Gabe Kidd has made a name for himself in NJPW as one of the most unyielding and aggressive personalities in the company today.

Earning the nickname “The Mad Man”, the current NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion became known for violent fits of rage. So it was no surprise when he decided to face AEW star and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega backstage at the Power Struggle event on November 4th following their exchange on social media.

More recently, Omega did an interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling where he misspelled Kidd’s name while calling out some of the promotion’s young stars prior to his recent return.

“Look, I went to him backstage. I didn’t try to get into any of this stuff that’s going on.” Kidd said Take down. “I knew where he was going to be after he got off the mic, I knew where he was going to be, so I waited for him and those little press staff rats, they were waiting around the corner, they. he heard us talking.”

“I was just trying to have a conversation with him, but I got upset. Look, I told him this before anything, before pro wrestling, I’m a man, a really crazy one, so if you miss me like this, I hate it when these people like MJF and Kenny try to act like they don’t know my name because they’re not cool and they’re trying to act cool in front of these other people, fight fans, who are also not cool. They’re just a bunch of cool people trying to act cool and it doesn’t look good, you get slapped for it where I’m at with him what happened, happened”.

On November 7, Fightful’s Sean Ross released a video sent to the outlet of Kidd’s altercation with Omega and the words exchanged between the two prior to the physical encounter.

“So, I think you know my phone has been blowing up in the last hour, everybody, all these little nerds on the internet, they’re like, ‘Who is this guy, why is he stepping on the GOAT?’ I don’t even care about nerds, I don’t even care what you think about this guy, you worship this man and I slapped him backstage after he got rude. Don’t tell me anything, this guy you worship cheated on me.

Kidd’s issues with Omega date back to a back-and-forth Twitter exchange the two men had during last summer’s NJPW G1 Climax 34 tournament, where the former AEW World Champion called out the promotion’s new stars.

“I don’t care if you want to talk shit backstage, put it on. I saw him talking shit on Twitter during the G1 saying “Go win the G1 maybe I’ll give you Kenny Omega. touching.’ I don’t need nobody’s touch, I’m the craziest, nobody brings professional fighting experience like me, I’m violent, destructive and all these aggressive words you can think of, that’s me, that’s the style my fighting spirit, that’s what it represents.”

After his fight backstage with Kidd, Kenny Omega spoke with Tokyo Sportscalling the NJPW star’s actions “unprofessional.” Referring to the infamous “Brawl Out” backstage incident at AEW All Out 2022, Omega compared Kidd to current WWE star CM Punk, referring to him as “the other guy”.

“What I thought was funny is he immediately ran out of the building, ran to Tokyo Sports, said I pushed him and got into a fighting position and he got the first punch. Well, if you did, I didn’t feel like shit because everyone heard. that slap I gave you in that video.”

“Listen, I don’t care about any of those guys, any of those stories.” Kidd said. “Have you seen the Jack Perry video and ‘he who shall not be named little Phil’ shall we call him?” Little Phil was the most embarrassing thing I have ever seen and they advertised it on TV it was the WORST thing I have ever seen in my life I have seen better scraps at nursery , it was embarrassing, so I don’t care if he compared her to that.

All Elite Wrestling drew criticism in April 2024 when they decided to air footage of CM Punk’s backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In London 2023 on AEW Dynamite. This backstage incident led to Perry’s suspension and Punk’s subsequent firing from the company.

“I tell you what that guy couldn’t hit as hard as me because you got slapped and double-legged your ass through a bunch of chairs. So, I don’t care about any of these people. He was disrespectful. he and I had a relationship, for me, that’s all I care about.” Kidd said referring to Omega.

Before starting All Elite Wrestling alongside Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Tony Khan, Omega became a mainstream star in NJPW as the company’s top outside talent.

Through critically acclaimed matches against Kazuchika Okada and Chris Jericho, “The Cleaner” became one of the most beloved gaijin stars to compete in the promotion. This fact is not lost on Gabe Kidd, who believes Omega ditched NJPW to start AEW.

“You left New Japan and these people love you, you left New Japan, you abandoned it to start this new company and now you want to come back here like you don’t have a job anywhere else. You came back here because you know New Japan is the best, you came back here because you know New Japan is number one.”

During Omega’s in-ring promo at NJPW Power Struggle, he teased his in-ring return after being removed from December 2023 at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. The event will be co-promotional with stars from AEW, NJPW, STARDOM, CMLL and ROH.

While many stars in New Japan would like to get this match with “The Best Bout Machine” at the Tokyo Dome, the company seems to have only one option after the Power Struggle. After his backstage meeting with the AEW star, Kidd officially stated that he has his sights set on the huge Wrestle Dynasty show to settle this score with Omega once and for all.

“So don’t talk to me about ‘oh, who’s going to step up and match me?’ I slapped you backstage, what do you think I can do in front of 50,000 people at the Tokyo Dome, I’ll finish you Kenny “I can’t think of anything else, it’s up to that bitch if she takes it or not.”

Gabe Kidd will defend the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship against Kosei Fujita in the main event of NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Lowell, Massachusetts on Friday, November 8th. Fans can watch the show at njpwworld.com and TV thriller.

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