It is
exactly one year after the debut of AJ Styles in New Japan Pro Wrestling and
once again, Wrestling Dontaku has become the breaking ground for yet another
Bullet Club revolution that would prove to be a major turning point for the
dominating group.
At Wrestling
Dontaku 2014, AJ Style defeats Okaka to become the new IWGP Heavyweight
Champion; subsequently, the once long standing adversary of the Bullet Club,
Yujiro Takahashi betrays his fellow Chaos stablemate, Okada and joins the
becomes the newest member of the Bullet Club.
This act of betrayal was unprecedented at the time as Takahashi becomes
the first Japanese member of the group, once thought to be an “all-gaijin”
stable or all foreigner stable. To have
Takahashi join the group was a slap in the face of the not only his former
Japanese stable, Chaos but the Japanese people.
But Takahashi would not be the last person to join the Bullet Club.
On November 8, 2014,
a young charismatic Kenny Omega would debut in NJPW as the newest member of the
Bullet Club; two months later he would defeat Ryusuke Taguchi to become the new
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Now
that Kenny Omega has gold around his waist, he has a target on his back and
begins a yearlong rivalry with Kushida.
During their rivalry, the title would change hands between the
two men and their feud would ultimately culminate at Wrestle Kingdom 10.
The first
time the title would change hands is on July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall
where Omega would drop the title to Kushida.
2 months
after his first unsuccessful title defense against Kushida, Kenny Omega finds
retribution by defeating Kushida to become a two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight
Champion. This victory would cement
Omega’s claim that he is “The Cleaner” of the Junior Heavyweight division and
would enter Wrestle Kingdom 10 as the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Side Note: 2 Years after their infamous debut, the Bullet Club is making
history yet again at Wrestlng Dontaku 2015; Amber Gallows (wife of Doc Gallows)
is the only female member of the Bullet Club and becomes one of the first women
to participate in a NJPW match in 12 years.
The match would be a six-person inter-gender tag team match between the
Bullet Club (Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Amber Gallows) versus The Kingdom
(Matt Taven, Michael Bennet and Maria Kanellis). They were ultimately defeated by the Kingdom.
One notable
member of the Bullet Club is Cody Hall, son of wresting legend and founding
member of the notorious New World Order or simply NWO. Hall along with the Young Bucks would play a
pivotal role in the success and continuous shaping of the Bullet Club by the
end of Wrestle Kingdom 10.
Since their
undeniably dominant debut back in 2013, the Bullet Club has been a wrecking
ball of wrestling talent that solidified the group’s status as a major player
in the industry. Though it has seen old leaders
fall and new leaders rise, the group as a whole as managed to stand the test of
time. The “Elite” look to start off 2016
the same way they began their illustrious careers, as an unstoppable force that
through change, will evolve and through evolution, will dominate.
Written By: Brian Adam Compton for Wrestling Goons Radio ©
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