Shota Umino hoping to defend NJPW Global title against AEW opponents
When it comes to potential challengers for his IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, Shota Umino has several AEW names in mind.
Umino retained the belt over PAC at Forbidden Door and is now slated to defend against Gabe Kidd at NJPW’s July 6 event at Korakuen Hall. He spoke ahead of that matchup and listed some of the AEW stars he’d like to put the belt on the line against. Because all of those dream matchups are out there, Umino thinks he makes for a much more interesting Global Champion than Kidd.
“When it comes to AEW, I have a history with the Death Riders, Will Ospreay, David Finlay, Jay White, Chris Jericho, and Kazuchika Okada,” Umino said. “I think that by defeating all of those wrestlers one after another as the Global Champion, the value of both the belt and myself will increase. To be honest, I think it would be more interesting if I held the Global title. Conversely, what can Gabe do now?”
Along with that, Umino is interested in a matchup against his former mentor Jon Moxley. The two had an interaction at Forbidden Door that was diffused before anything could come of it. Umino furthered that angle in this interview, which was conducted backstage at an NJPW event.
“I’m sorry if I’m imagining things, but Moxley looked happy [at Forbidden Door],” Umino said. “I got the feeling that he was saying, ‘So you’ve made it this far.’ I also feel that I’ve finally been able to stand in the same ring as him, and I’m just going to keep pushing forward towards that goal.”
Umino also noted that he’d like to defend against NJPW wrestler Drilla Moloney, who was involved in the three-way match where Umino won the Global title from Andrade El Idolo at Dominion.
NJPW’s Global Heavyweight Championship —
The IWGP Global title was introduced in 2024, and Umino is the eighth-ever wrestler to hold the belt. It’s a championship that is primarily held by or defended against international stars.
Umino and Kidd’s title match was originally supposed to happen at Forbidden Door but could not take place in the United States due to the visa issues Kidd is going through. Those issues mean that Kidd also does not have a match on the opening night of the G1 in Chicago on July 11. Both Kidd and Umino are part of the B Block for the round-robin tournament.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.