Konosuke Takeshita Maple Leaf Pro bout won’t be for AEW International title
The AEW International title will not be defended on the first night of MLP’s Forged in Excellence this weekend.
On X, the promotion wrote that while Konosuke Takeshita’s title won’t be on the line, if Speedball Mike Bailey does win the title, he will earn a future shot at the title.
“Night One’s main event for #MLPForgedInExcellence is new @AEW International Champion Konosuke @Takesoup versus TNA X-Division Champion @SpeedballBailey,” they wrote. “And while Takeshita’s new title is NOT on the line in the match, it still has huge implications – if Speedball WINS, he earns a future title shot at the AEW International Champion! It all goes down on Saturday, October 19 in Windsor, Ontario!”
It was announced on Monday that Takeshita will defend the title on the second night of Forged in Excellence against Josh Alexander. That announcement video featured highlights of the media scrum that took place following Takeshita’s win where he and Don Callis promised to defend the title all over the world.
Here is the updated lineup for both nights of Forged in Excellence:
Night one (Saturday, October 19):
- Konosuke Takeshita vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
- Rohan Raja vs. Jake Something for the inaugural PWA Champion’s Grail Championship
- Bhupinder Gujjar vs. QT Marshall (w/ Harley Cameron)
- Tables match: Bully Ray vs. Raj Dhesi (former WWE wrestler Jinder Mahal)
- Laynie Luck vs. Taylor Rising vs. Kylie Rae vs. Aurora Teves
- Josh Alexander, Stu Grayson & El Phantasmo vs. Trevor Lee (the former Cameron Grimes), Rocky Romero & Alex Zayne
- Gisele Shaw vs. Miyu Yamashita (If Yamashita wins, she’ll be added to the ROH title match on night two)
- Four-way tag team match: The Intergalactic Jet Setters (KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight) vs. Aiden Prince & El Reverso vs. Rogue Squadron (Rohit Raju & Sheldon Prince) vs. Brent Banks & Johnny Swinger
Night two (Sunday, October 20):
- AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Josh Alexander
- ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Gisele Shaw
- QPW Qatar Champion Classy Ali defends against El Reverso
- Speedball Mike Bailey vs. El Phantasmo
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.