New Japan Pro Wrestling Champion Sends Warning to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
Gabe Kidd doesn't want to see Rhodes in NJPW territory.
WWE is returning to the land of the rising sun for the first time in five years. The sports-entertainment giant announced that it would be embarking on a three-show tour of Japan this July and would feature stars like WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kairi Sane, Asuka, and IYO SKY in matches. Outside of the United States, Japan is one of the largest markets for professional wrestling, as the country is home to a number of historic promotions that regularly draw healthy crowds. Sitting atop the Far East is New Japan Pro Wrestling, a multi-decade old promotion that is largely considered to be the No.3 wrestling company in the world today.
NJPW's Gabe Kidd Sends Warning to Cody Rhodes
One of New Japan's champions does not want to see the American Nightmare in his domain.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes helped hype WWE's announcement of its upcoming Japan tour on Twitter, which caught the attention of NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd.
"STAY OUT OF MY TERRITORY BEFORE I SLAP YOU UP AND TAKE YOUR BELT AGAIN," Kidd replied.
While he is no rookie to the wrestling world, Kidd is garnering the most mainstream attention of his career within the past year. After spending the 2010s having relative success on the British independent circuit, including that aforementioned WCPW Internet Championship victory over Rhodes, Kidd headed to New Japan Pro Wrestling to essentially start fresh, working within NJPW's Young Lion system. After graduating from being a Young Lion, Kidd began working in NJPW STRONG, New Japan's American division, for a couple of years before finding his footing as a member of Bullet Club in June 2023.
Helping launch a new offshoot of the legendary faction dubbed Bullet Club War Dogs, Kidd found himself in and amongst New Japan's top stars thanks to his participation in the G1 Climax. Later that year, Kidd engaged in a white-hot feud with Will Ospreay that culminated in a hard-hitting brawl for RevPro. Kidd rode that momentum into 2024 all the way to an NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship contest against then-titleholder Eddie Kingston at NJPW STRONG Resurgence, which he emerged victorious in. With former IWGP World Champions like Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and Jay White all gone from NJPW, many have eyed Kidd as filling the shoes that those men left as the company's top gaijin.
