AEW Star Konosuke Takeshita's Next NEVER Openweight Championship Defense Announced
2025 has already been a busy year for Konosuke Takeshita, and it's going to be getting a lot busier, as his next trip to NJPW has officially been announced. "The Alpha" defeated Shingo Takagi at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 19 event on January 4 to become the NEVER Openweight Champion, and has already defended his crown against Tomohiro Ishii and KUSHIDA respectively. Now he will have a different task at NJPW's The New Beginning in Osaka event on February 11, as he defends his title against Oleg Boltin.
Added to New Beginning in Osaka February 11!@takesoup will put the NEVER Openweight Championship on the line against @OlegBoltin!https://t.co/fRx0ctSvvo#njpw #njnbg pic.twitter.com/uehvwyVa9i
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) January 14, 2025
Boltin has been touted as one of NJPW's biggest prospects since signing with the company, as he attracted a lot of buzz through winning the gold medal at the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships in the 125kg weight class. Since his in-ring debut in 2023, he has already gone on to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship on two occasions alongside NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi and longtime roster member Toru Yano, with their second reign still ongoing. However, Takeshita has also been cited as someone who can carry NJPW into the future, with the company signing him to a one-year contract following his wins over Wrestle Kingdom weekend, meaning he now has contracts with NJPW, DDT, and AEW.
The current AEW International Champion won't be the only AEW representation at the event on February 11, as the company's EVP's, The Young Bucks, will also make their first defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship following their victory at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. They will face the team of Los Ingobrenables de Japon's Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi, while Rocky Romero will also be on the card, as he teams up with YOH to challenge the Ichiban Sweet Boys for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.