For those of you who thought that 2023 would be a tamer year in professional wrestling after the chaos that was 2022 – buckle up baby, we haven’t even started to plumb the depths of wrestling insanity.
That’s right: Jay White – who walked in to the main event of Wrestle Kingdom night one as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion just a few short weeks ago – seems to be one his way out of NJPW, after losing a Loser Leaves Japan match to Hikuleo at NJPW’s New Beginning pay-per-view.
So what’s next for the Switchblade?
Well obviously he’ll be heading to IMPACT; but for the sake of argument, let’s say he instead chooses to seek his fortune in the land of former-NJPW-guys-who-aren’t-Japanese: AEW.
Here are six ways Tony Khan could book Jay White’s All Elite debut:
A Feud With Kenny Omega
The most obvious thing AEW can do with White is stick him straight into a feud with fellow former Bullet Club leader (and former AEW World Champion) Kenny Omega.
Ever since returning from injury last year (and later, returning from his quasi-suspension following Brawl Out), Omega hasn’t had a really meaty singles feud to sink his teeth into.
White would certainly scratch that itch, as the two former top gaijin heels come to blows to determine once and for all: who hates Kazuchika Okada the most?
Omega could absolutely take the loss here, as the two come to blows over their respective claims to the mantle of best Bullet Club leader.
Honestly a loss might actually be beneficial in this scenario, as the younger White reminds him of the killer instinct that made him so formidable a wrestler in the first place.
Debuts Alongside Kota Ibushi
White isn’t the only big former NJPW name to leave the company recently, as Kota Ibushi made his dramatic exit from the company mere weeks ago.
While Ibushi is currently testing his mettle in GCW, it’s likely that he’ll soon find his way to AEW somewhere down the road, likely as a foil to Kenny Omega.
However, Ibushi doesn’t have to take on the Elite alone, and would benefit from being backed up with another huge NJPW name in White, as the two take on Omega and the Young Bucks to remind them – by force if necessary – of their Japanese roots.
The two could even team with Hangman Page, as the three men not only provide a perfect riposte to the Elite’s cocky heel antics, but also serve as a reminder of Omega’s greatest failings as both a wrestler and as a man.
MJF’s Next Opponent
When it comes to a heel like MJF, the obvious antidote is obviously a white meat babyface (like his Revolution opponent Danielson); a force for good standing up to evil.
But what if AEW went in the other direction?
What if, rather than giving MJF a foil who will counter his heel antics with grace and compassion, AEW threw somebody at him who gave his s**t-heelery a run for its money?
Enter Jay White: as MJF puts Danielson down for the 1-2-3, the Switchblade enters to remind Friendman that while he might be a decent bad guy in a land where the fans are always in on the joke, some heels are booed because they’re actually evil.
It would be a great way to dig MJF out of the rut he’s been in ever since he won the belt – with his endless cheap heat and “edgy” promos – by reminding him of what a really deranged villain looks like.
Danielson’s Next Opponent
Scratch that: flip it, reverse it.
People have been clamouring for a really good storyline for Bryan Danielson ever since he entered the company at All Out 2021, and while he’s had some great matches, he hasn’t had the best storylines.
What better way to remedy that problem than by putting his opposite a real bastard like White, who can both play off Danielson’s natural face charisma while also establishing himself as a heel force to be reckoned with?
Danielson is forever trying to put over new guys in the company; why not have White take advantage of that, using him as a sounding board for his villainous pursuits?
This is also a great way to get that crucial NJPW-style match that Danielson has been missing ever since he was forced to skip Forbidden Door last year; hell it could be his induction into whatever his Forbidden Door 2 match ends up being.
Speaking of which…
The Catalyst For A NJPW Takeover
AEW X NJPW: Forbidden Door was a great wrestling pay-per-view with an atrocious build.
It’s fine, you’re allowed to say it; it’s been like 10 months, we can be critical.
While it’s likely the two companies will once again team up for a similar event this year, it is absolutely vital that they get the build right this time.
And what better way to build the event than by utilizing a new signing who still has deep, deep roots with his former promotion?
Jay White could, in this scenario, be positioned as something of a sleeper agent, joining AEW only to inject a lethal dose of poison into the company when such a thing seems completely impossible.
In joining AEW, White could take the Forbidden Door off its hinges; not as a service to the company, but as the opening shot across the bough in the ensuing war between the two promotions.
Invasion storylines aren’t inherently bad; we just haven’t seen one done well before.
And a scenario wherein two “rival” companies are on the same page, and some of their biggest names are fully entrenched in the other’s, is a recipe for success that may have never really existed before in the history of wrestling.
He Becomes CM Punk’s Protégé
Hey, if we’re going to have Jay White betray AEW, why not go all in?
The more time that passes, the more it seems like Punk may eventually end up returning to the company that is – by his own admission – more poorly managed than a Target.
But if and when he does return, it’s unlikely to be as a face (unless every episode of Dynamite is filmed in Chicago from here on out).
So why not have him commit to being a heel, by bringing on Jay White and molding the Switchblade in his own cocky, duplicitous image?
This could be the beginning of a faction for Punk, filled with followers of his anti-AEW message in a mirroring of his straight edge cult leader persona from his WWE run (you know AEW loves to emulate things we remember from WWE).
Of course, all bad things must come to an end, as White finally turn on his new master to set up a match between the two further down the road.
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