The Bullet Club are one of the popular and influential groups of the 21st century – but there is a lot you probably don’t know about the infamous group.
What is Bullet Club?
Bullet Club is a faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and is one of the most influential groups in wrestling in the 21st century. The group have been one of the most popular groups in wrestling history, selling millions of dollars worth of T-shirts all over the globe despite being based in Japan, and never being on WWE TV.
The group have been likened to WCW’s New World Order, with their black and white logo design and attitude drawing parallels with the NWO. Like Hogan, Nash and Hall, they are outsiders, led by foreign wrestlers in NJPW who want to take over and make New Japan more like American wrestling.
The group has been led by four men in it’s history. Three of those men have held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, while two of the four became World Champions in WWE. Inside the group also features former world champion, tag team legends
Who started Bullet Club?
Bullet Club was started by Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) in 2013, when he betrayed his long-time partner Ryusuke Taguchi to team up with Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga and Bad Luke Fale. They formed a stable of villainous foreigners (or Gaijin) who eventually went by the name Bullet Club.
The name Bullet Club came from Devitt’s signature “finger gun” point he used in the ring. The imagery of the gun is where the name came from, and was helped by the addition of “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson.
They later adopted the “Too Sweet” gesture famously used by the Kliq and the NWO. However, they eventually were served with a “Cease And Desist” and were forced to stop using the hand gesture.
Who is the leader of Bullet Club?
Jay White is the current leader of Bullet Club, having taken over the group from former leader Kenny Omega. Jay White joined the group in late 2018, and was announced as the leader of Bullet Club after Omega and the rest of The Elite left NJPW in 2019 to form AEW.
Since he became the leader of Bullet Club, Jay White has become a two time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and currently holds the title after defeating Kazuchika Okada and Dominion 2022.
Despite spending the bulk of 2020 and 2021 in America due to Covid-19 restrictions, Jay White confirmed that he was still the leader of the infamous group.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, White confirmed he was still the head of the group, and challenged others to “do better” and try to usurp him, as he did to Kenny Omega years ago.
“Of course. I’m not in Japan, so if someone else thinks they’d do better, be my guest. But it’s still mine, and there will come a day when people see that,”
Jay White confirming he is the leader of Bullet Club
Who is in Bullet Club?
There are currently seventeen members of Bullet Club in NJPW. Lead by Jay White, the group is one of the most feared in Japan and has some of the biggest stars, both foreign and Japanese, inside the group.
The members of Bullet Club are;
- Jay White (Leader)
- Ace Austin
- Bad Luck Fale
- Chase Owens
- Chris Bey
- Dick Togo
- Doc Gallows
- El Phantasmo
- Evil
- Gedo
- Hikuleo
- Juice Robinson
- Karl Anderson
- KENTA
- SHO
- Taiji Ishimori
- Yujiro Takahasi
Is Jay White leaving NJPW?
After winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, it looks like Jay White will be staying in NJPW for the foreseeable future.
While there were rumours that he could leave to sign for WWE in 2021, he signed a new deal with the company and became one of the top stars in the company once again.
He has appeared multiple times in AEW in a cross-promotion role, in the build up to the pay per view Forbidden Door. Jay White’s AEW Debut was against Trent on AEW Rampage, in which he was successful after winning with a Switchblade.
Bullet Club vs The Elite
One of the most anticipated feuds that could be happening next in AEW is Bullet Club vs The Elite. With Kenny Omega vs Jay White rumoured to be the main event of Forbidden Door, it would slot naturally in for Bullet Club to invade AEW and take over, with the Elite the last bastion of defence.
This would give the fans many dream matches to watch in AEW, with top wrestlers like The Young Bucks, KENTA, Adam Page, Juice Robinson and Adam Cole all possibly part of this potential dream invasion storyline.
Which Bullet Club vs The Elite match would you like to see most? Let us know in the comments and tell us who you think is the best Bullet Club leader so far.