Switchblade moves to V1 at Undisputed Elite ‘ally’ Cole’s expense
Jay White defended his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a brutal four-way battle against challengers “Hangman” Adam Page, Adam Cole, and Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door on June 26th. As the bell rang, all four men seemed hesitant to make the first move. White rolled out of the ring, seemingly removing himself from the action. Cole followed suit, leaving Okada and Page to face off. As the two men started to engage, Cole pulled Page out of the ring and White went after Okada. After White and Cole were bested, the two men conversed on the outside and seemed to form an alliance, agreeing it was the only chance they had against the two other fierce competitors. As the match continued, the teamwork between the two men was surprising as they joined forces to deliver a delayed double vertical suplex to Page on the entry ramp, then White saved Cole from an Okada tombstone piledriver.
White and Cole isolated Okada in the ring until Page reemerged to dominate both Cole and White. Page took down White on the outside, then went for the first pin of the match on Cole after nailing him with a top rope clothesline, but Cole kicked out. Page continued to stalk Cole, then attempted a moonsault off the top turnbuckle. Cole caught Page right in the face with a superkick in midair to halt his attack. Okada found his way into the ring and faced off against White and Cole. Okada was able to hold his own against the two men, knocking Cole off the top turnbuckle with an incredibly high standing dropkick. Okada stacked White and Cole up on the outside and hit them with a running crossbody over the barricade.
Cole found himself in the ring with Okada, who quickly locked in his Money Clip submission. White broke up the hold on his newly found ally, then hit a Saito suplex on Okada before trading blows with Page. When Page got White in a jackknife pin, Cole broke it up with a kick to Page’s head, seeming to retain his alliance. White and Cole had a discussion and after White implored Cole to Too Sweet him and Cole obliged, White seemed satisfied and focused on the match. As soon as his back was turned, Cole hit White with a backstabber, then a brainbuster on his knee for a two count. Allies no more, Cole and White went after each other until Okada and Page took advantage and attacked the two opponents. Page took out both Okada and then Cole and hit White with a popup powerbomb. With what seemed like his last bit of strength, White was able to lift his shoulder off the mat at the final moment before referee Rick Knox hit the three.
As the match continued, Page climbed to the outside of the ring and lined White up for his Buckshot Lariat but Cole grabbed his foot to stop him. Undeterred, Page kicked Cole off and sprang to the top turnbuckle to hit a moonsault on Cole and Okada on the outside. When he lined up for the Buckshot Lariat again, Gato, who had been at ringside grabbed Page’s foot. Page pulled Gato up on the apron and delivered a knockout punch, then again turned his attention to the ring. White and Page countered each other’s finishing moves until Page hit Dead Eye, then his Buckshot Lariat on White, only to have Okada break up the pin. Okada and Page faced off and went move for move until Page rocked Okada and lined him up for his Buckshot Lariat. Cole interrupted and took out Page, then Okada, eventually hitting a superkick on each of the competitors. Cole went for the cover on Okada, but the former champion kicked out at two. Cole was positively rocked by Okada’s dropkicks and a Michinoku driver but evaded Okada’s multiple Rainmaker attempts. White slid into the ring and hit Okada with his Blade Runner but went for the cover on the questionably conscious Cole to secure the victory and retain his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
As the Catalyst celebrated his victory over a supposed ally in Cole, the Young Bucks and Kyle O’Reilly would only seem to complicate matters in their post match actions. With BULLET CLUB intrigue surrounding the professional wrestling world in the first half of 2022, it seems like Unidsputed Elite drama will be added to the scenario in the second.
