Jay White has taken shots at Will Ospreay, claiming he’s “never going to be as significant or important” as White – potentially setting up a Will Ospreay vs Jay White feud down the line.
Both men had huge matches tonight at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Will Ospreay had a dream match against Kenny Omega, defending his IWGP United States Championship. It was a match of the year candidate and solidified both men as two of the finest wrestlers the world has ever seen.
Meanwhile, following them was the main event match featuring Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada. White went into the match as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, looking to extend his victory over Okada to 5-1.
Sadly, both matches went poorly for Ospreay and White. In Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega, the Englishman fell to the One Winged Angel and lost his title, albeit in one of the best matches of all time. Meanwhile, Jay White came close to defeating Kazuchika Okada, but lost his world title in another exceptional match. While neither men came out on top, both impressed in their incredible performances.
However, Jay White had some strong words for his fellow gaijan (foreigner) in some pre-match words. He shot down with New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s website and revealed his true thoughts about Will Ospreay – claiming he was never going to be as “significant or important” as the Switchblade in New Japan.
“This (World) title is worth a lot more than his so of course this gets defended less often. Also, that’s all up to Will. If he wants to put his neck out there constantly and put himself at risk, that’s up to him. That’s why I’m a great smart champion because I’m smart with where I defend. I want to lead this place. Will- I have no idea what Will wants to do, but it’s never going to be as significant or important as what I do,”
These words could be setting up a huge post-Wrestle Kingdom 17 feud for the Kiwi and the Brit. Will Ospreay vs Jay White has been a match that NJPW has been clearly avoiding. They have kept the stars apart since 2020, despite both men being main eventers and holding the coveted IWGP World Heavyweight Championship during this time.
A match between the two, potentially at next years Tokyo Dome show, could rival any other match on the card. While his match against Kenny Omega wowed fans in 2023, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18 would be the perfect place for Ospreay vs White to truly cement themselves as the two top gaijans in the company – although that may be tough with the return of Kenny Omega.
Omega actually talked about the duo in a recent interview with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp. He actually agreed with Jay White, revealing the reasons why he thought he was better than Will Ospreay, although this could have been adding more heat to his match with Ospreay on the January 4th show.
“When you’re in a position like Will, someone who can do anything so easily, it’s tough to become very satisfied with the cheers and jeers of a small indie crowd, those little pick-me-ups, those start to mean more to you than focusing on ‘how do I reinvent myself to become a company guy and an investment for a million-dollar company,’ like what Jay White had to do.
Jay White wasn’t a freak athlete like Will, so he had to go into the think tank and come up with something that was marketable. Will just being Will gets crowds of a few hundred people cheering for Will Ospreay and he is satisfied with that. There is nothing wrong with that whatsoever.”
Who do you think is better – Will Ospreay or Jay White? Let us know in the comments down below or click below to read about the best Wrestle Kingdom matches ever.