Shota Umino To Defend IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Against Gabe Kidd At 7/6 NJPW Road To G1
Shota Umino gets his next title defense.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Shota Umino will defend his IWGP Global Heavyweight Title against Gabe Kidd on July 7 at NJPW Road To G1 Climax.
Umino successfully retained the title at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, defeating PAC.
Kidd made his return at NJPW Dominion, attacking Umino after he had won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title.
From NJPW:
In a massive shock addition to the card, Korakuen Hall will see its first ever IWGP Global heavyweight Championship defence, with Shota Umino putting the belt on the line against Gabe Kidd.
Moments after Umino won the Global title, his first career championship, at Dominion, he was attacked from behind by Kidd. The ‘Madman’ had previously attacked Yota Tsuji when Tsuji still held the white belt back in April, initially challenging for the gold for Dontaku, but a shoulder injury put him on the shelf.
This time, it wasn’t the belt that was Kidd’s target, but its holder; Kidd has long held some of his deep reserves of ire just for Umino, but now that Shota was a champion, Kidd was eager to rain on his parade, and tell the Hontai star that he ‘isn’t and never will be a Death Rider’. With Kidd currently unable to wrestle in the United States, it was PAC that stepped up to challenge Umino for the Death Riders team instead, and mere hours before the July 6 card was finalised, Umino racked up his first defence with an impressive victory in San Jose at Forbidden Door.
Umino would endure tremendous punishment from the AEW star, being thrown through ringside tables and enduring PAC’s Brutalizer submission. Once again, though, Umino will have little time to celebrate his victory. Kidd is bound and determined to steal away the Global title from New Japan, but more significantly to maim Shota and take him from his greatest career high to date to his absolute nadir.
The July 6 NJPW event will be headlined by YOH defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title against Francesco Akira.
You can find results from around the wrestling world at Fightful’s results section.
