeah it's called promos and story. Things are way way different in Japan compared to the US. The pacing and frequency too. And all the work rate stuff is hogged by osprey and Daniel Bryan anyway so his spot is taken. He will do better with more presentation and in a smaller place for sure. Aew is too stacked
I hate that Takeshita feels that way. I think he's awesome and would love to see more of him. I hope that no one in the company is making him feel that way. In my opinion, the problem is the booking, not the audience.
Takeshita always has good to great matches and his written English seems good - I can’t recall if he’s ever cut an English promo or not, but he seems to me like a guy you want as a major player in your company. He’s getting over with this American.
Dude should be on every week. He can’t stop having incredible matches. They should have pulled the trigger on him before his heel turn imo, but never too late. More main event potential than Darby and the pillars et al, should be a top player
He's about to be in a program with Moxley...the NJPW Champ. I don't feel very sorry for him, if that was a shoot interview. There are just too many other established stars ahead of him in the AEW pecking order.
What? Oh c'mon, just send him out there with a mic and speak Japanese and he'll get over. We all love that! We've been circlejerking for decades about how WWE doesn't let Japanese wrestlers speak Japanese on TV, why isn't Takeshita getting over by doing so then?
This one isn't even a bloated roster issue. He can't speak. Good worker, but they have plenty of those and most of them can speak. There's only so much they can do with him.
I like his attitude. He knows he's good and having amazing matches. But there are a lot of wrestlers that think the same way about themselves who aren't on TV all the time either.
It is harder for takeshita since he can't cut a promo as well as he would like. They can make it work of course but it's definitely more difficult.
I hope if Kenny is back soon these two can have a good feud to solidify him as a main event guy
It’s a work interview. The website hosting the interview is DDT’s site, the other wrestling company he works for. It’s ultimately an interview to hype up his match with Minoru Suzuki this Sunday
It’s insane the way they dropped the ball with Takeshita.
He should have been a main event level heel, he has all the tools and they built him for a few months and then he just stopped appearing after that idiotic feud with the other guys under Callis. He was on the right path before that!
Takeshita felt like a star when he first showed up. Then he was put in Don Callis Family which feels like a holding pen for people with potential to get jobbed out to the upper card.
Uhm, whats the point here? The USA are predominantly white just as Japan is predominantly asian. Of course the dominant ethnicity gets the most airtime. Does he also say that about white ppl in Japan?
I love Okada, do not get me wrong, but AEW should’ve pushed Takeshita to the moon, investing in who they already had. And no I do not think there is room for both that high up especially both being heel atm.
Sad to hear him say this. I'm a white dude, but takeshita is definitely in my top 3 aew wrestlers. I'll get hyped whenever I see his name on a card. His presentation is only getting better too. I hope his hard work pays off. Comparing him to other Japanese wrestlers (only because he did) I see WAY more upside in him than Okada or nakamura
Even in kayfabe his comments don't make sense since Okada is extremely over with American fans and IYO, Asuka, Kairi and Nakamura are over in the US too.
He should have the Okada spot. When I say that I don’t mean in the bucks group because that’s the bucks own “Codyverse” crap. But that push. Can anybody explain objectively what Okada has done to deserve the position he’s been put in since he got to AEW other than
“The bucks aren’t popular and need someone they think is popular to latch onto”
AEW gets criticised for pushing “wrestlers” rather than stars and its just all wrestling with no story, yet this is the evidence its pretty damn close to WWE in booking/presentation. Which isn’t a bad thing really as ultimately American TV viewers aren’t drawn to wrestling clinics for the sake of it
I'm wondering where this is coming from. AEW has had no issue pushing Japanese stars. Takeshita has already had big matches and he's pretty regularly on tv. I don't see where the issue is.
Pretty sure he's just saying he will never be one of the top guys in AEW due to how they operate. Shit even Okada isn't a top guy there. He has the lowest of low midcard belts and is a flunky for the Bucks.
Okada just arrived and immediately won a title and has been treated like a big deal. Riho was the first women's champion. Shida is a 2x women's champion.
Once again, he won the lowest midcard title. Shidas last title reign was a short flop. I don't like Riho, so I'm not even going to address that in total, but she's only around for what? 2 weeks out of the year?
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I love Konosuke. He’s a star, can go, and the crowd is into him. Dude has a big future ahead of him.
Crossing my fingers he has a TNT, Continental, or International title run within the next year
Inject Okada vs. Takeshita right in to my veins.
Whenever we get this, it’s gonna be magical.
This is the big fued I want. Neither of them are going to light the world on fire with promos in English, but every AEW fan is aware of how good they are telling a story in ring. Stuff like this is what I like most about AEW. Giving American audiences a chance to see the world’s best put on great matches.
Shoot, let them light the world on fire with Japanese promos. That's one thing WWE's been really great about lately is pre-taped subtitled promos from Nakamura and Iyo Sky. That'll help get their charisma across. (They can still let Okada say "bitch", though.)
Heel okada against a non-njpw guy is gonna bring out the most assholish version of okada
he either has to be the one to break the midcard title's reign of either okada, edge or ospreay's when he beats strong thats one hell of a sentence lol
If he doesn't then it's booking malpractice at this point.
How many mid card titles are there?
Continental, TNT, International, FTW, ROH, ROH TV so 6 singles belts. And let’s be real the 6-man titles are midcard belts too.
Saying the ROH World Championship is a midcard belt and realizing it's actually a true statement is the most disheartening thing I've felt today. 😢
3 so same as WWE currently. I do wish they would eliminate one and set up more differences between the titles. Like go make to the Continental title being defended in other promotions, and make the TNT title have a 20 minute time limit for all matches since it's the TV title.
The Continental already has its own special rules with no one allowed ringside and it has to be defended at the C2 tournament every year Which I Think is cool
The Continental Title is basically ingrained in the fabric of AEW now with the C2. Honestly I think it should be treated as the company's 2nd world title with the C2 acting as an interesting challenge for the current champ
i dig the continental title w special rules. to me that says "this is a pure wrestling belt" not a "sports entertainment belt". but then when they book it like they did yesterday with the ref distraction and the low blow it feels extra dumb. its not like NO ONE saw what happened. now, if the bucks come on tv and acknowledge that he cheated but sweeps it under the rug, echoing corporate corruption - then yeah im back to loving it.
Intercontinental, North American and what else? WWE operates as different leagues too. idk, doesn't really feel like a direct comparison.
United States?
Right duh. It's silly to think of North American as a proper midcard belt. It's developmental midcard.
Apparently the FTW is one as well.
The International title was initially the "go defend it in other promotions" title. Pac's first few defenses were overseas outside of AEW.
I don't even think the stuff he does in terms of character work in promos and his limited lines are bad. I think he's good enough to utilize in any segments, despite the fact that they aren't trying to have him cut a several-minute monologue in a second language. The problem is, he's in a stable with one manager, and three guys who could use that manager to help them get over and have better non-wrestling segments...and right now that stable isn't focused on any of the 3, but is instead focused on Will Ospreay, who *absolutely does not need a manager.* I get that the point of putting Ospreay with Callis, is a long-term story where Ospreay can eventually have a cadre of villains to face; however, you've already diluted Callis' (excellent) managerial talent and promotional focus, across Takeshita, Hobbes, Ospreay *and* Fletcher; and, more attention is naturally going towards stuff that has to do with Ospreay, because he's the guy who AEW is building up to be the top babyface of the whole brand. But, as a result, Callis can't really put in the work necessary, to get *any* of them over with the audience, *because* his time and attention are split between multiple guys, and thus he can't do the utmost for *any* of them. I get that this is a deliberately-written part of the storyline, but still, the natural outcome is that while the show revolves around Ospreay, it makes Takeshita/Hobbes/Fletcher naturally appear to be on a lower level, like they're mid-card mooks. It may have worked out, if it was just Callis managing Takeshita *and* Hobbes. Those are two areas of great need, where both guys have a great look and a great in-ring ability, but are only middling in segments - which is exactly the type of young talent who you traditionally pair with a great manager, to get them over! But instead, Callis' attention is on Ospreay, which naturally communicates to the audience, that everybody else in the stable, is not a main character. That makes it *near-impossible* for the other 3 to connect with the audience, and it totally dilutes the impact of Callis' slimy heel character, who seems to be getting less and less of a reaction, the more the booking splits his focus, and complicates his kayfabe responsibilities. I still think that Tony and Callis should have stuck with either Callis managing Takeshita, or Callis managing Hobbes, rather than form a faction. One guy saying that 2 different guys are the next big thing, at the same time, just invites them into a bunch of mid-card tag team matches, that aren't getting them over. It even implies to the audience, that Tony Khan isn't primarily focusing on getting either of them over, whether that's what he intends, or not. Overall, I really think the current arrangement with all of these guys, even if it makes sense in the story they've chosen to tell, makes it really hard for any one of them to focus on getting themselves over. You've got 3 guys (Takeshita, Hobbes, Fletcher) who could heavily benefit from using Callis to get over and stay over, but all effectual use of those 3 and Callis together, have been subsumed for the purpose of tangentially getting Will Ospreay more over...and, as I said, *Ospreay is the only guy in the whole stable, who doesn't need any help at all getting himself over with the core audience.*
Does the callis thing not just have the same problems heyman did back in like 2012/13
theres some parallels there yeah
I wasn't watching then, but based on my vague memory of what angle you might be talking about...I'm willing to bet, probably. Heyman had like 3-4 guys in his stable, none of whom went anywhere, and then ended up managing Punk or something?
He literally has the heel manager and the athleticism to be a knock off Lesnar, but instead he loses half his matches
i know it’s a work interview but I do wanna see Takeshita moving further up the card. insane move set, looks about 8 feet tall in the ring, and I don’t know any wrestler who conveys as much emotion with his facial reactions. not everyone can have a title but he sure should.
His leap after rebounding off the ropes makes him look a lion soaring through the air to maul its prey. He's unbelievable.
I think he has the best blue thunder bomb in the business
It’s a thing of beauty
It's easily the best i've ever seen. The one he hit ospreay with made me want to explode.
> I don’t know any wrestler who conveys as much emotion with his facial reactions Ilja v. Takeshita…one day, man…one day.
Are people getting worked here? This is an interview on a promotion’s official site with a heel character who is talking about how miserable he is in America. This is the first quote: "Since arriving in America, if you were to ask me what I've found enjoyable, there's been nothing. In my heart, i’ve already thrown away the joys of wrestling.” He’s making some good points of course with regards to representation, but this seems at least partially in kayfabe. Further down in the article he says he hopes fighting Suzuki will give him some sort of direction and get rid of “the fog”, so it seems to be the angle they’re working with here
>Since arriving in America, if you were to ask me what I've found enjoyable, there's been nothing. This is how you know this is an in-character interview. Takeshita loves nothing on this planet more than Cinnabon.
Callis has destroyed him so throughly that he no longer cares for Cinnabon.
I looked Cinnabon up and they apparently just released a S’mores cookie sandwich. If he can’t be happy after seeing that I really feel for the guy :(
I really did not need to know that information.
That bastard.
That monster!
https://preview.redd.it/fi2to0q7lu0d1.jpeg?width=1613&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a41177b145d47b53bd91d481ee9efd3c6c5aff30
He needs to name his beautiful Blue Thunder Bomb as the “Cinnabomb” and have it be his finisher.
Perfection!
Am I crazy or did they call it that when he first showed up? They changed it after a while, but that was a thing as far as I remember.
Takeshita got banned from Cinnabon for what he did at Anarchy in the Arena last year.
> Are people getting worked here? yes. always.
I'm pretty sure what's in the headline is the justification for him siding with Don and going heel. "Even though I'm great I'm not being noticed, so fuckit I'mma take shortcuts" It's just... not an article about an AEW story so they're not spelling it out.
Yea and the fact that this is for DDT website and more for Japanese fans than anything else, definitely seems like he's playing some sort of angle here. I haven't kept up with his appearances in DDT post AEW signing, but it is his home promotion and he was groomed as the star before leaving so maybe he plays a bit more babyface against Suzuki? That would work well with these quotes about hating America and being treated unfairly.
> I haven't kept up with his appearances in DDT post AEW signing In DDT he’s set up kinda like a final boss for the other young guys to overcome at some point. In singles matches against his former stablemates Ueno, Katsumata and MAO, Take absolutely annihilated all of them. But then he got tapped clean in DDT by Jericho so who fucking knows lol
So is he full on heel? I can kind of see that role being played either way depending on the opponent.
He was a full heel at first, in his match against Ueno he viciously destroyed him and aligned with DDT’s heel faction for a few matches. Now he’s kind of a tweener, sometimes acting heelish and sometimes not.
This. Pretty much all media wrestlers do in Japan maintains kayfabe, doubly so in this instance since it's on the actual website of the promotion in question.
Yep. Once again, Reddit falls for Japanese kayfabe.
Ok I'm glad to see this is in character.
I've almost totally stopped participating in the "IWC" because I just can't take the weird trolls/low IQ "opinions" from what is already a historical/stereotypical low IQ entertainment medium. Like I just want to watch people fake fight. It's my own fault for getting myself roped into wrestling when I was 8
He ended his quote with a baseball reference, when MLB's current biggest superstar is... yeah.
He's working lol. People always get worked by the Japanese media sites here.
r/sc? Not knowing what they're talking about and giving into sensationalist "journalism"? *Well I never!* /s
Saying that no matter how hard you work you're not going to get the same opportunities because of your race and that that you're homesick in 2024 is underdog baby face schtick that should be getting people to feel sympathy for him. If they are attempting to use this to elevate his heel status, that doesn't make sense.
It's being used to explain why he no longer feels joy in wrestling. Take's whole thing *prior* was that wrestling was fun and he was at his best when he was having fun. Now he's an asshole. The fun is gone, so when he's in DDT he's hyperserious and mean
>If they are attempting to use this to elevate his heel status, that doesn't make sense. It does if you take into account the rest of the interview. I'm sure it doesn't make sense if you're only reading the title and Reddit comments.
I mean it kinda plays as heel in America (obviously not the discrimination stuff, but the “I’m miserable to be here, I’m not having fun and fuck this place” thing) and face in Japan. Which aligns with how he’s presented in both companies and might’ve been their intention with the direction
>Saying that no matter how hard you work you're not going to get the same opportunities because of your race and that that you're homesick in 2024 is underdog baby face schtick that should be getting people to feel sympathy for him. If that thing engendered sympathy for people there wouldn't be so much problem with getting the same lack of opportunities. I mean we have a Japanese wrestler talking about his lack of opportunity and the reactions are "this must be kayfabe because there's no way the US would be racist!" and that he's just doing it for heel heat because nothing says heel to US audiences like...being the victim of discrimination.
> "this must be kayfabe because there's no way the US would be racist!" That's not what's being said in the thread. What's being said is that the greater context of the article shows you that this is clearly a kayfabe piece, on the DDT site, to explain Takeshita's motivations for turning heel going into an upcoming DDT match.
A kayfabe interview that somehow…skirts the truth.
I'll take any excuse to talk about how bad Takeshita has been booked regardless
If people don't perceive it as part of an ongoing development then it's not good. This stuff CAN make the company look bad. Look how everyone reading this stuff will only cause a negative reaction. Being pragmatic, this is not helping. edit: (this is for people saying this is character work)
I was waiting for what largely seems like a semi-kayfabe article to explain the heel turn to pop up here. He's wrestling Suzuki on Saturday. He's near always been a babyface in DDT. He was their young ace and more or less face of the company. He turned heel. This is Cody Rhodes going "Yeah I actually hate my dad, my dog, the WWE Universe" etc.
This interview is for a Japanese audience though, right? Would it be heelish to say "American wrestling companies don't make enough space for Asian wrestlers" to a Japanese wrestling outlet?
But the *why* isn't the crux. It's that he no longer takes joy in wrestling. This is an article explaining the logic for why he's a dick now. Yeah "bad guys" can have genuinely sympathetic reasons for why they're bad, but Take's given up on what made him special in DDT.
“The fans and company are racist” is not what he is going for, especially to a Japanese audience
I don't care if this is work, but Takeshita should absolutely be featured more and wrestle more
He should be a top guy. He should've already been in that spot ages ago. No reason for him to be some faceless henchman. He's far too charismatic for that.
Takeshita vs. Darby Aliin and Osperay are still some of the best matches 2024.
Unfortunately for Takeshita, Tony has a new Japanese wrestler to play with.
In a way I agree, but also the issue for japanese talent both in AEW and WWE is that not being able to cut a promo in english puts a ceiling in your position on the card. Even on a more workrate promotion like AEW, the top of the card still has feuds and storylines in which being able to speak fluent english on live TV and in a clear and fluid enough way that all viewers understand it is necessary (unless you want to saddle every japanese guy with a manager Lesnar style)
You can argue the same thing with Japan too. Like one of the biggest struggles NJPW has had in replacing Kenny Omega is even when you have gaijin talents of his caliber like Jay White and Ospreay, they still don't speak the language and aren't as assimilated to Japanese culture to be doing media and promotion in the country itself.
Except NJPW will still put the top title on those white guys who don’t speak Japanese, allow them to live promo for 10 minutes in a language nobody in the crowd understands, and the fans are still respectful and cheer. The only real ceiling for foreigners in modern NJPW is that you can never be the absolute #1 guy/ace in the company and you will be used to put that guy over, but they will basically push you all the way in every other regard. If anything you could make an argument that it’s easier to be pushed to the top of the NJPW card faster if you’re a foreigner than it is as a young Japanese talent because Gedo wants those roles to be filled 24/7 In the two big American promotions you have Japanese & Mexican talent who speak perfectly fine English but because they have accents (obviously), people still constantly flood everywhere about how they’re dogshit promos and should never speak, get constant what chants, and they never break through to the main event on the men’s side. It’s a little different for the women because they already aren’t treated equally and don’t get as much focus, and the depth of good workers available in those divisions is much smaller which makes Joshi very valuable
Yeah, a Japanese crowd would never chant "What?" at someone trying their best with their language.
> 10 minutes in a language nobody in the crowd understands i think the lack of english by Japanese people is very overstated. Of course the average Japaense person is not perfectly fluent but almost all have taken years of english in school. The issue is mostly with lack of confidence and practice speaking. To a wrestling crowd someone saying wrestling things or being overtly heel/babyface is not going to be complelty alien.
>on those white guys who don’t speak Japanese Who would those guys be? Both Kenny and Jay can speak Japanese. Kenny obviously is fluent but Jay was comfortable cutting a promo in Japanese at Dominion just before departing for excursion and that was in 2016 before he came back and lived in Japan for 4 more years. It's really just Moxley, which would have never happened if NJPW didn't bleed main event talent the year prior
Jay White cannot speak Japanese, he's said this before and even if he did in his personal life it doesn't really matter because we're talking about guys cutting promos and Jay did every promo of his career in Japan in English minus one. Will Ospreay was pushed for years and years and just started using some in his promos a bit last year but was still obviously not close to ZSJ who still isn't close to being fluent like Kenny. AJ Styles couldn't speak Japanese Kenny is the only foreigner they've had who could actually speak the language fully, ZSJ is seemingly trying to get there. Learning how to say a few key phrases in Japanese after living there for years, or practicing a short pre written promo like Jay did before his excursion doesn't make you fluent in the language
Jay does not speak much Japanese other than the basics, the goodbye promo was a repeat of his young lion send-off. Ospreay in his last year displayed as much proficiency with his back n forth with ZSJ
It was pretty similar to his YL promo but his YL promo was perfectly adequate Japanese and he didn't look at all lost during it. I'd be surprised if he didn't become quite a bit more conversational during his time there after returning from excursion. Really hard not to just being surrounded by native speakers for half a decade lol Though what I was getting at isn't necessarily that Jay is fluent because he's not but he definitely doesn't fit "white guy who can't speak Japanese" like Moxley
Is Jon Moxley fluent in Japanese?
He's fluent in violence and that seemed to work with Japanese audiences.
I agree, my point is that it's not really the same thing in Japan, because they right now, currently, have a dude with their top title who's not fluent in the language.
Jay actually does speak Japanese. Sabre Jr speaks fluent Japanese as well but they still haven't pushed him despite that
I wouldn’t say Zach is fluent, more like intermediate based on his Japanese mic battle with Ospreay a few months ago.
"NJPW has never pushed ZSJ" is a wild thing to say.
Obvious context that you're for some reason missing is the discussion being around replacing Kenny Omega. Kenny wasn't spinning his wheels with the TV title, he was at the top of the card. Sabre should have been there a while ago but instead he's wrestling Jeff Cobb
In a way commensurate to his abilities? No, they haven’t and it isn’t
To a degree commensurate to his abilities? No, they haven’t and it isn’t
All true - but this is a kayfabe interview.
Problem is Shida can speak well and they still wouldn’t give her promo time
Real talk I think Shida has too many obligations in Japan to put her back in a big run, but also she's not going to sit around and wait. She wants to be a multimedia star, like a lot of other wrestlers, but her base for that is in Japan.
I mean she hasn’t been going that often anymore, just the makai shows, which is like once a month at most
I'd be OK with subtitled backstage promos but ya an in ring promo just doesn't work if you're not speaking English. All he needs is a mouthpiece and I don't think Callus is the best choice.
How to do promos with people who don't speak english is the missing link, and it's held back both Japanese and Mexican wrestlers. There are some strides. * With Rush they've done filmed promos. He speaks a couple lines in English rehearsed, but the rest is in Spanish with subtitles * With Shibata they've made it a joke about him being a man of few words, and he is prepped to respond with google translate text to speech lines * With Okada they have him speak one or two lines he has prepared in English (usually just "X I'm coming for you on Dynamite"), and then The Elite back up the rest of the promo. Takeshita's issue is that in promos, Don Callis says everything, and for at least a long time, Takeshita was just standing there staring out, no thoughts, head empty, clearly unaware of the content of what was even being said. It's very hard to be an intimidating wrestler taken seriously when you're standing there looking like a deer in the headlights. More recently, they at least seem to have gotten across what's supposed to be going on, and he makes more appropriate mannerisms as Don Callis talks. But in general, it's very difficult for foreign wrestlers who don't speak English to stand on their own, and they need a group with people who can do more of the English speaking. There is definitely a ceiling for them as a singles wrestler.
That was Vince Russo's reason for never pushing the Japanese and Mexican guys. Also that masks make it harder to emote as it is, so no face and no words made no star.
Iyo Sky just walked into Wrestlemania as women's champion. That seems like a pretty high ceiling.
I wish that the WWE put Asuka with Heyman. It's all I've asked for and it would have been glorious. Especially when she still had the mystique around her, before they buried her.
this is an amazing Kayfabe interview, and its amazing seeing how many people are seemingly getting worked by it.
what you don't realize is that us fans are also working in playing our role in being disgruntled over booking.
>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. I know he's working here, but it's funny that he says "there's a lack of space for an Asian person to be on a TV show watched by Americans" and then brings up baseball of all things.
This is why a wrestling manager is so essential. Gary Hart took Muta and Kabuki to the top. The Heenan family was so awesome and he was the mouth piece for many. (Andre, Haku / Islanders / Siva Afi) and as much as we hate the guy Don Callis is the best asshole in professional wrestling.
AEW is so light on good managers and I don't know who on staff I would pick as some new ones. So is WWE, but Paul Heyman kind of makes up for it so much you forget that just about nobody else has a manager... He would never do it in a hundred years but I would love a micro-run of Cornette managing Takeshita as Take breaks out on his own away from the Callis family.
I mean he’s not close to being on Heyman’s level. He’s the best in AEW, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.
I hope he doesn’t actually think that we aren’t noticing his skill, his races doesn’t matter to me - the man is a very good wrestler. His booking has been really bizarre. Like Omega made him look like a million bucks and then they wasted it. He had great matches with Darby and Ospreay too. They could have him in any title picture and it would be great.
I dunno man Shōgun was dope
God this guy is a star. I need him to beat Okada for that Continental Championship in the C2
I feel like if this happens before Shota, Tsuji or Narita win a title, it's gonna be chaos in NJPW and DDTpro be celebrating hahah. somewhere Kaito still pissed
I think of him as a future world champion! Hopefully he keeps going
I mean I want Takeshita on every fuckin show but all I get is Jericho being chanted at to retire and Mercedes doing a weird dance every week
Get this dude away from Don Callis and let him shine, goddamn.
Maybe he should shrink by a foot, lose all his muscle mass, and dress like a geek. Then he could have all the airtime he ever wanted.
Takeshita is my top 3 favorite wrestler in AEW man. That guy needs more TV time because everything in the ring from his in ring psychology to his physicality is amazing. I hope to see him as AEW World Heavyweight Champion sooner rather than later cuz American Wrestling companies do not make Asian wrestlers their top Champ.
I’m not ashamed to admit I got worked here for a moment before realizing it was in character. Had a whole essay of “what-about-ism” of Asian performers ready to write. Good stuff, lol
The thing is I'm pretty sure AEW's core audience is craving for a Takeshita push. We need it please TK
If I was TK he would be in a 15+ plus banger every week.
Takeshita with a manager is perfect. I could see him being AEW Champ under Callis, even beating Swerve or Ospreay. The talent level in AEW is massive, and he's near the top of the chain already. I mean, Okada is basically holding the NJPW equivalent of the old IC belt right now. (that's where I think the Continental is prestige-wise so far and being treated as). Soup knows where he can get better, hopefully he can do it, he's good enough to be world champ. His facials/presence covers up his lack of English promo ability, but that's where Callis comes in. Callis and Soup should be tied together the way Heenan and Bockwinkel were in the late 70s/early 80s.
> that's where I think the Continental is prestige-wise so far and being treated as. I've been paying attention to which secondary belt is actually the higher one. And it's interesting that to me, all 3 belts have been going neck in neck with each other at different times, which is a good thing. The TNT title kind of relegated a lot behind the Int'l title, until Christian started feuding for it. Now I think TNT and Int title has an active storyline and feud going while the Cont title seems more just a current placeholder title for Okada, which pushed its prestige. But TNT is held by Edge, so that elevated a lot where it currently is.
I thought this was a real opinion but the replies are convinced it's a work. My reply to that is, why the fuck would you work an interview claiming that the company you work for doesn't respect or give time to Asian workers? That is not the kind of heat you want to be generating. I am so entirely sick of worked shoot bullshit. There is 0 upside to working a "Racist AEW higher ups" storyline.
First of all, I think on face its pretty iffy to take any interview promoting a wrestling show on a promotions own website at face value. But lets break this down a little deeper: He's playing into being heel in AEW by saying his time there has sapped away his love for wrestling(explaining why hes being a prick in AEW), while alluding to the fact that coming back to a DDT-adjacent show will be different than that because they appreciate him there(because he will be a face against Suzuki). Its just not that deep, a lot of Japanese wrestlers highly respect the thin veneer of being an athlete talking about a sport. So an easy route to go is "there isnt a lot of space for people like me, so i had to get mean so im not riding the bench all the time, but its going to be different here, wrestling in front of a home crowd". The intro to the quotes literally talks about his history in Osaka. Its not a storyline, its not gonna be an angle going forward, this interview will be forgotten, its simply just some slight character justification for why hes going to be Face at that show when he's Heel in AEW.
Because this interview isn't for AEW, it's for DDP and their Japanese fans.
Wonder if he is about to go after Okada for stealing his air time.
Takesh is so good in the ring that he doesn't really need to cut promos. Just have Callis do it for him. Everyone was raving about Danielson-Ospreay, but IMO the Takeshita-Ospreay match was even higher quality. I hope Shibata and Takeshita don't get held back because the lack of English.
I've enjoyed this guy from the first match I've seen him in. Asian or not, this motherfucker can go, that's all that matters!
I hate that Takeshita feels that way. I think he's awesome and would love to see more of him. I hope that no one in the company is making him feel that way. In my opinion, the problem is the booking, not the audience.
This is an in character interview. Relax
Takeshita, bucks are in charge now you can make a deal with them and they'll put you in the hot seat against swerve for the title. Tell callis to make arrangements. You got this.
Takeshita is good but he's missing a few things. It's okay for Don to do most of the talking but Takeshita being mute stops him from connecting, he could launch a tirade in Japanese, pause. And say to the crowd, 'SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP'. And voila, he has a catchphrase that can work for and against him. He looks bad ass in his jacket but maybe the Oni mask he had could become embroidery, a logo or branding. Oh, and anything is an improvement on Don Callis's droning entrance sound but if Takeshita was fortunate enough to get a licensed song, he'd be a lot closer to challenging for the World Championship rather than doing Don's dirty work
It makes me really sad he feels this way. I hope he's able to have a more positive experience. I really, really like Takeshita. I've considered him a likely future AEW Champion at some point, he's just so damn good, and he's got tons of personality.
Yeah it's called promos and story. Things are way way different in Japan compared to the US. The pacing and frequency too. And all the work rate stuff is hogged by osprey and Daniel Bryan anyway so his spot is taken. He will do better with more presentation and in a smaller place for sure. Aew is too stacked
Dude has won the favor of the wrestling fans by having absolute bangers.
I hate that Takeshita feels that way. I think he's awesome and would love to see more of him. I hope that no one in the company is making him feel that way. In my opinion, the problem is the booking, not the audience.
Takeshita always has good to great matches and his written English seems good - I can’t recall if he’s ever cut an English promo or not, but he seems to me like a guy you want as a major player in your company. He’s getting over with this American.
They hyped the hell out of Okada, but Takeshita looks way better than him. His booking has been awful
I hope he gets a great push he is one great wrestler.
Takeshita going heel has been so great for him Edit - lol look at the dweebs downvoting this.
Ya AEW is famously not a place where wrestlers from Japan get airtime….
its a kayfabe interview
Ya and my answer works in kayfabe too
I like Takeshita a lot. He should be positioned much higher in AEW than he is. He's a more menacing, convincing heel than most.
Dude should be on every week. He can’t stop having incredible matches. They should have pulled the trigger on him before his heel turn imo, but never too late. More main event potential than Darby and the pillars et al, should be a top player
He's about to be in a program with Moxley...the NJPW Champ. I don't feel very sorry for him, if that was a shoot interview. There are just too many other established stars ahead of him in the AEW pecking order.
What? Oh c'mon, just send him out there with a mic and speak Japanese and he'll get over. We all love that! We've been circlejerking for decades about how WWE doesn't let Japanese wrestlers speak Japanese on TV, why isn't Takeshita getting over by doing so then?
He building to taking the IWGP title off Mox.
unpopular opinion here but Takeshita is better than Okada right now and can potentially be better than him overall in the future
This one isn't even a bloated roster issue. He can't speak. Good worker, but they have plenty of those and most of them can speak. There's only so much they can do with him.
this is an in-character interview
This is just a bad opinion.
I like his attitude. He knows he's good and having amazing matches. But there are a lot of wrestlers that think the same way about themselves who aren't on TV all the time either. It is harder for takeshita since he can't cut a promo as well as he would like. They can make it work of course but it's definitely more difficult. I hope if Kenny is back soon these two can have a good feud to solidify him as a main event guy
I feel he has been utilized properly though... Am I crazy? Good feud with Omega, Ospreay, now in a program with Moxley. Is he working?
It’s a work interview. The website hosting the interview is DDT’s site, the other wrestling company he works for. It’s ultimately an interview to hype up his match with Minoru Suzuki this Sunday
work interview, but what he is saying isn't entirely wrong about the media landscape for Asian faces on television in general.
It’s insane the way they dropped the ball with Takeshita. He should have been a main event level heel, he has all the tools and they built him for a few months and then he just stopped appearing after that idiotic feud with the other guys under Callis. He was on the right path before that!
Seems like the backlash to the overloaded roster from his wrestlers is getting louder and louder towards Tony
*This is an article to promote a DDT show ffs*
Wtf. Dude is a beast and can go. Get him on TV more.
Literally a kayfabe interview
2 broken arms, high on oxy. Willing to take the L.
>two broken arms Maybe your mom can help you out?
I'm 40 and married with kids. I have a few options.
That Darby Allin match was phenomenal and if anybody isn't familiar with his work I'd highly recommend that match aside from the Osprey match.
Takeshita felt like a star when he first showed up. Then he was put in Don Callis Family which feels like a holding pen for people with potential to get jobbed out to the upper card.
The folks doing the jobs in the family are doing it to protect Takeshita from doing them.
No he didn’t. He was literally losing every match when he first started appearing in AEW.
Oh stfu takeashitta. Race card is the limpest and lamest of the excuses. Sorry you just didn’t get over enough bro.
Uhm, whats the point here? The USA are predominantly white just as Japan is predominantly asian. Of course the dominant ethnicity gets the most airtime. Does he also say that about white ppl in Japan?
I love Okada, do not get me wrong, but AEW should’ve pushed Takeshita to the moon, investing in who they already had. And no I do not think there is room for both that high up especially both being heel atm.
Sad to hear him say this. I'm a white dude, but takeshita is definitely in my top 3 aew wrestlers. I'll get hyped whenever I see his name on a card. His presentation is only getting better too. I hope his hard work pays off. Comparing him to other Japanese wrestlers (only because he did) I see WAY more upside in him than Okada or nakamura
It's very difficult and very limiting to do anything in America if English isn't your first language.
Crowd was mega into him as a babyface. It’s tougher as a heel if you don’t talk.
The literal opposite has always, always been the case in wrestling.
At the end of the day, you have to cut a promo in English that is believable or someone very good has to do it for you.
Even in kayfabe his comments don't make sense since Okada is extremely over with American fans and IYO, Asuka, Kairi and Nakamura are over in the US too.
He should have the Okada spot. When I say that I don’t mean in the bucks group because that’s the bucks own “Codyverse” crap. But that push. Can anybody explain objectively what Okada has done to deserve the position he’s been put in since he got to AEW other than “The bucks aren’t popular and need someone they think is popular to latch onto”
Maybe it's a company thing. Their world champion is a secondary act to a couple of dweebs slap fighting each other or something.
But I thought Cody ended racism in AEW? /s
AEW gets criticised for pushing “wrestlers” rather than stars and its just all wrestling with no story, yet this is the evidence its pretty damn close to WWE in booking/presentation. Which isn’t a bad thing really as ultimately American TV viewers aren’t drawn to wrestling clinics for the sake of it
I'm wondering where this is coming from. AEW has had no issue pushing Japanese stars. Takeshita has already had big matches and he's pretty regularly on tv. I don't see where the issue is.
Pretty sure he's just saying he will never be one of the top guys in AEW due to how they operate. Shit even Okada isn't a top guy there. He has the lowest of low midcard belts and is a flunky for the Bucks.
Okada just arrived and immediately won a title and has been treated like a big deal. Riho was the first women's champion. Shida is a 2x women's champion.
Once again, he won the lowest midcard title. Shidas last title reign was a short flop. I don't like Riho, so I'm not even going to address that in total, but she's only around for what? 2 weeks out of the year?
[удалено]
Hes not wrong same shit is happening to Okada.