How Konosuke Takeshita became the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion #wrestling #njpw #shorts

t all started in August 2025, when Takeshita entered the G1 Climax 35 tournament — New Japan’s toughest competition. Match after match, he tore through the field, defeating top names like Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi. Then, in the finals, he faced EVIL. After a hard-hitting battle, Takeshita hit the Powerdrive Knee and pinned EVIL to win the entire G1 Climax. Winning the G1 meant one thing — a guaranteed shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The champion at the time was Zack Sabre Jr. Fans expected Takeshita to save his title shot for Wrestle Kingdom in January, but he shocked everyone when he announced he’d use it early — at King of Pro-Wrestling in October. Leading up to the match, Sabre Jr. defended his title at Destruction in Kobe, retaining against Ren Narita. After the match, NJPW officially confirmed Sabre vs. Takeshita for the championship. The build-up was tense — Sabre bragged that Takeshita wasn’t ready, while Takeshita promised to bring the title back to a new generation. Then came King of Pro-Wrestling 2025. Takeshita and Sabre went over 30 minutes in a technical and striking war. Sabre tried to twist Takeshita’s arm and leg out of place, but Takeshita kept fighting back with sheer power. In the end, Takeshita hit one Powerdrive Knee… then another. He covered Sabre — one, two, three.