The success of the Bullet Club faction changed the landscape of wrestling in ways that are still playing out today. Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, and the Young Bucks all thriving with the group helped launch AEW when Tony Khan wanted to chase his vision of wrestling with them. AJ Styles and Finn Balor became major players for WWE when making the move from New Japan.
The faction is still going in NJPW and a hit list of top tier names have been involved at some point or another. Despite having a lot of attention for their best moments, some things still fly under the radar in the group’s history. The average fan has no idea about the things in question about the Bullet Club.
10 Finn Balor Was "White Meat Babyface" Before Forming It
The rise of Finn Balor as Prince Devitt in New Japan initially started as the ultimate good guy. Devitt was a “white meat babyface” who appealed to all demographics of the audience. The matches were always great, but he felt a change was needed for his character to get to the next level.
Devitt turned heel and formed the Bullet Club to showcase just how much his persona was changing. The group was meant to be a portrayal of his new identity, but the act itself became hot. Fans love invasion factions when done right, and Bullet Club was the best one since the New World Order.
9 Faction Played Biggest Role In ROH/NJPW Relationship
The working relationship between Ring of Honor and New Japan was huge for both promotions in the mid-2010s. NJPW didn’t initially plan to have a full-fledged working relationship with any American promotion after TNA misled them years prior.
The Young Bucks wanting to work for both companies was the main reason for it happening. AJ Styles becoming a free agent added another name that had interest in both promotions. NJPW eventually realized the business was expanding in the United States when gaining new fans during their ROH tours.
8 Frankie Kazarian Tricked Them When Joining
Ring of Honor’s presence in New Japan led to members of the roster having a chance to join the Bullet Club. Frankie Kazarian was one of multiple ROH wrestlers to join the faction, but his turn felt persona since his best friend Christopher Daniels was feuding with them.
The storyline was a tremendous swerve when Kazarian turned on the Bullet Club to help Daniels even the odds against ROH World Champion Adam Cole. Kazarian manipulating Bullet Club for weeks helped Daniels win his first world title in wrestling.
7 The Original Wolfpac Endorsed Them
The Bullet Club not only enjoyed comparisons to the New World Order, but they used it as part of the act. Members doing the infamous “too sweet” sign became popular, and fans enjoyed the throwback to the WCW days.
nWo legends Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac all have delivered praise to the Bullet Club. Many fans wondered if there would be heat over “stealing” the nWo sign, but the trio felt honored and even took pics with them doing it at times.
6 Merchandise Sales Helped Set Up AEW
The rise of All Elite Wrestling would not have come without the success of the Bullet Club. A domino effect played out when the faction expanded in the United States. Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, and the Young Bucks specifically were selling huge merchandise numbers.
Hot Topic and Funko were two major brands that went out of their way to reach out to them. Bullet Club merchandise made its way into stores that only allowed WWE wrestler items for years. Tony Khan witnessing the popularity of wrestlers outside of WWE made them part of the plan to start AEW.
5 Presence In Every Major American Promotion
The Bullet Club’s impact on AEW is already obvious given four of the EVPs, but every other major American promotion has some form of influence. AJ Styles and Finn Balor have become upper card acts for WWE with both men winning world titles.
Impact Wrestling has become part of the “forbidden” door with NJPW names working there. Chris Bey was the latest American wrestler to join Bullet Club as an Impact talent. ROH no longer works with NJPW, but the company built many of their stars from the previous time together, until that infamous MSG show ruined the relationship.
4 Okada Got The Young Bucks To Join
The Young Bucks were struggling to find a wrestling home after the TNA failure and Jim Cornette blacklisted them from Ring of Honor. New Japan came calling due to their friend Kazuchika Okada suggesting the tag team.
Okada was treated horribly in TNA, but Matt and Nick Jackson were two of the few wrestlers to have his back. NJPW introduced the Bucks in a massive way by making them part of the most popular faction in wrestling, which they helped expand the United States presence of.
3 Responsible For NJPW's First Match With Women In Over A Decade
One criticism towards New Japan is the lack of women’s wrestling in the company. NJPW has a short list of history with women working in recent memory. Amber O’Neal joined the Bullet Club as the manager of Luke Gallows when the couple was married.
Maria Kanellis was also part of the show as a manager and the hottest act for the Kingdom faction. The storyline and importance of the Bullet Club created a six-person match involving the two women in 2015. This was the first time in over thirteen years that a woman competed in NJPW, with Chyna facing male wrestlers during her short run.
2 One Person Has Been In Both NWO & Bullet Club
The comparisons between the New World Order and Bullet Club would make one assume there would be more crossover. Former WCW legend Meng joined the group, but he was never part of the nWo faction.
One shocking wrestler found his way into both groups throughout the two decades apart. Jeff Jarrett is not someone the average fan would associate with either group, but he had short stints in the nWo and Bullet Club each.
1 Finn Balor & AJ Styles Never Interacted
Many fans link AJ Styles and Finn Balor together due to the common bond of being unofficial Bullet Club leaders. However, there is often an incorrect assumption that they spent a short time together in the group.
Balor left the group after going against the Young Bucks trying to cheat for him and was “kicked out” to explain his jump to WWE. Styles joined the faction later that night after Balor was already written out. The one backstage interaction between the two and Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows in WWE was more than their NJPW moments together.