For a number of months, speculation that Jay White could be heading to WWE has continued to grow.
This speculation went into overdrive when the star lost a ‘Loser Leaves Japan’ match to Hikuleo on February 11th. The bout was made even more intriguing by reports that WWE also held an interest in signing White’s opponent.
However, it was eventually White who was felled by a massive Chokeslam, sending him out of Japan. It is something of an open secret that WWE have been long-time admirers of White, while he also has links to AEW.
However, while appearing on the Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast, NJPW announcer Kevin Kelly explained that he wasn’t convinced that White was even leaving the company. Kelly began by calling the match between White and Hikuleo a “lose-lose situation.
“None of us were happy about it. It was a lose-lose situation. It was either gonna be ‘Switchblade’ Jay White, the current top guy, or Hikuleo, the future top guy. Do I want to give up my All-Pro wide receiver, or do I want to give up my number one draft pick, who in a couple of years is gonna hopefully top all the records that the All-Pro set?”
Despite this, Kelly explained that the fact that the match even took place was a testament to the level Hikuelo has now reached with New Japan.
“I think it speaks to the level of talent that Hikukeo has that he was in that spot. Let’s say Ken Patera wanted to leave the WWWF. He wouldn’t wrestle a Jose Estrada in a Loser Leave the Company match. He would wrestle a Chief Jay Strongbow, a top guy. He would wrestle a Pedro Morales, and the Intercontinental Title would be on the line. That’s what you’d have. So Hikukeo is in that conversation with Jay White, although Hikukeo hasn’t done what Jay White has done yet,”
While many believe that White’s loss means he will be leaving NJPW, Kelly doesn’t agree. The veteran commentator believes that White can still “conquer America” under the NJPW banner.
“I don’t think so. I think this is just what he’s doing. What else is there for him to do except conquer America? Where in that is written that he can’t do that under the New Japan banner? I don’t know, we seem to have some operations that are based in the US,”
Is Jay White Signing With WWE?
Although White’s future remains uncertain, it was recently reported that WWE remains confident of landing the star. Furthermore, it is believed that his contract with NJPW expires sometime between Battle in the Valley and WrestleMania 39. That’s between February 18th and April 1st.
H/t to Fightful