Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada is a main event-caliber match. You put that match on 100 cards – especially in NJPW – and it's worthy of the final spot 99 times easy.

Unfortunately, Wrestle Kingdom 17 was that rare exception, as the duo were booked to follow up Kenny Omega's return to NJPW after four years of crushing it in AEW in a bout against his internet arch-rival, Will Ospreay, and considering that match will be featured in Match of the Year, Match of the Decade, and Match of All-Time lists for years to come, that's a pretty tough ask.

Fortunately for NJPW, Gedo, who spent the match ringside with “King Switch,” was confident in his performers and put the top belt in the top spot on the top card of the year, and while it didn't quite live up to the match that came before it, it came darn close.

The set-up for the match was pretty simple: Okada held the IWGP World Championship for the first half of 2022, and Jay White held it for the back-half of 2022; after working his way through the G1 and coming out on top, Okada wanted a chance to win back his belt and become the face of New Japan Pro Wrestling once more, especially at an event designed to celebrate Antonio Inoki, who originated the Strongstyle of wrestling that “The Rainmaker” continues to work to this day. White, though far from a prolific champion in terms of defenses, still helped to bring the NJPW colors to promotions across the world, from his run in AEW ahead of Forbidden Door to his extended efforts in Impact Wrestling that saw both Chris Bey and Ace Austin join Bullet Club.

Considering Okada and White are arguably the top two guys in NJPW, why not let the duo duke it out and see who is the better performer, the better worker, and the better face of the promotion heading into 2023?

Okada and Jay White delivered in the main event of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom.

How do two of the best performers in a promotion follow up a fast-paced, hard-hitting bout that literally needed an extended break afterwards to soak up one of the performers' blood from the ring apron? Well, by starting things slow, with Okada getting in some offense on the champ while his opponent attempted to avoid contact and get in his shots. After taking a particularly effective dropkick to the floor, Gedo found his way into the match for the first of many spots for the silly manager, attempting to dissuade Okada from hitting the DDT before taking it himself with White on the ramp.

From there, Okada continued to bead down on his opponent, attempting to lock in the money clip on multiple occasions before White began his comeback, getting “The Rainmaker” in a suplex before attempting to hit his signature move, the Blade Runner; his first of many Blade Runner attempts on Okada before the match came to a close. Things heated up in a hurry, with Okada and White attempting to KO the other with their signature moves before Okada got the best of White with a Bladerunner and then the Rainmaker for the 1-2-3.

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And just like that, the match was over; Okada earned his first-ever win over White at the Tokyo Dome, earned his second reign with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – technically his seventh reign with an IWGP Heavyweight Championship since the belt changed names – and White has to go back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong, as every member of Bullet Club lost their match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, excluding Kenny Omega, of course, who isn't really a member anymore.

While White may not know what his future holds in NJPW, the same can not be said for Okada, as he already has his next opponent lined up in Shingo Takagi, the third man that held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in 2022, who came out after the match to challenge the new champ to a title match at… some event in the future, the English commentary team wasn't particularly sure. Will “The Dragon” ultimately unseat Okada a month or so after the title changed? That would certainly be a choice, but assuming that doesn't happen, it's pretty safe to say White will be getting back in line for the IWGP's top strap in the not-too-distant future, as the leader of Bullet Club is a championship-caliber talent who draws much of his pedigree from his prestige – in NJPW, what's more prestigious than being the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion?