Jay White is a force of nature; 139 days and counting into his inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Championship reign, his fifth such championship reign in New Japan Pro Wrestling, White has successful defenses in Japan, in America, and even in AEW, where he successfully overcame the trio of Adam Cole, “Hangman” Adam Page, and “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada in the co-main event of Forbidden Door. White hasn't lost a singles match outside of the G-1 Climax since all the way back in April, when he lost to Chris Saban at Impact Wrestling's Multiverse Of Matches, and has been perfect one-on-one in an NJPW ring since November of 2021, when he dropped the NEVER Openweight Championship to Tomohiro Ishii, who, in turn, lost it to EVIL, then Tama Tonga, and then Karl Anderson, who is currently holding the strap hostage while a member of WWE RAW.

But soon, White will face his toughest challenge yet in Eddie Kingston, whom he is scheduled to wrestle at Rumble on 44th Street in a tag match featuring Juice Robinson on the Bullet Club side and Okada on the other. When asked about facing off against White during an “exciting” evening in his hometown before the show, Kingston weighed in on the prospects of wrestling the current IWGP World Champion.

“You say exciting, right?” Kingston asked rhetorically. “I don’t see this as exciting, this is a fight. And Jay White, for what, two months now, running his mouth, ‘super champ,’ right? And your boy, little homeboy Juice. See, I don’t care about your title, bro, I don’t care. You talked a lot of crap, I’m gonna shut your mouth. But the real reason I’m truly excited is because I’m in there with Okada. Teaming up with probably, arguably the best IWGP Champion of all time. And I’m doing it here, in New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong. So, get on it, ladies and gentlemen, get it on Fite, check it out there, because I guarantee you this, and I put this on my mother’s eyes: I’m going to beat those two boys to an inch of their life. And then Okada can win the title at WrestleKingdom – I know my place, I know my role, Eddie Kingston baby.”

Is Kingston's confidence justified, or is he walking into a lion's den with a T-Bone steak around his neck? Based on White's words, it sure sounds like the latter.

Jay White is ready to send Eddie Kingston back to AEW unhappy.

After coming off the stage at NJPW's The Night Before Rumble On 44th Street: A Halloween Special that saw the team of Chaos, Amazing Red, Kingston, Homicide, and Jon Moxley defeat Bullett Club and Team Filthy, White absolutely went in on his Rumble On 44th Street opponent.

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“I have pain in my jaw and in my head, black and yellow, pirouette blam. Oh, the lights go out briefly, and as they come back on, their heads really go (points down) down to the ground,” White began. “That’s my point, Eddie; you said I won’t come and say it to your face? You said I won’t come and say it to your face for one other reason, I don’t know what it was, some bu–sh*t. No Eddie. But of course, it's like you to talk tough in that position, when you’ve got your buddy Moxley standing right beside you or behind you, huh? Two-on-one, aren’t you a couple of tough guys, huh? Eddie, I see through you, huh? You want to give off this persona of what, integrity? Honor? Pride? Heart? Resilience?”

“No Eddie, those are not attributes for a man who only made it to this position because he was best friends with someone who earned it. Moxley. No, all of those, all of those words, all of those descriptions, all of those things you try to put off about yourself? Those are what all apply to me! Those are what apply to “Switchblade” Jay White! You see, I didn’t wait around to rely on my best friend to do a favor for me, Eddie Kingston; I left my home country of New Zealand when I was 19, and I didn’t go back for three-and-a-half years. I didn’t see my family in that time; no because I was going to make it. I wasn’t going to rely on my best friend making it and then helping me to make it myself. Not make it, doing it all for me. No Eddie, heart, pride, integrity, resilience – that’s what I stand for! That’s how I got here, that’s how I’m the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion! And that’s why you will never be it, Eddie.”

Goodness gracious, what is it about Kingston that just makes other wrestlers hate him? Is it his cocky demeanor? His, um, unconventional body type? His unflappable ability to get over with fans? Either way, White left the “Mad King” with one final thought before heading to the locker room.

“What you will do, tomorrow, you will breath with ‘The Switchblade,’ in my city, because I’m the ‘King of New York,’” White concluded “New York is Bullet Club and that – my jaw is still sore – is too sweet.”