NJPW: How The Rise Of Jay White Led To Kazuchika Okada’s New Rainmaker Era

Without the perfect foil, a redemption story won’t be as impactful as it otherwise could be. For Kazuchika Okada and Jay White, they found their counterparts in one another. From being allies in CHAOS to squaring off for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Madison Square Garden, the path to G1 Supercard would not have been as meaningful with anybody else.

On April 6, 2019, the first non-WWE professional wrestling show in nearly 60 years was held at Madison Square Garden. At the end of the historic ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard, Kazuchika Okada stood defiant over the fallen Jay White having claimed his fifth IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

One year earlier, the scene between Okada and White was much different. Fresh off of a loss to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 12 and an attack on Bullet Club’s Kenny Omega, Jay White proudly waved the flag of CHAOS.

Standing side by side with Okada, White would have the chance to learn from one of New Japan’s greatest while continuing to hone his craft.

When all of White’s plans would come to fruition, it would be another attack on the leader of a New Japan stable – this time on his one-time ally Okada as the Switchblade while Gedo officially defected from CHAOS to Bullet Club.

The turn sent an already damaged Okada to the brink of disaster heading into Wrestle Kingdom 13.

How did it all end up this way, though? What was it about Okada and CHAOS that saw White and Gedo turn their backs on the group and leader they had once stood by? And how was Okada able to fight back from a crushing loss of the IWGP Heavyweight Title in the summer of 2018?

The path has been long and winding and it all came to a head at MSG… for now.

The Rise of Jay White

Jay White’s New Japan career started with a chance meeting. After working alongside Finn Balor (then Prince Devitt) in 2014, White was invited to the New Japan Dojo by Bad Luck Fale, planting the seed of what would come to fruition in just a few short years.

In White’s own words on Talk Is Jericho, he “didn’t know what a Young Lion was” when he agreed to begin training at the Dojo.

The start of White’s journey in NJPW was nothing extraordinary. Donning the black trunks and boots, White competed as a Young Lion in a class which also featured Roppongi 3K, Juice Robinson, and David Finlay. In keeping with the Young Lion tradition, White ventured overseas for excursion to further hone his craft.

While away from Japan, White competed in Ring of Honor and RevPro in the UK. White found success during his time away from New Japan as he competed alongside KUSHIDA and Lio Rush in a losing effort to The Kingdom to crown the first ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions.

Shortly thereafter, White returned to New Japan with a new demeanor. Leading up to his return, vignettes had aired during NJPW events promoting a mysterious figure with a penchant for knives. Once back on comfortable soil, White was quick to make his mark as a full-fledged member of the active roster.

Returning at Power Struggle 2017, White challenged then ambushed Hiroshi Tanahashi to set up an IWGP Intercontinental Title match at Wrestle Kingdom 12. White came up short in the effort and was quickly courted by Kenny Omega, then the leader of Bullet Club. It seemed a natural fit for White to align with the defiant stable, but he swerved Omega and the rest of New Japan when he attacked Omega.

A day later, White became a member of CHAOS in order to have the much-needed backup to be able to hold off an enraged Bullet Club.

2018 saw White establish himself as a serious threat on the roster while ruffling feathers along the way. He defeated Omega to become the second holder of the title before dropping the strap to Juice Robinson prior to the G1 Climax.

G1 Climax 28 was where the dissension within CHAOS truly began to bloom. Throughout the tournament, White continually tried to convince his stablemates to use weapons and other underhanded tactics to achieve victory. He often claimed that this was his CHAOS, not Okada’s and that everybody would be better off if they followed his lead.

With wins over Okada and Tanahashi, it was hard to argue with White’s points. It was, perhaps, with those accomplishments in mind that White finally felt comfortable enough to take the next step on his path.

At Destruction In Kobe, White and Gedo turned on Kazuchika Okada leaving both the Rainmaker and The Ace laying in the ring following their main event war. A month later at King of Pro Wrestling, White and Gedo officially joined the newly-splintered Bullet Club OG.

With a pair of betrayals and a Bullet Club ripping apart at the seams, The Cutthroat Era was born.

The Fall of Kazuchika Okada

There may be no single wrestler more synonymous with the IWGP Heavyweight Title than Kazuchika Okada. Yes, of course, Tanahashi is the true Ace of the Universe and I’ll be yelling “GO ACE!” until I’m in the grave, but it’s hard to argue against a man who has enjoyed such a lengthy stay on top of the New Japan roster.

Beginning on June 19, 2016, and lasting for 720 days, Kazuchika Okada dominated as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He smashed the record for the longest reign by over 200 days and just edged out Tanahashi with the most defenses in a single reign at 12 to Tana’s 11.

In total, across his 5 reigns, Okada has held the title for over 1,500 days – a record which once again pushes him just ahead of Tanahashi.

Being IWGP Heavyweight Champion became as much a way of living for Okada as breathing, eating, and sleeping. Not only did it become such a regular part of life, but the names Okada left in his wake were a who’s who of New Japan’s biggest stars.

After defeating Naito for the title, Okada successfully defended against Tanahashi, Minoru Suzuki, Kenny Omega, and Katsuyori Shibata among others. With the impressive list of names having fallen to the Rainmaker, it became more and more apparent that Okada was the man and nobody else could hold a candle to him.

That all changed on June 9, 2018. At the very same event at which he won the championship and in the very same building, just 2 years later, Okada fell 2 falls to 1 against Kenny Omega in one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history.

Despite the contest having been hard-fought by both men, and Okada having nothing to be ashamed of in losing, the absence of the IWGP Heavyweight Title from around the Rainmaker’s waist began to show its effects.

Okada quickly spiraled into a broken version of who had once dominated New Japan.

He traded in his blond locks for often shoddily dyed red hair, the Okada Bucks falling from the sky for balloons released into the crowd (only after beating Rocky Romero with them on commentary), and his cool confidence for the hesitant demeanor leading him to a second-place finish in his G1 block behind eventual winner Tanahashi.

Not only did Okada suffer an overall loss in the tournament, he took another step away from the days of the Rainmaker when he announced, at the close of G1 28, that Gedo would no longer accompany him to the ring as his manager.

With CHAOS already feeling as though it was teetering on the brink of disaster and Jay White ascending further and further up the New Japan card, the Gedo separation may have been the breaking point for everything that was still yet to come.

With Weird Okada taking shape and the idea of a mole within CHAOS creating uncertainty throughout the group, The Rainmaker simply lost his footing on his climb back to the top. He went on to fail in capturing the G1 Briefcase from Tanahashi at Destruction In Kobe before the picture for Wrestle Kingdom came into full focus.

The OG Bullet Club Is Formed

When Jay White’s Bullet Club was born, it seemed like an odd mishmash of a bloated stable teetering on over-saturation. The feud between Bullet Club Elite and Bullet Club OG had done little to spark enthusiasm, and miserable performances in the summer’s G1 caused groans whenever a Bad Luck Fale or Tama Tonga match kicked off.

For a moment it felt like White’s move to Bullet Club was more of an afterthought as the group attempted to reform itself as a viable threat to the top names in the company. Once they were allowed to fully flesh out their story though, everything fell into place perfectly.

When White first came to New Japan as a Young Lion, it was at the behest of Prince Devitt and Fale, two of the founding fathers of the original Bullet Club. Though he cut his teeth in true Young Lion fashion and wasn’t a part of any faction at the start of his NJPW career, the reasons for him being in the promotion were hard to miss.

The first time White was invited to join Bullet Club, he teased the idea before ultimately planting Kenny Omega with the Blade Runner. The next time, things would be different. But why?

In post-match comments from Tama Tonga on January 5, 2018, he suggested that “maybe we had the wrong guy trying to recruit him.”

Tama, another founding member of Bullet Club, had been outspoken about his disdain for The Elite and the way they tried running the stable. It was only fitting that, once Omega and company were no longer a part of the core group, that White would find his place.

Standing alongside the two remaining founders of Bullet Club (Fale and Tama), White took the reigns as the leader of the faction. With the battle lines clearly drawn between Kazuchika Okada and White, there was only one direction for them to go – straight forward, full-speed ahead toward one another.

The Redemption of Kazuchika Okada

The writing was on the wall for Wrestle Kingdom 13 in the Tokyo Dome. Kazuchika Okada would battle his one-time ally Jay White in an attempt to restore order to CHAOS (as nonsensical as that statement is) and stifle the rising Switchblade.

It seemed like a simple enough story with a simple enough ending: White turns on Okada, Okada gets his revenge.

But these things are never so simple.

Okada pulled out all of the stops on January 4. The opening seconds of his entrance music revealed that he was using the old Rainmaker theme rather than the Weird Okada theme and the energy in the Dome immediately shifted when the collective consciousness of the crowd realized what was happening.

When he stepped out onto the stage, Okada was no longer clutching at balloons or rocking the red hair. He was sporting his signature blond look and draped in an extravagant robe. As he removed his entrance gear in the ring, the crowd went wild as Okada unearthed a pair of shorts replacing the long pants he’d been wearing.

This was it! This was the full Rainmaker without any restrictions! With all of the stars feeling as though they were aligned – the music, the hair, the tights, the attitude – it was only academic before Okada served White his comeuppance with Gedo watching on at ringside.

Except, that’s not what happened at all.

In just 14 minutes, Jay White pinned Kazuchika Okada at New Japan’s biggest show of the year. 14 minutes was all it took. Okada, who had battled Kenny Omega to 60 minutes and beyond, fell to the young upstart in just 14 minutes. The Switchblade was solidified as the star he had been telling everybody he already was.

The next month, White would surprise Hiroshi Tanahashi and become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. There was now nothing in White’s way in claiming all of New Japan as his own personal kingdom. He had defeated The Ace and The Rainmaker, standing tall as the top man in the company.

In March, though, The New Japan Cup kicked off. Each year, the winner of the Cup is awarded a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title. This year, that title match was set to take place in Madison Square Garden at the huge NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard event.

In the world’s most famous arena, Jay White would have to be at his best to defend against one of the 32 men in the tournament.

Through the largest New Japan Cup in history, Okada survived 5 matches to win the tournament for the second time in his career. Each victory was solid and memorable with the final round against SANADA an instant classic. It was by way of the Cup rather than Wrestle Kingdom that the Rainmaker of old was truly reborn.

The question on everybody’s mind was whether or not Okada could keep the momentum rolling against White in New York City. It seemed as though White had everybody’s number and was on the path to a long and triumphant reign as the 68th IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Then, Okada came to New York.

It wasn’t easy, and White added his name to the list of wrestlers who have shocked Okada by kicking out of the Rainmaker – but with a spinning tombstone and an emphatic repeat Rainmaker, Okada sealed his fate.

He covered White and became IWGP Heavyweight Champion for the fifth time. Kazuchika Okada now joins a select number of men (including Kensuke Sasaki, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Tanahashi) to hold that prize on 5 separate occasions.

Each morning, the sun shines a little bit brighter. The birds sing a bit more lovely. That first sip of coffee tastes that much better. The Rainmaker has reclaimed his throne and, for now, all is right with the world.