Gabe Kidd Says NJPW Went Back on Its Word on a Title Shot
Summary: Gabe Kidd said in an interview with Chris Jericho that NJPW told him he would get IWGP title opportunities if he became popular, then did not follow through, F4W Online reported on Nov. 5. NJPW has not responded.
The quick version
- Kidd said NJPW officials told him on the phone that if he became popular, they would put him in title situations, per F4W Online's transcription.
- He said he has still not had an IWGP title match, and that NJPW sent him to wrestle House of Torture for months instead.
- We found no NJPW response. Kidd defends the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against Yuya Uemura at Wrestle Kingdom 21 on Jan. 4.
Gabe Kidd says NJPW did not keep its word on a title shot. F4W Online (Shounak Chakrabarti) reported on Thursday, Nov. 5, that Kidd made the claim in an interview with Chris Jericho. WrestleZone cited the same interview on Nov. 4 in a separate story about Kidd and Jon Moxley. The interview itself was on YouTube. We have not watched it, so the quotes below come from F4W Online's transcription.
What Kidd said
Kidd described asking NJPW for an IWGP title match against Kazuchika Okada while he was recovering. He said NJPW officials answered by phone. In F4W's transcription: "If you become popular, we're going to put you in those situations."
He said that in the middle of the year he wanted to be in America more, and that he had given NJPW everything. He added: "I still to this day haven't had an IWGP title match."
F4W says Kidd believed he had met NJPW's condition after his January 2025 match against Kenny Omega. It says he then offered to represent NJPW internationally to Bushiroad's Takaaki Kidani and was sent to spend months wrestling House of Torture. Kidd said, in F4W's transcription: "You told me that at my lowest, at my most vulnerable, you told me that and you didn't follow through on your word."
F4W says Kidd tied these disappointments to his move to AEW. The reports do not give the date of the interview, and we do not know where in the conversation these remarks came.
What is known about his NJPW status
Kidd is the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. He beat Taichi on Nov. 3 at Power Struggle, then attacked NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi. See our results story. The Wrestle Kingdom 21 card lists Kidd against Uemura for that title on Jan. 4 in the Tokyo Dome. See that card story. NJPW's own news page lists the Wrestle Kingdom 21 news from Nov. 4, including a headline about Kidd provoking an emotional press conference with Uemura.
What we do not know
We found no comment from NJPW, Takaaki Kidani or Tanahashi on the interview. We do not know how NJPW would describe those phone calls, and the claims are Kidd's. We also cannot say whether his comments are connected to his current NJPW storyline. Neither report says so.
Source: F4W Online's transcription of Kidd's interview with Chris Jericho, with WrestleZone as confirmation that the interview exists. We did not watch the interview and we did not contact NJPW or Kidd.
Sources
- F4W Online (Shounak Chakrabarti), "Gabe Kidd reveals frustration with NJPW officials after Kenny Omega match", Nov. 5, 2026 (the quotes and the account of the phone calls). https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/gabe-kidd-reveals-frustration-with-njpw-officials-after-kenny-omega-match/
- WrestleZone (Manik Aftab), "AEW Star Reveals Real-Life Tensions With Jon Moxley Eased After PAC Tribute", Nov. 4, 2026 (confirms the Jericho interview). https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1669854-gabe-kidd-jon-moxley-real-life-tensions-pac-tribute
- Chris Jericho, interview with Gabe Kidd, YouTube, as linked by F4W Online and WrestleZone. We did not watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AhH159EhBw
- NJPW, news page listing, read Nov. 8, 2026 (Wrestle Kingdom 21 headlines of Nov. 4). https://www.njpw1972.com/news
- WrestlingNews.com, "NJPW Power Struggle Results: Kidd Keeps Title, Omega Pins Tsuji", Nov. 4, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/njpw-power-struggle-results-nov-3/
- WrestlingNews.com, "7 Matches Set for Wrestle Kingdom 21, Led by Tsuji vs. Omega", Nov. 5, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/seven-matches-set-wrestle-kingdom-21/
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: compared F4W Online's transcription with WrestleZone's mention of the same interview. We did not contact NJPW or Kidd.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.