Yahoo News NJPW’s Jay White talks Wrestle Kingdom 13, leading the Bullet Club and becoming Switchblade
On January 4 at Wrestle Kingdom 13, Jay White defeated Kazuchika Okada in front of nearly 40,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome, staking his claim for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
It was only a year earlier that he had returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling as ‘Switchblade’ Jay White, following a successful US excursion where he further honed his craft in Ring of Honor.
While he suffered a defeat to Tanahashi upon his return, this time around it was a more confident, self-assured Switchblade who walked into the Tokyo Dome, having proved over the past year that he deserved to be challenging the company's top stars.
“Nerves-wise it was a lot lower,” Jay said comparing this year’s Wrestle Kingdom to last. “After the first one against Tanahashi I hadn’t wrestled in two-and-a-half months and I was coming off doing Ring of Honor shows and stuff, so it was a different level doing that compared to New Japan.”
A year on, White now had an abundance of top matches behind him, including a run as IWGP United States Champion and a G1 tour.
“I had a whole year in New Japan, did a whole G1 tour so I was a lot more comfortable,” he continued. “I feel like it showed and I managed to get the result in the ring.”
He'd also had the time to further establish the ‘Switchblade’ character to the fans through his in-ring promos and post-match interviews.
“It is very much myself with certain aspects of it turned up," White said of his promo style. "Obviously I don't walk around like this day-to-day, but it does come very natural to me how I talk and the stuff I do in interviews and promos.”
White’s journey in pro wrestling has been anything but traditional. Born in New Zealand, White moved to the UK for training before being given the rare opportunity to train at the New Japan dojo after meeting Prince Devitt (better known to WWE fans as Finn Bálor).
While there can be a separation between the Japanese wrestlers and the foreign talent, White’s dojo training means he bridges the gap between the two.
“I’m like a blend,” he says. “To the Japanese guys, I’m a foreigner. To some of the new foreign guys, I'm almost like a Japanese person in terms of knowing their culture and their ways and how things are backstage.
“It depends who you compare me to, I’m like a blend of the two, I’m in between.”
Like most fans, White’s entry point into the world of pro wrestling was through WWE, though his very first memory isn’t the most pleasant.
“The very first thing I ever remember seeing was Rikishi putting his arse in Booker T’s face on SmackDown and then Booker T going out and vomiting all over the announcers’ table,” he said.
“I didn’t start watching it from there, but then when I actually got into it the first thing might have been The Undertaker and JBL feuding in 2004 and from there I kept watching it.”
As for watching Japanese wrestling, it wasn't until his move to England that White became exposed to NJPW, first watching matches featuring Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho and then delving further after his meeting with Devitt.
“I hadn’t really thought to watch too much of it and I didn’t really know too much about it, it was very much a WWE focus,” he said. “Once I met Prince Devitt it opened my eyes to it a lot more.”
When it comes to having a dream opponent, it’s not something White spends a lot of time thinking about as he’s currently getting to wrestle some of the world’s best talent in New Japan.
But outside of the current NJPW roster, there's a pretty good fit. “If I had to just pick a name I’d maybe say Finn Bálor, just because I kind of came to a similar path to him and there have been comparisons thrown around.”
Aside from their dojo training, another obvious connection is to the Bullet Club, the faction originally formed by Balor which White now leads.
The Bullet Club will be hosting a Block Party in New Jersey on April 7 ( WrestleMania day) and for White, there have been no problems gelling with the rest of guys in the group.
“I don’t know if people thought it was going to be awkward,” he said. “I’ve known those guys for years. I’ve got more claim to being one of the Bullet Club OGs than others may think because I was brought in by guys like Prince Devitt and Bad Luck Fale and I was there as a ‘young boy’ and I knew those guys.”
White’s rise to the top tier of New Japan comes as the company is making further inroads into the English language market, with big live shows in the US and UK, and English commentary available on streaming service New Japan World.
His next big challenge is an IWGP Heavyweight title match against Tanahashi at The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11. If he wins and becomes champion, will he feel extra pressure to be a company spokesperson for a new, more global NJPW?
“Outside looking in it will look like that should have more pressure on me,” he says. “But to me, that’s the position I’m made for and that I’m meant to do.
“So really there’s not much extra pressure there cause that’s where I feel most comfortable, in those big situations. They brought me back and I've had big opportunities through the whole year so it’s just going to be the same thing over again, so it’s kind of what I feel like I’m there to do so I feel comfortable doing that.”
For wrestling fans who are unfamiliar with the New Japan product White says they’ll find a lot of their grievances with WWE answered, with more focus put on the in-ring action.
“It’s more of a sport than a TV show,” he said. “You see so many fans getting tired of the same WWE stuff. A lot of fans complain and complain but they never try to watch anything else at all.
“The things that they’re often complaining about New Japan has and offers. So all those things you’re able to find with New Japan.”
On August 31, NJPW will be running its most high-profile UK show to date. It'll take place at The Copper Box Arena in London, where White says fans can expect something even better than their successful Strong Style Evolved shows last year.
“If they came to the two shows we had last year they got a taste of it and this is going to be a bigger arena and a bigger show,” he said.
“The core of this one is run by New Japan so it’s going to be bigger than anything they’ve seen before.”
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