Jay White Seemingly Bids Goodbye To NJPW
Jay White has seemingly confirmed reports of NJPW exit, sharing several photos from his farewell match against Hikuleo, along with the following caption: "Peace. #SwitchbladeEra."
White has been reminiscing over his NJPW career over the past week or so, posting several photos and videos from his eight-year journey with the promotion that began in January 2015.
The talk of White leaving NJPW picked up steam after "The Switchblade" lost a "Loser Leaves Japan" match to Hikuleo at NJPW's New Beginnings in Osaka this past weekend. Subsequently, White reassured NJPW fans that he wasn't quite finished with the company in his backstage presser following the match, leading to speculation of the wrestler moving permanently to "NJPW Strong," a weekly show featuring wrestlers from NJPW's North American subsidiary.
"I'm not done there yet," White said of his move to NJPW's American show. "I may be done here in Japan, but New Japan Strong, daddy is coming home!"
White vs. Eddie Kingston is one the top matches for this Saturday's "Battle in the Valley" event in San Jose, California, which could be headlined by Mercedes Monè vs. IWGP Women's Champion KAIRI. As of this writing, it's unknown if White would continue wrestling for NJPW Strong, or move to rival promotions such as WWE or AEW upon shifting to the United States.
According to Fightful Select, WWE officials are "confident" in landing the services of White, but the Kiwi wrestler joining the world's biggest wrestling promotion is "hardly guaranteed at this point." The report quoted other WWE sources as saying that the possibility of White joining WWE is "being kept very quiet" at the moment.