'Switchblade' Jay White Set To Leave New Japan Pro Wrestling And Sign For...

All reports point to the former IWGP Champion heading to a major US promotion...

Jay White
NJPW

Jay White's NJPW contract is up "relatively soon" and he will depart the company for the either WWE or AEW per reports from Fightful Select;

"[White] is expected to leave New Japan Pro Wrestling, per those in the company. Those that we've spoken to believe both WWE and All Elite Wrestling are interested in getting the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, however, WWE sources seemed confident they would land him. However, that's far from official as it was noted from sources within multiple companies that they can't officially reach out to him until his deal is up."

'Switchblade' is booked to work a Loser Leaves Japan match against Hikuleo on February 11th, fuelling the speculation about his future. The story took another turn with Fightful also reporting the following about his opponent;

"White is booked in a "loser leaves Japan" match in Osaka, Japan on February 11 against Hikuleo. WWE has also long expressed interest in Hikuleo, which puts the result of the match in doubt. Those on the NJPW roster are of the belief that Jay White wants to be in the United States for the time being. We're told that WWE was has heavily recruited him, which White himself confirmed to Fightful happened in early 2021, and we're told had only accelerated. White worked IMPACT Wrestling and AEW during his NJPW run, but wasn't under contract to either, and he'd told us prior to 2021 he'd never been approached by AEW, but has since enjoyed his experiences there."

More on this as/if it develops.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett