This week’s episode of Raw ended with a big angle involving the OC, the Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Ricochet and for the surprise of many, Braun Strowman.

The main event of the show saw Seth Rollins going one on one against the United States Champion AJ Styles with the Club on Styles’ side.

As expected, the duo of Gallows and Anderson got involved in this match and this interference allowed Seth Rollin to pick up a disqualification win over The Phenomenal One.

The club then unleashed a beatdown on Rollins. The show ended with Ricochet and Strowman making the save and clearing the ring.

However, the action didn’t end there for the live crowd and these two teams faced each other in a big 6 man tag team match after the show went off air.

This match was won by the team of the Architect, The One And Only and The Monster Among Men and the faces celebrated in the ring afterward to send the crowd home happy.

Before the main event segment, it looked like AJ Styles will be feuding with Seth Rollins over the Universal Championship in near future.

However, Styles has now issued a challenge to Strowman for next week and it’s possible that AJ starts a rivalry with the former Wyatt Family member after the show.

Current WWE United States Champion AJ Styles has shared the methods he uses in helping younger talent to grow and improve in the ring.

In an interview with Sporting News, Styles, who has over 20 years worth of in-ring experience, commented on his feedback style when approaching and guiding Superstars. He also discussed the reformation of The Club—now known as The O.C.— with his Good Brothers, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

Phenomenal Feedback

When it comes to feedback, Styles likes to hone his observations to one or two key things, rather than overloading the Superstars he is trying to help.

“If you just give them one or two things and, most importantly, encourage them and make sure they know all that they’re doing right too—you can’t just blast them in the face with negativity. Build them up, let them know what you think, what your opinion is—it’s not a fact—of how they can get better and give them the opportunity to work on it the next time. That’s how I got better. I didn’t learn it all at once.”

Turning his attention towards the reformation of The O.C., Styles confessed it was something he had been actively lobbying for:

“I’ve been seeking that for a while now,” Styles admitted. “It’s just one of those things where I know how talented these guys are and the chemistry we have together. It’s unbelievable. That’s why we did so well in Japan because you have six guys—more than that, by the time I was out of there that enjoyed being together. We hung out. We’re actually friends and to this very day we hang out. We don’t have to ride with each other, but we do. We enjoy being together. You can’t teach chemistry and to have us together again, man, it’s awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”

Missing Member

With The O.C. having reformed, people have pointed to one member of the original Japanese crew that has yet to join them in WWE: Finn Balor.

AJ hoped that it wouldn’t be out of the question that Balor might eventually join them in WWE’s version of Bullet Club. When asked if he would like to have Balor join, Styles replied:

“Of course, but with Finn Balor being on “SmackDown” and we’re on “Raw” and on top of that, he’s a babyface. We’re not exactly likable right now. Maybe that’s not something that’s going to work. There’s a time and a place, and, hopefully, that will work out in the end.”

Last night on WWE RAW, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson triple-teamed Ricochet following the main event. The United States champion had just defeated Styles to retain his title but the Club would end the show standing tall.

It now appears after a few weeks of teasing it would happen, AJ Styles has turned heel and once again joined forces with Gallows and Anderson. Following RAW last night, Styles took to his Mixer Live account to explain why he did what he did.

“So, it is what it is,” Styles said. “Some of you may have not liked it. Some of you may have absolutely loved it. And here’s the one thing that I know. There’s not a lot of people in this world that you can trust. But I do trust my family.”

“And here’s why. I feel like AJ Styles was stuck in this, ‘I’m going to smile all the time, I’m going to be the nicest guy in the room even when I don’t feel like it, when I’m tired. He’s going to be this guy’ [mode]. I felt like I was in prison. And I just broke out.”

Styles would continue to talk about his character doing a 180. “… but the character? Oh man, the guy you see on Raw has done a 180,” he said. “The guy on Raw, the AJ Styles that’s now in The Club, I’m just letting you guys know I’m taking over. That’s what’s going to happen. That AJ Styles isn’t going to put up with any crap. He’s going to be the guy that drops dudes on their face with a Styles Clash or rocks with a Phenomenal Forearm or crushes their calf. That’s the kind of thing I do. I’m not going to change how I wrestle, I’ve always wrestled aggressive. So that will never change.”

For a full recap of everything that went down on Monday’s (eventful) episode of Raw, check out our 7 Takeaways From WWE RAW (7/1).

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

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.

Finn Balor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows recently reformed The Balor Club in WWE.  As one of the leading groups in NJPW, The [Balor] Club will be looking to dominate the RAW locker room, in the same way that The Shield has done in the past.

While The Balor Club already houses a formidable offense, another WWE superstar wants to join and expand the reunion, creating what could be the most lethal group in WWE.

In an interview with IGN News, AJ Styles has described his admiration towards the newly reformed group on RAW.

Styles explained that the combination of Balor, Anderson and Gallows is special and unique because they were the three original founders of The Club back in NJPW.  Even though AJ Styles got the chance to part of The Club in WWE when he first arrived, he expressed a desire and interest to be part of something even more special with Finn Balor.

Unfortunately, AJ Styles added in some realism into the interview as he explained that nothing is in the pipe-line at the moment with him on SmackDown Live and The Balor Club on RAW.  However he is also very optimistic about making something happen in the future.

Opinion/Discussion:

Does the use of The Club in WWE cross too many boundaries between companies?  Or perhaps it’s perfect for NJPW who would welcome US fans that want to find out more?

– Gallows and Anderson both were advertised for weekend’s Starrcade event but they surprisingly didn’t appear on the show, which left people speculating. Though according to F4Wonline, the duo was simply pulled from it to work on the Raw Brand Live Event from Nashville.

– Speaking of Starrcade, we noted before how Goldust used his ‘Natural’ Dustin Rhodes gimmick during the show and defeated Dash Wilder in a match.

After the event, his brother Cody commented on Dustin’s performance via the following tweet, saying that he has had a Hall Of Fame worthy career:

Pro-wrestling is real.

Dustin's journey is a triumphant one. Dream liked to say it's not about tonight but it's about "your body of work"…and Dustin/Goldust has had a HOF career. I'll always have his back. https://t.co/cGoSgyvme4

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) November 26, 2017

You can check out the complete Starrcade result here

With SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles stepping in tonight (Sun. October 22, 2017) against Finn Balor at the WWE’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV), there have been rumors going around that The Club could use this opportunity for a reunion. Karl Anderson took to Twitter to respond to a fan’s question about a possible reunion, saying he will be enjoying the PPV from Green Bay on the WWE Network like everyone else:

https://twitter.com/TheBrianSison/status/921936985052155904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ringsidenews.com%2F2017%2F10%2F22%2Fkarl-anderson-shoots-speculation-club-reuniting-wwe-tlc%2F

Will watch on the @WWENetwork from Green Bay and enjoy like everyone else…..#AJvsFinn https://t.co/gjJJCaizXi

— The Machine Gun (@MachineGunKA) October 22, 2017

Finn Balor has made another cryptic statement regarding a possible Club reunion on Raw. Balor and Karl Anderson were 2 of the 4 original members of the Bullet Club stable in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

He posted the following to Instagram last night:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFg8oUBF66/

Bullet Club in WWE

With Finn Balor health, and Anderson & Gallows still on Raw, many are speculating a Club reunion could take place soon on Monday nights. Originally it was believed that Styles would move to Raw, or that Anderson and Gallows would move to Tuesday nights. Neither of those two scenarios came to pass during the Superstar Shakeup however.

Bullet Club was created during Finn Balor and Karl Anderson’s heel turns in 2013. Balor was the faction’s most visible member until he left NJPW for NXT in 2014. AJ Styles then replaced Balor in the faction until he too left NJPW for WWE in early 2016. Anderson and Gallows followed Styles later in the year.

WWE Possibly Reuniting The Club, Changing the Women’s Division

WWE will be having a Superstar Shake-Up next week. PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE is currently considering the idea of moving AJ Styles to Raw so that he could reunite with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. It has also been suggested that Gallows and Anderson move over to Smackdown and having The Club reunite on the Blue Brand.

On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer speculated that Alexa Bliss and Charlotte may switch brands during next week’s Superstar Shake-Up. PWInsider is reporting that was an actual pitch made last week. Sasha Banks has also been rumored to switch from Raw to Smackdown.

Corey Graves Did Not Know The Hardys Were Returning To WWE

WWE tried their best to keep the Hardys return a secret at Wrestlemania 33. Corey Graves was asked by a fan on Twitter to describe his reaction when he found out the Hardys were coming back to WWE. Graves responded with the following:

You heard it live. I found out when all of you did. https://t.co/FfPaq1aelh

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) April 6, 2017

• The Hardys Return To WWE, Win RAW Tag Team Titles

– Mark Henry will be WWE’s Ambassador for the Summer Olympics in Rio this month. The games kick off later this week and Henry will be there, as revealed on last night’s RAW.

– Randy Orton tweeted the following after his surprise RKO outta nowhere on Brock Lesnar at the end of last night’s RAW in Atlanta:

It's not just a t-shirt Brock… #RKOOuttaNowhere #RandyOnRaw

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) August 2, 2016

Meanwhile, check out this fan footage of Randy Orton coming out from under the ring last night on RAW to attack Lesnar.

I tried to tell you he was down there @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/Bbd9KcAltx

— The Captain (@thecaptainrowe) August 2, 2016

– This backstage video from last night’s RAW features Anderson and Gallows ragging on The New Day after their latest attack on the WWE Tag Team Champions. Gallows makes a case for not being able to take the champs seriously, saying The Club will continue to win titles, make money and beat people up. Anderson teased another “too sweet” beatdown next week.

– In light of last week’s WWE Draft and the new Brand Extension, there’s been renewed talk of utilizing more ‘enhancement’ talent on television. Splitting the roster will allow more Superstars to be featured in prominent positions, but it also means 50/50 booking can devalue talent out twice as fast. Any drawbacks from using enhancement talent (ie. fans getting adjusted to seeing fewer marquee) would be outweighed by the benefits.

– Despite AJ Styles being drafted to SmackDown while Anderson & Gallows being part of the RAW brand, The Club is still very much together. Karl Anderson and AJ Styles tweeted this week:

Not sad at all.
When we came to @Wwe we said we were taking it over. #TheClub is on #raw #TheClub is on #Smackdown.
Simple..

— The Machine Gun (@MachineGunKA) July 20, 2016

Ha! Some may think The Club has split up. We've expanded, no one is safe! pic.twitter.com/EzRHXHYgr0

— AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) July 21, 2016

– John Cena will appear on NBC variety show “Maya and Marty” show tonight at 10 EST.

– In the video below, former WWE star Zach Gowen runs the American Ninja Warrior course from last night’s Indianapolis Qualifier episode:

– This RAW Fallout video from New Orleans features Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson talking about adding more gold to their collection at Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank PPV.

– We noted over the weekend Cody Rhodes indicated on Twitter that he would be appearing at EVOLVE 66 in Joppa, MD. WWN Live issued the following on the appearance this weekend:

“The big news is that Cody Rhodes is coming to EVOLVE! Cody Rhodes will wrestle in singles competition at EVOLVE 66 on August 19th in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena. This will be Cody’s first post-WWE match so it will be a very special night in the Baltimore area! In addition, Cody will be available for pictures and autographs. Rhodes has asked to wrestle a top talent. We are working out the details now and will have more info next week. Get your tickets now while great ringside seats remain! This event will be broadcast at www.WWNLive.com on live iPPV.”

– As seen below, Dean Ambrose’s latest Make-A-Wish meeting came at last Monday’s RAW in Green Bay:

#WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose grants Devon's wish before #RAW in Green Bay!
PHOTOS: https://t.co/Jnvh2XsfIf pic.twitter.com/EwERM0NIfg

— WWE Community (@WWECommunity) June 2, 2016

– WWE looks at The Club attacking John Cena in this video package:

WWE has announced announced the first match for tonight’s RAW. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson of The Club will square off against The Usos. AJ Styles and Roman Reigns will be in their teams’ respective corners. WWE.com‘s updated RAW preview reads:

Technically, The Club hasn’t won a match yet. But technically, that doesn’t matter since Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson demolished The Usos on both Raw and SmackDown, while AJ Styles held WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns to a draw in a standoff over a steel chair.

The rivalry progresses this week when The Usos battle Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, but with Extreme Rules approaching fast, Reigns and his family are in need of a dominant display to keep the momentum in The Big Dog’s camp. With The Club firing on all cylinders, doing so is now easier said than done.

WWE typically announces several RAW matches in the hours leading up to the show, so stay tuned.