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Jay White to WWE?


tiger_rick

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8 hours ago, Carbomb said:

I don't see the big deal about Jay White. The NJPW show I went to at the Copper Box certainly didn't give me a particularly good impression, and the other bits and bobs I've seen have left me feeling very "meh" about him. Competent, but nothing that stands out, and I certainly don't get why he ever got the IWGP belt.

I felt exactly the same. I hated the position he was in and he felt like a huge step down from what they'd had before. But I've enjoyed his recent work a lot more. I think he wasn't ready for where he was pushed but he's now heading in the right direction.

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11 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Shock to who? Most fans (including me) have no idea who he is.

This was definitely my initial thought, it's a somewhat different situation to AJ Styles despite the fact White is in a very similar position in NJPW just prior - obviously due to AJ's years of exposure in the US beforehand.

If White does end up in WWE I'd not be surprised if it's NXT for him, not least to try and move some eyes from AEW, as I think it's fair to say a greater proportion of the Wednesday night audience will know Jay.

That all said - in theory WWE should be able to take an utter no-name (not saying that White is) and make them a big deal (at very least in their own bubble) pretty quickly. In theory...

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The over pushed and quick title reign helped the character be the little shitty heel that "somehow does what he says he's gonna do despite being a bit shit" and was something to call back on during future feuds and during G1s.

AEW have plenty of heels and I don't think he'd stand out or have plans for him.

I can see him staying on Japan but the wimper ending at Dash does makes you wonder though

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1 hour ago, Nick James said:

The last thing AEW need right now are MORE wrestlers for one 2 hour show and a YouTube show.

I don't get this train of thought. You take good talent whenever you can get it. If it means more people shuffle off to make Dark a 37 match show (which also doesn't matter, it's a squash match show on YouTube) then fine. One thing AEW do really well is cycle people in and out of shows and stories. The people who are on almost every show don't feel tired and they're working with a lot of different people.

I'm looking forward with a bit of trepidation to AEW eventually having their second show. Because then it becomes much harder to do that without running through everything quickly like WWE do or carrying a roster of hundreds like WCW did.

AEW have a lot of people on TV who aren't exclusively under contract which has some risk but is a sensible way to fill shows without committing to a massive salary bill.

Not that I see White going to AEW.

11 hours ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

If White was a bit taller I could see him being received by Vince the way Seth Rollins was. Otherwise . . .eh. Shock Royal Rumble debut maybe? That's the biggest play they could make right now.

Even I'm sick of talking about no crowds all the time but that pop from the crowd at the Rumble is all that makes a moment like this and a new guy. I have no faith in the announcers in an empty arena setting selling the moment or the guy.

If he comes in, I'm sure they'll want that surprise and it might work for some at home but it'll lose something. Like everything has in this environment. 

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Jay White's work for about he last 18 months (since his loss to Ibushi in the 2019 G1 final), both in the ring and as a character, is night and day compared to when he was given the IWGP title. There's no better heel wrestler on the NJPW roster and his in-ring style is tailor made to work in pretty much any company.

Omega, as an example, is on a great run at the moment, but you know whenever fans are back he's getting cheered. Jay is a proper proper heel. There's nothing remotely likeable about him at all. No flashy moves, no flips, no posing to the crowd. 

Coming out of the Dome on Tuesday, having watched Ibushi have 2 great matches and win the belts, all I could think of was how good Jay White is now. Of course I hope he stays with NJPW. A Jay vs the company trying to keep him down storyline has got 18 months - 2 years in it. I'm totally invested in where he goes from here.

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Just now, tsve said:

Omega, as an example, is on a great run at the moment, but you know whenever fans are back he's getting cheered. Jay is a proper proper heel. There's nothing remotely likeable about him at all. No flashy moves, no flips, no posing to the crowd. 

That's one of my main issues with AEW - or at least the crowds. Maybe the heels need to work harder to get that reaction, but there aren't too many that are truly hated. I know we're in the era of shades of grey and some believe there isn't traditional faces/heels anymore but I don't think that's the case. Wrestling at its most basic is good guy vs bad guy. Someone you really want to win and someone you really don't want to.

Jay White was always someone I wanted to lose because I thought he was shit. Now I want him to lose because he's a right little shit but I enjoy hating him, which is the key now.

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13 hours ago, DCW said:

Balor was world champ on his first night on the main roster.

 

2 hours ago, Nick James said:

Balor was given the title on his debut night on RAW until his injury

I hate to be that guy, but this isn’t true. He earned entry into the match to determine inaugural U champion on his debut, winning that belt at SummerSlam a month later. I know four weeks isn’t much in timing terms but the impact isn’t the same as “on his debut.” They had a month to decide if he was worth the gamble. Then he went on the D/L and they had plenty of time to change their minds. Shame, Lesnar vs Balor for the belt would have been really good.

I don’t think Jay will go to WWE at this point. He’s a star in Japan, and as a Kiwi he won’t have any “go home” factor as you have when North American guys have had to weigh up leaving New Japan for WWE. He’s got time on his side, maybe if he stays on top he might go when he’s a little older with a little more in the bank so he’d have less to risk if it went tits up.

 

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48 minutes ago, air_raid said:

 

I hate to be that guy, but this isn’t true. He earned entry into the match to determine inaugural U champion on his debut, winning that belt at SummerSlam a month later. 

Didn't he pin Roman Reigns in his first match on Raw? Or have misremembered? It definitely felt like they were strapping the rocket to him for that first month until the injury. 

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15 hours ago, TildeGuy~! said:

I really hope not, he’s been amazing in New Japan over the last few years, he cut an amazing promo on Tuesday straight after a 48 minute match too, which got everyone talking.  

He then got pinned on the following night in a tag match and left quietly, The English commentary team were talking it up most of the night and I was expecting an angle to come from it but nothing happened, maybe he is on his way to WWE? 

I had to tap out 3 minutes in. Every motion and thing he said seemed rehearsed and unnatural. Didn't believe it for one second. Whatever he was saying didn't captivate me at all either. 

He looks young, maybe his enthusiasm for it can be moulded into something but thought what I saw was shite. 

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18 minutes ago, mim731 said:

Didn't he pin Roman Reigns in his first match on Raw? Or have misremembered? It definitely felt like they were strapping the rocket to him for that first month until the injury. 

Yep, pinned him clean and Roman put him over strong in a post-match interview.

They certainly seemed to have high hopes when they brought him up from NXT. The injury was obviously a horrendous bit of bad luck, and unfortunately for him, things had changed and other guys moved into position by the time he came back. It’s a similar story with Kenta in NXT. By the time he came back, Shinsuke Nakamura had taken his place and Kenta was just left treading water

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25 minutes ago, mim731 said:

Didn't he pin Roman Reigns in his first match on Raw? Or have misremembered?

His second match, after winning a four-way to make that final contenders match, with Reigns having also won a four-way.

4 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said:

Yep, pinned him clean and Roman put him over strong in a post-match interview.

Nevertheless, “became world champion” or “won the title” on his “debut”/“first night on the main roster” is a misnomer, which was my only point.

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12 hours ago, PowerButchi said:

He struck me as a poundshop Adam Cole a couple of years ago. Granted, I watch very little contemporary wrestling these days, but has he improved? 

I haven't watched NJPW recently, so I'll have to defer to the comments of the other posters that he's improved over the past 18 months. I certainly hope so. As of last sighting, for me, he was someone I wouldn't have bothered watching owing to boredom. I suspect I'll probably need to regularly watch NJPW to get a fuller picture, though.

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I’m going to watch last week’s Wrestle Kingdom match later to see how much he’s supposedly improved, because when I stopped watching New Japan just before the pandemic hit I thought he was a dull, boring bastard. One of my least favourite members of the roster.

A proper Triple H in 2003. Slow, overlong matches, where all the supposed heel heat comes from how much I’m just not interested in seeing him. I can understand why he works in New Japan, because no-one else is really doing the US-style, character-orientated, pure heel act, but the idea of him coming to AEW and doing that?! Fuck right off. I love AEW and the last thing I want is him shitting it up. He’d instantly be one of their worst heels.

1 hour ago, Sphinx said:

I had to tap out 3 minutes in. Every motion and thing he said seemed rehearsed and unnatural. Didn't believe it for one second. Whatever he was saying didn't captivate me at all either. 

In that sense, is it any wonder WWE want him? I’ve never seen a better description of what WWE want. Even if you don’t come into the system like that, they ensure you go to NXT and end up that way. I swear half the criteria for being called up to the main roster is having all the life and enthusiasm drained out of you. Entrance finally consisting entirely of you looking petrified of not hitting your rehearsed marks and mannerisms exactly? Jackpot! Off to Raw or Smackdown you go!

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I've personally found him head and shoulders above any WWE heel in years. He isn't flashy andd he isn't one for the MOVEZ. But he can work a methodical style that peaks at the right times. His matches w Ibushi, Okada etc have been brilliant. He will become a faceless, nameless talent in WWE so should steer well clear. His promos work because he can just sound off, something wwe would no doubt rein in. 

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5 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

That's one of my main issues with AEW - or at least the crowds. Maybe the heels need to work harder to get that reaction, but there aren't too many that are truly hated. I know we're in the era of shades of grey and some believe there isn't traditional faces/heels anymore but I don't think that's the case. Wrestling at its most basic is good guy vs bad guy. Someone you really want to win and someone you really don't want to.

Jay White was always someone I wanted to lose because I thought he was shit. Now I want him to lose because he's a right little shit but I enjoy hating him, which is the key now.

I get what you're meaning here, and I would say it's more the fault of the fans than the wrestlers. 

MJF, Jake Hager, The Acclaimed, Kip Sabian, TH2, Miro (as he currently is - which is a far cry from Rusev) are all heels that aren't in the slightest bit likeable. What hurts the former pair is that they are in a group that, overall, are likeable. 

The Young Bucks, for some strange reason, are faces. They are an unlikeable pair of twats, and FTR along with Tully shouldn't be getting cheers based on their work. Nor should Callis, Omega or Team Taz. 

I get that the likes of Cody, The Dark Order, Jericho and Guevara etc all have a bit of that 'line treading' going on though. Cody needs to stick to wrestling clearly defined heels for my money. The Dark Order are bound to be heading towards a face turn, and I expect at least Jericho, if not Sammy as well, to end up on the face side of an Inner Circle civil war. 

 

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