Why Konosuke Takeshita Is Missing Out On NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Title Match

AEW star Konosuke Takeshita won the NJPW G1, but he won’t be challenging for championship gold at Wrestle Kingdom.

For years now, the NJPW tradition has seen the winner of the prestigious NJPW G1 Climax challenge for the IWGP World Championship at the following Wrestle Kingdom. In 2023, Tetsuya Naito won the G1 before going on to Wrestle Kingdom in January 2024 to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from his former Los Ingobernables de Japon partner Sanada.

However, when Zack Sabre Jr. won the tournament in 2024, he didn’t wait until Wrestle Kingdom to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Sabre Jr. instead met Tetsuya Naito for that title at King of Pro Wrestling in October of the same year, with the English star winning the gold.

For the first time ever, an AEW star won the G1 Climax as Konosuke Takeshita tasted success. But now it’s been confirmed that The Alpha won’t be challenging for the top title in NJPW inside the Tokyo Dome.

Konosuke Takeshita Not Waiting Until Wrestle Kingdom

Zack Sabre Jr. successfully defended his title at Forbidden Door against Nigel McGuinness. And now NJPW has confirmed when and where Sabre Jr.’s next title match will take place. NJPW announced that he will next face House of Torture’s Ren Narita at Destruction in Kobe on September 28th. Narita defeated ZSJ during the round-robin section of the G1 Climax, earning him the title match.

The winner of that bout will then put the gold on the line against Konosuke Takeshita at King of Pro Wrestling on October 13th in Ryogoku Kokugikan.

2026’s Wrestle Kingdom will see the end for one legendary star as Hiroshi Tanahashi will have the final match of his career at that show.