After four months in America wrestling for AEW, PWG, and a number of other independent wrestling promotions across the country, Konosuke Takeshita said goodbye to his adoptive home and returned to Japan.

Was it a bummer? For his rapidly expanding collection of fans, you bet, but Takeshita had business to attend to in DDT, his home promotion, and thus, had to announce his return to Japan over, say, a run of farewell shows announced in advance. Still, with matches against the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, Jonathan Gresham, Nick Wayne, and Josh Alexander over his final month in the American market alone, it's not like there were many boxes left on his wishlist to check. He wrestled “Hangman” Adam Page, Eddie Kingston, and Daniel Garcia, too; with Kenny Omega out with injury, what matches were really left for Takeshita to wrestle? CM Punk? Bryan Danielson? Adam Cole?

Well, fortunately for fans, those matches may still come, as Konosuke Takeshita has officially been announced as a participant in this year's King of the Indies, an event run by Pro Wrestling Revolution in partnership with West Coast Pro that will be held on November 19th in San Francisco. Though the full tournament hasn't been announced yet, Naomichi Marufuji of Pro Wrestling Noah has been confirmed for the event, as has 2022 West Coast Cup winner Titus Alexander. Considering the level talent PWR and West Coast Pro typically draw to their shows, with  “Speedball” Mike Bayley, Jacob Fatu, and Davey Richards being fixtures of the promotions, it's safe to say Takeshita is in store for a fun run with a lot of upside worthy of the price of admission.

And the best part? Takeshita likely isn't going to simply wrestle the show and fly home. No, if Takeshita buys a round-trip ticket, it'll likely feature a flexible return date, as something tells me Tony Khan will want to get back into the “Takesoup” business and the feeling, as they say, is mutual.

AEW looks like Konosuke Takeshita's preferred destination moving forward.

When Dave Meltzer reported that WWE was looking to bolster their roster with a “big-named” Japanese performer, many a fan worried if Takeshita – and Kota Ibushi – could potentially be in Paul “Triple H” Levesque's crosshairs. On paper, the fit was obvious – Takeshita had the size WWE was looking for, the athleticism to make any move a booker could lay out, and a loose enough character to be molded into whatever gimmick the company would like to run with moving forward.

With money to burn and a desire to outdo AEW in the court of public opinion, Levesque could offer up a pretty darn impressive contract to Takeshita that Khan may not be able to match, with more dates and international opportunities at his disposal. Fortunately, Takeshita appears to be very happy with the relationship he's forged with AEW and would like to join the company full-time moving forward, as he detailed to Cultaholic earlier this month.

“To be honest, now I'm not interested in WWE. My next goal is more fights in AEW I hope. So I have to go to back to Japan in August and September. Maybe, not decided yet, I hope I go back to America in October. Then if I stay in the US I can come to the UK more times. From Japan to the UK is so far but US to UK is maybe seven hours. It's possible.”

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Interesting, right? With a show booked for November, it looks like things are shaping up for Takeshita to pursue a stateside career after his excursion. But what if I were to tell you his excursion wasn't supposed to be an excursion at all? That's right, according to the man himself on the Eric Novak of Wrestling Republic on the All Real Wrestling Podcast via a translation from Michael Nakazawa and a transcription from Fightful, it would appear Takeshita will be America-bound once his contract comes due.

“He didn't mean to do an excursion. His goal is to move here and make his living by wrestling here. This is not an excursion. He might have to go back to Japan eventually, but he didn't mean it. This is not an excursion for him. He tried to come here, move here, make a living on his own by wrestling. That's why he chose AEW.”

“I hope to return to the US, ASAP. Maybe October or November. I hope so. I have to talk with DDT.”

Tony Khan, take note: Konosuke Takeshita is about to be on the market.