Jay White Loses 'Loser Must Leave Japan' Match At NJPW The New Beginning

The Switchblade's time in Japan has come to an end.

By Andrew Pollard /

NJPW

With plentiful intrigue surrounding yesterday's Loser Leaves Japan match between Jay White and Hikuleo, it was the Switchblade who ultimately came up short.

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Taking place at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka, Hikuelo scored the pinfall victory after hitting White with a chokeslam.

After the match, the New Zealander shared a ringside fist-bump with Hiroshi Tanahashi - who was on commentary - before cutting a backstage promo where, in Japanese, White declared New Japan as his home and the NJPW fans as his family.

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While Jay White's time in Japan may be done, he is still heading to New Japan Strong next Saturday where he will take on Eddie Kingston in San Jose, California as part of Battle in the Valley. As such, Jay's post-match promo at New Beginning also saw him note to the Mad King how White now has nothing else to lose.

Prior to The New Beginning, there were reports that WWE had significant interest in both Jay White and Hikuleo, with many speculating that the loser of that contest would be heading to the market leader. Likewise, AEW would obviously have interest in the pair, too, with both White and Hikuleo having already appeared on All Elite programming.

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In terms of Jay White, the Catalyst's time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling was a hugely successful one, with him progressing from being a Young Lion back in 2015, to now reflecting back on a tenure that saw the 30-year-old win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, the NEVER Openweight Championship, and the IWGP United States Championship.