Jay White is ready to embark on the next chapter of his wrestling career. Switchblade is winding down with New Japan Pro Wrestling after a 5+ run that included two reigns as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
He competes against AEW star Eddie Kingston this Saturday at NJPW Battle in the Valley from San Jose, California. In a new interview for Sports Illustrated, White spoke with Justin Barrasso about this weekend’s event and his desire to wrestle full-time in the United States.
So much is possible. Impact, AEW, WWE—we’ll see.
– Jay White
White has been a standout talent for years, but gained mainstream popularity as the former leader of the Bullet Club. He says he’s at peace putting the Bullet Club and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the rear view mirror. He did everything he wanted to do in Japan and doesn’t feel that he left any boxes unchecked. “Now I’m looking at what’s next,” he says.
White is looking ahead, but he’s not overlooking Eddie Kingston. He says Kingston is “real” and throws some of the hardest chops he’s ever felt. Kingston wants to build his legacy by knocking White out, which makes him a dangerous opponent. White plans to teach Kingston that you can’t always get what you want.
You can order NJPW Battle in the Valley on FITE TV for $19.99. Visit SI.com to read the full interview with Jay White.
NJPW’s annual New Japan Cup is back. 24 participants will compete over 16 days for a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis on April 8. The tournament begins on March 5.
KENTA, Zack Sabre, Jr., Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Tama Tonga, and Chase Owens all have first round byes.
New Japan Cup participants
There will be two Cup matches to kick off the tournament, beginning with SANADA vs. Taichi and Tetsuya Naito vs. El Phantasmo.
Here’s how the rest of the first round bracket breaks down:
Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher, also known as the tag team Aussie Open, will be making their New Japan Cup debuts. The most surprising snub is Hikuleo. Having just beat Jay White in a “Loser Leaves Japan” match at New Beginnings, it seems like the perfect way to build on his momentum.
Jay White came up short in the recent Loser Leaves Japan match, and the New Zealand-born wrestler is keeping true to his word.
At NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, White lost to Hikuleo, taking a pinfall defeat to his opponent following a chokeslam.
White had agreed to the stipulation at New Japan’s New Year Sash event the previous month.
Moving Day
According to the latest report from Fightful Select, White is looking to make a “move back” over to the United States.
White joined the NJPW dojo in 2015 and has been with the company ever since, and has held both the IWGP and IWGP World Heavyweight Championships.
While the stipulation said he must leave Japan, there has been speculation that he could remain with New Japan as part of the America-based New Japan Strong.
White will compete for New Japan this weekend at Battle in the Valley, where he will take on AEW’s Eddie Kingston.
WWE Interest
White has proven himself in New Japan for years, so it is hardly surprising that WWE has shown interest in the wrestler.
Fightful’s report adds that WWE felt confident that they could get White to join the company, but now “that hardly is guaranteed at this point” in time.
Different sources in WWE have stated that everything related to the possibility of him coming to WWE is “being kept very quiet.”
Contrary to what some may believe, White’s name was never discussed for the WWE Men’s Royal Rumble match, despite an official WWE tweet teasing his involvement.
NJPW told Fightful that they believe White’s contract will expire sometime between Battle in the Valley (February 18) and WrestleMania 39 (April 1.)
The IWGP World Heavyweight Title will be up for grabs at NJPW’s upcoming Battle in the Valley PPV event.
In case you missed it, NJPW held a NJPW World special event in the form of ‘The New Beginning in Japan’ earlier this morning (2/11/23). During the show’s main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada successfully defended his title against Shingo Takagi.
Following Okada’s victory, Okada called out Hiroshi Tanahashi, who came down to the ring and accepted Okada’s challenge for a title match at the company’s upcoming United States-based Battle in the Valley PPV event. Earlier in the event, Tanahashi claimed victory over Kenta in singles action, which apparently caught the eye of the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
NJPW Battle in the Valley Updated Card
Kazuchika Okada (C) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi — IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
KAIRI (C) vs. Mercedes Monè — IWGP Women’s Championship
Fred Rosser (C) vs. Kentha — NJPW Strong Openweight Championship
Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs. Clark Connors — NJPW World Television Championship
Motor City Machine Guns (C) vs. World Class Wrecking Crew — NJPW Strong Tag Team Championship
Josh Alexander, Mascara Dorado, Rocky Romero, and Adrian Quest vs. KUSHIDA, Kevin Knight, Volador Jr., and The DKC
Tom Lawlor vs. Homicide — ‘Filthy’ Rules Match
Eddie Kingston vs. Jay White
Bobby Fish vs. David Finlay *Pre-show Match*
Alex Coughlin vs. J.R. Kratos *Pre-show Match*
Battle in the Valley takes place on Saturday, February 18 from the San Jose Civic Center in San Jose, California. In addition to the newly announced IWGP World Heavyweight Title match between Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi, the show will be headlined by the NJPW in-ring debut of the former Sasha Banks, who challenges fellow-former WWE star KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Championship.
SEScoops’ report on The New Beginning in Japan can be found by clicking here.
Mercedes Moné may be one of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s highest-paid attractions, but she isn’t close to earning what was initially believed.
The former Sasha Banks debuted for the promotion at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January of this year and confronted KAIRI.
Moné’s appearance at Wrestle Kingdom was the ex-Superstar’s first wrestling appearance after walking out of Monday Night Raw in May 2022.
Payment
As one of the biggest names of WWE’s women’s division, it should come as no surprise that Moné is being paid well by NJPW’s parent company Bushiroad.
Upon her arrival, it was reported that Moné was the highest-paid wrestler per appearance, earning more than Chris Jericho in 2018.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that Moné is not making more than Jericho did, adding that “it’s not even close.”
Meltzer added that “the money is not at the level she could get with WWE or AEW.”
Instead of the money, Meltzer suggested that Moné opting to work with Bushiroad is a ‘bucket list’ item being fulfilled: to work with the top Japanese female wrestlers in her prime.
Meltzer added that Moné does have “far more freedom to explore acting or other businesses” than if she’d stayed with WWE.
The Future for Mercedes Moné
Moné’s first match for New Japan will come next week when she challenges KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Championship at NJPW Battle in the Valley.
It has been reported that NJPW is already planning a second match between the two, one that is likely to take place at the famed Sumo Hall in Japan.
Some in WWE reportedly believe that Moné will be back in the company within a year or two, once she gets this run out of her system.
Mercedes Moné will only wrestle a handful of times a year for New Japan Pro Wrestling, but fans will see plenty of her in the coming months.
Moné made her debut for New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom 17 earlier this month, confronting IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI after a title defense against Tam Nakano.
The former Sasha Banks attacked KAIRI after the match and a title match between the two has been set for next month.
Future Plans
Moné hopes to become the second-ever IWGP Women’s Champion on February 18, but more details are being presented about future matches.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Moné is only contracted for a handful of matches, with her second set for NJPW Sakura Genesis on April 8, at Ryogoku Sumo Hall.
Moné’s third match will see her compete at a STARDOM event at the Yokohama Arena on April 23.
Other than the Battle in the Valley match, no opponents have been announced for Moné’s other matches.
It has been reported that New Japan has already planned for a sequel to Moné Vs. KAIRI next month.
Outside the Ring
Reportedly contracted to just a handful of matches a year with New Japan, Moné has plenty of time for non-wrestling projects.
The former Superstar has a budding acting career, having appeared as Koska Reeves in Disney+ hit ‘The Mandalorian.’
Last month, Moné informed her fans on Twitter that she had wrapped up shooting for her first feature film in Boston, MA.
During her hiatus from WWE, the former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion walked the runway for New York Fashion Week alongside fellow wrestler Naomi.
Wrestling promotions love having tournaments for cups or various other prizes. But there’s not one that involves various wrestling companies around the globe, especially the one involving the biggest promotions in the world.
The so-called “Forbidden Door” was been busted down with wrestlers having dream matches around the world over the last few years. WWE even allowed Shinsuke Nakamura wrestle in Pro Wrestling NOAH against Great Muta earlier this month. Of course, NJPW and AEW had their Forbidden Door pay-per-view last year.
“We had an all-star event before, but last year we had the World Cup (soccer), and this year we have the WBC (baseball) and the World Cup (rugby). It would be interesting to have pro-wrestling matches between different countries and have Japan represent Japan. The World Cup in soccer was interesting, and I think the WBC will be stimulating,” Okada explained.
He continued,“I think there are such events overseas, but I don’t think there are any big tournaments. I think it would be fun to have a big event on a global scale. Maybe we could have a tag team with Okada and (Shinsuke) Nakamura, or Okada and (Tetsuya) Naito if they are asked to fight for their country. I don’t know if that would work. I think it would be interesting to include various groups. If necessary, I will go see (AEW president) Tony Khan and (WWE executive) Triple H. Even in this Tokyo Dome, there are AEW wrestlers (such as Kenny Omega), WWE wrestlers (Karl Anderson), and (Mercedes) Mone, who quit the WWE. Even New Japan is worldwide now, isn’t it? There are players from many different countries, so I would like to do something interesting. I feel like I really want to do it now that I’m talking about it (laughs).” (h/t Fightful)
At this year’s New Year Dash, Okada had a dream tag team opponent in Kenny Omega and they defeated Jeff Cobb and Aaron Henare. On February 21, NJPW and NOAH will have a crossover show. Okada will be facing GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kaito Kiyomiya in a non-title match.
WWE may have been more likely to be involved before Vince McMahon forced his way back into a position of power. Depending on who WWE sells to, Okada may have to wait on WWE ever being involved in something like this, no matter how awesome it would be for wrestling and wrestling fans.
New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom event was almost ‘Phenomenal’ this year as AJ Styles nearly made it onto the show.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 took place on January 4, and saw talent from New Japan, STARDOM, All Elite Wrestling, and WWE compete at the event.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena took place yesterday and featured a tribute to the late Jay Briscoe.
AJ Styles
WWE’s Karl Anderson competed at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4, but the Machine Gun nearly had some back-up at the event.
Fightful Select reports that there was a time in 2022 that New Japan was planning on Styles appearing on-screen at the event.
Rocky Romero told Fightful’s Wrestling Perspective Podcast that the WWE Superstar himself thought it would be a “cool idea.”
Romero added that he believes if it was up to Styles, he likely would have been in the Tokyo Dome.
It was also clarified that there were never any official plans for Styles to appear at Wrestle Kingdom.
Any hopes for the Phenomenal One to appear at the Tokyo Dome ended when Styles broke his ankle the week before the show.
Fightful adds that Doc Gallows also did not make the trip to Japan, which is said to have been a New Japan call.
AJ Styles at Wrestle Kingdom
As part of a crossover between NJPW and TNA Wrestling in 2008, Styles represented the latter at Wrestle Kingdom 2, teaming with Christian Cage and Petey Williams to defeat RISE (Milano Collection AT, Minoru, and Prince Devitt.)
At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Styles would defeat Tetsuya Naito and would unsuccessfully challenge IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in 2016.
Hours after that match, news broke that Styles had given his notice to NJPW, and he debuted for WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble later that month.
Talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH came together to share their respect for Jay Briscoe, days after his death this week.
Briscoe died on Tuesday due to a car accident, mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware.
The accident also killed the other driver, while Jay’s daughters, who were in his vehicle at the time, have required surgery.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 Tribute
Today, NJPW has hosted their second night of Wrestle Kingdom 17, featuring talent from their promotion and Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Opening up the main card, both rosters walked to the ring, with Naomichi Marufuji and Hiroshi Tanahashi holding portraits of Jay.
After a ten-bell salute, “Reach for the sky, boy” played through Yokohama Arena.
Briscoe competed for both NJPW and NOAH throughout his career, and held gold in both companies with his brother Mark.
Other Tributes
New Japan and NOAH are just two of the various promotions to pay tribute to the late Briscoe.
After this week’s AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan’s promotion hosted a tribute show that has been shared on Ring of Honor’s YouTube channel.
During the beginning of this week’s episode of IMPACT TV, an “In Memory Of” graphic was shown with Tom Hannifan narrating and sending condolences to his family.
On Twitter, the NWA shared a photo of the Briscoes winning the Crockett Cup and described Jay as an “amazingly talented man.”
During WWE NXT, Vic Joseph offered the brand’s condolences to Jay’s family, while Michael Cole expressed a similar sentiment during last night’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced two new matches for the upcoming NJPW Battle in the Valley event.
AEW star Eddie Kingston will face former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White. This bout was originally scheduled for NJPW STRONG Autumn Action, but was postponed due to Kingston testing positive for COVID-19. Also signed, Homicide will battle “Filthy” Tom Lawlor in a Filthy Rules Fight. These matches are in addition to a title defense by Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Moné’s NJPW in-ring debut.
It all goes down Saturday, February 18, 2023, at San Jose Civic in San Jose, California. NJPW Battle in the Valley 2023 will stream live on FITE. The event is now available for purchase for $19.99.
Battle in the Valley Matches
Here’s an updated look at the card for Battle in the Valley:
Mercedes Moné vs. KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Championship
Jay White vs. Eddie Kingston
Tom Lawlor vs. Homicide in a ‘Filthy Rules’ Fight
Alex Coughlin vs. J. R. Kratos
David Finlay vs. Bobby Fish
Kenta vs. Fred Rosser for the Strong Openweight Championship
Plus, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be defended in a match TBD.
Longtime New Japan Pro Wrestling talent will stay with the company after renewing the contract.
NJPW is going through an interesting time as several talent contracts are possibly expiring. It was reported that one of the company’s top stars isn’t expected to sign on Jan. 10. The rumored top star had also gained interest from WWE. NJPW fans were looking to see if the company would possibly let more talent contracts expire.
However, NJPW has successfully re-signed one of its more featured stars.
Spoiler Warning on NJPW Talent Renewed Contract
Hiroshi Tanahashi has shared on his blog that he has renewed his contract with NJPW. He posted a picture with seemingly a contract and had the caption “Contract renewal. I’ll do my best!”
At 46 years old, Tanahashi still looks to be in greatshape and wants to push himself in his wrestling career. His last title reign was when he held the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship last year. He had also unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW Heavyweight Championship against Jon Moxley at Forbidden Door on June 26, 2022.
via Hiroshi Tanahashi Blog
Tanahashi had recently competed in a tag team match with Keiji Muto and Shota Umino to defeat Los Ingobernables de Japon(Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, and Bushi) at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on Jan 4. He will compete at The New Beginning in Nagoya on Jan 22. Tanahashi will again wrestle in a tag team match with Master Wato and Jado against Kenta, El Phantasmo, and Taiji Ishimori.
It’s unclear if he still wants to reclaim that IWGP United States heavyweight title or if he wants to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Regardless, NJPW fans can rejoice that Tanahashi will be with the company for a little longer.
Mercedes Moné is set to take on KAIRI in an IWGP Women’s Championship match at NJPW’s Battle In The Valley on February 18.
The former Sasha Banks made her NJPW debut at Wrestle Kingdom 17 by confronting and attacking the fellow former WWE star.
This upcoming match will be Moné’s first match since May 15, 2022 and her first match outside of WWE in over a decade.
NJPW has released a video of Moné talking about the match, giving insight into where her mindset is ahead of the match. She also talked about how she plans to become a global superstar.
Mercedes Moné Statement
Moné is supremely confident headed into her upcoming title match. She intends to send KAIRI back to Japan and take the IWGP Women’s championship .. well, everywhere.
“I’ve never been more excited, more nervous, which I never get nervous about, but I am so ready for this. I’ve been dreaming about this. I’ve been really really wanting this and for it to be in the United States in San Jose, California. I have so much history there. I’ve had the greatest matches there. February 18th is gonna be the same.”
“I’m going to make sure that it is the greatest women’s match of all time. When I hold up my championship, oh cute little KAIRI, I’m gonna send her back to Japan, and she can go back to STARDOM, and I can be the global superstar that I’m meant to be. I’m about to take that title everywhere, not just New Japan, but everywhere.”
You can watch Mercedes Moné’s comments about her upcoming match against KAIRI right here:
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit with an h/t toSEScoops.comfor the transcription.
Will Ospreay is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers working today, but the Covid-19 pandemic proved to be especially tough on the Brit.
Due to the pandemic, several wrestling promotions brought in strict measures to stop the spread of the virus, with WWE, AEW, and Impact going without live fans.
New Japan has kept some of its pandemic-era rules in place, including a restriction on cheering to lower the risk of oral transmission.
Nothing
Despite the Pandemic, Ospreay and the New Japan roster attempted to make the best of things by putting on high-quality matches when they had the chance.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on The Sessions, Ospreay recalled an emptiness inside him during arguably the heights of his career.
“For the last three years I do feel I’ve been on auto-pilot a little bit. I remember last year’s Wrestle Kingdom, and Great-O-Khan is massaging my shoulders just as I’m about to go out and he goes ‘how are you feeling?’ And I went ‘I feel nothing’ because honestly, it was one of those where even though it was the main event of the Tokyo Dome, it wasn’t the real thing. It wasn’t the real experience.”
“Great-O-Khan is massaging my shoulders just as I’m about to go out and he goes ‘how are you feeling?’ And I went ‘I feel nothing.’”
Will Ospreay on his feelings at Wrestle Kingdom 16 in 2022.
Ospreay went on to say that he tried to make the best of it by trying to goad the crowd into an audible reaction.
“It’s heartbreaking, but I tried to see it almost like a game where I was like ‘okay I’m going to be so good, that I make you make noise.’ I saw it like that but you can only play that game now and again before it becomes tedious and tiresome.
“It was heartbreaking at points because I really did feel like I was doing the best work I’ve ever done, and it was kind of going under the radar because I’m not on national TV. I’m not on weekly TV. New Japan at one point was the hottest thing going. When 2019 came in, all of our arenas were sold out. It was the best G1 we’d ever done, we performed at Madison Square Garden. All systems were go and then that f***ing pandemic came.”
Wrestle Kingdom 17
For this year’s Wrestle Kingdom, New Japan relaxed its policy on cheering and allowed fans in the Tokyo Dome to be as loud as they wished.
Speaking of the difference from last year’s show, Ospreay was grateful and much more relaxed thanks to the change.
“I don’t know anyone who likes watching clap-crowds at all. I want to hear the people, I want to engage with them, and for three years, it’s felt like I was in a prison. So it was really nice to let the doors open and let them all make noise again.
“Getting to walk out there [this year] to my music, to be in my own skin again, it felt like the old me. To do it on that platform, it felt like, for the first time that the eyes of the wrestling world were really on me.”
Ospreay would lose the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship to Kenny Omega, a result that “gutted” the British wrestler.
New Japan’s Mercedes Moné may be the promotion’s next Women’s Champion, but she’s also ruffling some feathers backstage.
Moné debuted for New Japan last week at Wrestle Kingdom 17 by attacking IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI after a successful title defense.
The two will face off at New Japan’s Battle in the Valley event on February 18 for the title.
Heat
Moné is one of the biggest names signed to a NJPW contract but her actions have garnered heat for the former WWE Superstar.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that some in the company believe she has been promoting Sendai Girls and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling more than STARDOM, New Japan, and the IWGP women’s title.
On social media, Moné has shared photos of herself at the Sendai Girls dojo and said that she would love to wrestle women for that promotion and TJPW.
The feeling within NJPW is that as a contracted worker for Bushiroad (the parent company of NJPW and STARDOM,) Moné should be only promoting Bushiroad companies in Japan.
It is also reported that Moné did not attend any STARDOM events during her tenure in Japan.
Mercedes Moné in New Japan
Moné’s deal with NJPW will reportedly see her work a handful of matches a year, allowing the ex-Superstar free time to pursue other projects.
It has been reported that Moné is the highest-paid individual to ever be under contract with a Bushiroad promotion.
Moné will seemingly be allowed to seek other non-wrestling work, including being announced for ‘The Collective’ film.
Mercedes Mone (real name Mercedes Varnado) has booked a new acting role.
Deadline reported today that Mone (real name Mercedes Varnado) has a role in the upcoming action-thriller film “The Collective.” The movie has already wrapped filming.
It is a movie from Yale Entertainment. Lucas Till, Ruby Rose, Tyrese Gibson, Don Johnson, and Paul Ben-Victor are also part of the cast. Deadline wrote about the film:
The Film
“In the recently-wrapped film from director Tom DeNucci, a group of righteous assassins called The Collective take aim at a highly sophisticated human trafficking ring backed by a network of untouchable billionaires. With their backs against the wall, The Collective has no choice but to put their most important mission in the hands of rookie assassin, Sam Alexander (Till). What he lacks in experience he makes up for in savvy, grit, and a keen ability to improvise in the most dangerous situations. He is aided on his journey by Hugo (Gibson) and Liam (Johnson), former CIA operatives turned rogue vigilantes. They face off against Daisy (Rose), the cunning general manager of this evil, clandestine organization. Sam must prove to himself, Liam and Hugo that he’s Collective material on this life-or-death, take-no-prisoners mission.”
Ben-Victor will play Miro Lindell, a character who serves as auctioneer to a seedy underground cabal of billionaires bidding on human lives. Mone will play Nikita, who watches his back at all times and is the blade wielding company pit-bull and chief of security.
Mone was previously used in two episodes of “The Mandalorian,” playing the character Koska Reeves in the Star Wars series.
Several months after walking out of WWE and negotiating her WWE release, Mone returned to pro wrestling when she appeared at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 earlier this month.
Mone will challenge KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Championship at NJPW Battle in the Valley on Saturday, February 18, from the San Jose Civic in San Jose, California, and will be available as a live Fite TV pay-per-view.
It appears that All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Young Bucks were actually offered to be part of Wrestle Kingdom 17 recently.
Sports Illustrated caught up with The Young Bucks this week ahead of yesterday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. The duo, alongside Kenny Omega, ended up re-capturing the AEW World Trios Titles on the program.
During their conversation, the topic of Kenny Omega’s return to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at Wrestle Kingdom 17 was mentioned.
The duo revealed that they were actually offered to work the show in Omega’s corner for his match with Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship.
“We were actually asked to wrestle and be in Kenny’s corner,” Nick said. “But Matt and I had vacation plans that week. Maybe next year. Who knows?”
(AEW)
Matt added, “We got a fantastic offer. Personally, the timing and the situation didn’t fit for us. I’m sure one day you’ll see us back in a NJPW ring.”
Omega went on to win the match, capturing the IWGP US Title for the second time. He now reigns as the title holder for NJPW, as well as one-third of the Trios Champions in AEW.
The Elite captured the Trios Titles after winning a lengthy Best Of Seven series against Death Triangle.
Another New Japan Pro Wrestling talent could be leaving the company soon.
NJPW is dealing with an interesting situation due to several of their talents’ contracts possibly expiring soon. On Jan. 8, reports circulated that one of their current champions could leave in the next few weeks. However, one of NJPW’s top stars could soon leave the company.
Spoiler Warning Ahead on NJPW Free Agent
Fightful Select has reported that the “Switchblade” Jay White contract will end soon, and he’s also not expected to re-sign with NJPW. While it’s unclear where he could end up, WWE is interested in signing White. The company is rumored to be interested in signing other NJPW talent in Tama Tonga and Hikuleo.
“…Switchblade Jay White’s contract is up relatively soon and is expected to leave New Japan Pro Wrestling, per those in the company. 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,” said the report.
While they report that White is expected to leave, it adds that it’s not official and that no wrestling company could approach White until his contract is finished. The length of his contract has always remained a mystery, as he’s debunked rumors about his contract status.
(WWE)
What’s Next For Jay White?
White will face Hikuleo in a loser leaves Japan match in Osaka, Japan, on Feb. 11. He’s also on the poster for NJPW Battle in the Valley at the San Jose Civic in San Jose, California, on Feb. 18. It doesn’t seem like White could be done in the next month, but his situation could change. It’s unclear exactly when his contract with NJPW could end.
For now, wrestling fans are left to wait to see if one of NJPW’s top stars becomes a free agent.
As Moné navigates the waters of free agency, Paquette expresses admiration for her bold career choice. Having left WWE herself, Paquette understands what it’s like to work outside the company. On the latest edition of her The Sessions podcast, Paquette and co-host Emilio Sparks recapped Moné’s WWE departure and NJPW debut.
“…For me, having worked with her at such an early time, met her in NXT, watched her rise through WWE, watched those ups and those downs, those times of kind of stepping out, after Wrestlemania, after losing the tag titles, having that moment, kind of leaving for a little while, spending some time in Japan,” said Paquette. “I believe she spent some time in Mexico. To seeing what she has done now from whatever exactly happened on her and Trinity(also known as Naomi in WWE) walking out from WWE, I really applaud the balls of this women.
Why Moné Deserves Praise for Becoming A Free Agent
Paquette added that she believes Moné is a free agent because of her passion for women’s wrestling. She explained, “…It’s not easy. I know a lot of people if you want to watch from the outside and be like, ‘yeah, you know what, it’s good. Leave that company. Go do whatever.’ It’s not fu*cking easy to walk away from making a good amount of money.” Paquette did acknowledge that she doesn’t know what Moné WWE contract was, but believes she made a good salary based on her position with the company.
Paquette praised Moné for believing in herself and choosing her passion for wrestling over the comfort of staying with WWE. She also added that she has requested an interview with her and hopes to speak with her about leaving her former employer.
Thank you!
Over one month away, all tickets are SOLD OUT for Battle in the Valley February 18!
Moné choice to leave WWE seems to be a success as fans look forward to what she does next. After the announcement of her match at NJPW Battle in the Valley, tickets for the event have sold out. It’s unclear what Moné has planned for the future of her wrestling career. However, it is possible that Moné could become a giant star outside of WWE as a free agent.
Wrestling veteran Konnan doesn’t fancy Mercedes Moné’s chances in AEW if she decides to become ‘All-Elite.’
The former Sasha Banks made her debut last month for New Japan Pro Wrestling, attacking IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI after a successful title defense.
KAIRI will put her title on the line against Moné at NJPW Battle in the Valley in San Jose, California on February 18.
A Couple of Weeks
Despite Moné being contracted to New Japan, there is plenty of speculation that she will soon compete for AEW.
On his Keepin’ it 100 podcast, Konnan shared his doubts about how Moné would fair in AEW.
“I’m just afraid, and all you’ve got to do is look at their past history, that [Moné is] going to be there, be a big deal for a few couple weeks and then they won’t know what to do with her.”
Konnan.
It had been speculated that Moné would be Saraya’s mystery partner for this week’s tag-team match against Dr. Britt Baker and AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter.
Though AEW has announced that Saraya will team with Toni Storm, many believe that Storm will be taken out of the match, giving Moné the spot.
One Woman Roster
Konnan is hardly the only person to have an issue with AEW’s women’s division, as this has been one of Tony Khan’s biggest pitfalls.
After Thunder Rosa had a minute-long backstage segment to explain her injury last August, Khan said he opted not to give her a long in-ring spot (akin to CM Punk’s injury) as he believed it wouldn’t be a ratings draw.
On his podcast, Konnan said that the whole women’s division is Britt, Britt, and Britt,” referring to Baker’s frequent appearances, and called on AEW to “give other girls a chance.”
Tama Tonga only recently captured the NJPW Never Openweight Championship, but his days with the promotion may be coming to an end if WWE can help it.
WWE has internally expressed interest in bringing Tonga into the fold, Fightful Select reports.
Word traveled through the locker room at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom event earlier this week, but there is no confirmation if Tonga is interested.
Ironically, Tonga faced WWE’s own Karl Anderson at Wrestle Kingdom, dethroning the Machine Gun to start his second reign as Never Openweight Champion.
Sources in New Japan told Fightful that Tonga’s contract with the promotion is set to expire within “a matter of weeks.”
Tama Tonga
Beginning his training in 2008, Tonga would join NJPW in 2010 and is a founding member of the Bullet Club.
The 40-year-old is a seven-time IWGP World Tag Team Champion with his brother Tanga Loa, which makes sense considering he was trained by the Dudley Boyz.
After winning the ROH World Tag Titles at G1 Supercard, Tonga became the third man to have won a title in ROH, NJPW, and CMLL, behind Rocky Romero and Matt Taven.
Family Affair
Tama Tonga is on WWE’s radar as their next potential signing, but his brother may soon be calling himself a WWE Superstar.
It was reported earlier this week that WWE is also interested in Tonga’s brother Hikuleo but there is no confirmation as to whether talks have taken place.
WWE is said to have been interested in Hikuleo for months, and intermediaries have been used to express interest.
This is the same strategy as the Dragon Lee situation, as Finn Balor was the first to initiate contact with Lee regarding joining WWE.
Dragon Lee announced last month that he had signed a deal with WWE and relinquished his newly-won AAA World Tag Team Championship.
New Japan’s hotly-anticipated Wrestle Kingdom 17 certainly delivered, breaking a record for the NJPW World streaming service.
This year’s January 4, event marked the first Wrestle Kingdom following the passing of Antonio Inoki who died in October last year.
The show saw talent from NJPW, STARDOM, AEW, Pro Wrestling Noah and WWE compete, and also saw the debut of Mercedes Mone’.
Setting the Record
With several of the biggest wrestling promotions on the planet coming together for Wrestle Kingdom 17, it’s hardly surprising that the show was in high demand.
On their website, New Japan stated that 92,409 unique worldwide users watched Wrestle Kingdom, with 30% (nearly 28,000) coming from outside Japan.
NJPW added that this is a record for the service that has been online since 2014, and thanked both existing and new users on the platform.
Those without NJPW World can watch Wrestle Kingdom matches on NJPW’s weekly TV show on AXS TV starting Thursday, January 12.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 drew 26,085 live fans to the Tokyo Dome.
New Year Dash!!
With Wrestle Kindom 17 in the rear-view mirror, New Japan wasted no time in hosting their next event, ‘New Year Dash!!’ the following day.
A collection of tag-team matches filled the card, with the main event seeing Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega defeat United Empire (Aaron Henare and Jeff Cobb.)
In the only non-tag-team match, on the show, Shingo Takagi defeated Sho, Great-O-Khan and Toru Yano to become the inaugural Provisional KOPW 2023 Champion.
Mercedes Mone’ may be mere weeks away from becoming the second-ever IWGP Women’s Champion now that her title match has been confirmed.
Mone’, who worked for years in WWE as Sasha Banks, made her New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at yesterday’s Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Banks attacked KAIRI, who had retained her title against Tam Nakano, and posed with the IWGP Women’s Title.
The Match
Banks made it clear in her attack that she wants to be the next IWGP Women’s Champion, and vowed to make KAIRI ‘bankrupt.’
On Twitter, the NJPW Global account confirmed that the two will face off the for the title, which will take place at NJPW Battle in the Valley on February 18.
The match will mark Mone’s first bout since a May 15, 2022 WWE Live event, where she and Naomi retained the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Shayna Baszler and Natalya.
In a video shared by NJPW Global, Mone’ encouraged fans to purchase the show on FITE.
Can't be in the San Jose Civic?
Battle in the Valley will be coming to you LIVE on @fiteTV February 18!
This will be the first time that Mone’ and KAIRI have faced off for the IWGP Women’s Championship, but the two are far from strangers.
KAIRI’s final weeks in WWE on TV would see her face Mone’ multiple times as part of the feud between the Kabuki Warriors against Bayley & Sasha Banks.
Speaking on the post-Wrestle Kingdom press conference, Mone’ said that her history with the IWGP Women’s Champion played a part in her decision to target her first.
On Wednesday at Wrestle Kingdom, Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay was the first of a double main event. The match was for Ospreay’s IWGP US Championship.
The match had seeds planted back at Forbidden Door and it’s possible a rematch could either happen in AEW or at Forbidden Door 2, assuming it happens.
Leading up to the match, Ospreay and Omega had a heated exchange at the Wrestle Kingdom press conference. It led to Don Callis praising Ospreay in a very Don Callis way.
Your promo yesterday made me very happy 4 U. Accepting your rage is healthy. Embrace it. But you are facing the God of Pro Wrestling and the man you failed miserably at replacing. It's a lot of pressure, but @KennyOmegamanX and I will be here for you after Bruv. Wishing U health https://t.co/qBe2iDBuuz
Fans quickly named it as a Match of the Year contender with many saying no other match this year will possibly top it. It was a brutal, hard-hitting match from bell to bell.
Omega hit a DDT on an exposed turnbuckle, leading Ospreay to bleed copious amounts. Ospreay continued the match, but to no avail. Omega regained the title that he was the first to hold.
The new champion took to Twitter to tell Ospreay that he respected his passion. In true Heel Kenny fashion, he told Ospreay that he forgave him.
Yesterday at #njwk17 we desperately raced towards the same goal and were willing to break our bodies for it. That kind of passion I can respect.
Now that “The Cleaner” has won back the title he once held, it remains to be seen if he will defend it in AEW, NJPW, or both. Omega will compete with the Young Bucks against Death Triangle in the final match of the Best of Seven series. The match is an Escalera de la Muerte match.
Fans of professional wrestling legend Antonio Inoki will soon be able to relive his life and career with a brand new movie.
The project was announced today at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, which is being dedicated to the legacy of Inoki.
Inoki died on October 1, 2022, of systemic transthyretin amyloidosis at the age of 79.
Antonio Inoki: Wrestling Legend
When it comes to wrestling, few lives and careers are more deserving of a motion picture than Antonio Inoki.
Born during the grips of World War 2, Inoki began his wrestling career in the 1960s under the tutelage of the legendary Rikidozan.
Fire from the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance in 1971 over an attempted takeover of the company, Inoki founded his own promotion in 1972: New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Inoki’s strong style made him a force to be reckoned with, and in November 1979, the NJPW founder defeated WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund to win the title.
A rematch that saw Backlund win was later declared a no-contest, but Inoki’s reign is not officially recognized by WWE.
Inoki also battled boxing icon Muhammad Ali in 1976 in a unique boxing/shoot wrestling style match that resulted in a draw.
In 1995, Inoki was part of the Collision in Korea in Pyongyang and defeated Ric Flair at the most-attended wrestling event in history.
For years after, Inoki would remain a staple of Japanese pro-wrestling and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
Inoki Out of the Ring
Not only an accomplished wrestler, Inoki was elected to Japan’s House of Councillors in 1989, despite being active in the ring at the time.
In 1990, Inoki traveled alone to Iraq and negotiated with Saddam Hussein that saw 36 Japanese captives be freed in exchange for a wrestling show in the nation.
A series of scandals saw Inoki lose his seat in 1995, but he would be re-elected in 2013.
In 2019, Inoki retired from politics, citing health issues at the time as a large factor in his decision.
Karl Anderson and Mercedes Mone (aka Sasha Banks) may have made their presence felt at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom, but they weren’t the only WWE names at the event.
Anderson, who returned to WWE in October of last year, lost the NJPW Never Openweight Champion to Tama Tonga, kicking off the latter’s second reign.
Mone, who was quietly released from WWE in June 2022, debuted as Mercedes Mone and confronted IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI after her successful title defense.
