"Switchblade" Jay White Is All-Elite

[mrtuesday]

Apr 5, 2023 21:38:02 GMT -5 raymondo316 said:

Apr 5, 2023 21:23:08 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

all insiders are saying that WWE messed this up royally. He was basically sealed, signed, and delivered and WWE just stopped talking to him.

It screams Vince saying "I don't want him, he's another one of Hunter & Regal's indy favourites"

Vince probably looked at him, said "We already have Baron Corbin at home" and moved on.

[pinja]

A classic blade-and-switch!

[stoptheclocks]

Apr 6, 2023 4:12:11 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Apr 6, 2023 3:58:05 GMT -5 stoptheclocks said:

I think it would've been more interesting to see him in WWE, purely because he's a different to what they have and it's always noteworthy to see how decorated indy guys translate.

I mean he's gonna have to translate anyway, AEW isn't just a place guys can go and be successful, it's weekly TV in front of big crowds and a lot of TV viewers, so we're going to see that regardless

I also feel like if the booking regime is gonna go back to where it was before, the indie wrestlers track record of being treated with respect isn't worth the risk, who knows, Jay's still pretty young, maybe some other time, but this increases his stock regardless imo

It's not really a criticism of anyone involved. In many ways he feels like he's been a part of the AEW extended universe for a while now.

I'm sure he'll be very successful, but his ceiling & floor would be drastically higher/lower in WWE. So this feels like a bit of a less interesting move overall.

[poodoojenkins]

Apr 6, 2023 5:56:38 GMT -5 mrtuesday said:

Apr 5, 2023 21:38:02 GMT -5 raymondo316 said:

It screams Vince saying "I don't want him, he's another one of Hunter & Regal's indy favourites"

Vince probably looked at him, said "We already have Baron Corbin at home" and moved on.

Maybe I'm missing a joke here, but in what way are Jay White and Baron Corbin anything alike?

[Dang!]

Apr 6, 2023 6:52:41 GMT -5 poodoojenkins said:

Apr 6, 2023 5:56:38 GMT -5 mrtuesday said:

Vince probably looked at him, said "We already have Baron Corbin at home" and moved on.

Maybe I'm missing a joke here, but in what way are Jay White and Baron Corbin anything alike?

Maybe the joke is that they're completely different in pretty much every aspect possible.

[superdelfin1882]

I'm chuffed to see him at AEW but I find myself leaning toward the opinion that right now he would've smashed it in WWE. Dude can be a superstar anywhere and AEW has so many. I also saw a clip of the segment on Youtube and holy hell! are the comments absolutely ridiculous. People saying he's an "NJPW reject" etc., trolling to the extreme

[poodoojenkins]

Apr 6, 2023 7:54:34 GMT -5 superdelfin1882 said:

I'm chuffed to see him at AEW but I find myself leaning toward the opinion that right now he would've smashed it in WWE. Dude can be a superstar anywhere and AEW has so many. I also saw a clip of the segment on Youtube and holy hell! are the comments absolutely ridiculous. People saying he's an "NJPW reject" etc., trolling to the extreme

Sorry, but there is absolutely no way in hell that Jay White would be a star in a Vince McMahon-lead WWE.

Not that he SHOULDN'T be, but there's a 0% possibility that McMahon would get Jay White.

[4real]

With HHH in charge I would have loved to see what Jay could do in WWE but the reality is he just isn’t so this was the smart decision.

[dreamghost]

I think it would of been better if there was no Music and he just came out of the crowd and blindsided Starks. Maybe a puzzled face on Juice that turns into a sly grin. Also i would of not had this as the opener.

[Jindrak Mark]

He could have immediately been a top heel under HHH but Vince would not get Jay White at all. Cody was fine because he had the big entrance/production and he's a guy who cuts dramatic, over the top promos. Like an MJF would be the same. They're characters Vince can picture in main event spots.

Jay White though is more methodical, dare I say cerebral. He might not wow you right away if you don't know him. Vince would probably take one look at him, call him boring, tell him to wear brighter gear and put him in a midcard tag-team with Bronson Reed because to Vince Australia and New Zealand are the same place.

[HMARK Center]

Apr 6, 2023 10:03:25 GMT -5 dreamghost said:

I think it would of been better if there was no Music and he just came out of the crowd and blindsided Starks. Maybe a puzzled face on Juice that turns into a sly grin. Also i would of not had this as the opener.

I think I get doing it during the open: this episode, no matter how this last weekend/Monday went, was going to be AEW's answer to Wrestlemania and its fallout, and given the overall disappointment people were feeling just starting Dynamite with one of those "this is what you'd expect on the Raw after WM, isn't it?" moments might've been the right move.

Either way, I'm so happy to see him in AEW; had too many years where some of my other favorites went to WWE and I basically just didn't follow them, so knowing that I'll get to keep seeing Jay work fantastic for me.

If there's truth to the rumors that he was all set for WWE and they suddenly cut contact with him, shit, I've got no words. That's a massive organizational failure given how great this guy is, but I suppose the sale of the company was paramount and it's possible they put a freeze on new signings for the moment.

Side note: for those not aware, the current storyline for Bullet Club in NJPW is that with Jay's exile it's really the first time that the group has had a true power vacuum at the top - after all, AJ Styles debuted the night that Prince Devitt had his final match, Kenny Omega took out AJ himself, and Tama Tonga led the removal of the Elite before Gedo orchestrated getting White in as the new leader. But with Jay gone, there's really no immediate "this is THE guy" figure to step in and be the top dog. Jay was written out of NJPW via an attack by his former friend David Finlay, who quickly joined and became Gedo's new "chosen gaijin"; however, El Phantasmo, who's been rising up the card in the company, isn't sold on Finlay on being good enough for the job. He almost got convinced since Finlay came close to winning the New Japan Cup, but since he came up short against Sanada things are still tense.

Now, well ho-lee shit, turns out Jay's not only in a NJPW-affiliated company, he's also still repping Bullet Club! And he's in AEW with Juice Robinson, who has long been David Finlay's best buddy. Things are officially in total flux, but judging by the way things have been building I'm thinking this might mean Jay's looking to build a BC-branded empire in the US (could include current members Chris Bey and Ace Austin from Impact)...which I highly, highly doubt will sit well with Finlay (maybe even with Gedo, in kayfabe?) over in Japan.

Side note 2: judging by the hand gesture Jay and Juice did, seems like we won't be getting any Too Sweets stateside, guessing WWE copyright hammers would come down hard on that.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

Apr 5, 2023 21:22:18 GMT -5 "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik said:

I wonder how they get around the stips from his last matches because there's no way they don't use him at some point for New Japan crossover.

Easy. Forbidden Door is technically an AEW sanctioned event. Unless it’s an IWGP match or in the Cerulean Blue, you can get away with it.

[asuka007]

Japan treats stipulations like WWE does.

Tenzan lost a match where the stipulation was he could never use Mongolian chops again. He was back to doing them like two weeks later.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 6, 2023 6:24:07 GMT -5 stoptheclocks said:

Apr 6, 2023 4:12:11 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

I mean he's gonna have to translate anyway, AEW isn't just a place guys can go and be successful, it's weekly TV in front of big crowds and a lot of TV viewers, so we're going to see that regardless

I also feel like if the booking regime is gonna go back to where it was before, the indie wrestlers track record of being treated with respect isn't worth the risk, who knows, Jay's still pretty young, maybe some other time, but this increases his stock regardless imo

It's not really a criticism of anyone involved. In many ways he feels like he's been a part of the AEW extended universe for a while now.

I'm sure he'll be very successful, but his ceiling & floor would be drastically higher/lower in WWE. So this feels like a bit of a less interesting move overall.

Honestly, in a HHH lead WWE, I could have seen him do well, but I get why he doesn't want to go there in a Vince-led restart because well... it's Vince

I said it already but Jay's young, if he has a run in AEW for like four years, he's nowhere near out of his prime yet cause he is only 30, so this is a good bet for him and he can raise his stock to US viewers if it's a good one, whether he'd then try a WWE run or something else.

[polarbearpete]

Apr 6, 2023 12:09:45 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Apr 6, 2023 6:24:07 GMT -5 stoptheclocks said:

It's not really a criticism of anyone involved. In many ways he feels like he's been a part of the AEW extended universe for a while now.

I'm sure he'll be very successful, but his ceiling & floor would be drastically higher/lower in WWE. So this feels like a bit of a less interesting move overall.

Honestly, in a HHH lead WWE, I could have seen him do well, but I get why he doesn't want to go there in a Vince-led restart because well... it's Vince

I said it already but Jay's young, if he has a run in AEW for like four years, he's nowhere near out of his prime yet cause he is only 30, so this is a good bet for him and he can raise his stock to US viewers if it's a good one, whether he'd then try a WWE run or something else.

Yeah I think Jay saw the uncertainty in WWE at the top with Vince edging back in since January and figured he’s so young that he can sign with AEW now and still have that WWE run down the road.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 6, 2023 12:17:42 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

Apr 6, 2023 12:09:45 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Honestly, in a HHH lead WWE, I could have seen him do well, but I get why he doesn't want to go there in a Vince-led restart because well... it's Vince

I said it already but Jay's young, if he has a run in AEW for like four years, he's nowhere near out of his prime yet cause he is only 30, so this is a good bet for him and he can raise his stock to US viewers if it's a good one, whether he'd then try a WWE run or something else.

Yeah I think Jay saw the uncertainty in WWE at the top with Vince edging back in since January and figured he’s so young that he can sign with AEW now and still have that WWE run down the road.

AJ Styles signed when he was 38, he has a Hall of Fame career easily, granted AJ Styles is a very special talent, but it was still 8 years later than how old Jay White is right now.

So yeah never say never I'd say, heck Adam Cole had a long run in NXT and he's only 33 now for example

[Cyno]

I think Jay White would've been a made man under the (Stephanie) McMahon-Helmsley regime. Maybe not "immediately jump to WWE Championship picture" made, but I have little doubt Triple H knew how special he was and would've rolled out the proverbial red carpet for him.

Vince? Yeaaaaah.

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2023 19:53:20 GMT -5 THE FVNKER said:

Apr 5, 2023 19:40:05 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

I know it’s be easy to say that all the upheaval in WWE in recent days sealed the deal for White to go to AEW, but he’d probably already made up his mind before all that.

I'm convinced that these guys all talk on the low and know exactly when to say what to make sure it's all clear when the time is right when it comes to negotiations.  I think you're spot on.

There is really no "on the down low" though is what I don't get when it comes to what people think about the business.

There is nothing like a collective bargaining agreement or anything to prevent these guys from discussing their options amongst one another...including pay


The concept of tampering (outside of having direct proof of breaking a contract) is a myth as companies like Indeed and Monster who send you 5000 emails while employed wouldn't exist.


WWE and WCW used litigation due to gimmicks and to slow perceived tampering not punish for it.


So yes...rambling and winded as always, I agree.

[stoptheclocks]

On the subject of AJ Styles, good to see AEW's director channelling the spirit of Kevin Dunn by botching his camera cuts for Jay's debut.

[superdelfin1882]

Apr 6, 2023 8:39:50 GMT -5 poodoojenkins said:

Apr 6, 2023 7:54:34 GMT -5 superdelfin1882 said:

I'm chuffed to see him at AEW but I find myself leaning toward the opinion that right now he would've smashed it in WWE. Dude can be a superstar anywhere and AEW has so many. I also saw a clip of the segment on Youtube and holy hell! are the comments absolutely ridiculous. People saying he's an "NJPW reject" etc., trolling to the extreme

Sorry, but there is absolutely no way in hell that Jay White would be a star in a Vince McMahon-lead WWE.

Not that he SHOULDN'T be, but there's a 0% possibility that McMahon would get Jay White.

That's my mistake, I meant WWE under HHH. I'm still thinking in terms of before a few days ago when it was still looking likely Jay White was WWE bound. No doubt Vince would've done nothing substantial with him, but I still would've been excited to see what HHH would do