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Gabe Kidd
English professional wrestler (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gabriel Michael McMenamin[1] (born 24 April 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Gabe Kidd. He is a member of the Bullet Club and its War Dogs sub-group, and is the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former Strong Openweight Champion and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion. He also makes appearances for partner promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH).
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Professional wrestling career
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Early career (2011–2019)
McMenamin made his debut in 2011 under the name Kid Danger and at that time, he wrestled under a mask to conceal his age.[2][3]
In 2013, McMenamin switched to the name of Gabriel Kidd.[4]
On 29 April 2017, Kidd won the WCPW Internet Championship, one of the titles of WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, in a triple threat match involving defending champion Cody Rhodes and Joe Hendry.[5] He lost the title to Zack Sabre Jr. on 21 September.[6] On 2 June 2019, Kidd lost to Hendry in a "Loser Leaves Town" match, after which he left Defiant Wrestling.[7]
On 29 June, at a Revolution Pro Wrestling event, Kidd teamed with Kenneth Halfpenny and Shaun Jackson where they defeated Brendan White, NJPW young lions Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks. Katsuyori Shibata, was so impressed with Kidd and he went on to recommend him to NJPW officials, leading Kidd to be signed by NJPW.[8]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–present)
Young Lion (2020–2023)
On 25 January 2020, Kidd made his debut at New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[9] Later the same year, he entered the New Japan Cup and lost to Taiji Ishimori in the first round on 17 June.[10]
On 20 November 2022, at Historic X-Over, Kidd teamed with LA Dojo stablemates, Clark Connors, Kevin Knight and Alex Coughlin to defeat Kosei Fujita, Oskar Leube, Ryohei Oiwa and Yuto Nakashima.[11][12] A few days later, Coghlin and Kidd teamed together in the World Tag League, where they finished bottom of their block with just 2 points.[13]
Bullet Club; War Dogs (2023–present)
On 4 June 2023, at Dominion, Coughlin and Kidd, branded as Bullet Club War Dogs attacked Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi), following their victory of capturing both the IWGP Tag Team Championship and the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships, signalling their challenge for both titles, officially turning both men heel for the first time. The duo later accompanied Bullet Club leader, David Finlay to the ring in Bullet Club shirts, officially joining the stable.[14] On 4 July, night 1 of NJPW Independence Day, Kidd (now under the shortened name Gabe Kidd) and Coughlin defeated Bishamon to win the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships, marking both men’s first NJPW championships.[15] Later in the month, Kidd participated in the G1 Climax making his tournament debut and competing in the A Block.[16] Before the tournament, at the press conference Kidd attacked fellow A Block participants, Yota Tsuji and Kaito Kiyomiya, causing him to be removed from the conference prematurely.[17] In the tournament, Kidd finished with 5 points, failing to advance to the quarterfinal round.[18] On 9 October at Destruction in Ryōgoku, Kidd and Coughlin lost the Strong Openweight Tag Team Titles to Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo and Hikuleo), ending their reign at 97 days.[19]
The duo attempted to rebound the following month, entering the annual World Tag League, competing in the A-Block.[20] Kidd and Coughlin finished joint top of their block, with 10 points, advancing to the semi-final round.[21] In the semi-final round, the duo were defeated by Bishamon, eliminating them from the tournament.[22] On 17 March 2024 it was reported that Kidd had re-signed with NJPW.[23] Kidd participated in the 2024 New Japan Cup, where he defeated Callum Newman in the first round, but would be eliminated by Shingo Takagi in the second.[24] At Sakura Genesis, Kidd attacked Takagi after the latter defeated Evil for the NEVER Openweight Championship and cut a worked shoot promo, criticizing NJPW, spitting in the face of NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi, and then challenged Takagi for his championship.[25] On night 2 of Wrestling Dontaku, Kidd was unsuccessful in winning the championship from Takagi.[26] On 11 May he defeated Eddie Kingston in a No Ropes Last Man Standing match at Resurgence to become the youngest ever Strong Openweight Champion.[27] On June 9, Kidd appeared in Pro Wrestling Noah, teaming with Jake Lee, who was aligned with Bullet Club War Dogs, to face All Rebellion's Kaito Kiyomiya and Kenoh in a double count out. During the match, Kidd busted open Kiyomiya, though afterwards Kiyomiya got the upperhand and proclaimed that the title wasn't for him to own and that he would return the "bloodbath" in their title match. On June 16, at Grand Ship In Yokohama, Kidd unsuccessfully challenged Kiyomiya for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, ending Bullet Club War Dogs' feud with Kiyomiya's All Rebellion.[28] From July 20 and August 14, Kidd took part in the 2024 G1 Climax finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the play-off match of the tournament.[29] For the 2024 World Tag League, Kidd teamed with the newest War Dogs addition Sanada, where they were placed in A-Block. The duo finished at the top of their block and advanced to the grand finals, where they lost to Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi.
On 5 January 2025 at Wrestle Dynasty, Kidd was defeated by Kenny Omega.[30][31] Kidd then wrestled Yota Tsuji at The New Beginning in Osaka to a double knockout draw, failing to capture the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship. After the bout concluded, Evil returned to action as the House of Torture contingent of the Bullet Club attacked Kidd, declaring that they cut ties with the War Dogs sub-unit.[32] On 11 April at Windy City Riot, Kidd lost his Strong Openweight title to Tomohiro Ishii in a 30-minute Iron Man match in sudden death overtime 2-1.[33] On June 15 at Dominion 6.15 in Osaka-jo Hall, Kidd captured the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship by defeating then reigning champion Yota Tsuji.[34] Kidd participated in the 2025 G1 Climax[35], where he lost his first round match to Konosuke Takeshita, during which he suffered an injury to his right knee.[36] The injury forced him to withdraw from the tournament, forfeiting the rest of his matches.[37][38]
All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2024–present)
Due to the relationship between NJPW and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Kidd has appeared on both AEW and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) in 2024 and 2025, defeating the likes of The Butcher and Anthony Henry.[39][40][41]
On May 14, 2025 at Dynamite: Beach Break, Kidd aligned himself with Jon Moxley and his stable the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Marina Shafir) after assisting Moxley retain his AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe.[42] On May 25 at Double or Nothing, Kidd attempted to assist the Death Riders and The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson) in their Anarchy in the Arena match, but was thwarted by Mark Briscoe.[43] On July 12 at All In, Kidd teamed with Castagnoli and Yuta to unsuccessfully challenge The Opps (Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs) for the AEW World Trios Championship. In the main event match between Moxley and Adam Page, Kidd, Castagnoli, and Yuta attempted to interfere to assist Moxley, but would be chased off by a returning Bryan Danielson and Darby Allin.[44]
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Championships and accomplishments
- Empire Wrestling
- Empire Tag Team Championship (1 time, inaugural)[45] – with Saxon Huxley[46]
- House Of Pain Wrestling
- Kamikaze Pro
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- Underground Wrestling Revolution
- UWR Empire Championship (1 time)
- What Culture Pro Wrestling
- WCPW Internet Championship (1 time)[57]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
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References
External links
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