The news that Jay White is not signing with the promotion will disappoint WWE fans who were hoping to see him join the company.
As PWMania.com previously reported, White’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling has expired. People believed that both WWE and AEW were interested in signing him, so he was expected to leave New Japan Pro Wrestling.
In February, the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion was defeated by Hikuleo in a “Loser Leaves Japan” match at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka, and then fell to AEW’s Eddie Kingston in San Jose, California, at the Battle in the Valley pay-per-view.
WrestleMania weekend has come and gone, and despite speculation that White would make his WWE debut on the post-Mania edition of Raw, that did not happen.
According to PWInsider Elite, during the Wrestlemania 39 weekend, “was absolutely no discussion of former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Jay White within WWE at all over Wrestlemania 39 weekend.” It was added that “based on multiple conversations with WWE officials and talents, we are told it does not appear White is WWE-bound.”
Given that WWE is currently no longer a consideration, it is unknown if White will sign with AEW or if he will look into going somewhere else.
