Chris Jericho believes Bullet Club should change its name. He made the comments on the most recent episode of his podcast, Talk is Jericho.
“I’m wondering, is it time to change the name?” Jericho asked allowed on the show in regards to the faction.
“Bullet Club has been through so many different phases and is so synonymous over the last couple of years with the Bucks and Kenny and Cody,” Jericho continued. “Now that they are gone, it seems like they should want to change it to something else.”
Many longtime fans of Bullet Club, however, would state the current incarnation of the faction more closely resembles the original.
Jericho and his guest, famed Japanese wrestling journalist Fumi Saito, then discussed how NJPW would still like to sell Bullet Club merchandise.
Bullet Club recently announced Jay White as the faction’s new leader. Tama Tonga responded to critics of the announcement through his YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLEcaePQqbE
“Yes, I said all that (that Bullet Club has no leader),” Tonga says in the video. “Right after I kicked out the Elite and right before we brought in Jay White. Now, think about this. With Jay White in, we got one man covering the direct route to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, right? You’ve got my brother and I; tag team duo, holding it down for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. We got Fale the monster. We got Ishimori chasing the Junior Heavyweight. Now, if it needs to be a junior heavyweight tag-team, we also got Robbie Eagles. We’re covering all angles, that’s smart, don’t y’all think?”
When “Switchblade” Jay White joined Bullet Club at King of Pro Wrestling this fall, it was made clear he was not the new leader. A few weeks after his defection, White commented that he was not the faction’s leader in a backstage promo.
Evidently, something has changed. Today, Bullet Club founding member, Tama Tonga, declared on his social media accounts that White is, in fact, the new Bullet Club leader.
Jay White was scouted into NJPW and Bullet Club by Prince Devitt in early 2014. Devitt was performing on a VPW show in Australia and was impressed by White. Not long after Devitt’s visit, White received a phone call from Bad Luck Fale, who has a dojo in White’s native New Zealand.
Arrangements were made for White to train at the New Japan Dojo starting in early 2015. He would leave for excursion to the United States the following year. He would return in time to challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 12. This year at Wrestle Kingdom, White has another top NJPW star opposing him. White, with Gedo in his corner, will take on Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The two have built up an intense rivalry after White spent much of 2018 ruffling feathers from within as a member of CHAOS.
Bully Ray was revealed as the President of Aces and Eights in 2013. The TNA Wrestling faction was a major angle in the promotion from the summer of 2012 to winter of 2013. During the course of the angle, Bully Ray held the TNA World Championship twice. According to Bully, without Aces and Eights, there would be no Bullet Club.
Bullet Club and Aces and Eights do have one former member in common. Luke/Doc Gallows joined Aces and Eights in late 2012 and was a member until the following summer when he left for NJPW. Gallows arrived in New Japan in late 2013 and teamed with Karl Anderson in the World Tag League that year. Anderson and Gallows won the World Tag League and then went on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships at Wrestle Kingdom that year.
Bullet Club debuted in May of 2013, a little under one-year after the debut of Aces and Eights.
Other notable members of the Aces and Eights faction in TNA Wrestling included: Devon, Ken Anderson, Tito Ortiz, Garett Bischoff, Knux, Taz, D-Lo Brown, Ivelisse, and Wes Briscoe.
PWI voted the TNA vs Aces and Eights angle as the feud of the year in 2012.
For starters, Kenny Omega,Cody, Marty Scurll, Hangman Page and The Young Bucks made their Bullet Club departure official.
“This group right here is no longer The Bullet Club,” said Cody. “From this day forward, why don’t we just call ourselves The Elite?” asked Matt Jackson.
Cody and Omega further clarified their statement.
“The Tongans, Jay White, The Bullet Club, they’re all going to kick ass, we wish them the best. This is The Elite,” Cody said. “I don’t want this to be a negative announcement,” Omega said. “We fully support The Bullet Club and what they’re doing moving forward, it’s just that what we have in mind for ourselves and the business, just doesn’t align with what the Bullet Club OGs are doing.”
While careful to note that he meant no negativity towards the OGs, Omega went on to make some statements that could be construed that way.
“We take a lot of extra time to do the Being The Elite show, we really feel that it’s important to give back to you fans… Whereas the Bullet Club OGs just prioritize the other aspects of professional wrestling. They’d rather not do the extra stuff, which is fine. It’s okay to punch the clock,” he said.
“I’ll never forget it,” said Matt. “The Bullet Club was the best thing in our career. It’s time to do something new, something fresh, and to look out for ourselves and our families, and make a little bit of money on those t-shirts.”
Hangman Page
There was some collective head-scratching in the wrestling world when Hangman Page joined Bullet Club in 2016. Page had never held a title in Ring of Honor and had yet to debut in New Japan.
Page has since acquainted himself quite well, and has established himself as a can’t miss prospect, destined for singles stardom.
On Talk Is Jericho, Page revealed that he too was taken aback when he was told that he would be joining Bullet Club.
“I was a high school teacher at the time, I taught graphic design and journalism classes,” said Page. “I was really treading water, I didn’t know how long I could go on doing this.”
That changed with a phone call from ROH booker Delirious.
“I got into a good opportunity, I was told I’d be touring Japan a lot, including a three-week tour in a month or so… I asked, ‘Hey, am I going to make a lot of money doing this?’ Yeah, so I quit teaching that month,” Page said.
For much more, including how much input The Elite have into their New Japan booking, the Jericho cruise, and how Stardust came to be, you can check out the full episode below.
If using any of the above quotes, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The NJPW young lion has been with the company since 2015 but hasn’t wrestled since February. He is believed to have suffered a concussion at the New Beginning in Hiroshima but details of his injury are hard to come by. There has been speculation Kitamura may have to retire due to his injuries.
Katsuya Kitamura To Bullet Club?
The 32-year-old Kitamura was a highly accomplished amateur wrestler before joining the NJPW dojo. A 3x national champion, his amateur career ended after a failed drug test in 2011. His subsequent suspension likely cost him a spot on the 2012 Japanese Olympic team. Kitamura said he took the substances by accident when they were in some over-the-counter supplements he purchased. He started training with NJPW in 2015.
Kitamura often teamed with Tomoyuki Oka, sometimes under the team name “Monster Rage.” Oka is currently on an excursion with Revolution Po under the name Great O’Kharn.
Tama Tonga On The Elite No Longer Being Bullet Club
Tama Tonga’s Firing Squad wished the Elite good luck in their future endeavors at the G1 Special In San Fransico. Members of the Elite confirmed they are no longer Bullet Club on Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager at Sea this weekend.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that Taiji Ishimori is currently injured. The Bullet Club member was scheduled to perform at today’s Road To Power Struggle event but was pulled hours before the event.
NJPW confirmed via their English language site NJPW1972.com that “Taiji Ishimori will not participate in the event in Shizuoka at the Twin Messe Shizuoka South Building today, Thursday November 1st, due to a left ankle injury, which happened during the event in Nagano on October 31st.”
Ishimori has been teaming with Robbie Eagles for the Super Jr Tag League 2018 tournament. Eagles took part in a singles match against Yota Tsuji for the Shizuoka show. Eagles took the win over Tsuji with a Turbo Back Pack.
The severity of Ishimori’s ankle injury has not yet been revealed. Ishimori was not yet booked in a bout for the upcoming Power Struggle event in Osaka this Saturday. Ishimori and Eagles have already been eliminated from the Super Jr tournament so their involvement in the show would possibly been in a multi-man tag bout at best. We’ll be able to update you further as the story develops.
A lot has been said and speculated about the current status’ of Elite members, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Cody, Marty Scurll, and Adam Page in relation to the Bullet Club.
More fuel was added to the fire earlier in the month as the collective released new t-shirts that they claimed would be their “final Bullet Club style” merchandise. Cody also took to Twitter and plainly stated that he was “100% not in the Bullet Club.”
Whilst on the Jericho Cruise, Chris Jericho scheduled a recording of his popular podcast, Talk Is Jericho with the entirety of the Elite group.
Matt Jackson touched on a number of subjects during the course of the conversation, including the origins of the YouTube hit series, Being The Elite, and how the show has evolved and changed since it started. He also confirmed that the group were now officially “The Elite,” and that they are no longer a part of the Bullet Club in any capacity.
He would go on to address the gradual separation that led to the split between Bullet Club and the Elite over the years, highlighting that it’s “not like I’m going to make this crazy announcement because it just feels natural, right?”
He went on to clarify his point, saying, “I think everyone on the ship can agree, it’s not just Kenny, me, and Nick as The Elite. We’re all elite. So, from this very day forward, why don’t we just call all of us The Elite?”
Bullet Club Is Fine
On the other side of the split, Tama Tonga took to Twitter in order to solidify the Bullet Club’s unity since attacking the Elite at NJPW’s G1 Special in San Francisco.
So there you go, we now have official confirmation: the feud between the two factions is not a reignited Bullet Club civil war, and the Elite has branched off into their own, separate unit away from BC.
What do you make of this announcment? What do you see the two factions accomplishing going forward?
“Switchblade” Jay White joined CHAOS at New Year’s Dash this year and turned on them at King of Pro Wrestling. Now, White is claiming there is at least one member of CHAOS secretly working for him from inside the faction.
“I’ll let you in on another thing,” White said backstage from Road to Power Struggle night 2. “I actually have someone working for me on the inside of CHAOS. Now, hold on to that thought.”
The New Zealander was long thought to be destined for Bullet Club but turned down an invitation from Kenny Omega when offered. White then defeated Omega for the IWGP United States Championship, although he would later lose it to Juice Robinson.
White would be at odds with his CHAOS stablemates all year until finally turning on them at King of Pro Wrestling. He also brought Kazuchika Okada’s longtime manager, Gedo, along with him. White has since said he didn’t want to join Bullet Club with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and the rest of the Elite, he wanted to side with the Tongans and the BCOGs.
According to White, there are members of CHAOS who are secretly aligned with Bullet Club. White makes the comments near the end of the following video:
Jay White vs CHAOS
Speaking to Okada, White said he has people in CHAOS secretly working for him. White’s predictions and comments have consistently come through over the last year, so it’s possible he is setting the stage for a pending angle. A member of CHAOS could be turning on Okada soon.
White will team up with Bad Luck Fale to take on Berretta and Kazuchika Okada on November 3rd at Power Struggle.
In New Japan Pro Wrestling, a new Bullet Club has formed. Jay White, Gedo, and Jado recently joined the Tongans side of the faction. At the same time, members of “the Elite” are stating they will not be putting out any further Bullet Club style T-shirts past the ones they just released.
Tama Tonga seems convinced it was members of the Elite who made comments to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter running down the promotion’s new management. He also seems convinced the Elite are on their way to WWE when their contracts expire at the end of the year.
Tama Tonga Warns Finn Balor About the Elite
It was Tama Tonga’s birthday yesterday. Fellow original Bullet Club members Karl Anderson and Finn Balor each wished him a happy birthday. Tonga then commented there might be some “OG Business” heading their way.
Much love OG senpai. Might need you to handle some OGBC business if it goes unsettled over here 😘🤘🏽 https://t.co/brZhlr8hCV
As with some other storylines currently playing out in wrestling, it’s not clear if this is real or not. The Elite and Bullet Club are feuding in storyline but much of what has been said online seems to go beyond what is showcased on NJPW programming.
Tonga alleges it was members of the Elite who spoke anonymously to media in regards to the company.
Lol no no no you’re fine, You know I love me a little competition…just don’t run to your boyfriend Dave Meltzer crying about how it’s not fun anymore……Bitch.. 🤭 oops https://t.co/gn2mo2vKGO
The bad blood between The Firing Squad/Bullet Club OGs and The Elite doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, with both sides taking to social media for months in order to have their say.
The most recent addition to their incendiary feud has been cast by the “Bad Boy” Tama Tonga.
Short and sweet, unlike many of his previous barbs, Tama Tonga tweeted that “The Elite doesn’t exist without #BulletClub,” before punctuating his thought with a loaded sentiment, saying, “Good luck in WWE.”
The Elite doesn’t exist without #BulletClub . Good luck in WWE
The most notable thing about this is the direct reference to The Elite potentially going to the WWE. This has been heavily rumored despite their current success worldwide.
Further speculation could be made after members of The Elite released new shirts, highlighting that they will be the last “Bullet Club” style shirts they will offer.
Firing Squad vs The World
Since making their intentions clear at the end of NJPW’s G1 Special this past July in San Francisco, the Firing Squad have been on a tear throughout NJPW.
They recently claimed the IWGP Tag Team Championships, with the Guerrillas of Destiny besting their Bullet Club stablemates, and Elite representatives, The Young Bucks, at NJPW’s recent Fighting Spirit Unleashed event on September 30th.
Firing Squad have also recently added “Switchblade” Jay White to their ranks, bolstering their stable in the reignited civil war against Bullet Club.
What do you think? Will this new civil war lead to a satisfying payoff? Do you think we will see The Elite in the WWE?
Cody and the Young Bucks have both announced that their newest T-shirts will be their final ones with a Bullet Club theme to them. This comes amid growing speculation that the members of the Elite will drop Bullet Club from their name, leaving it to the NJPW faction.
The Bucks unveiled a golden version of their classic Bullet Club tee:
Members of the Elite are still announced as being from “Bullet Club Elite” during their ring introductions. They are still listed as part of the larger faction. With their contracts coming due at the end of the calendar year, however, it’s possible they want to distance themselves from the group.
Bullet Club’s “Firing Squad” attacked the Elite at the G1 Special in San Fransico this summer. The group became fractured in two. At King of Pro Wrestling last week, “Switchblade” Jay White joined the faction. White had previously rejected a spot in Bullet Club when it was offered by Kenny Omega at New Year’s Dash. Gedo and Jado also joined the new version of Bullet Club, which might not have room in it for the Elite.
New Japan Pro Wrestling will be on tour from now until the Power Struggle event on November 3rd. Live events will focus on the Super Junior Tag Tournament.
5 and 1/2 years after Bullet Club’s formation in New Japan Pro Wrestling, the faction appears to be going back to their roots. At King of Pro Wrestling on Monday, Jay White joined the faction, something he opted not to do when originally offered a spot by Kenny Omega earlier this year.
According to comments White made after King of Pro Wrestling, he doesn’t believe “the Elite” is part of Bullet Club. Rather, White feels the sub-group of Bullet Club which took shape after the departure of AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows is just a “rip off”.
“Inevitable. One word, inevitable,” White said backstage. “I met Bad Luck Fale in London in 2014. Since then it’s been inevitable that I would end up here with these boys. Not the BC Elite, what is that rip-off sh**? Original Bullet Club taking it back to what started it. Get used to these faces, we’re taking over!”
Original Bullet Club member, Bad Luck Fale, yelled out “Full Circle” as White finished his speech.
Upcoming NJPW Schedule
NJPW’s new Bullet Club faction will be on the Road to Power Struggle tour. On November 3rd, White will team with Bad Luck Fale to take on Kazuchika Okada and Beretta from CHAOS.
NJPW Power Struggle
November 3rd, 2018
Osaka, Japan
The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (Bullet Club Elite) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi and David Finlay
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho (c) vs EVIL (LIJ)
NEVER Openweight Championship
Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) (c) vs Will Ospreay (CHAOS)
Tetsuya Naito (LIJ) vs Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Kazuchika Okada and Beretta (CHAOS) vs Bad Luck Fale and Jay White (BCOG)
Bullet Club’s Firing Squad is looking for new members. The group previously put out a call for new member suggestions on social media and has now produced a recruitment video of sorts. Bullet Club OG Tama Tonga posted the following earlier today:
A few names were brought up multiple times by Tonga’s followers. Jay White, Toa Henare, and Punishment Martinez were all suggested as potential new members. White had previously been offered a spot in Bullet Club by Kenny Omega. He turned down the offer in epic fashion, however, and joined CHAOS instead. Ring of Honor’s Kenny King volunteered for the role:
The Firing Squad have a few big matches coming up in September. Tonga, Loa, and Taiji Ishimori will defend the NEVER Openweight 6-Man tag-team titles on Saturday. They will face the team of Taguchi, Juice Robinson, and David Finlay.
The Guerillas of Destiny will then face the Young Bucks for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships on September 30th in Long Beach.
If you ever wanted to smell just like the members of Bullet Club, now is your chance. A special Bullet Club cologne will be released by New Japan Pro Wrestling tomorrow.
NJPW has previously released “King of King” and “Fighting Spirit” scents in the past as well.
Although we are currently unaware of what this cologne smells like, a few potential odors seem possible:
The Bullet Club Cologne might smell like:
ProWrestling Tees packaging.
Bad Luck Fale’s post-match scent.
It smells like nothing but 5 minutes after you put it on you are attacked by Tanga Loa and win your G1 match by disqualification.
Cody’s ego.
WCW Nitro Cologne
WCW released a cologne late in their existence. There are still Amazon listings for it online. WWE released both a cologne and a perfume during their Attitude Era. Currently, John Cena is the spokesperson for a line of Axe Body Sprays as well. So, there is a history of wrestling companies promoting similar products.
NJPW G1 Climax 28
The G1 Climax tournament has a day off today but they are back in Osaka tomorrow for B-Block action.
Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi
Kenny Omega vs Tomohiro Ishii
Juice Robinson vs Zack Sabre Jr
Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga
Toru Yano vs SANADA
As Omega is still undefeated he needs just two more wins to clinch the block. Meaning if he beats Ishii and then Yano, he’ll have already clinched the block when he faces Kota Ibushi. If he was to lose to Ibushi still, however, it would set up a future title match between the two.
Of note here is that if Omega defeats Ishii tomorrow it would mean his match against Toru Yano would be to clinch the block. Only one wrestler, Tetsuya Naito, trails Omega by only 2pts and Omega has the tie-breaker over him.
WWE Champion, AJ Styles, was asked recently which side of the Bullet Club civil war angle he sides with. While it may have been easier for Styles to give a vague answer of “Those guys are all my friends,” or something similar, Styles did not hesitate to pick a side.
When asked if he was with Team Kenny or the Firing Squad, Styles was adamant. “I don’t know if you watched my last match that I had over in Japan with New Japan,” Styles said in reference to the night Omega kicked him out of Bullet Club. “I kind of got the crap kicked out of me by those guys. So, I’m a Firing Squad kind of guy.”
Bullet Club, January 5th, 2016
Following his match the night after the Tokyo Dome show in 2016, Omega turned on Styles. He gave him a 1-Winged Angel and then continued to deliver the boots to him.
The Young Bucks separated Omega from Styles while Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows tended to Styles. As Anderson and Gallows were holding Styles, however, the Bucks gave him a double super-kick. Anderson and Gallows then later joined in the beating of the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Omega would announce he was moving up to heavyweight afterward and Styles would be in WWE’s Royal Rumble later that month.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows would join Styles in WWE just months later, however. They would form “the Club” with Styles and it appeared as though Styles and the tag-team managed to work things out between them off-camera.
On Saturday night inside the Cow Palace, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and King Haku attacked members of the Elite from behind. Not only that, they turned on their Bullet Club allies, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi, as well.
The Tongans have split away from the rest of the group but are still Bullet Club. This new sub-faction of the group appears to be going with the name “the Firing Squad.” A video providing further details on the Firing Squad was released through the Guerillas of Destiny YouTube channel late last night.
Bullet Club’s Firing Squad
In the video, two members of the faction who were not present in San Francisco are confirmed to be part of the group. Bad Luck Fale and Hikuleo (dealing with a leg injury) are both shown involved in the planning of the Cow Palace attack despite not being there personally.
This brings the group to 5 confirmed members: Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Haku, Bad Luck Fale, and HIKULEO. Tonga, Loa, and HIKULEO are Haku’s sons and Bad Luck Fale are their cousin. Fale and Tonga met in the New Japan dojo, however, and were not aware they were related before then. They are two of the four original members of Bullet Club.
On Saturday, AXS TV broadcasters, Jim Ross and Josh Barnett, speculated that it was King Haku who was the mastermind behind the attack. While Haku did seem to be directing traffic in the ring on Saturday, the YouTube video tells a different story. In the video, Haku appears unable to connect to the group phone call.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes took part in a recent media conference call to promote the upcoming NJPW G1 Special on AXS TV. Rhodes first discussed how writers and producers in WWE have more power than talent creatively, when it’s the performers that will suffer on behalf of poor instruction:
“I don’t look at it as being in control of my creative.” Cody explained, “I literally look at it as just knowing myself. I guess knowing my act, knowing what I would do, and what I wouldn’t do, and going out there and trying it out. The fans will tell you if you got it right or if you got it wrong. I think that’s one of the most backwards ass things about [pro] wrestling in the first place is writers. What are you writing? What on Earth are you writing?
“I have some friends who are writers at WWE and the most thing they could ever offer was, as far as pre-tapes and backstage interviews, they were there to provide a little bit of direction, a little coaching. But they were there to look at the shot. In that vein, they were very valuable, so I see the importance there. But as far as this industry, if people ever say that it’s scripted, I dare you to find me a wrestling script. It doesn’t exist. We’re a rare thing, a rare bird in the world of entertainment, an important bird.
“Same with producers! I love all those legends. I love them to death. Some of them are like family to me, but how the hell are you going to tell me what to do out there? You don’t! And that was my biggest mistake with WWE is ever listening. There’s a difference between collaboration, and advice, and being told to do this because that’s not how it works. You go out there and you’re the one on TV. You’re the one who gets heat if you suck and you reap the rewards if it’s a grand slam.”
Rhodes then discussed the differences in the locker rooms of WWE and NJPW, as Japan’s locker room is a lot more traditional:
“There’s a huge difference in the locker room philosophies between WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.” Cody elaborated, “I can tell you, it’s not a knock on WWE, New Japan Pro-Wrestling understands much more how to do their locker room. The individual factions are separated.
“Chaos has their own locker room. Bullet Club has their own locker room. But there are no outsiders, no celebrities, they can be somewhere else, but they can’t be in the locker room. It’s a real traditional space. You ride on a bus with your crew and no other crew. You don’t stay at the same hotel. It’s a real traditional space.
“And it’s something just as an old school [pro] wrestling fan, I really value when I go. But I think they have the locker room. I think that’s the philosophy in the locker room as far as company goes, it’s much different.”
Recently The Elite challenged The New Day at E3 for a battle in the Street Fighter video game. WWE provided some extensive coverage and promotion of the event, mentioning Omega and The Young Bucks by name a few times. Rhodes offered his thoughts on the company doing this:
“I thought that was really, I hate using this expression, but good for business.” Cody continued, “that’s something that The New Day, and The Elite, I guess now, The Golden Elite, that cross-promotional element is something that they wanted to do for a long time and [WWE] can’t pretend that people don’t exist anymore.
“Kenny Omega is a revered star worldwide. He’s the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion and I think it was good for business. I had a nice little banter back-and-forth with some of my friends from the WWE locker room, but I kept saying, ‘hey, you guys are welcome for the rub.’ And then, they kept saying pretty much the same thing back to me.
“But yeah, no, I’m glad The Elite won regardless of whether Kenny’s my best friend or if I could [not] care less about him. But The Elite, in this case Kenny, defeated Xavier Woods and they put that one to rest. But who knows? I think The New Day/Golden Elite rivalry might just be getting started.”
You can listen to Rhodes on the AXS conference call at this link here.
Nick and Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks tweeted out the official seating chart and ticket pricing information for All In. As seen below, the tickets start at $28, with ringside seats going for $103-153. If you’re in the Chicago area, this is a no brainer.
All In takes place on Saturday, September 1st from the Sears Centre Arena.
The Bullet Club Funko Pop vinyl figures are on their way. Funko insiders @PopCurated have released the first official photos for the Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega. The figures are licensed by New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Ring of Honor wrestling has announced on their website that the main event in War of the Worlds: Chicago will feature a match between the teams of Los Ingobernables de Japon’s Tetsuya Naito, Seiya SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi going against Bullet Club’s Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll, Adam Page and The Young Bucks.
The announcement issued states:
RING OF HONOR WAR OF THE WORLDS TOUR – CHICAGO
INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION TAPING
SUNDAY, MAY 13THBELL TIME @ 07:00 PM CDT
THE ODEUM EXPO CENTER
1033 NORTH VILLA AVENUE
60181 VILLA PARK
ALREADY SIGNED
MAIN EVENT
LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (NAITO, HIROMU TAKAHASHI, BUSHI, AND IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS EVIL & SANADA) vs. BULLET CLUB (CODY, MARTY SCURLL, ADAM PAGE, & THE YOUNG BUCKS)
SIGNED TO COMPETE
WOMEN OF HONOR CHAMPION SUMIE SAKAI
JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER
ROPPONGI 3K
Other matches on the card include:
Silas Young (c) and Austin Aries for ROH World Television Championship
Sumie Sakai (c) vs Jenny Rose for Women of Honor Championship
Jay Lethal vs Chuckie T.
Kelly Klein vs Deonna Purrazzo
The event is set to take place at the Odeum Expo Center on Sunday, May 13. You can check out the announcement here.
After two weeks without airing an episode, Bullet Club’s “the Elite” released a short mini-episode earlier this evening. The title-less episode is under two minutes long and asks more questions than it answers.
In the closing moments of this episode, Flip Gordon announces to the camera that it’s time to reunite the boys. He then unnecessarily jumped over a guardrail before walking towards the Bucks.
Bullet Club OGs versus the Elite
It’s been an interesting 2018 for Bullet Club.
The previous Being the Elite episode was titled “Finale” and ended with Cody alone in the Bullet Club dressing room. Cody had defeated Kenny Omega but his friends had all deserted him and there was no one to celebrate with. It was later revealed on the show that Marty Scurll had signed a recording contract and would be leaving the show to perform in a pop band.
Further dissension between Marty Scurll and Cody was shown at the Ring of Honor shows this weekend. Cody attempted to hold the ropes open for Scurll but Scurll made a point of entering on another side of the ring. Scurll is owed a title rematch with Dalton Castle after winning the Defy or Deny 4-way match recently. Meanwhile, Cody still has yet to cash-in his rematch clause for another shot at Castle. It appears there could be some jealousy brewing between the two title contenders.
Two big matches take place this week in Japan regarding the Bullet Club civil war. Marty Scurll will team with the Young Bucks to challenge Bad Luck Fale & the Guerillas of Destiny for the NEVER Openweight 6-man titles on Thursday. Meanwhile, Cody will wrestle Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega will wrestle Hangman Page to co-main and main event the show respectively. Friday’s NJPW show will feature Bad Luck Fale, the Guerillas of Destiny & the Golden Lovers taking on Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, Cody, and the Young Bucks.
Cody has quickly become a polarizing heel in wrestling. From turning on Kenny Omega, to tearing the Bullet Club apart, Cody has garnered some serious heat. His recent announcement has created some more buzz and even hatred.
The former Ring of Honor World champion recently took to Twitter to claim he is changing the Bullet Club logo next week. The logo has become iconic even outside of the wrestling world. In it, fans have even been seen wearing the faction’s shirts at WWE events. We’re not talking just one or two people, either.
The All In event may be getting a former WCW World champion, although it’s not one who many are expecting. Actor David Arquette is still a huge fan of wrestling. In fact, on an episode of Monday Night Raw back in 2010, he teamed with Alex Riley to take on Randy Orton. It didn’t go so well for Arquette, as he was powerbombed through a table.
Arquette recently went on Twitter to show support for Matt Hardy’s new shirt on WWE Shop by saying, “I’m in.” Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks asked Arquette if he was “All In.” Arquette replied with the following:
Tenille Dashwood has heard the demand for her arrival in Bullet Club.
For over six years, Dashwood performed for the WWE. In August 2012, she used the in-ring name “Emma.” Dashwood was released back in Oct. 2017 following her match against Asuka at the TLC pay-per-view.
Dashwood has quickly found success in the independent circuit and Ring of Honor. She is a heavy favorite to win the Women of Honor tournament. The winner of the tourney will become the first ROH Women of Honor champion. Dashwood will meet Sumie Sakai in a semi-finals match at Supercard of Honor XII. The winner will advance to the finals that same night on April 7.
During a recent ROH live stream, Cody said he wants to add women to the Bullet Club and has two names in mind. He didn’t reveal those names, but Dashwood has been someone who fans have been wanting to see represent the faction.
During an interview with WrestleZone.com, Dashwood talked about potentially joining the Bullet Club:
“It all just depends on the situation. They would have to do some sweet talking and we’d have to work some things out. You never know what’s ahead. I’m not saying yes or no, I’m saying it depends.”
Bullet Club has seen better days. The stable was once ruling New Japan Pro Wrestling under the leadership of Prince Devitt and soon after that, AJ Styles. Kenny Omega took the leadership role in January 2016.
Things were looking good under Omega’s guidance before “The Elite” took the spotlight. Soon, the original members of Bullet Club became an afterthought and all the attention was on Omega, Cody, The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Hangman Page. To make matters worse, Cody has been fighting with Omega over who should be the leader of Bullet Club.
Speaking to the Augusta Free Press, Page responded to talks of the faction’s demise:
“We’re not coming apart at the seams. We’re fine. Bullet Club is fine. Look, we’re a group of the most entertaining, athletic, all-around best wrestlers on the planet. And, you know, you’re just going to have a little bit of a rift sometimes. But, it’s fine, things are fine. We’ll work it out. This one is really just a little disagreement between Cody and Kenny, and they have a match coming up, and once that’s over, we’re fine. OK? Just got to get it out of our system.”
Matt Taven Calls NXT “ROH Lite”
Ring of Honor star Matt Taven is set to do battle with Cody on the ROH 16th Anniversary show. Taven recently appeared on Interactive Wrestling Radio to hype up the event. When the topic of NXT popped up, Taven had the following to say:
“I couldn’t agree more. Our touring schedule and their touring schedule is starting to cross paths to where maybe they hit a market a week before we hit that market. That is on purpose. Taking talent from Ring of Honor? That is all on purpose. I basically look at NXT as ROH Lite. I wish for every wrestling company to be as successful as possible. There is something that ROH is obviously doing right if the top dog is trying to hurt them. That is something that they’ve (WWE) has tried to do a few times. It just lets us know that we (ROH) are doing something right. And, ROH has been resilient. I first started working here in 2009 doing stuff. I started working more consistently in 2012. But, in my 9 years, wow I feel old saying that, in my 9 years, I’ve seen them come and go. And still, ROH continues to get bigger and continues to grow and grow and reach broader audiences. As much as I love my buds, it shows ROH is doing something right if WWE is trying to bite their style so much.”
Mick Foley is offering a heap of praise on Bullet Club members.
On episode 95 of “Being The Elite,” Foley appeared. Marty Scurll tried recruiting the hardcore icon to help make the Villain Club more than just a t-shirt. Instead, Foley suggested that Mr. Socko becomes a member and things fell apart.
Trail Blazers
Just before the video was released, Foley posted a new entry of his Facebook blog praising Scurll, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. You can read part of it below:
“Sure, on a certain level, I understood The Young Bucks were getting over strong. I understood, to some extent how well the whole Bullet Club thing was working. Not only were the Bucks blazing their own trail in tag-team wrestling; passing on a rumored WWE offer, because they were perfectly content with their New Japan and Ring Of Honor deals, but Kenny Omega had earned the right to call himself a human (match of the year) factory, with near superhuman performances on New Japan’s biggest shows in consecutive years. And to my surprise, the Marty Scurll Villain Club T’s were beating my WANTED T’s like a government mule at OTT shows in Dublin and Belfast. It’s not that the venerable Cactus shirts weren’t selling; they were – just at a pace about 1/4 the pace of Marty’s.”
It’s been an interesting few months for Cody. The 32-year-old has been engaged in one of the more unique storylines in wrestling with Kenny Omega and has been working on organizing a show in a 10,000 seat arena for September.
He has also taken the time to comment publicly on gun issues and the potential mild irony of him doing so while also claiming to be the leader of Bullet Club.
Bullet Club leader, handgun owner, rifle owner…I'm all those things.
BUT I'd gladly take part in gun safety courses/do a mental evaluation/and register ANNUALLY. Those types of common sense regulations plus bans on a great many semi & fully automatic guns is what we need. https://t.co/IEuVVJyI2n
Cody has subtly referred to himself as the leader of Bullet Club multiple times throughout his angle with Kenny Omega. He has changed the bio on his Twitter profile page so that it lists him as leader of the faction. This despite no other Bullet Club member recognizing him as such.
I love America. There's no better place. It's disappointing the only voices that get heard on this topic are extreme "ban all" or "my rights to bear arms"…I think most Americans want sensible new policy in place. Genuine common sense gun reform. https://t.co/gcDnjhzsOc
