Jericho beat Takeshita in Japan because he didn’t want it to be just another match on Dynamite

This Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho and Konosuke Takeshita will be on opposite sides of an eight-man Street Fight — the latest big match in the feud between The Don Callis Family, of which Takeshita is a member, and Jericho, Kenny Omega & their allies.

Jericho & company will head into that one with some momentum, thanks to his victory over Takeshita yesterday (Nov. 12) at DDT Ultimate Party 2023 in Tokyo’s Ryōgoku Kokugikan. It was Jericho’s first match in Japan since 2020, and first ever for DDT Pro-Wrestling. Outside of AEW, DDT is Takeshita’s home promotion.

Despite that, and Jericho’s efforts to play the visiting heel, the crowd was with the debuting legend for much of a match that went almost a half-hour before Takeshita tapped out to a Liontamer. Jericho shared highlights from DDT’s Wrestle Universe streaming service on Twitter/X, and called it his favorite match of the year.

Speaking to the media after the match, Jericho praised Takeshita:

“I just think he’s gaining more and more confidence because he knows who he is as a wrestler. That’s very important for any young wrestler to understand who you are as an athlete, as a showman, as an entertainer. That’s how you become a Main Event money-drawing professional wrestler, and now he knows who he is. He understands when to make big moves. I think it’s a cliche, but I think the sky’s the limit for him, and I would wrestle him 100 times in a row if I had the opportunity.”

He also explained that it was important that do that match in Japan as opposed to on AEW television:

“I had this idea for this match with Takeshita and I didn’t want to have it just on Dynamite, just another match, I wanted it to be something special.

“I wanted to have a match that was special and I wanted to have it here in Japan and I think the match was very special and I was very happy with the crowd, the fans, DDT as a company, and most importantly Takeshita as a great opponent.”

Jericho also made a point to thank Genichiro Tenryu in his post-match remarks, saying the retired All Japan star was a mentor to him when he first came to Japan back in the 1990s.