Report: Jay White’s NJPW Contract Expiring Soon, WWE & AEW Battling For Signature

It would seem that ‘Switchblade’ Jay White’s time in NJPW is coming to an end, with the company not expecting him to stay and a battle ongoing for his next destination.

Jay White lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to ‘The Rainmaker’ Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom earlier this month. The following night at New Year Dash, ‘Switchblade’ set his sights on Hikuleo, challenging him to a match where the loser would leave Japan.

There has been speculation that either man could be the one set to move on to pastures new, however the latest report seems to indicate that White is the competitor in demand from both WWE and AEW.

A new report from Fightful Select notes that Jay White is not expected by those within NJPW to sign a new contract when his current deal expires “fairly soon”. The report also comments that WWE and AEW are interested, but nothing can officially happen until his current deal expires.

Those that we’ve spoken to believe both WWE and All Elite Wrestling are interested in getting the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, however, WWE sources seemed confident they would land him. However, that’s far from official as it was noted from sources within multiple companies that they can’t officially reach out to him until his deal is up. Until that happens, there’s no guarantee he’ll leave NJPW.

It has been reported in the past that WWE have made attempts to sign White, in particular in 2021. In the meantime he has also already competed in AEW, however that was not as part of a signed contract with the company but rather as the crossover Forbidden Door event with NJPW.

The report does also reiterate that WWE is also interested in Hikuleo, so the result of the Loser Leaves Japan match is far from a foregone conclusion.

If he does leave NJPW, then Jay White would have plenty of accolades on his resume from his time with the company, including becoming the first-ever Grand Slam Champion.