Current Champion Withdraws From Tournament After Match With AEW Star

Published: Jul 25, 2025 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Jul 25, 2025 by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

AEW

A current champion has withdrawn from a tournament in their home promotion after last competing against an AEW star.

Gabe Kidd, who competed alongside Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta of Death Riders at AEW All In: Texas, was forced to forfeit his second match in the NJPW G1 Climax tournament.

Having faced Konosuke Takeshita on July 19, Kidd was set to take on Zack Sabre Jr, but announced that he hyper-extended his knee.

Despite having to also pull out of his next match with Shingo Takagi, IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion had hoped to compete in the rest of the G1 Climax 35 tournament, but now a new update has emerged regarding Kidd’s injury.

A post on the official NJPW Twitter account confirmed that Gabe Kidd has had to withdraw from the tournament, with the star announcing:

“I received hundreds of messages from fans saying, ‘Rest well and come back stronger.’ I promise that when I return to this cerulean blue ring, I will be the strongest Gabe Kidd ever.”

With Kidd’s fellow Bullet Club War Dogs member Drilla Moloney also in Block B of the G1 Climax 35, the pair would have faced off during the tournament.

Moloney sent his thoughts on the missed opportunity in an Instagram Stories post, noting he was “prioritizing his brothers’ well-being over competition”, stating:

“When the time is right, we will fight. True brothers prioritize their brothers’ well-being over competition. Fighting a brother who isn’t 100% healthy is no honor. Prayer of recovery. I’ll do it soon!”

Along with being the current IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion, Kidd is a former Strong Openweight Champion and held the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship with Alex Coughlin.

WrestleTalk wishes Gabe Kidd well in his recovery from injury.

🏆G1 CLIMAX 35🔥大田区大会‼️@GabeKidd0115 がG1全試合欠場を発表
We are waiting for Gabe to come back.#njpwworld で配信中📡

視聴＆登録⏩「NJPW WORLD」で検索📱#NJPW #njpwworld #G1CLIMAX35 pic.twitter.com/JPawd0Wqsw

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 25, 2025