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Konosuke Takeshita beat Ricochet at AEW Full Gear on Saturday to retain the International Championship.
Ricochet nearly secured the win after dodging Takeshita into a Benadryller but ultimately fell short after taking too long to climb to the top rope. Takeshita capitalized with an avalanche Falcon Arrow, clinching the victory via pinfall.
After making his AEW debut in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In over the summer, Ricochet got his first crack at the international title on the fifth-anniversary edition of Dynamite in October, losing to longtime rival Will Ospreay.
However, Ricochet got another shot just over one week later at WrestleDream, facing Ospreay and Takeshita in a three-way match. Due to interference from Kyle Fletcher, Takeshita pinned Ospreay to win the title.
Given that Ricochet did not take the fall in the three-way match, he continued to pursue the International Championship in the weeks that followed and kept his rivalry with Takeshita alive as a result.
Ricochet struck a major blow and put himself back in the title picture on the Nov. 6 episode of Dynamite when he teamed with Powerhouse Hobbs to beat Takeshita and Fletcher in a tag team match.
However, just two weeks later, the quartet of Takeshita, Fletcher, Brian Cage and Lance Archer defeated Ricochet, Ospreay, Hobbs and Mark Davis in an eight-man tag team bout.
Despite the loss, AEW president Tony Khan granted Ricochet a one-on-one championship match with Takeshita at Full Gear, giving the high flyer his best chance yet at championship gold in AEW.
Even before Ricochet’s arrival, Takeshita was considered one the best in-ring workers in AEW thanks to his matches against the likes of Ospreay, Kenny Omega and many others, but Ricochet presented an entirely different challenge.
Ricochet has long been viewed as one of the most athletic and death-defying wrestlers in the business, dating back to his time in Japan before signing with WWE and becoming a one-time United States champion and intercontinental champion.
He had a chance to add to his impressive résumé Saturday, and while it figures to happen eventually, Takeshita denied him the chance to call himself an AEW titleholder at Full Gear.
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