Jay White

Jay White is a professional wrestler hailing from New Zealand known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. White is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling under the moniker SwitchBlade Jay White and is the leader of Bullet Club Gold.

Early Life

The real name of SwitchBlade Jay White is Jamie White. He was born on October 9, 1992 in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a New Zealand-Dutch by nationality and began his professional wrestling career at the age of 20 in 2013.

Wrestling Career

Early Career

White initially trained under The UK Kid at Varsity Pro Wrestling in early 2013, and made his professional debut on 19 February, working for VPW as well as All Star Wrestling, among other promotions. In early 2014, White met New Japan Pro Wrestling's Prince Devitt and competed alongside him in a tag team match for VPW. After the match, Devitt gave White his card and told him to keep in touch. Shortly thereafter, White was contacted by Bad Luck Fale, who said that Devitt had spoke to NJPW officials about White and that he could get him a place as a young lion in the dojo if he wanted it. Several months later, White met with Fale, Devitt, and Shinsuke Nakamura in London, where White accepted their offer and began finalizing his visa to leave for the NJPW dojo.

NJPW Debut

White made his in-ring debut for NJPW on 30 January 2015, losing in his match against Alex Shelley. Unsurprisingly enough, White lost all of his eight matches in 2015, as is common for young lions in NJPW. In 2016, White began gaining more victories, and on 27 March competed in his biggest match to date when he was defeated by then-reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Kenny Omega in a non-title match.

ROH(Ring of Honor) & RPW(Revolution Pro Wrestling) Promotions

In June, he left for a foreign learning excursion during which he worked most notably for the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and the British Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) promotions through NJPW's international partnerships. On June 6th 2017, White received his biggest title opportunity in his career when after winning a Battle Royal he unsuccessfully challenged Christopher Daniels for The ROH World Championship in a triple threat match. At Best in the World 2017 White, teaming with Search and Destroy defeated The Rebellion in a losers must disband match thus keeping the group together.

Mysterious "Switchblade"

On November 5, 2017, at Power Struggle, White returned to NJPW as the mysterious "Switchblade", who had been teased for the past several months, challenging Hiroshi Tanahashi to a match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome, before attacking him. The following day, NJPW officially announced the match between Tanahashi and White for Wrestle Kingdom 12. On January 4, White was defeated by Tanahashi in the title match. On January 5, Jay teased joining Bullet Club; however, White then betrayed Kenny Omega by attacking him with a Blade Runner. A day later he joined the Chaos faction in order to face off against Bullet Club and Kenny Omega, claiming he needed backup in his fight against Bullet Club. On January 28th at the New Beginning in Sapporo, White defeated Omega to become the second IWGP United States Champion in the title's history. On March 25, he went on to defend the title for the first time against Hangman Page at NJPW Strong Style Evolved Event in Long Beach, California. White would make his second successful title defence against David Finlay at Road to Dontaku. White would make his third defense of the title beating Punishment Martinez during the ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds Tour in Toronto, Canada. At Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, White suffered a pin fall loss in a tag team match to Juice Robinson. Because of this, White defended but lost the title to Juice at the G1 Special in San Francisco.

World Tag League 2018

During the 2018 World Tag League, White faced off in multiple tag team matches against Okada and Tanahashi, won by White and his Bullet Club stablemates. On November 3, at Power Struggle, White and Okada agreed to face each other in a match, which was later set to be at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome. On January 14, at Road to Tokyo Dome tour, White would try to help Gedo to defeat Okada in his match but was unsuccessful and Okada managed to win the match, despite White's interference. On January 4, 2019, White defeated Okada. Later that night, White challenged Tanahashi to a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On February 11, 2019 at The New Beginning in Osaka, White defeated Tanahashi to become the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He lost the title to Kazuchika Okada on April 6 at G1 Supercard.

NJPW and Impact Wrestling

After losing his gold to Okada, White entered the 2019 G1 Climax competing in the B Block. He lost his first three matches and made a comeback in the tournament after winning the next five. In his comeback, he also defeated Jon Moxley by pinfall, becoming the first superstar to do so in NJPW. He advanced to the tournament finals where he lost to Kota Ibushi. Later that year, White also won the IGPW Intercontinental Championship and held it for 104 days before losing it back to the former champion Naito.

Jay White then moved off the programming due to COVID-19 and returned no earlier than August of 2020. He continued his run of 2019 G1 Climax and ended up 2020 G1 Climax with 12 points once again. Later, White won the NEVER Openweight Championship in 2021 and held it for 195 days before losing it to Tomohiro Ishii. On May 1, 2022 White returned to the NJPW and attacked the IGWP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. At Dominion 6.12 in Osaka, White defeated Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He held the gold for 206 days before losing it to Okada at Wrestlekingdom 2023. While being a part of NJPW, Jay White also appeared on its American partner Impact Wrestling from 2021 to 2022. He made his debut there unannounced and made several appearances in the time. White left NJPW soon in beginning of 2023.

All Elite Wrestling (2022-Present)

Jay White made quite a few appearances in AEW in 2022 where he appeared alongside his friends Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Most prominently, he defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a Four Way match against Hangman Page, Kazuchika Okada and Adam Cole, which he retained after pinning Cole. Jay White made his official AEW debut in April 2023 after leaving NJPW. He teamed up with his former friend Juice Robinson and announced themselves as Bullet Club Gold. Over the next few months, Bullet Club Gold has expanded to include the likes of Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn.

Jay White then started feuding with AEW World Champion MJF only to be attacked by four masked guys lead by a someone wearing MJF's Devil Mask, which MJF claimed that ht wasn't. Nonetheless, it fueled the rivalry of the two leading to a match at Full Gear 2023.

Jay White Wife

Jay White had been dating Savanna Price for a long time. The two finally tied the knot on May 6, 2022 and the two shared the wonderful news with their fans on Instagram.

Attributes

Ring Name:

Jay White

Nicknames:

“Switchblade”, “Knife Pervert”

Billed Weight:

220 lbs (100 kg)

Place of Birth:

Auckland, New Zealand

Finishing Moves:

Kiwi Krusher (Outside leg hook fisherman driver), Blade Runner/Shellshock (Swinging reverse STO)

Signature Moves:

Boston crab, Crossface, Dropkick, Knife edge chop, Lariat, Leaping followed with back elbow to an oncoming opponent, Running Death Valley driver, Ura-nage

Trained by:

UK Kid, NJPW Dojo

Entrance Themes:

“Crossbody” by Yonosuke Kitamura, “Switchblade” by Yonosuke Kitamura

Jay White Championships and Accomplishments

• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time)
  IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  Fifth NJPW Triple Crown Champion
  First NJPW Grand Slam Champion

Jay White Net Worth

As per various online sources, Jay White is worth around $7 Million as of 2023. His net worth is mainly credited to the checks he has earned from his professional wrestling career.