Jay White has been linked with a move to WWE for the entirety of 2023 and beyond.
It is something of an open secret that the sports entertainment giant holds an interest in the star, and he is looking to work in the United States after a successful run in Japan. The speculation around Switchblade then went to a whole new level when it became clear that he was leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
White’s exit from NJPW was confirmed with two defeats with two big stipulations. He first lost out to Hikuleo in a ‘Loser Leaves Japan’ match before being defeated by Eddie Kingston at Battle in the Valley on February 18th where the loser would be banished from NJPW.
On March 2nd it was reported that his contract with NJPW had expired, making him a free agent.
To add further intrigue, White also has ties to AEW, having appeared in the promotion before, and having a number of friends there.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that White has actually held talks with both WWE and AEW, and he could conceivably still sign with either.
“Regarding Jay White, we are told that White has been talking to WWE but has not signed. He is also talking to AEW. From someone familiar with the situation they described it as 50/50 which side he would go with. Doing the loser leaves town is weird because if he does sign with AEW, he could still work for New Japan, but I guess he wanted to leave New Japan either way rather than come in for major dates so did the total exit angle before while still talking with both sides.”
Could Jay White And Kenny Omega Both Join WWE?
Kenny Omega’s future with AEW became the subject of much speculation when it was reported that WWE was looking to land a major free agent. Some believed that free agent to be the former AEW World Champion given that his most recent contract was set to expire in January.
However, it has since been noted that time has been added to his deal as a result of the nine months he missed through injury.
It has also been said that Omega is potentially open-minded regarding a switch. Meanwhile, WWE is expected to “go hard” to sign a number of top AEW stars as their contracts expire.
Speaking in a recent interview, Omega refused to rule out that he could join WWE.