Top AEW star set for a double title match outside the company

A top AEW star will be competing for a prestigious championship in NJPW in the first week of 2026. This massive news has been making the rounds all over the professional wrestling industry.

Konosuke Takeshita has been the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion for the past few months in NJPW. He recently successfully defended his championship against Hirooki Goto at the Gifu Memorial Deai Dome. Following his match, the AEW star was confronted by his former rival and the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion, Yota Tsuji. The two stars had a stern faceoff where they both held their titles above their heads to assert their supremacy.

After this serious interaction, NJPW announced that the two stars will battle each other on January 6, 2026, at Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome. It is going to be a winner-takes-all match, where the victor will become both the IWGP World Heavyweight and Global Heavyweight Champion.

So far, Takeshita and Tsuji have faced each other twice, with each holding one victory. Their upcoming Wrestle Kingdom clash now stands as the ultimate decider in their rivalry. With that said, it will be interesting to see how things will unfold for Takeshita ahead of this high-stakes battle.

John Cena's last opponent leaked? Check here!

AEW's Konosuke Takeshita breaks his silence following his recent NJPW win

Konosuke Takeshita gave a dominating performance to defeat Hirooki Goto recently. It was an incredible battle that proved The Alpha that he is the top star in New Japan. Following his win, the 30-year-old star shared a confident message with his fans.

Taking to X, the Japanese superstar shared a picture with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship after his victory. He reminded his fans that he is still the champion in NJPW with bold letters.

Check out the X post below

Takeshita is also involved in serious tensions with Kazuchika Okada in AEW as of late. Therefore, he has a lot of stuff on his plate as of now in professional wrestling.

Make Sportskeeda your preferred choice for WWE content by clicking here: Source preferences

Edited by Anugrah Tyagi