Jay White

[9.0] "Jay White was one of my favorite performers in NJPW during his main event run. He has excellent ring psychology and his smarmy heel counter wrestling game was a welcome change of pace from the maximalist style of the time. I've seen precious little of his work in AEW but the man is lowkey one of the best practitioners of classic professional wrestling going today."

[10.0] "I'm hoping this dude gets pushed to the moon when he returns because he's just as good as the likes of Ospreay, Kenny, Hangman, Mox etc. He's a great heel, even better than a Babyface, imo. I liked him in the Bullet club gold stuff but he should be doing more. If I rated him purely off AEW it'd be a 7 but I've seen him do wonderful things in NJPW so it's an easy 10 for me. His booking in AEW has been rough but it hasn't hurt his stock JUST yet."

[8.0] "That was the roughest eight of all time, by far. Jay White had all the talent in the world to be consider a top guy in AEW and I'm pretty sure he will be an champion in AEW, for sure, just like he was at NJPW but now much BETTER because the AEW product fits with him. Although, he skill had some issues in ring that make me mad, he always need a stable at his side to make him looks at least interesting and he is a guy that we can't book at a midcard title, for example, because it always feel that we might be wasting his talent. Also, injuries sucks, but that is not his fault. Complicated, dude."

[4.0] "I find him to be very overrated. I don't find that he is able to pump out persistently engaging fare in the same manner that his AEW contemporaries can. He seems to frequently run through motions in matches, rather than taking his time & feeling his matches out in any kind of real, psychologically driven way. He falls into a strange trap wherein despite being 6'2 & 220lbs, he seems to appear smaller. I have to imagine it must boil down to the way he physically carries himself. I always found his character work to be very dull, very much like he's trying much too hard to be funny."

[8.0] "I didn't really 'get' Jay White at first but he started growing on me quite a bit once the Bang Bang Gang evolved a bit. Excited to see what he does once he's healthy."

[8.0] "Switchblade Jay White is the man. He has already accomplished so much from being the leader of Bullet Club and winning every championship in New Japan, to now being a top guy in AEW. Jay is great on the mic and in the ring, he's had some amazing promos and matches. Guns Up"

[9.0] "I understand the criticisms that some people have about Jay White, and I'm taking that into consideration in this rating. But I absolutely adore this wrestler. If he had his Japan presentation in AEW he'd be an even bigger star than he already is. He's not an Ospreay, Omega or an Okada, and that's fine. But he has all the makings of a champion. He's had some terrible luck but here's to hoping he makes a return at All In in the gauntlet."

[10.0] "One of the best wrestlers in the world. Best in ring psychology and heel work in the world. Good as a face, generational as a heel. His run in New Japan remains one of the best runs ever and he only has great matches in AEW. Everything he touches turns to gold (no pun intended)."

[8.0] "Jay White, Without a doubt is one of the best heels in wrestling ever. He proved that in NJPW time and time again as I found him to be the best Bullet Club leader. But his run in AEW has been.....Confusing? He started as a heel and was doing a good job. His Tag Team stuff with Juice against FTR was phenomenal.Than the MJF feud happened which partially buried him. Than for whatever reason, they decided to turn him into an act with the Gunns and since than he's..... certainly been a part of the roster. They tried a face character with him and thaat clearly failed. I don't know what direction he'll go at right now. Jay White is a great performer, but is being held back by his booking in AEW."

[9.0] "King Switch has been one of the most unique personalities in AEW but his booking has been shambles for the most part. It's been a little bit better recently but my god he just had to deal with so much bs for so long. This guy should have been projected to be a world champion already but I don't think he's getting there anytime soon. Sad because he has all the talent in the world but seems to have hit the imaginary glass ceiling."

[10.0] "Jay White has one of, if not probably my favorite wrestling style in the game right now. His matches with Hangman are so much fun and honestly really only Takeshita compares in how much I love seeing him wrestle. Amazing promo, amazing wrestler."

[9.0] "I really like Jay White, and I can't wait for the time AEW stars pushing him properly, an amazing all round worker, good at everything"

[10.0] "Jay White is a fantastic all round worker. In the ring his best attributes are his selling, which is some of the best I've seen in the last 15 years and his explosiveness. Every suplex and slam he delivers looks so crisp, smooth and devastating. We're he really shines though is when he has a microphone in his hand. His delivery when delivering promos is very unique."

[9.0] "The Switchblade is on a whole other level! From starting out as a New Zealand Young Lion to blossoming into an Incredible NJPW Gaijin with the whole Bullet Club on his side & becoming the 1st ever Grand Slam champion there! The way he's able to demand attention & have you listen and make you believe what he's saying is impressive. However, what's most astounding in regards to Jay White is he's style of wrestling; White's Ring Psychology is above the rest! He wrestles with precision accuracy every detail is important & calculated making his matches more entertaining when you look back at his work with that in mind plus I got to see him live on Dynamite and its so great to see that in action! He's run in AEW at the moment has had a start & pause effect that at times has foil some must-needed Word Championship position though I have & will have faith in Jay White as he's continually growing and establishing himself as simply one of the best!"

[10.0] "I followed Jay White's career since he returned from excursion and confront Tanahashi. He in that initial "Blade Runner" run have developed and grew so rapidly as an in-ring worker is somewhat historic and overlooked. He went in there and kept getting better matches by matches. Then his character work also came along. After all those years Jay is still so young and have even more potential. I don't think he's even in his prime yet. But he is definitely approaching it. Hopefully he gets booked appropriately to flourish with that potential."

[10.0] "I find it funny that Jay White says he didn't care for wrestling until he got to see it in person, I was the same until I saw who else in the ring but the Switchblade. He'll always be the coolest dude to me even if he hasn't always had the greatest AEW booking. Masterful limb work, incredible counter moves, very nice beard."

[10.0] "In my opinion, there are very few that are as psychologically good in the ring as Jay White right now. When it comes to selling, counter wrestling, storytelling and making all the small things matter, Jay White is possibly second to none. Combine those incredible in-ring skills with his great look and tremendous promo ability, he's the embodiment of what I think a pro wrestler is."

[9.0] "29 years old, one of the best in-ring storytellers in the business, stellar on the mic, great look, great execution of his moves and not the fanciest moveset (which makes sense since he's meant to be their biggest heel). Great seller and could even work as a babyface, which can be seen on New Year's Dash 2021. People hating on Jay White only know the overpushed guy from the Kenny Omega feud and his sudden world title win. He has improved a lot and really can be a top guy anywhere he wants to be. EDIT: I deducted him a few points before because I didn't enjoy his AEW work. But his presentation has improved drastically throughout the Hangman feud. Great stuff!"

[9.0] "Extremely efficient as a babyface, extremely world class as a heel. A fantastic counter wrestling that thrives on structuring his match around tiring his opponent, getting into his head and eventually hitting them with enough stuff so he can let his guard down for a blade runner, a move so protected that has only been properly kicked out once in the best stage of Pro Wrestling (the main event of Wrestle Kingdom)"

[10.0] "I can never hate Jay White. Even when he was in NJPW, he was a GOD. He doesnt do any floppy dippy moves, all his moves are very calculated. From the Bladerunner to the TTO, he has different ways to finish the match. Overall, Jay is one of the best in the world if booked right."

[9.0] "Jay white doesn't have the catalogue yet to be a 10 wrestler, but boy does he have probably the best character work going in wrestling today. Jay is a natural at everything, though his style allows him to have some underwhelming matches since he's not afraid to really lean into being the cowardly heel. I think Jay is really great and really really can't wait to see where he goes"

[10.0] "Out of all the guys Aew has bought in from New Japan over the past two year Jay is by far my personal favourite, his first appearance on Aew television completely sold me on him, I can't really put it into words but if I had to I'd say he had a level of swagger that not so many have and that paired with his bone chilling entrance music screamed star. The match at FD for the Iwgp title wasn't that great of an introduction of what he had to offer but I thought that he came off really well in the match with him playing his role of the scheming dastardly heel to absolute perfection. After FD season I didn't see much of Jay because just like many I was at the time a filthy casual (lol) who hadn't watched anything wrestling related other than wwe and the walking zombie that was Impact wrestling lol(Aew introduced me to the wider wrestling world that's one of the many reasons it'll always hold a special place in my heart despite the decline in quality of their weekly shows.) Anyway the next time I saw Jay was when debuted for Aew in early 2023 I have very strong opinions about how they went about debuting him but that's a matter for another time. Jay really impressed me in his early run in Aew and made me even more of a fan despite the fact that he wasn't given anything to sink his teeth into early on but once collision launched and he got allowed to show more of what he could do I got completely behind him and made the bold prediction that he would make his way to the top of the mountain in no more than 6 months after that incredible series with cmftr while being undefeated in singles competition but then every thing went downhill from there and honestly the less said about that the better I've shared my opinions about his booking after the collision classic and I won't dwell in on anything much anymore. Jay is a phenomenal wrestler who completely understands that sometimes less is more, I won't be pretensious and act like I hate modern pro wrestling or anything like that but someone like Jay who doesn't do the modern day epic style of doing excessive over the top moves in todays climate is a breath of fresh air. His selling is phenomenal the drooling thing and the exhausted/laboured movements midway through matches always make me smile and his limb work is simply exquisite and easily the best in the wrestling world today. His counter based style is something that never gets the credit it deserves in my opinion like the way he can switch up the flow of a match with a well executed and brutal looking dragon screaw/uranage is just awesome. His moveset isn't flashy if anything it's quite dull by modern standards but where he truly excels is the execution of said moves like I've never seen anyone do any an uranage or a sleeper suplex like Jay does. While his Aew run so far has been lackluster there's still time for Tony to salvage his run especially with Grand Slam Australia coming along that which would be as perfect a place to crown him as the major heel in the company other than a show in New Zealand lol."

[9.0] "Jay White is one of my favorite members of Bullet Club and can always make any story better with his promo skills. He is really good in-ring and I hope he gets out of his very poor booking in AEW and can eventually win the AEW World Championship. Overall Fantastic Character."

[10.0] "Ma boy Jay White was solid in NJPW. Perfect heel, great storyteller, incredible character and mic skills. I hate how AEW booked him until now but I still have hope that he will one day be world champion. He may not be the best wrestler in the world but its okay since we is really good at everything else. He is still young, only 31 and have a big aura. Its a shame to see him in the midcard since im a big Switchblade fan, I just hope Tony Khan realize how much of an incredible heel he has."

[4.0] "I have been completely underwhelmed by Jay in the last 12 months in AEW. His character is directionless and boring, his in ring work leaves me underwhelmed unless he's wrestling against someone he's wrestled multiple times previously. The bang bang gang as a trio feels like a good tag team and also their weird friend. His best work is as a comedy coward, but he looks absolutely amateurish in the role when you compare him to Christian Cage. My favorite Jay White match to date has been when he put Billy Gunn over and made him look like a monster. Confused by the effusive praise and that he deserves better in AEW because the last year has shown me that he's getting more than he deserves in having a belt at all for any period of time."

[8.0] "One of the best heels I've seen and also one of my favorites going right now. But I can't help but think he should be doing better. Why is the first NJPW Grand Slam champion in a feud with the FUCKING ACCLAIMED. I hate how AEW has booked my guy and until I see some MAJOR changes I can't see him doing much in AEW. I love the BCG and I like they are Trios champs but Jay can be an incredible International or Continental champ."

[8.0] "Jay White is one of the best heels not just in NJPW but in the entire pro-wrestling today. His work is truly dedicating, and his character makes you truly despised him. Although most of his matches are average in NJPW standards, he is not the type of guy who uses flashy moves and more likely most of his arsenal of moves are heelish. Jay also has a great in-ring psychology as seen in most of his matches acting like a sadistic and sociopathic villain. His time as a Bullet Club member made him a main event star in NJPW and fought the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada and Kota Ibushi. Safe to say that being a heel in NJPW is what saved him from his career, as they had a lot of babyfaces there in NJPW. A lot of people including me may think that Jay White is the "final boss" because during his time, he is the most stand out heel in NJPW. Unfortunately, upon signing with AEW, he is just another guy that Tony Khan signs as his "flex" and still doesn't have a defining moment a year after he signed but let's see in the future on what to do with him. More so, my basis of this rating is his time in NJPW with a little impact on AEW, although his time in AEW doesn't affect my rating very much due on how little his time there. Jay White resembles a comic book villain come to life. Amazing dark and edgy character."

[8.0] "In an era of super athletic, flippy, thigh slapping wrestlers with flashy moves he was a real breath of fresh air, a great heavyweight wrestler. He is a good athlete with a good look but storytelling and psychology are his greatest qualities. Hiroshi Tanahashi clearly had a huge influence on him on these aspects. He was a great heel, a great fuel for the babyfaces. I'm specifically talking about his run in New Japan as he was used very well there and felt like a star even if he had a relatively rough start. At first he was a more subtle heel who didn't need to cheat to win but for some reason he didn't get a lot of reactions during his first few months. Maybe some of his ideas were a little too subtle I don't know but the first version of Jay White didn't connect with the crowd that well despite being already good at what he did. Then he started to cheat and become a more archetypal heel and it got better for him, the crowd was also more used to his moveset at this point. The run he had after he joined Bullet Club was very successful and he became the top heel of the promotion quickly. Culminating in a great double gold dash where he was the Intercontinental champion and the first big hurdle for Naito's story. Then the pandemic happened and he didn't want to travel to Japan so Gedo had to make some adjustments and Jay wasn't working in Japan for a while. He came back, had a forgettable reign as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, not really his fault as the pandemic was not the best time to watch pro wrestling but it sometimes felt like his head was already elsewhere. Still, he put over Okada in a good enough match but it was obvious the point was just for Okada to get his win back as usual. He had a very good match against Hikuleo where he did his best to put him over and then he went to AEW and it doesn't seem like he has been doing a lot of interesting stuff there. Despite using his goons he lost to a one legged man that already wrestled the same night, and now he's the trios champion of a dead brand (ROH) so obviously that's extremely different from how New Japan used him and he'll probably never be as relevant again but it doesn't seem like he cares that much anyway. I'll remember him for his great New Japan run, he was one of the best wrestlers in the world at that point in time. Could have been a great babyface because he's amazing at selling moves but we never got to the point of getting that babyface run in New Japan despite it being teased a few times. I guess he'll get a decent program here and there in AEW before going back to irrelevancy for months because american wrestling has a very fickle way of working but he could be so much more than just another guy in a bloated roster, that's my point. He's a very talented guy but it has to be very hard for him to show that right now."

[5.0] "Jay White is fine. No more, no less. Jay is at his strongest while delivering promos, but I find his in-ring work to be lacking at best and at worst yawn inducing. Undid a lot of work that Devitt, AJ and Kenny put in to make Bullet Club as great as it was."

[9.0] "Jay White is a suave, cool, calm and collected wrestler who leads the bullet club. In ring he is great, however chooses to work a slower style to help get his opponents over. Overall a great wrestler with a lot of intriuge around his character work in NJPW"

[5.0] "This guy would always bore me in New Japan and I was perplexed at the push he got, but now in AEW he's floundering with bad promos and mediocre matches. Despite that I do think he could be something, and I'm glad he's away from New Japan where for some reason he felt the need to do 40 minute matches of boring heel work that ended in fuck finishes."

[7.0] "Switchblade is a good wrestler who portrays himself like a star and absolutely has a place in the main event scene because of the incredible character work and mic skill. His persona and looks are great, but it just happens I think he is extremely boring in the ring, can't like basically any of his matches, don't like the moveset at all."

[7.0] "Jay white is an obviously good wrestler who can never seem to put on a great match under 30 minutes. A hell of a promo and a very methodical, top of the line counter-wrestler but a lot of the time it just feels like he's going slow for the sake of setting up something that either doesn't happen or it doesn't live up to the previous 25 minutes of build."

[7.0] "I'm slightly conflicted on Jay White. He has a lot of positives, which I'll list. He's got a great moveset varied in striking and grappling. He's got a knack for thinking up backup plans for his moves being countered. He's an amazing heel and has all the attributes a heel would have, such as being cowardly, manipulative, and arrogant. He has a ton of charisma and actually made great sense as a leader of modern BULLET CLUB. So why is my rating not higher? Well, its because of one major thing: his match lengths. His matches have an awful often tendency to be SO. DAMN. LONG. He's good, but he relies way too much on his matches being long to be good. I don't understand that. I guarantee he could have an <15 minute match and it would be fantastic. I just wish he himself could realize that."

[10.0] "One of the best young talents in wrestling today only 30 years old and won everything that there's to win in NJPW. Now a main figure on AEW: Collision future AEW World Champion."

[8.0] "Love jay. I was glad he signed with AEW and didn't go to WWE. I love the style in the ring, the body language and the promos in the exotic New Zealand accent"

[8.0] "Great wrestler in NJPW. His in-ring work and his promo work improved since his debut in NJPW. His style of wrestling is a little bit of a throwback in the US and is nice to watch."

[10.0] "08.16.2023 Just the best in NJPW right now. At WK 12 he was bad enough, but 3 years in the making he is very good, and he is only 28. UPD: 05.29.2023 Still one of the best in the world but AEW can't use him as he can do. Prepared world champ for any company feuding with Ricky Starks. Huh, bravo to Tony Khan(Best booker by WON in 2022, LOL)"

[8.0] "Along with PAC, he is my favorite wrestler of the modern era. Methodic, calculating, awesome counter wrestling, amazing character and mic work. I think he's right there with MJF and Dominik when it comes to the greatest heels today. The only issue I have with him is how bad his career has gone since the pandemic. Out of the Main NJPW roster for over a year, a run in Impact Wrestling that did nothing for him, an overhyped series of Open Challenges that, without giving bad matches, nothing out of that stood out. Kinda made an impact in his return to NJPW when he won the World Title, but after that he just was on his way out of the company, feuding with Hikuleo out of everyone. Hope he can regain that Main Eventer status he once had in AEW. He has all the tools, just need the chance."

[8.0] "Absolutely fantastic worker. He gets a lot of flak because everyone else at the top of the NJPW card for the last decade is able to have the prototypical NJPW match and fans of those matches don't like it when Jay White slides in and works like an old-school heel. I love that shit though. Wrestling isn't just about moves to me and it needs slimy heels in order to make you care about the babyface. He does great work in the ring and his promos are some of the best in wrestling today."

[10.0] "Jay White is simply awesome. Has incredible matches and can really hold his own on the mic. The dude just has this aura about him that exudes cool."

[10.0] "This guy has everything to become a legend. His look, charisma and skills made Switchblade Era in New Japan something special. Now, wherever he will come, he deserves proper booking. I'm sure HHH or Tony will know how to use him."

[8.0] "Jay White is a very good wrestler, with a few caveats. First of all, his promos and feuds are excellent, he's one of the best in the game right now when it comes to storytelling and psychology both in the ring and out. That being said, his matches can get a bit... boring? He's very methodical, which can either work to his credit or against him depending on the situation and his opponent."

[10.0] "One of the best pure heels in the business right now. He had room to improve in the ring but he has shown lately that he can have some of the matches of a NJPW card. Edit: He's improved to the ninth degree. He is the best counter wrestler in the world right now."

[6.0] "I. JUST. DON'T. GET. IT. This over-exaggerated slow rhythm is killing the interest I could have for any of his matches. His physique, supposedly his greatest asset, is not even close to Tanahashi's and he works like any run-of-the-mill annoying heel you could find on the Indy circuit. Not for me."

[10.0] "Jay White is a great storyteller. When he cuts promo I think this sport is real. And he's in-ring good too. Jay is the best Bullet Club leader without a doubt for me. One of the greatest wrestlers in this generation. I hope he beat Okada at dome. My current favourite in NJPW."

[10.0] "For sure, he is not the best in the ring but clearly this guy is the best storyteller and one of the best as a heel."

[9.0] "One of the best storytellers and wrestlers of our generation, he just gets what being a heel requires, any match of his can be an instant classic."

[4.0] "A bit plodding and yelly and overwrought for me, but I can't deny his physical skills and his elaborate counter sequences, particularly when it comes to hitting the Blade Runner. I think I'd like him a lot more as a face to be honest, but in his current role as Bullet Club supreme leader, I don't see that happening anytime soon."

[9.0] "Imagine not thinking Jay White is an excellent wrestler. People have taken notice of him more recently due to his natural promo skills and his heel persona, and yes, that's definitely a big part of why he's so great. However Jay White is an exceptional talent even independent of that. He's going to go down as this generation's Bret Hart, not only because of the realistic, grounded nature with which he wrestles, and the excellent with which he controls the momentum of his matches (often employing some of the best counters in wrestling to do so), but also because of how he understands incorporating small details in his matches that make them very satisfying upon rewatch, be it in the form of callbacks to a previous match or subtle ways of making a maneuver more logical (such as ducking a back-elbow strike to position himself for a Saito Suplex). He also just seems to 'get' selling in a way that so many people don't. Very often, wrestlers play up the impact of a move to a hammy degree as a way to make matches more accessible and easier to follow, but with small things such as moving away from his opponent as he sells an injury or getting out of a pin with the least effort possible, Jay White is able to, for lack of a better way of putting it, 'sell with a brain', and he does so better than virtually anyone I've seen post-Bret Hart. It also has me thinking that Jay could end up being a dynamite in-ring babyface one day, even if he'll probably draw more as a heel."