With New Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH set to square off at Wrestle Kingdom 16, Jay White has revealed his ideal opponent from the Emerland Ark.
Night 3 of Wrestle Kingdom 16 is set to feature a historic showdown between Japanese powerhouse promotions, New Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Already mooted for this unprecedented event are the likes of IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi, GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kazuchika Okada and the legendary Keiji Mutoh.
However, another prominent New Japan figure has now thrown his name into the ring, in the form of the ‘Switchblade’ Jay White.
In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, White was somewhat dismissive of NOAH but flagged former GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji as his preferred opponent from the company:
First part, would I support it? If I’m not there, I don’t really care. Do I see why they’re doing it? Yeah, I’m not there, so they’ve gotta try and find someone else and obviously they’re struggling. Hey, I leave and now they’ve gotta turn to other companies for help so make of that what you will.
Is there anybody from there (NOAH) I would be interested in? Not really. Do I keep tabs on all the people below me – not really. The easiest answer if I had to pick one, would just be Marufuji simply because I wrestled him once before when I was a young boy a few years ago, at the beginning of 2016 I believe, so hey, me and him can run it back.
White is referring to a match from May 19th, 2016, where he lost out to the NOAH man as part of the Lion’s Gate Project shows.
However whether the New Zealander will be able to make it back to Japan for Wrestle Kingdom 16 remains in doubt, given the updated travel restrictions coming out of country.
In the meantime, White will be appearing at the LA Comic Con over the weekend, heading a panel that also features Fred Rosser and Gabriel Kidd (replacing Clark Connors).