Is The Bullet Club The Thing To Make New Japan Hot Again?
Liam Parker 
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Debuting in 2013, led by Prince Devitt, Bullet Club is one of the longest running factions in pro wrestling. With its seeds firmly planted in New Japan Pro Wrestling, the group has undergone several iterations, led by Devitt, AJ Styles, Kenny Omega, and currently, Jay White. Throughout the different eras of Bullet Club, varying success has been found, with the Omega and White runs arguably being the best. Having fallen off a bit since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, NJPW has fallen into a bit of a holding pattern over the past two years, due to a creative drought, bad booking, and pandemic restrictions all hurting the company to some effect. One area that has begun to heat up once more in recent months has been the Bullet Club faction. Should NJPW want to regain their popularity again, could the massive Gaijin-led unit be the key to success?
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The Bullet Club Recently Added New Members Including Juice Robinson And The Good Brothers
An exciting aspect of Bullet Club is their size. While an argument can certainly be made that enough is enough and that there is a limit on members before it gets to be too much, currently, it feels as if Bullet Club has a fairly good size. After betraying the Guerillas of Destiny earlier this year, the group would kick out Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jado before adding Juice Robinson, The Good Brothers, and Impact's Ace Austin. Before that, Impact Wrestling's X Division star, Chris Bey, would also be recruited.
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With names like Bey and Ace being exciting additions outside the normal NJPW roster, Bullet Club has brought in two new young, exciting members for the future of the group. The return of Anderson and Gallows has also been quite noteworthy, as the former won the NEVER Openweight Championship in his first match back in NJPW, while the shocking arrival of Juice Robinson to the group led to the former babyface star winning the IWGP United States Championship.
The Bullet Club Has Spread To AEW And Impact Wrestling
Thanks to wrestling being as crazy as ever in 2022, with doors kicked down between NJPW, Impact Wrestling, and AEW, Bullet Club has its ranks spread out across companies. With Bullet Club still somewhat aligned with The Elite in AEW, and the faction having several actual members in the Impact Wrestling roster, Bullet Club is more global than ever before, something that other factions in NJPW do not have as much of a claim to.
With Bullet Club featured across multiple companies, it is no wonder that the group remains one of the most popular factions in wrestling, and arguably the most popular group in New Japan. Being able to feature their own storylines and wrestlers on Impact Wrestling or AEW means that there is a higher chance that a non-NJPW fan will get hooked and will eventually check out what is going on in New Japan, something that is incredibly valuable.
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The Bullet Club Is Currently The Most Interesting Faction In New Japan
While some hardcore NJPW fans may not be a fan of seeing the outsider, Gaijin stable dominating the promotion, it is hard to deny that in 2022, Bullet Club has consistently been the most interesting faction in the company. With Jay White returning to Japan and defeating Okada to become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, the additions of the Good Brothers, Juice Robinson, and Ace Austin, the elevation of El Phantasmo, and the betrayal towards the Guerillas of Destiny, Bullet Club is more interesting now than it has been in years.
Moving forward, it seems clear that Bullet Club is not going anywhere in NJPW, with a lot of focus remaining on the group. While they may not be as hot as they were under the leadership of Kenny Omega, Jay White's current run as the leader has led to some major angles, specifically a very compelling story between White and former friend, Tama Tonga. Should NJPW want to heat things up further, finally delivering the Bullet Club Civil War storyline that has been teased for years could be a huge draw for the company. Regardless, with so many factions in the company, each unit could use the level of storytelling and intrigue that Bullet Club brings to the table.
