From Donegal to the Tokyo Dome: Meet AEW's newest wrestling superstar

Gabriel McMenamin has just signed a professional contract with one of the biggest wrestling organisations in the world in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

He’s a 28-year-old Nottingham native but through his dad Noel, a Ballybofey man, Gabriel, or, as he’s better known as in the ring, Gabe Kidd, is already a huge deal inside the squared circle.

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The Tokyo Dome is one of the most famous sports arenas in the world. It houses close to 60,000 fans and has hosted some of the most famous and, indeed, infamous sporting events in history.

It’s the same arena that James ‘Buster’ Douglas landed the most seismic left hook in boxing history when he upset Mike Tyson back in 1990.

McMenamin, wrestling for the New Japan promotion at the time, made the same walk early on last year as he battled the iconic Kenny Omega.

And while he didn’t have his hand raised on that occasion, it was an effort that demanded attention.

The contest would eventually go on to be crowned ‘match of the year’, and it was a performance that no doubt eventually helped catapult him towards the bright lights and big leage that is AEW.

He’s been inundated with international media requests on both sides of the Atlantic in recent weeks, but he admits one in particular caught his attention.

“When I read that someone wanted to talk about my links to Ballybofey, my Donegal and Irish heritage, I just had to jump on that one”, Kidd told DonegalLive.

“My dad Noel was born and raised in Donegal, Ballybofey to be precise. I’m a McMenamin and there are loads of cousins in and around the Finn Valley area.

“When I was a kid, and we visited so many times on school holidays and summer, I used to head along to Finn Park with dad to watch the mighty Finn Harps.

“One of my uncle’s, his wife runs Conkers and whenever I’m back… my god, it’s some spot. Curry on a Tuesday!

“MacCumhaills and Glenfin, my younger cousin Niall was a big Glenfin man and that’s a huge rivalry. I’m sure they are still knocking lumps out of each other!

“My dad would have moved to London originally but my mum is from Nottingham and that’s where we eventually settled”.

Kidd has wasted no time in making his presence felt since the full-time switch to AEW - a brand owned by business mogul Tony Khan whose family also holds NFL franchise The Jacksonville Jaguars and English Premier League outfit Fulham FC amongst their other sporting portfolios.

In the world of professional wrestling, and we see it just as prevalent in boxing now as well, standing out from the crowd, making an entrance on the way to the ring feels just as important or as significant as what’s delivered inside it.

But Kidd is stripped back in a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of manner that, in its own unique way, hits just as hard, if not harder, than any pyrotechnics or gimmick entrance could or would.

Black boots and black shorts, accompanied by a menacing snarl, is all he needs to walk that ramp and to get the crowd going.

He says he’s been influenced by certain individuals over the years but, in the end, being himself is what’s propelled him from the small town halls of Ireland and the UK to what are now the largest indoor and outdoor sports venues in the world.

“I never go into a wrestling match looking to emulate anyone. I try to be myself and it’s served me well so far.

“Like, growing up, I grew up on watching AJ Styles. That’s what first pricked my attention. But he’s a very different wrestler to me.

“Then, as I really delved into it, I decided this is what I want to do for a living, to put bread on my family’s table doing.

“I gravitated towards the guys who beat people up. Watching back the likes of Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen, that just resonated with me in a much different way.

“I’ve never conformed - I’ve always looked to be the first to do it my way. When you do that, you either succeed or fail on your own terms.

“Of course you look at something or someone, Dynamite Kid say also, and think to yourself, ‘I liked the way he did that’.

“But I always thought, how do I do that, but do it differently, do it my way?

“Sometimes someone will watch a particular match of mine and say, ‘man, did that guy owe you money, steal your dog or something?

“I say no, he’s my opponent and I just like to beat people up.

“Most importantly, I want to win. The art of winning, in professional wrestling, has been lost a little, I feel”.

The ‘Wrestle Dynasty’ event in early 2025 was a collaborative extravaganza between the NJPW, AEW, STARDOM, Ring of Honor, and CMLL organisations.

On one of the grandest sporting stages of all in Tokyo, Omega, one of the biggest names in the sport, was making a return to the ring after close to a year and a half out through illness.

The fact that Kidd was chosen as the one to stand in the opposite corner of the ring that night was an endorsement in itself.

Omega eventually emerged victorious , but only after a bloody battle. More importantly, Kidd’s performance was being discussed just as openly and, indeed, feverishly as Omega’s return was, both amongst the departing capacity crowd and online, across so many social media platforms.

Fast-forward 15 months and there can be no doubt the reaction to all of that had to have had a huge influence on AEW’s decision to make an approach and add Kidd to their roster full-time.

“That bout got voted Match of the Year and it actually happened on January 5. So it set an early bar that wasn’t topped.

“There was emotion behind it. People all over the world wanted to see Kenny Omega return. But there was a guy, at a time when no one was sticking up for New Japan Pro Wrestling, that was doing it - and that was me.

“But times change quickly and if you can’t beat them, join them. And now I’m on the other side. I’m all in with AEW.

“People might feel differently now, watching it back with everything that’s transpired. Those companies were working together.

“There was a way I felt about it at the time and I voiced that. If you watched that match, without the actual backstory, it’s not the same. It was even more special because of the symbolism attached.

“There was a guy sticking up for the company at a time and that’s what really resonated. This is a game of emotion and that tapped into that”.

It’s been quite the few weeks for Kidd as he gets set to become a household name across the globe, much in the same manner that WWE’s Irish superstars Becky Lynch, Sheamus and Finn Balor are.

That’s just how big a deal this move is for Kidd.

“I do feel blessed, of course, but at the same time, I’m not a product of luck. It’s been a result of believing in myself from day one when so many people probably thought I was mad in the head!

“I have to give that perseverance and work ethic to my father, my family, and the people around me from a young age, who encouraged me to chase my dream”.

A chilled out Gabriel McMenamin reflecting on time spent back in Ireland and indeed speculating on what his complete transition to AEW might look like in the weeks and months ahead, is courteous, humorous and mannerly.

“It’s the Ballybofey in me” he jokes.

He’s also an honest and open book when it comes to discussing mental health, of which he’s brilliantly candid about in other interviews and press.

But when it comes to his ultimate aspirations and ambitions in wrestling, he flips 180 and Gabe Kidd is most certainly back in the room.

“My character, what I bring, is specifically a result of personal struggle. When I was already main eventing in England, I took myself out of that and landed myself in the middle of the New Japan Dojo. That’s the hardest wrestling system in the world to come through.

“Everything I’ve been involved in up to this point has sort of shaped me, it’s made me what I am. I don’t take inspiration from people inside wrestling; they’ve already done it.

“I look outside of that, I look at all walks of life. Everyone has climbed a mountain of sorts. I see Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Kron Gracie… those guys just walked in there and owned the spotlight.

“They commanded the attention. And that’s what I do too. I’m well aware in this new environment, under the bright lights of AEW, initially not many people might have known who I was.

“But they do now. And every night moving forward, when fans leave the building, I’m going to be the one they talk about and want to see again.

“But at the end of the day, you can hat tip, look at others and admire what they do. But it ultimately has to come from within.

“The Tokyo Dome, it’s one of the most famous sports arenas in the world. That huge match with Kenny Omega was a big deal.

“In the weeks and even days leading in, I remember so many people coming up to me asking me what music do I want, what pyrotechnics, screens and lasers do I need for my entrance.

“I’m just saying, I want absolutely nothing special. So many people get too caught up in all of that. I just want to get in there with minimal fuss.

“Because I know I will show you my heart and soul in that ring and, at the end of the day, that’s what really matters. Passion is the most important thing for me”.

Indie promotion MegaSlam Wrestling is one of a number of small organisations that regularly tour the UK and Ireland and, just a week ago, put on a great show at the Balor Theatre in Ballybofey.

Kidd has been in that same position himself, trying to make ends meet, town to town, out of the back of a transit van.

Setting up the ring, selling the merchandise and also wrestling on that same card later on that evening; that old struggle means he’ll never take anything for granted.

He’s now living his dream, their dream too no doubt, but he says he’s intent on coming back and, giving back, at some of those same old familiar haunts.

“People look at my age sometimes, and they think that at 28, I’m still relatively a baby in this industry. What people don’t realise is that I’m a veteran territory now. I first climbed through the ropes at 14.

“This November, it’ll actually be 15 years since my very first match. When I explain my Irish heritage and roots, people keep mentioning the likes of Finn Balor to me, like it should mean something.

“I’ve never actually met him. But I’ll tell you now, I’ll wrestle Finn Balor someday and I’ll kick his ass in front of a lot of people.

“I’d even go as far to say I’m more Irish than Finn Balor. But all those guys, the Becky Lynch’s, the Sheamus’, they all came up through the small shows in both Ireland and England.

“I see there was a show in the Balor Theatre last week as well. I’ll make a promise now. I’ll come back to Ballybofey and I’ll wrestle in the Balor Theatre. That’s definitely on the list.

“Finn Balor at the Balor Theatre? That has a nice ring to it! There is a building in Nottingham that’s also on the list.

“You simply can’t forget where you came from, what shaped you. And to get the chance to go home, Ballybofey and Nottingham, I’m down for that. So I’m just putting that out there right now!”