After speculations over his status with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Jay White returned to the ring during a Road to New Beginning show.
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Going into Wrestle Kingdom, Jay White had all of the momentum going into the Double Gold Dash. Unlike Naito and Ibushi, White had the 4th off and went into his title match with Ibushi on the 5th fresh. However, after a grueling MOTY candidate, Ibushi managed to beat White to retain the belts he had defeated Naito for the night before.
As a result of this loss, White went backstage and cut an extremely emotional promo. He stated that ‘I’m not going to do this anymore.’ It led to several rumors surrounding the state of White’s contract. Many believed that this was White’s way of announcing that he was leaving the company.
Was this the end of the Switchblade?
In the weeks after Wrestle Kingdom 15, rumors were flying. It seemed as if all evidence pointed to White leaving. His profile was taken off the Japanese website, and his cards were removed from the New Japan Collection game. Whenever there are rumors of wrestlers leaving a promotion, the first question is, where will they go?
For many, with the lead up to the Royal Rumble, they believed that Jay would go to WWE. Others did not welcome this suggestion. They wanted him to head to All Elite Wrestling, which was created by former New Japan wrestlers Cody and the Young Bucks.
Jay White returned to NJPW.
Was his return planned all along?
During a Road to New Beginning show, these rumors were put to rest. After a match between CHAOS and Bullet Club, White came out and attacked Tomohiro Ishii in the ring. Ishii was the man who beat him on the final night of the G1 and pinned him at New Year’s Dash.
https://twitter.com/JayWhiteNZ/status/1356266923722330115
In the post-match comments, Jay stated that he had intended to give it all up for about ten minutes. He very quickly realized that it was the worst mistake to ‘question himself’ for a moment. New Japan was the only place to fulfill his Destino. The one thing that stood in his way was Tomohiro Ishii. If he conquers the Stone Pitbull, he will become God.
With White’s future a lot clearer, he has issued a challenge for the NEVER 6-man titles. It is only the start. The future seems as bright as ever for King Switch.
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