Bullet Club has become one of the most known stables within professional wrestling. One can watch any major promotion and see a Bullet Club t-shirt being worn in the crowd. Thus proving how popular this all-heel faction truly is within the wrestling community.
Bullet Club was started in 2013 within the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion; since then, the club has had five different leaders, leading up to a brand-new leader in 2020 after New Japan Cup 2020 Final.
The Elite and Kenny Omega’s leadership of the Bullet Club was at times a tumultuous one. While the group that put Bullet Club on the map within the Western World became key to its rise, they were also contributors to the friction within the faction. This is the History of Bullet Club Part 4.
The History Of Bullet Club Part 4 –
The Fallout From Wrestle Kingdom
At the end of 2017, Kenny Omega’s leadership seemed to be slipping away from him. He was facing problems with Cody and the original Bullet Club members. Bullet Club had started to move further away from the original days of Prince Devitt and into a new Elite era, splitting fans’ opinions and the club’s members themselves.
January 4th, 2018 marked Wrestle Kingdom 12; the Young Bucks retained their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships after they defeated Roppongi 3K.
The ‘OG’ Bullet Club members of Bad Luck Fale and GOD [Guerrillas of Destiny] were not quite as successful at Wrestle Kingdom 12 as they lost their NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, though they did win the belts back at New Year Dash!! 2018, on the following night. Marty Scurll also lost his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship during Wrestle Kingdom 12.
The tensions between Kenny Omega and Cody continued to boil during New Year Dash!! 2018 when Cody, leading the other Bullet Club members, attempted to attack Omega’s former tag partner Kota Ibushi. Omega stopped the Club and Cody, but this only led to higher tensions and more confusion over the leadership of Bullet Club.
The second night of The New Beginning in Sapporo marked the beginning of the end for The Elite era of Bullet Club and the start of a full-out war between Omega and Cody.
GOODBYE, GOODNIGHT, KENNY OMEGA
January 28th, 2018, marked the end of Kenny Omega’s leadership of the Bullet Club. At The New Beginning in Sapporo, Omega was defeated by Switchblade Jay White, losing his IWGP United States Championship. After the win, Hangman Adam Page attempted to challenge and take the belt away from White; Omega stopped him, causing Cody to race to the ring and start an argument with The Cleaner.
After the Bucks left the ring, Cody attacked Omega and hit him with the Cross Rhodes. However, the attack only finished when Kota Ilbushi raced to the ring to save his friend and former tag partner.
The New Beginning in Sapporo marked a spilt within Bullet Club; Cody would emerge attempting to lead the Elite and its members. While he was never an official leader, some members were following his ‘leadership’ during this time. Cody would keep attempting to gain full leadership as he turned members against each other, bribed them, and continued attacking Omega.
While Cody and Omega started a full-blown war, the original members of Bullet Club kept a distance. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Loa Tonga, and the other New Japan Pro-Wrestling Bullet Club members started their own version of the fraction, Bullet Club OGs.
The History Of Bullet Club Part 4
CODY VS OMEGA: Who Will Lead Bullet Club
Omega and The Elite’s focus went away from Bullet Club during 2018 as they focused exclusively on battling each other. Fans knew the end was near for the version of Bullet Club they had grown so used to. Cody and Omega’s feud traveled the world as they faced off within both the Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling ring.
The feud between the two became even more noticed by fans due to being documented on the Young Bucks Youtube series, Being The Elite.
The History Of Bullet Club Part 4
And The Bullet Club Leader Is…..
The two first faced each other on April 7th, 2018, during Ring Of Honor’s Supercard Of Honor XII. The terms of the match were whoever won would be the official leader of Bullet Club. The big question going into the match would be which side will the Young Bucks choose? Well, after months of sitting on the fence, it seemed they choose Omega.
The Bucks set up Superkicks, hoping to hit Cody, but after being blocked, they accidentally knocked Omega out, allowing Cody to hit him with the Cross Rhodes and win the match. This match did signal the reunion of Young Bucks and Omega, though, as they started to repatch their friendship, they created a new group known as The Golden Elite alongside Kota Ibushi.
Though Is He Really A Leader?
Cody had won the Bullet Club leadership in name only. The Bullet Club OGs refused to follow him and started their own little war with The Elite, and The Elite’s members had started to repatch their relationships with Kenny Omega. There were splits worldwide, which led to even more feuds amongst Bullet Club’s ranks.
At Wrestling Dontaku 2018 on May 3rd, Young Bucks, alongside Marty Scurll, defeated the Bullet Club OGs for the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Bullet Club OGs continued the growth and future of Bullet Club as they introduced a new member at night two of Wrestling Dontaku 2018, the Bone Soldier, revealed as Taiji Ishimori.
Dominion in Osaka-Jo Hall happened on June 9th. Young Bucks added another piece of gold to their collection as they defeated Evil and Sanada. This win saw them capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship belts for the first time within their careers. Dominion also marked a huge occasion for Kenny Omega as he finally beat Kazuchika Okada.
Omega won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. It was something he had repeatedly tried to do against Okada.
The History Of Bullet Club Part 4
Omega Wins IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The day after, Dominion Omega and the Young Bucks sought to set the rumors surrounding them straight. At a press conference for NJPW, Omega declared that he and the Bucks had never left Bullet Club. Omega also declared that his first title defense would be against Cody at the upcoming G1 Special in San Francisco.
The G1 Special took place on July 7th, 2018, in San Francisco. After a tough and brawling match, Kenny Omega retained his IWGP Heavyweight Championship and defeated Cody again. Post-match, Omega addressed fans alongside the Young Bucks and Bullet Club OGs, who seemed to want to patch up their relationship with The Cleaner.
That was until they attacked Omega and the Bucks, displaying their new Bullet Club Firing Squad t-shirts. Hangman Adam Page and Marty Scurll raced to defeat their friends. However, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens appeared to remain neutral as they attempted to stop the fighting.
Reunions & Feuds Begin
Cody then returned to the ring after the Bullet Club OGs destroyed everyone in their way. The Tongans offered Cody a chair and a free shot at Kenny Omega, something everyone thought Cody would jump at the opportunity for. Though another shock at the G1 Special happened, Cody attacked the Bullet Club OGs and attempted to help Omega and the other Elite members.
The Tongans declared themselves the ‘true Bullet Club’ quickly leaving the New Japan ring. Omega and Cody then embraced, and the beginnings of their patched relationship started to shine through.
The History Of Bullet Club Part 4
Bullet Club Gains Some Members While Losing Others
Bullet Club OGs started to turn more and more into the stronger version of Bullet Club; in the end, the OGs were left as the only Bullet Club. Bad Luck Fale, Hikuleo, and Ishimori all aligned themselves with Bullet Club OGs. G.O.D focused on continuing their growth and popularity as they documented the ‘new’ Bullet Club on its YouTube channel and social media.
The Bullet Club OGs would meet The Elite Bullet Club in the New Japan Pro Wrestling ring once again, though. At the G1 Climax 28, the two teams faced once again to battle for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship belts. The Bullet Club OGs came out on top as they defeated the team of Young Bucks and Marty Scurll.
Bullet Club’s ranks continued to grow. On October 8th, Jay White, Jado, and Gedo crossed Chaos’s lines to join the club, betraying Chaos leader Okada. The Bullet Club OGs stopped being the ‘OGs’ and simply became Bullet Club. Once again, the original members had survived the leadership change and looked stronger than ever.
The Elite within the Bullet Club was no more. The official announcement was made via Cody’s Twitter account on October 24th, 2018. This was then reconfirmed on an episode of Talk Is Jericho on October 30th, 2018. Cody, Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Hangman Adam Page all confirmed they had left the club.
But made sure to remind everyone that Bullet Club ‘will be fine.’ The Elite, excluding Marty Scurll, then left New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor. Though we’re pretty sure they are doing alright for themselves these days…..
Enter The Switchblade, Jay White…
All images and videos courtesy of Bullet Club, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Justin Walk, Wrestling Inc, All Elite Wrestling, FITE TV, The Wrestling Smark, PWG Pro Wrestling Global, BulletClub 4-Life and The Godfather, Alex Allmighty TV.
