Jay White is leaving NJPW.
Eddie Kingston defeated White in a Loser Leaves NJPW match at Saturday’s Battle in the Valley pay-per-view, ending this chapter of The Switchblade’s New Japan career.
White seemingly had the match won after hitting his Blade Runner finisher, but Kingston rolled to the floor to avoid a pinfall. Kingston countered with a Northern Lights Driver, but White kicked out.
With the contest at the peak of its drama, Kingston then pulled White to his feet, hugged him, then hit a second Northern Lights Driver to pin White.
After the bout, David Finlay hit the ring and attacked White, laying him out with a shillelagh, then cut a scathing promo, saying that White had squandered the opportunity he was given by NJPW, and that Finlay was putting the wrestling world on notice that he is a force to be reckoned with. White was then helped out of the arena by ringside attendants.
White, 30, joined the NJPW Dojo as a Young Lion in January 2015. He took his international excursion in 2016, then returned to the company’s main unit with the Switchblade gimmick in November 2017.
In the five-plus years that followed, White had an unprecedented run for a foreign-born wrestler in NJPW, becoming the first Grand Slam Champion (four different singles titles) in company history.
Among his many accolades, White headlined Wrestle Kingdom 15 in 2021, as well as Wrestle Kingdom 17 in 2023. He also headlined NJPW’s Madison Square Garden debut in 2019.
White held NJPW’s top title on two occasions, holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for 54 days in 2019, and holding the IWGP World Heavyweight title for 206 days from June 2022 until Wrestle Kingdom 17 this year.
On his way out of the company, White also dropped a “Loser Leaves Japan” match to Hikuleo at last week’s The New Beginning in Osaka event.
