On the Night of Champions pre-show on September 16, Kidd was in a #1 Contender Battle Royal for a shot at the United States Championship where he was eliminated by Tensai. Kidd and Gabriel then competed in a series of tag team matches on "Superstars" against Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, winning every match. On the debut episode of "Main Event" on October 3, Kidd and Gabriel, now unofficially called International Airstrike, lost to Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in the quarter-finals of a tournament to decide the number one contenders to the tag team championship. On October 31 "NXT", Kidd unsuccessfully challenged Antonio Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Kidd was victorious in a 10 man elimination tag team match alongside Justin Gabriel, Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, and Brodus Clay against Titus O' Neil, Darren Young, Primo, Epico, and Tensai; with Kidd pinning O'Neil and Epico. In January 2013, Kidd torn his knee meniscus and was estimated to require a 6–12 month hiatus to recover. Despite his injury, Kidd appeared on the May 27 "Bret Hart Appreciation Night" ceremony.