Yesterday’s NJPW New Beginning In Osaka saw Bullet Club leader Jay White take on his former stablemate Hikuleo in a Loser Leaves Japan match, a bout that the ‘Switchblade’ ultimately lost. This follows the reported interest in White from both WWE and AEW, and thus the result has led to increasing speculation regarding the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion’s future.
Fightful Select have now provided an update on the status of Jay White, revealing that the belief is he’s hoping to make a return to the United States soon, however, this isn’t a certainty yet. Additionally, Fightful noted that despite WWE initially believing they’d be able to land the signing of White, this is far from guaranteed.
“Word is that Switchblade Jay White is looking to make a move back over to the states, but nothing is set in stone yet, even though he lost a Loser Leaves Japan match at this weekend’s NJPW show. Fightful Select reported in January that White’s contract was set to be up soon, and numerous companies had interest in the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. WWE felt confident that they could land him, but we’re told that is hardly guaranteed at this point.”
-Fightful
The report then touched upon the rumors of White possibly appearing at this past January’s Royal Rumble event, stating that said idea was never in discussions due to White still being contracted to NJPW.
Regarding the date White’s New Japan Pro Wrestling contract is set to expire, Fightful are reporting that talent within the company believe his deal ends sometime between the upcoming Battle in the Valley and WWE’s WrestleMania 39 event in April, although details are said to be few and far in between.
Furthermore, WWE sources have repeatedly confirmed to Fightful that they hold a long-standing interest in bringing White into the company, however, everything related to the possibility of him coming into the company is being kept very quiet.
Per the report, Fightful were told by NJPW sources that “obviously we’d love to keep him,”, whilst they also noted that the Bullet Club leader has built positive relations with both AEW and IMPACT during his tenure with both companies.
Jay White is set to take on AEW’s Eddie Kingston next Saturday at NJPW Battle in the Valley in San Jose, California. The show is also set to feature KAIRI defending her IWGP Women’s Championship against the debuting Mercedes Moné, whilst IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will put his title on the line against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the contract status of Jay White as soon as we hear more.
