Bullet Club Back on Top

Hi guys,

About 6 months ago, I delved into the NJPW Faction system and basically ranked them all in order of my personal feelings toward them but things change.

Looking back at that post (https://wrestling-chatter.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-japan-factions-rated.html), I put Bullet Club at number 3 and maybe I was being a bit too generous because the faction was basically falling apart which all culminated in a split within the faction which I wasn't a fan of. Fast forward to February 2019 and the BC OG's are the sole Bullet Club faction with the Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishmori, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado, Gedo and Robbie Eagles. The Bullet Club have now moved straight to the top of my favourite factions and I thought I'd look at the past few months and how they've gone from being hierarchical faction with the 'main cast' to the most dominant faction again!

This is especially relevant after the New Beginning Osaka show on 11th Feb where not only Ishimori retained his Jr title but the one and only Jay White won the IWGP Heavyweight title making him the 4th youngest champion of all time!

The history of the faction is a roller coaster but here's the basics: Bullet Club first started when Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) turned on his Apollo 55 brother Rysuke Taguchi and introduced us to his bouncer Bad Luck Fale. They were then joined by the likes of Tama Tonga, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and The Young Bucks to make this one of the meanest and strongest stables in the company. After the Young Bucks betrayed Devitt in a loser leaves NJPW match against Taguchi, AJ Styles came on board and it seemed like there was nothing stopping Bullet Club dominating the company, especially after AJ won the Heavyweight title when Yujiro Takahashi turned on Chaos and helped Styles pick up the victory over Okada. There was then even more deception after the faction turned on AJ and instated Kenny Omega as it's leader with even more additions like Tanga Loa, Hangman Page, Chase Owens, Marty Scurll and Cody - a lot of big names and even bigger ego's!

I mean is it any wonder why Bullet Club was in turmoil? There was no cohesion and two camps which were just way too evident. After Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Bad Luck Fale took the faction back with the no fucks given attitude, we've fundamentally gone back to the roots of the Bullet Club! I know a lot of people have said that Bullet Club is dead and others have said that Jay isn't a great leader - I don't think I can disagree any more! It seems like, for the first time in ages, the Bullet Club is stronger than ever. The faction is also firmly back into the hands of NJPW and it's back to the faction who is hell bent on taking over the company (instead of maybe having a bigger focus on so many different companies across the world).

I guess if you still don't believe the fact that BC are back on top, then the proof is in the pudding. Jay promised everyone that NJPW was going into the new Cut Throat Era and, after challenging Tanahashi for the IWGP title at Osaka, he's gone through on that promise and now is at the top of the company. Even with all the sneaky tactics, in the end, Jay won the title through pure talent and has really cemented the Bullet Club as the best faction in the entire company - it was also such an amazing match that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! He is also probably the best heel in wrestling at the moment even though he's my favourite because I've always been a #HeelGirl. We've got the IWGP Jr title still being held by Taiji Ishimori which means that both divisions main titles are held by Bullet Club members. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa got their tag team titles back from Evil and Sanada at the Honor Rising tour to become 5 time champs. Because there are also so many other members, it means that the faction's got the potential to hold all the belts. Why don't we have Fale, Hikuleo, Chase and Yujiro going for the IC, US and NEVER title or any mix of El Phantasmo/ Ishimori/ Eagles going for the Jr titles. There will literally come a day where we might be able to say that Bullet Club holds all the gold in New Japan.

It's not just titles and wrestling that makes the idea of Bullet Club dominance so realistic nowadays because it just seems like they're all on the same page which is something we've not seen for a while within this faction. Jay White didn't proclaim his leadership of the faction, it just happened naturally with all parties agreeing with the transition through respect and just plain common sense. They knew that to get to the top, they needed that dominant figure at the top (and no one's had a better 2018 than White in my opinion). Jay just blended into the faction with ease and the whole storyline with the plan going back to Prince Devitt was just amazing! We then saw this family vibe when Chase and Yujiro came back to their brothers at New Year's Dash. The other guys welcomed them straight away and without any hesitations - I guess they couldn't deny Chase's Tongan heritage. There's no fighting for the leadership, no conflicting ideologies and no battling personalities - one cohesive unit.

So, after a odd few years, Bullet Club are back on top. I'm not just writing this post in an attempt to get invited to the BC Block Party (BUT Tama Tonga, if you ever do something like this in the UK, hit me up).

Seriously though, I don't think the Bullet Club have ever been this dominant and I'm so excited for a time where all members hold gold because they've got the talent, the charisma and they're all just so badass. Whoever says Bullet Club isn't what it used to be should watch the product more clearly because I don't think it's been this strong since Devitt was in charge! The world is their oyster and it's only the start for Bullet Club with Jay White at the helm of the company and the other guys on an equal footing!

So, what are your thought on the new era of the Bullet Club? Like always, let me know in the comments or on social media (@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB and WrestlingChatter96 on IG) all your thoughts!

Until next time,

Bye!