David Finlay and Jay White are no strangers to one another, dating back to their time in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The expressions on David Finlay’s face when he realized exactly who was behind him as the lights came back on at Forbidden Door were priceless. That was the face of a man who realized that his past has caught up with him and is back for vengeance.
After all, it was just over three years ago, in that same city of San Diego no less, that David Finlay attacked Jay White as he was about to say goodbye to the New Japan faithful. But before that, both men were young and hungry and seeking opportunity.
Since then, whether it has been in New Japan or in the last few months in AEW, his fiendish actions haven’t exactly gotten him the proper comeuppance he deserves.
Everything tracks back to the history that exists between them, and there is no shortage of that between the two men.
Both men joined the New Japan Dojo just a few months apart from each other, but they had actually met in England prior.
David Finlay and Jay White – Brothers of Bullet’s
In fact, in an interview with Denise Salcedo, Finlay would reveal that he had actually contacted White to see if all the stories he had heard were true (it was true). {1} {2}
Since they were in the same class of Young Lions, they often faced each other in matches, whether individually or as a team.
Their first singles match would take place on the opener of a ‘Road to Destruction’ card where Finlay would take home the victory; White would get the win back eight days later. They would face off four more times as Young Lions, with White having his hand raised each time.
The soon-to-be ‘Switchblade’ would leave for an excursion at Ring of Honour after Dominion in 2016, while Finlay stayed behind, continuing to work on the undercards.
A few months later, the young lion tag would be dropped, and he became a permanent member of the roster. Even though it was due to pure circumstance, he would find immediate success winning the vacant NEVER Openweight six-man titles with Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima.
In 2017, he would start teaming with Juice Robinson, another member of the same young lion class; together, they would be dubbed as “Finjuice”.
Around the same time, vignettes started teasing the arrival of a certain ‘Switchblade’; we now know that it was Jay White, but at the time it wasn’t that clear who it was for.
And at Power Struggle in November, he would redebut as the cunning ‘Switchblade’ Jay White, laying out Hiroshi Tanahashi after he had defended his IWGP Intercontinental title, getting himself a title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in the Tokyo Dome. Finlay, meanwhile, faced the now-late Katsuya Kitamura in a dark match.
White wouldn’t end up defeating Tanahashi, but he still kept falling upwards. The following day, after refuting Bullet Club leader and IWGP US Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega’s advances to join Bullet Club, he would get a title shot at the New Beginning in Sapporo.
This time he would end up winning the title; just a week later, a match between the pair took place at the ‘Road to’ event. This one was a low-profile, non-title match that ended quite quickly – there was more to come.
His first defence of the title would come against ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at Strong Style Evolved. White would come out victorious, and afterwards Finlay attacked White and made a challenge for the title on April 24 at Korakuen Hall.
Finlay was notably quite aggressive in the match, eager to prove that he isn’t exactly far behind the champion in terms of skill. White, in turn, was cocky as ever, constantly reminding him of their previous matches, still calling him a “young boy”.
Finlay fought strongly, hung in as much as he could, and countered many of the champion’s manoeuvres. After nearly 30 minutes, White was able to get the victory with the Bladerunner.
After the match, Jay did give him some credit but in his condescending way.
“……You just showed you belong in the main event of NJPW. But more importantly, you showed that you certainly DO NOT belong in the ring with me. 10-1, ten in a row for me, one for you all the way back to 2015. I have been and always will be better than you”.
They would not meet again for a while, aside from the occasional tag match. White career trajectory was increasing per month, while Finlay’s felt more stagnant.
He was also a bit unlucky, as he was scheduled to compete in the New Japan Cup in 2019 but got injured beforehand.
He would return for the World Tag League later that year alongside Juice, where they would go on to win the whole tournament and become IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team champions at Wrestle Kingdom 14 – this would be his first major title since being with the company.
White, in that time, would join the Bullet Club as their new leader, defeat Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 13, and win both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles. The gulf of distance between the two seemed to be getting bigger and bigger until 2021 came around.
After being unable to compete in 2019, Finlay was entered into the New Japan Cup, and as fate would have it, waiting for him in the quarterfinals would be Jay White.
This was not the same Finlay from three years back; he was more confident and surer of himself. Jay, on the other hand, was getting cockier, one might even say too much.
That was very evident in the match where Jay was showboating and playing with the crowd rather than focusing on his opponent.
In the end, Finlay was able to counter a Blade Runner attempt into a Prima Nocta followed by the Acid Drop to get the victory.
White was in disbelief following the match; he just sat in the same place he had been pinned for a while, unable to believe what had just transpired. Finlay got in his face, but he was too shocked to react like he usually does.
Unfortunately, Finlay would be eliminated in the next round by eventual winner Will Ospreay. White quickly bounced back, winning the NEVER Openweight Championship from Tanahashi at Wrestling Dontaku, thereby becoming the first grand slam champion in company history.
He hadn’t gotten over that loss, however; he had to right that wrong. Afterwards, he straight up demanded that his first defence be against David Finlay.
What Happens When You Bring a Switch Blade to Dog Fight
The match was made official for Resurgence in August at the LA Coliseum. As the match progressed, both men grew more desperate, especially Finlay, who did not want to lose to his old dojo mate again – the last time he beat him, another victory would only come his way six years later.
He went so far as to stoop to his opponent’s level, using a low blow when the referee wasn’t looking.
Unlike in their last match, White was paying attention, avoiding an acid drop that would have hit him, and on the second attempt he countered it into a blade runner for the victory.
Their status quo did not change; White continued to find more success, winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship less than a year later, while the situation started to look bleaker for Finlay, as his stint in a tag team with Juice Robinson would soon quietly end when he joined the Bullet Club.
All these years, the one man who was on his side now stood with his arch-nemesis. The frustration and anger would have been getting to a limit for him, seeing all this.
Fast forward a few months, White lost the title back to Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 17, and he is not one to take losses lightly; he blamed Hikuleo for the loss and challenged him to a “loser leaves Japan” match, which he then lost.
White’s biggest enemy could be his own hubris: he was scheduled to face Eddie Kingston at Battle in the Valley 2023 in San Jose, but after a heated exchange with Kingston, the match became a “loser leaves NJPW” match; he lost that one too.
David Finlay and Jay White – Bullet Club Revolution
Finlay had enough; for years, he watched as Jay White had everything in the company, while he couldn’t even get a fraction of that.
After his match with Kingston, Finlay laid him out, denying White a proper farewell. He let his feelings be known to everyone.
“You had this company by the balls and you let it go? You had this business in the palm of your hand and you let it go?Do you have any idea how many years I sat backstage and I thought to myself I would kill for what Jay White has? Well, I stopped thinking about it and I decided that I will kill for what Jay White has.”
He finished his rant by saying he was done waiting, as he had done all these years.
“No more wishing, no more waiting. No, this business was born from blood and dirt, and there’s absolutely no place on earth a savage like me feels more at home.” {3}
A couple of weeks later, he was anointed as the new Bullet Club leader, but he wasn’t doing things like his predecessors.
For years, Bullet Club operated on an ethos that laid it out perfectly: no one’s bigger than the club, and your loyalty should be with the club and not anyone specific.
Finlay had no intention of continuing that culture, giving himself the moniker “Rebel”; he welcomed Clark Connors, Gabriel Kidd, Drilla Maloney, and Alex Coughlin to the club as the “War Dogs”.
In the meantime, Jay White, alongside Juice Robinson, went to AEW and started calling themselves “Bullet Club” (now known as Bang Bang Gang), later inviting in the Gunns and, in 2025, Ace Austin. Finlay was quick to sniff this out during an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, saying,
“they are not part of the real Bullet Club”. {4}
Like others before him, he found much success as leader of Bullet Club, winning the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship twice and winning the New Japan Cup in 2025.
But unlike others, he did not receive retribution for his actions; no one kicked him out of the group. The loyalty he built for himself had paid off as Bullet Club quietly dissolved with the formation of Unbound Co.
And when he left New Japan for AEW, Connors and Kidd joined him there. They were piling up a number of enemies in a short span, which included the Bang Bang Gang, and that is how we got to Forbidden Door.
A Bullet Club Civil War (kinda) is upon us. Jay White wants his revenge, while David Finlay wants to prove it once and for all that he is better.
While the Mad Dogs and Bang Bang Gang remain supporting actors in his film, it will either be Switchblade that cuts deep or a rebel that seeks to battle against the former Bullet Club leader?
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