13 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13

3. 'Switchblade' Becomes A Star

This was exactly the match Jay White needed have inside the Tokyo Dome today.

After a bitterly disappointing showdown with Hiroshi Tanahashi last year, and a long, hard year of growth as NJPW's new master manipulator, another failure may have tanked the New Zealander's medium-term prospects. Like 2018, he was in the ring with one of the best in the world. Unlike 2018, he didn't have an excuse. A returning rookie at WK12, he was a guy struggling through a gimmick seemingly ill-suited to his attributes as a performer, but he's had more than 12 months to master his act now. The internet would've crucified him had he not delivered. He did, though, and in scoring the night's most shocking victory, Jay White has become a star.

'Switchblade' isn't a guy playing a gimmick anymore; he is the gimmick. Lord knows if he'll ever be Tokyo Dome-headlining material, but he's now exactly where he needs to be for this space in time, and this will forever be remembered among his career's greatest triumphs.

Kazuchika Okada was fantastic, too, delivering perhaps his best individual performance since losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Kenny Omega last June. His selflessness can't be understated. His role in this match and feud will prove pivotal in any success White experiences going forward, and putting White over clean suggests there's much work to be done before 'The Rainmaker' becomes unbroken again.