Gabe Kidd Confronts Hiroshi Tanahashi At NJPW G1 Climax Backstage Presser

TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 05: Hiroshi Tanaashi enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Ota-City General Gymnasium on January 05, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd recently spoke with the company on a number of topics including confronting NJPW President during the G1 Climax 34 backstage press event and calling him out.

Kidd said, “Hey Tanahashi, hey, come here.” “You walking past me? Let’s get it for the cameras. Stand here. Shut the f**k up and listen to me, look at me. You look at me in the eyes, I want you to see the hate in my eyes, you pay attention. I don’t know what you and these other little office busy bodies think that you’re doing, but you really want Shota to be that guy, don’t you? You really want Tsuji to be that guy. You really want Naruta, all these boys, musketeers. They ain’t got s**t on me.”

“Do I lie when I talk, do I talk lies? No I don’t, I say what I’m going to do and I do it. I’m the man up in here, none of them little b***hes. It’s me. Let me get this very clear. In 2008, New Japan was rock bottom, you remember? You saved this company, you saved this company. That was 2008, this is 2024 and I am actively saving this company every day so if you don’t start paying me the respect I f***ing deserve — putting those boys here and me there, no, I’m better than every single one of them. You don’t put the respect on my name that I deserve, I’m going to take everything from you. Everything.”

You can check out Kidd’s comments in the video below.

(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)