Jay White cemented himself as one of the greatest wrestlers in the world with his performance against Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Despite walking into the show as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and having one of the best matches of his career (despite following one of the greatest matches of all time), he lost to the eternally loved Kazuchika Okada in the main event of the show.
Despite losing the match, he retained many of the plaudits he is used to enjoying. His heel work is regarded as the best in the world, with very few people arguing any other wrestler is even close. He embodies his character perfectly and skirting the line between real and outrageous that some (MJF and Roman Reigns for example) struggle to.
In this article, we will look at every five-star match awarded to NJPW’s Jay White since he started his wrestling career in 2013 in New Zealand. The Kiwi wrestler has had some incredible bouts in his career so far and despite being only 30 years old has made a name for himself as one of the greatest heels of the modern day.
Here are all the five star matches, as rated by Dave Meltzer, that have been awarded to “Switchblade” Jay White. We’ll also provide the Cagematch rating for the match and our own personal opinion on the match. When he received more five star matches, they will be added to this page so keep coming back to see just how good Jay White can be.
Jay White Five Star Matches
Jay White vs Kota Ibushi – Wrestle Kingdom 15 (5.25 Stars)
The first five star match Jay White received was his incredible performance on the biggest stage of them all. It was the best bout in the career of Jay White (in my opinion) in his showdown with Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 15. While some may see his G1 Climax fight with the Japanese star as the better of their canon of matches, I simply cannot look past the incredible performance he put on in the main event at the Tokyo Dome.
Jay White won the G1 Climax winners briefcase at NJPW Power Struggle 2019, taking away Ibushi’s chance to main event the Tokyo Dome and battle for the IWGP Heavyweight Championships. Luckily for Kota Ibushi, he won both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles from Tetsuya Naito on night one of Wrestle Kingdom, setting up an epic rematch against Switchblade in the main event of night two.
What followed was a 40+ minute masterclass in wrestling from two of the world’s best. The reduced, silent crowd due to the pandemic played into White’s hand, with every comment and obscenity being heard crystal clear, adding a new layer the match that had not been seen before. It would not have been the theatrical, almost thespian performance with the crowd cheering and booing to their hearts content, although the final stretch could have used with some crowd pops to make Ibushi’s win look even more impressive.
It was Jay White’s best match not just because he brought everything he had to the table, but because the hero of the hour Kota Ibushi withstood everything he had and gave it back in spades. The Golden Star picked up the win after 48 incredible minutes to retain his titles and stand atop the NJPW mountain as double champion.
Jay White failed to win the bout and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but was awarded more than five stars by Dave Melzer. In the Wrestling Observer, the bout was given 5.25 stars while on Cagematch.net, it was voted in at 9.10.
Jay White vs Kota Ibushi – G1 Climax 2019 Final (5.5 Stars)
The highest rated match by Dave Meltzer is also ranked as Jay White’s best match by Cagematch.net The G1 Climax 29 final match was an incredible fight between two greats of New Japan, as Kota Ibushi stepped into the ring to take on Kota Ibushi in a match that can only be described as “wow”.
The winners of their respective blocks, Jay White and Kota Ibushi, faced off in the final of the G1 Climax for a chance to main event the Tokyo Dome. It was a dream match for many and one that would main event Wrestle Kingdom just a few months later
Although Jay White lost the IWGP Heavyweight Title just months prior, he looked every bit of a star in this match and proved his worth as a main event in the company. He failed to impress during his brief time as world champion but the doubters were forced to eat their words during this amazing match.
Jay White slowed the pace down while Ibushi exploded into every move, making a fantastic dynamic between the two which resulted in one of Jay White’s best matches so far. Being the first match between the two, the atmosphere was electric. Fans didn’t know if they could ever top the bout, although they would later discover that were wrong about that in a huge way.
Kota Ibushi ran out the winner of this match, making Jay White 0-2 in five star matches. It would endear him to fans and management and only make his star in NJPW even bright. The match earned 5.5 stars from Dave Meltzer and was voted in at 9.42 rated by Cagematch users.
Which is your favourite match from Jay White? Tell us in the comments what you think or click below to read about Jay White’s Top 10 Matches