News: Update on Jay White Possibly Leaving NJPW, The Miz Declares Himself in the WWE Royal Rumble
After losing his Wrestle Kingdom match against current IGWP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion Kota Ibushi, “Switchblade” Jay White’s name has been circulating through the rumor mill about possibly leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling. He stirred up these rumors with his post-match promo in which he teased leaving the company. While it was reported by Super J-Cast that WWE was reportedly making “a strong play” at Jay White, one All Elite Wrestling announcer denies the possibility of the former NJPW Heavyweight Champion joining their promotion. On the AEW Dynamite Post-Show, the question of whether Jay White could join the promotion was brought up to Tony Schiavone.
The AEW commentator responded, believing the chances of this happening were slim because of White’s contract. Back in 2018, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW had tried to bring Jay White onboard to their promotion but it was then revealed that he had signed a seven-year deal with the Japanese promotion.
Interestingly, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com pointed out that White’s profile on NJPW’s roster page was removed.
Jay White's profile is no longer on NJPW's site
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 14, 2021
While this might have been done for storyline purposes, there have been former NJPW superstars in the past who have moved to different promotions after Wrestle Kingdom. Back in 2016, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were two prominent names who left NJPW to join WWE after competing at Wrestle Kingdom 10. The most recent, in 2019, when Kenny Omega left the promotion after competing at Wrestle Kingdom 13 to join the newly created AEW.
Miz Declares Himself as an Entrant for the Men’s Royal Rumble
In an interview with TMZ Sports, current Money in the Bank contract holder The Miz officially announced himself as an entrant into the 2021 Men’s Royal Rumble match.
“Royal Rumble is one thing I have not done, I have not won the Royal Rumble. That means I would have to throw 29 other superstars over the top rope in order to win. Once you win that match, you get to main event Wrestlemania. I have main evented Wrestlemania before and I want to do it again. It’s been about ten years since I have main evented Wrestlemania.”
You can check out the rest of The Miz’s interview with TMZ in the video below:
The A-Lister will join a growing field including Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, and Randy Orton. As a reminder, the Royal Rumble will be held at Tropicana Field on Sunday, January 31st.