In recent days, it has been heavily rumored that Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are on their way to Impact Wrestling. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet and Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda both reported recently that a deal between the tag-team and Impact was close to being done. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has now confirmed the team is headed to Impact.
“Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are heading to Impact Wrestling in a deal that will allow them to also work for New Japan Pro Wrestling,” a report from the Observer reads.
Impact’s Slammiversary PPV is being built around the debut/return of recently released WWE stars. The event takes place July 18th, 2020, after any 90-day no-compete clauses has expired.
Who Else Is On Their Way To Impact Wrestling?
There are others who have been dropping hints lately that they could be on their way to Impact as well.
Heath Slater posted a video of him working out with the words “July 18th” scrawled over it today.
EC3 is someone else who has been heavily rumored to be on his way back to Impact. Taynara Conti’s name has been rumored to be headed to Impact as well.
Former WWE backstage agent, Lance Storm, posted a fairly ominous Tweet earlier today that might be in reference to the July 18th Slammiversary PPV (it might not too). Storm just posted the number 19. It is 19 days until Slammiversary.
Impact Wrestling has built up their PPV on July 18th as the start of a new era for the promotion. Their weekly television show is filled with hints that multiple names recently released from WWE in April could be on their way to the promotion. Two of the names the company has teased are Karl Anderson & Luke “Doc” Gallows.
According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Impact has tabled a strong offer to the tag-team, one that would also allow them to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling as well once that is possible. The hope is that Anderson and Gallows will be at the Slammiversary PPV on July 18th.
Gallows previously performed in Impact Wrestling from 2011 to 2013. After leaving the promotion, he joined Bullet Club in NJPW. While apart of the Impact roster, Gallows was a member of the Aces and Eights faction. Impact has recently been teasing a return of the group. Former member, D’Lo Brown, ominously broke out his old Aces and Eights vest at the end of last week’s episode.
Anderson & Gallows are 2x RAW tag-team champion in WWE. They also won the Tag Team World Cup in Saudi Arabia while in the promotion in 2019. They are 3x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in NJPW. Anderson and Gallows also won the World Tag League tournament in 2013 shortly after Gallows debuted.
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows signed new WWE deals in July of 2019. 9 months later, they were released from the promotion.
According to an update from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Anderson & Gallows are looking to return to NJPW and also looking for a North American promotion to work for. They could be headed to Impact Wrestling but nothing is for sure at this point.
“Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson are looking for what was described as two deals, one of which would be New Japan, which would be the main deal, and the other would be a U.S. deal, and Impact is in play for being the second deal,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The tag-team’s 90-day no-compete clause with WWE expires in time for them to appear on the Impact Slammiversary PPV. The event is scheduled for July 18th, 2020.
Impact has been heavily-teasing that several recently released WWE stars could appear on the show.
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
Anderson & Gallows began teaming together shortly after the Bullet Club angle began in 2013. Gallows debuted for NJPW as Anderson’s tag partner in November of 2013, with the faction having been formed that May. They won the World Tag League tournament that year. They would then go on to win the IWGP Heavyweight tag-team titles 3x before leaving the promotion in 2016.
Anderson & Gallows then appeared in WWE shortly after WrestleMania 32. They would win the RAW tag team championships twice and won the WWE Tag Team World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2019 as well.
The recent WWE releases has opened the doors for other companies to add some star power to their roster and it appears that Impact Wrestling is in the race to sign at least two such talents in Gallows and Anderson.
The now-former WWE stars were talking about their future and other things on the latest episode of their Talkin Shop podcast which is hosted by the duo and Rocky Romero.
What’s interesting to note here is that Impact Vice President Scott D’Amore ended up making an accidental appearance during the broadcast of the episode.
As first noted by The Combat Republic, D’Amore called Gallows while the show was still being recorded and they put him on speakerphone. You can check out their conversation in the clip below:
Impact EVP Scott D’Amore makes an accidental appearance on the Gallows and Anderson podcast “Talkin Shop”. Sure sounds to me like they may be negotiating. pic.twitter.com/6yp6S3If74
Gallows and Anderson signed a three year deal with WWE in 2016 and they had renewed their contracts with the promotion in July earlier last year.
However, the company released the duo alongside numerous other stars such as Kurt Angle and Rusev as part of WWE’s coronavirus budget cuts last month.
There is no news yet on what the former champions are planning for their future but we should get a better idea about their plans after July 15 when their non compete clause with the company expires.
Chad 2 Badd and Sex Ferguson may be gearing up to ride once again.
Karl Anderson has filed an application to trademark “Chad 2 Badd,” the name of his character on WWE’s Southpaw Regional Wrestling comedy series.
According to a May 5th filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, he’s looking to utilize the Chad 2 Badd mark for, “Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality,” among several other similar uses.
The application notes that Anderson used the Chad 2 Badd name back in 2002, long before WWE featured it in Southpaw Regional Wrestling.
Last month, Anderson’s tag team partner Doc Gallows filed to trademark the name Sex Ferguson, the tag team partner of Chad 2 Badd in the ‘Southpaw’ universe.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, collectively known as the Good Brothers, used lawyer Michael Dockins for the trademark filing. Dockins has handled trademarks for several other pro wrestlers, including Cody Rhodes, The Revolt, Shawn Spears, Charlotte Flair & Andrade.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows were released from WWE on April 15th. Anderson has been teasing a return to Japan, once they are legally able to work elsewhere.
An update has surfaced online regarding the futures of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
The two stars were released from WWE last week when the company decided to make mass firing of staff and talent. The wrestlers who were released are now under a 90-day non-compete clause, which prevents them from officially signing a deal with any promotions.
Since being let go, Anderson and Gallows have gone back to the gimmicks that they portrayed in NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) on social media.
It was reported by Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that NJPW has not offered contracts to Gallows and Anderson that would see them make a return to the promotion.
It should be noted that NJPW hasn’t held a show since March due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Meltzer noted that if NJPW wasn’t dealing with the financial impact of the virus, “such a deal would be a given as far as getting an offer to return.”
Thus, it’s possible when NJPW starts running shows again, perhaps a deal will be offered to Anderson and Gallows.
Anderson and Gallows had reportedly turned down lucrative five-year deals due to being unhappy last year.
There was speculation that they would leave the company in the fall once their contracts expired. That changed when WWE offered them more money and they signed new deals.
AJ Styles is devastated over WWE’s decision to release his former OC brothers Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The former WWE Champion feels personal responsibility that he couldn’t protect them and their jobs.
It was just a few weeks ago that Gallows & Anderson were part of the Styles & The Undertaker’s Boneyard Match at WrestleMania. They now find themselves out of work, along with 20+ other WWE performers following this week’s layoffs. They had been with the company since April 2016.
AJ Styles commented on Gallows & Anderson’s releases from WWE during an online video stream, seen below. He spoke about all the talent let go, but it’s clear Gallows and Anderson leaving hit closest to home.
“That one hurt really bad,” Styles said. “The only way I can explain it is that these guys are my family and I couldn’t take care of my little brothers. I didn’t manage to do that and I feel responsible for them being released. It’s devastating.”
Karl Anderson has teased a return to Japan following the news that he has been released from WWE.
Anderson posted a video to his Twitter account, which has been renamed to “MachineGunKA” in reference to his pre-WWE name. The short video features shots of Santa Monica, California before cutting to clips of a plane taking off. Shots of travel and driving are then intercut before the video cuts to images of Tokyo, Japan.
It then cuts to a black screen with white text that reads “Machine Gun,” his former moniker while in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Prior to signing with WWE in 2016, Karl Anderson was in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He was a member of their popular heel stable Bullet Club. During his time in New Japan, Anderson was a multiple-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He held the titles with both Giant Bernard and his O.C. partner Gallows.
If Karl Anderson does head back to NJPW, he may not be able to participate for some time given the travel restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. NJPW has been forced to cancel several tours due to the outbreak and, like many wrestling companies, may not run shows for some time.
WWE has announced that several members of its roster have been released. The company noted today in a press release that budget cuts were coming and would include talent releases.
The following talent was let go on Wednesday by WWE:
Drake Maverick
Luke Gallows
Karl Anderson
EC3
Curt Hawkins
Lio Rush
Heath Slater
Eric Young
Kurt Angle
Aiden English
Erik Rowan
Sarah Logan
Mike Chioda
Primo & Epico Colon
Mike Kanellis (Bennett)
Maria Kanellis
Zack Ryder
No Way Jose
Deonna Purrazzo
In addition to on-screen talent, many backstage WWE producers were also released.
Kurt Angle posted the following after news of his release broke:
I wanted 2 say thank you to the WWE for the time I spent there.I made many new friends and had the opportunity to work with so many talented people. To the Superstars, continue to entertain the WWE Universe as well as you possibly can. They’re the best fans in the world. #itstrue
Maverick had just been confirmed for the upcoming NXT Cruiserweight tournament that is scheduled to begin airing on NXT tonight. He sent out the following on Twitter:
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson had just signed new deals with the company last summer.
This is the second time EC3 has been released from the company. He was let go in 2013 after signing with the company in 2008. He made a name for himself in TNA Wrestling and then returned to the company in 2018. EC3 is a 4x 24/7 champion on the main roster.
The people closest to me know this is something I’ve been struggling with wanting for the better part of the last year.
Happy to say I gave this journey my best and MORE excited for the future! ??
This is also the second time that Curt Hawkins has been released from the company. He was let go from his contract in 2013 and then returned to the company in 2016. Hawkins is a 2x WWE tag team champion along with Zack Ryder. Hawkins sent out the following:
Last time I got fired I had a really funny tweet in response to it. Doesn’t really feel appropriate today. I will say this, a lot of very talented ppl lost their jobs today and out of this disaster the PRO WRESTLING community will rise stronger than ever! ??
Dolph Ziggler posted the following in relation to the releases:
awesome wrestlers lost their job today, in the midst of everything going on it may not mean a lot to you & that’s ok. But it means a lot to me. If you can, root for them, checkout their @PWTees page & @BookCameo If u have a fav independent pro having a rough time, send their info
Fit Finlay is someone largely credited with the success of WWE’s women’s divisions. He was let go today and posted the following:
To everyone on Gods green earth. Thank you for the kind words. I’ve been doing this for 46 years(Wrestling)I pray you all get through this and we can share a hug and drink again. Stay healthy. (SD)
O.C. members Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows emerged victorious from yesterday’s Tag Team Turmoil match at Crown Jewel. This victory has earned them the title of “The Best Tag Team In The World.” To them, however, the win just proves what they already knew.
“Brother, we’ve known since our days in Japan when we used to climb to Mount Fuji and talk to the souls of all the pro wrestlers and Superstars around the world,” Anderson said. “They used to tell us that we were the best tag team in the world. We acted like the best tag team in the world, and right here tonight, we showed the world that we were the best tag team in the world.”
His tag team partner, Gallows added, “Over a hundred countries, almost a decade together, all fifty states together. It’s not just hype anymore, we claim the cup as the best tag team in the world, WWE or anywhere else on the map. They don’t make two other brothers quite like us. And like we’ve said for years, it was that same old recipe with a cramp in our hand: a Magic Killer, a 1, 2, 3, and a just too sweet.”
The two beat out competition from Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, Lucha House Party, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, Heavy Machinery, The New Day, The B-Team, The Revival and The Viking Raiders to earn themselves the win.
If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.
Last night, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows once again became RAW Tag Team Champions. Alongside their OC stablemate, AJ Styles, they now hold some of RAW’s top gold.
Post-match, The OC addressed their victory in a backstage exclusive.
When asked if they expected championship gold so quickly after their reformation, Karl Anderson took the mic and asserted they did what they set out to do: dominate.
“Just like AJ would say: when the OC got back together, we told the world we were going to dominate,” Anderson declared. “US Champion, Tag Team Champions, we told the world we were going to do this.”
His partner, Luke Gallows added:
“You cannot defeat this trio. AJ Styles, the Phenomenal One, the best wrestler in the entire world, bar none, but what have we been saying for years now? It’s that same old recipe. It’s a Magic Killer, a one, two, three, and a just too sweet.”
Their leader, and the current WWE United States Champion, AJ Styles, then stated that they were the only club in professional wrestling that matters.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve kind of said this…well, we’re getting close to a thousand times here. We are the official, we are the original, we are the only club that matters. The OC.”
Styles realigned himself with his former Club members a few weeks ago and has been feuding with Ricochet over the US Championship. The two are scheduled to compete for the title on August 11th at WWE’s SummerSlam event.
The Revival has been dethroned by The O.C’s Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson.
During Monday’s episode of RAW in Little Rock, Arkansas, Anderson & Gallows beat The Usos and Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder in a Triple Threat Match to become the new WWE RAW Tag Team Champions.
WWE’s Stats & Info Twitter account noted that only 16 Superstars in WWE history have won Tag Team Titles in both a standard 2-on-2 match and a Triple Threat Match. The newest members of the list are the new Anderson and Gallows.
As a result of this win, it marks the second time that Anderson and Gallows have held the championships. Their first reign started in January 2017 at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event when they beat Sheamus and Cesaro to become champions.
Their reign ended at WrestleMania 33 in a fatal four-way ladder match with the returning Hardy Boyz dethroning them.
During the June 10th episode of RAW, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder beat The Usos and former champions Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins in a Triple Threat Match to win the RAW Tag Team Championships. This marked their second reign as champions.
With WWE no longer doing automatic rematches, it will be interesting to see who Anderson and Gallows make their first televised title defenses against at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event next month.
An update has surfaced online regarding the futures of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in WWE.
PWInsider reported on Tuesday that the belief within the company is that the former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions have agreed to terms on new WWE contracts, but those new deals may not have been signed yet.
During Monday’s episode of RAW, Gallows and Anderson reunited The Club with AJ Styles after the former WWE Champion took on United States Champion Ricochet in the main event. The group beat down Ricochet as part of heel turns for all three stars.
This was said to be an indication that they will be staying with the company. Just earlier this year there was speculation that they would leave the company in the fall once their contracts expired. This came after they had reportedly turned down lucrative five-year deals due to being unhappy.
Anderson and Gallows were moved back to WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, earlier this year as part of the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up after being on SmackDown Live. Up until a few weeks ago, Anderson and Gallows weren’t used in a prominent role on television.
With The Club being back together and them likely signing new contracts, it appears they will be used once again.
In a recent interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Jon Moxley talked about being part of the G1 Climax, and his thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura.
Although part of All Elite Wrestling’s roster, Jon Moxley is currently competing for NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament and is the IWGP United States Champion. He reveals that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of former WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes, as they inspired him to go to Japan.
“I tried to follow [the careers of Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes]. When you travel in WWE, you’re kind of in a bubble and it’s difficult to follow along, but I did watch what I could. Then, when I knew I was leaving – Japan in general was definitely on my bucket list. I wanted to have a good run in Japan, and of course NJPW was the goal. So when I got the call from them, I was just like, ‘let’s go, put me on the airplane’.”
Moxley also revealed that current WWE stars Shinsuke Nakamura and Karl Anderson,who performed previously in NJPW, encouraged him to participate in the tournament.
“Well, Shinsuke Nakamura is in WWE and doing very well. I never got to wrestle him sadly, but he heard that I was likely going over to be in the G1, and he was very pleased,” Moxley said. “[He] said it was a great life experience. Karl Anderson, who I’ve actually been friends with since I was 18, since we’re both from Cincinnati, I asked him about the G1. A few others as well, and everybody was great and said, ‘yeah, go for it’.”
Moxley also had some praise for Nakamura. Moxley believes Nakamura has a differrent style but he fits well in the WWE because of his flamboyance.
“I think [Nakamura is] doing great there. Fans love him,” Moxley said. “It’s a different style, but he fits in well because he is charismatic, he is flamboyant. He can go, so whether it’s a New Japan ring or a WWE one he can do well anywhere.”
NJPW announced that the 2019 edition of the G1 Climax would take place from July 6 to August 12. The first night of the tournament will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, marking the first time the tournament has been held outside of Japan. Like the previous year, the final three shows will be held at Nippon Budokan. Moxley announced that he will be part of the tournament at at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall. He will be participating in Block B.
WWE has released the line-ups for their forthcoming Live Events in Japan, and a few things stood out to the WWE Universe, one of them being the reformation of The Club.
Unfortunately, it appears to be a brief reunion as AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson are slated to team for only one night. They will be facing off against Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and Bobby Lashley on June 28th.
The Club was initially formed in WWE in a nod to the group that brought them together: New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Bullet Club.
Despite attempting to capitalize on their former Bullet Club association, The Club disbanded shortly after their formation and were never given the opportunity to establish themselves as a credible group.
Live Events
Other matches that caught the WWE Universe’s attention include Shinsuke Nakamura main eventing the 6/28 card, as he competes against WWE Universal Champion, Seth Rollins.
Alexa Bliss is also scheduled to see in-ring action, as she takes on RAW Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. This is particularly notable given she was recently pulled from Money In The Bank over fears she had suffered a concussion.
WWE Japan Live Events
6/28:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins
Alexa Bliss vs RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
Asuka and Kairi Sane vs WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics
The Revival vs RAW Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins
AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley
Ricochet vs Samoa Joe vs Cesaro
Braun Strowman vs Robert Roode
6/29:
Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman and AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley
Alexa Bliss vs Asuka vs RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
The Revival vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs RAW Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins
Ricochet vs Cesaro
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Robert Roode
Appearances by Samoa Joe, Kairi Sane, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics
As seen Monday night, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are now part of WWE’s Raw roster. While it was nice to see the Good Brothers back on television, they came up short against fellow Raw newcomers The Usos.
Gallows and Anderson are the latest act to switch brands well after the Superstar Shakeup two weeks ago. According to PWInsider, the decision to move them to Raw was made the night of the Shakeup. There’s no word on why WWE did not announce the change until this week.
Last month, word got out that Gallows and Anderson were offered new WWE contracts worth millions of dollars. They reportedly declined the offers and are still expected to finish up with WWE when their current deals expire in the fall.
Gallows and Anderson’s situation is strikingly similar to that of The Revival. Both teams are very talented, underutilized in WWE and might be on their way out despite big money offers that would provide them longterm financial security.
Both teams could very well decide to stay with WWE. However, even this hesitation to re-sign is indicative of the widespread unhappiness in the WWE locker room.
More WWE stars that were on the SmackDown brand have been moved to the flagship show of the company, Monday Night RAW.
Those stars are Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They made their return to the red brand during Monday’s episode of RAW in Lexington, KY at the Rupp Arena on the USA Network where they battled The Usos in tag team action.
The move of brands was announced during their entrances on the show. The former WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions went over in this contest.
Can @LukeGallowsWWE & @KarlAndersonWWE make a big impact in their return to Monday Night #RAW with a victory over The @WWEUsos? pic.twitter.com/AAAxAGs7e6
The two stars were last used on TV in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium earlier this month. They were last on the RAW brand in 2018.
Here is a list of roster moves from this year’s Superstar Shakeup:
RAW: AJ Styles, The Miz, Ricochet, Erik and Ivar of The Viking Raiders, Rey Mysterio, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso of The Usos, Naomi, EC3, Lacey Evans, Eric Young, Cedric Alexander, WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe, Cesaro, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
SmackDown Live: Roman Reigns, Elias, WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, Ember Moon, Bayley, Kairi Sane, Buddy Murphy, Lars Sullivan, Liv Morgan, Chad Gable, Apollo Crews, Mickie James, Otis and Tucker of Heavy Machinery, Andrade, Zelina Vega, Aleister Black, Jinder Mahal, Samir Singh and Sunil Singh of The Singh Brothers, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas of The B Team
Earlier this month, it was reported that Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows had turned down multi-million dollar contract offers from WWE. The tag-team’s deals with the promotion expire this September.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the team is still undecided on what they’ll do when their contracts are up this fall.
“There are a lot of factors in play but what I can say is that they have not decided what their next move is at this point,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “They could stay. They could go.”
Some WWE talent is waiting to see what the free agency landscape is like closer to when their current deals expire. It appears Anderson and Gallows fall into this category.
“Many have not signed because they are waiting to see the lay of the land when their deals are up,” noted Meltzer. “For Gallows & Anderson, they’ll have a far better idea in September about their next five years than now.”
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows Comment On AEW
Anderson & Gallows were recently interviewed by journalist Chris Van Vliet. During the interview, Gallows & Anderson each indicated they were happy for their former Bullet Club stablemates who are involved in running AEW.
“We’re happy for our friends, we think those guys will do great,” Gallows said. “They’ve done great around the world. We wish we could have them here with us but we wish them the best in their new endeavor.”
“Happy for our friends,” Anderson added. “Happy for the industry and I hope everybody succeeds.”
We have some new information regarding our report on Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson’s WWE offer.
With the tag team’s WWE contracts set to expire in September this year, the Good Brothers have decided to not take up WWE on their offer. This comes in the wake of a number of Superstars vocally sharing their frustration with their position in the company, with some even requesting their release.
According to PWInsider.com, the duo was offered quite the lucrative deal to stay. However, it appears that the money on the table just wouldn’t satiate their creative frustration. It’s reported that the team were offered a five-year offer and that, if you factor in WWE offering its talent raises, it would mean the offer would have ranged in the multi-millions when accumulated.
WWE has been on an aggressive hiring streak recently, actively trying to lock down talent in the process. This has been done in retaliation to All Elite Wrestling’s intentions and bankroll — factors the WWE are obviously aware of.
The Club
Anderson and Gallows made their initial debut on WWE during an episode of Monday Night RAW in 2016. They were initially paired with their former Bullet Club comrade, AJ Styles, forming The Club. WWE would soon split this group up, however, and the team have struggled to gain consistent traction since.
WWE tag team Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows were recently interviewed by Miami-based reporter Chris Van Vliet. The former Bullet Club members spoke about WWE’s decision to disband their half-hearted incarnation of The Club, the launch of All Elite Wrestling and more.
Val Vliet does a ton of wrestling interviews, give his YouTube channel a follow to see his recent chats with Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, Sasha Banks, Bayley and more.
There has been a lot of talk about WWE Superstars being dissatisfied and thinking about jumping ship to AEW. In addition to The Revival, Gallows and Anderson are another underutilized tag team that might fare better outside of WWE.
“We’re happy for our friends, we think those guys will do great,” Gallows said in regards to AEW. “They’ve done great around the world. We wish we could have them here with us but we wish them the best in their new endeavor.”
“Happy for our friends,” Anderson added. “Happy for the industry and I hope everybody succeeds.”
Regarding The Club in WWE, the ‘good brothers’ said AJ Styles moving to SmackDown put a halt to what little momentum the sorta-faction had. Plus, they would actually need television time to make it work.
“When AJ Styles got drafted to Smackdown and the story stopped,” Anderson said. “There you go.”
“It came to a screeching halt,” added Gallows.
“When the writers decided it needed to stop,” Anderson added.
“Well we could have continued but you need some screen time, you know what I mean brother?” asked Gallows.
Gallows also performs a few classic wrestling impersonations, including Macho Man Randy Savage.
WWE Superstars, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, have each been trademarking several terms as of late. Both wrestlers have their own LLCs. Karl Andrson is the owner of “MG Karl Anderson LLC” and Gallows owns “WrestleMerica LLC”.
MG Karl Anderson LLC Trademarks
Karl Anderson has filed for several trademarks recently. Between January 18th and 24th, Anderson filed for the following trademarks:
Karl Anderson (WWE has filed an opposition to this, previously trademarked term in 2016)
Talk’N’Shop
Hot Asian Wife
Machine Gun
WrestleMerica LLC Trademarks
Andrew William Hankinson, aka Luke Gallows, filed for the following trademarks between January 18th and 24th:
Doc Gallows
Big LG
Good Brothers
Good Brother
Biz Cliz
The following trademarks had been filed previously by WrestleMerica in 2017:
Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Shinsuke Nakamura, and AJ Styles all left New Japan Pro Wrestling in early 2016 and signed 3-year deals with WWE. Those deals are expected to expire after WrestleMania this year.
AJ Styles is not expected to make the jump, however. He has been reported as likely to stay in WWE. As for Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, less is known, however. We might have to wait until the spring until we know more about which promotion those 3 sign their next contracts with.
The WWE Network will air 4 new shows over the next week. Over the holidays, the WWE Network will feature a cooking show, gaming show, a Fashion Files cold-case episode, and a blooper show hosted by the Club.
4 New WWE Network Shows Announced
Fashion Files: Cold Case Unit
A new episode of Fashion Files will air on the Network December 24th. Fandango and Tyler Breeze will try and solve the cold case of “the Mysterious Pie Face Perpetrator”. The tag-team will look to solve the long-running mystery of who threw a pie at Kevin Owens a few weeks back. The show will start at 11 PM est following a taped airing of Raw.
Xavier’s Arcade Challenge
On December 25th, the WWE Network will feature Xavier Woods’ new gaming show. Woods will visit the arcade scene in different cities on the show playing games such as “NBA Jam”. He visits Philadelphia first. The show will air at 7 PM est.
WWE Kitchen SmackDown
An Iron Chef type show featuring Bo Dallas will hit the Network on December 26th. Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox, and Curtis Axel will compete in a cookoff with Mark Henry Noelle Foley, and Big E as the judges. The show will air at 7 PM est.
Similar to the popular underground blooper series, Botchamania, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows will host a blooper show on December 27th on the Network. The “Titus Worldslide” which occurred in the Greatest Royal Rumble will be featured on the show. The show will get going at 7 PM est.
It is being reported that three WWE Superstars’ contracts will be expiring in 2019. AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows all joined WWE back in 2016 and their contracts are allegedly set to finish mid way through next year.
As we’ve previously reported AJ Styles has been looking to work a reduced schedule. The in-ring veteran has been one of the linchpins of the Smackdown Live brand over the past few years and it is very likely that WWE will bend over backwards to keep the ‘Phenomenal One’ in the United States. PWInsider have claimed that Styles’ contract is set to expire in April 2019.
Gallows and Anderson have seen a very different side of WWE’s creative. The former Bullet Club members are reportedly contracted until September in 2019, there are currently no concrete plans in place to re-sign the tag team.
We also reported earlier this year that NJPW were interested in bringing back Gallows, Anderson and Shinsuke Nakamura. Whilst it is always difficult to judge if they are happy to re-sign with WWE the tag team could demand a high price to return to Japan. With New Japan possibly set to lose the Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes to an as yet unconfirmed ‘All Elite’ promotion NJPW could use the starpower.
WWE isn’t the only professional wrestling company ready to make free agency moves. Come next year several top professional wrestling stars’ contracts are due to expire. Several big New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) names are rumored to be WWE-bound.
However, NJPW also reportedly has some interest in a few WWE names. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, NJPW has their eyes on three names in particular. Those being Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and current WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Meltzer said it’s believed all three signed three-year deals with WWE in 2016.
There is currently no news on any of them renewing as of this writing. It’s expected, however, that all three men will stay with WWE. Nakamura is reportedly settled in the United States after moving from Japan when he initially signed. Meltzer did mention there’s some talk of Gallows wanting to return, but nothing has been confirmed. And finally, Anderson is expected to remain stateside as he has a family to care for.
As for NJPW stars possibly coming to WWE, that’s a different story. WWE is rumored to be gearing up to make big moves in 2019. They certainly have the funds, given their recent broadcast deals and the money they’re making from their Saudi Arabia shows.
What do you think about NJPW showing interest in Gallows, Anderson, and Nakamura?
Last night on Smackdown, Samoa Joe was fooled into thinking AJ Styles was at home protecting his wife Wendy. Joe had previously said he was going to visit the Styles family home this week. He then proceeded to cut a promo on Smackdown saying he wouldn’t do that as he’s not a monster.
What Joe had done, according to him, was cause Styles to actually be home with his family on a Tuesday night. Only Styles wasn’t at home. Styles was in Detroit and came out to confront Joe. This then begs the question what if Joe had gone to Styles’ home?
A fan on Twitter pointed out to Karl Anderson that perhaps Styles could use some help from his former Club partners on this one. Anderson explained to the fan why he and Gallows aren’t coming out to help Styles in his feud with Joe.
Most recently, Anderson and Gallows lost a triple threat tag-team match two Smackdowns ago. The Bar won the match and will move on to face Rusev Day for a chance to take on New Day for the Smackdown Tag-Team Championships.
According to a founding member of Bullet Club, WWE’s version of the faction is done. Karl Anderson recently responded to fans on Twitter asking about the stable and his responses indicate there is nothing to talk about.
Despite the faction seemingly being over, Anderson is staying at Balor’s house at the moment. Smackdown is in Orlando tonight and in lieu of staying at a hotel in the area, Anderson is just staying at Balor’s place.
Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and AJ Styles acted as “The Club” when Anderson and Gallows first arrived in the company in 2016. In NJPW, Anderson and Gallows had actually helped Kenny Omega and Bullet Club kick Styles out of the faction on Styles’ last show with the company, however. They seemingly patched things up before Anderson and Gallows arrived in WWE, however.
Then earlier this year, Gallows and Anderson joined Finn Balor, another original Bullet Club member on Raw. Their reunion did not last long, however. Gallows and Anderson were drafted to Smackdown following the Superstar Shakeup not long after WrestleMania.
Since moving to Smackdown, Anderson and Gallows have had two chances to win the tag-team championships. They lost both opportunities to the Bludgeon Brothers. The last time Anderson and Gallows held tag-team gold in WWE was WrestleMania 33. They entered the event as champions but lost the titles to the Hardy Boyz.
Meanwhile in NJPW, original BC members Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale are attempting to bring the faction back to its roots.