NJPW News: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White for IWGP Championship at G1 Supercard

What's the Story?

Kazuchika Okada defeated Sanada earlier today to win the New Japan Cup for the second time in his career.

The former world champion will face Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Title at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden during WrestleMania weekend.

In Case You Didn't Know...

Okada defeated Michael Elgin, ROH wrestler Mikey Nicholls, Will Ospreay and Tomohiro Ishii to advance to the finals of the tournament and earned the right to challenge for the world title for the first time in three years.

The last time Okada was a challenger for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was in Dominion 6.19, where The Rainmaker defeated Tetsuya Naito to kick off his record-setting reign in 2016.

The Heart of the Matter

Okada's upcoming match with White will mark their third singles match as The Rainmaker attempts to defeat The Switchblade in singles competiton for the first time in his career.

White has won both of their previous encounters including their match at Wrestle Kingdom 13 where Okada resumed his "Rainmaker" gimmick for the first time since losing the IWGP title the previous year.

Both wrestlers were members of the stable "Chaos," but White would abandon the group to become the leader of Bullet Club. White's victory against Okada was a major boost in The Switchblade's momentum that lead to him defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Championship for the first time.

What's Next?

With the match official for WrestleMania weekend, many wrestling fans are wondering who will emerge with the IWGP Championship.

Many fans believe White will be a transitional champion and will lose the title shortly, but Okada regaining the title after so soon after his record-setting title reign doesn't seem likely either.

The last time Okada won the New Japan Cup, he went on to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but NJPW rarely has titles change hands for shows in the United States.