After suffering an injury scare at AEW Dynasty 2026, as well as having some visa issues, Gabe Kidd is not only back in action, but he has already won a championship over in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and made sure to let company President Hiroshi Tanahashi how he felt about him.
On day six of NJPW’s “Road To G1 Climax 36” tour, Kidd faced off with Shota Umino for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship inside the iconic Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Umino had just recently defended the title against PAC at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026, with Umino being the original Death Rider as he was Jon Moxley’s protégé when he was a young lion. Kidd naturally took exception to Umino, not only for his affiliation with Moxley, but the fact that he was holding the title he called his own throughout the summer of 2025.
After a pre-match brawl, the two men finally locked horns, with Kidd causing chaos from the moment he walked through the curtain. In the end, Kidd’s ferociousness was too much Umino, and with both men bleeding, Kidd pulled a trick out of Moxley’s book by hitting the Paradigm Shift for the win to become the new IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. Once the match was over, Kidd got in Tanahashi’s face as he was at ringside, and after Tanahashi came to Umino’s aid at Forbidden Door, Kidd gave him a receipt by spitting in his face.
AEW’s Gabe Kidd spits in the face of NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi 😳pic.twitter.com/Em2K118cVR
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) July 6, 2026
Umino will get the chance to get his revenge on Kidd in the coming weeks as both men are in the same block for the G1 Climax tournament that kicks off on July 11. Their match will take place on Day 13 of the annual round robin competition, and by the time the two men lock horns in Yokohama, their bout could have major implications on who advances to the next phase of the tournament.
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