Gabe Kidd gets his first title defense.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Gabe Kidd will defend the IWGP Global Heavyweight TItle against Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Soul on July 4th.
Dominion in Osaka Jo Hall on June 15 saw four new champions crowned, with perhaps the biggest shift being the IWGP Global heavyweight Championship. Gabe Kidd gutted out a hard hitting fight with Yota Tsuji to lift the white and gold, after using Jon Moxley's Deathrider to set up for a Drill A Hole Piledriver and claim the victory.
It didn't take long for Kidd to nominate his first challenger, as the Mad Man quickly called Hiroshi Tanahashi to the ring. Kidd demanded that the Global gold be put on the line as part of the Ace's Final Road, and that title match is now set for July 4 in the Tokyo Budokan as part of the New Japan Soul tour.
Kidd's close connection to Tanahashi goes back to his days as a Young Lion, and Kidd has been public about how support from the Ace helped him through extreme mental difficulty in years past. With emotional ties deep, Tanahashi's tears at seeing Kidd's performance and pride in the Lion Mark on January 5 at Wrestle Dynasty has remained one of the most enduring images of the year so far. This Adachi showdown, only the second singles match for the two and the first on Japanese soil is sure to be just as emotional.
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