In the realm of professional wrestling, there is only one juggernaut that reigns supreme. The juggernaut in question is none other than WWE. The organization, which was founded in 1952, has grown into a multi-billion dollar wrestling empire that includes movies, real estate, and other ventures.
Vince McMahon, the CEO of WWE, has a net worth of $2.8 billion and has managed to put every single one of his competitors out of business. However, it appears that WWE now has a challenger, and it is a gang of wrestlers known as the Bullet Club, rather than a company.
Bullet Club is a Japanese wrestling stable made up primarily of non-Japanese wrestlers that was founded in 2013. They generally compete for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and, because of a working relationship between NJPW and ROH, also for Ring of Honor (ROH). Bullet Club’s popularity has skyrocketed in their five years of existence, and they have been a headache for WWE. This feud has recently heated up, with lawsuits, invasions, and cease and desist letters.
Bullet Club is one of the most popular wrestling groups. Pinterest is the source of this image.
The rivalry between the WWE and the Bullet Club will be examined in this article, as well as how it has evolved through time.
The Bullet Club’s History and Popularity
Bullet Club debuted in NJPW in 2013, with Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale as founding members. Gaijin (non-Japanese) wrestlers were well-known at the stable. New members joined the stable, including AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Adam Cole, among others.
Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori, two Japanese wrestlers, joined the group. The group is being compared to the former WCW stable nWo, with the group even adopting nWo’s signature “too sweet” hand motion.
The group’s fame soared to new heights in both Japan and the United States. Almost all members of the Bullet Club were given title reigns by NJPW to capitalize on their popularity. Bullet Club once owned all of the active titles in NJPW. Their popularity spilled over into clothing sales, with their bone soldier t-shirt being one of the most popular in retailers. Bullet Club became one of wrestling’s most talked-about groups.
WWE Takes Notice of Growing Popularity?
Bullet Club’s fame expanded exponentially over time. NJPW took advantage of its popularity and began expanding in the United States. In retailers like Pro Wrestling Tees and others, Bullet Club gear was the most popular.
The Bullet Club shirt is the most popular wrestling apparel. Pro Wrestling Tees is the source of this image.
WWE took notice of the Bullet Club’s prominence and began signing members. They signed Bullet Club members Prince Devitt (Fin Balor), AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows, among others (Luke Gallows). The Bullet Club’s popularity, however, was unaffected by this.
WWE applied for a trademark for the “Too Sweet” hand gesture, however, it was eventually dropped. The Bullet Club’s popularity, according to the Young Bucks, caused WWE to do this.
When Hot Topic saw a number of Bullet Club shirts in the crowd at Wrestlemania 33, they asked WWE if they could make the shirt, and WWE had to make the difficult admission that it didn’t belong to them. Bullet Club apparel was subsequently released by Hot Topic in collaboration with NJPW, and it sold over 100,000 copies in just three months.
Cease and Desist, RAW Invasion
The feud between WWE and the Bullet Club escalated when members of the Bullet Club, led by former WWE employee Cody Rhodes, staged a faux invasion on September 25, 2017, right before RAW. WWE was enraged at the stable, especially after they mocked WWE’s inability to sell out arenas and gave out free tickets. Jimmy Jacobs, a WWE writer, was sacked when he took photos with Bullet Club members.
In response, WWE sent Bullet Club, notably The Young Bucks, a cease and desist letter prohibiting them from utilizing the “Too Sweet” hand motion. Despite the fact that the letter was false because they did not own the trademark, The Young Bucks did not contest the allegation because they did not desire a long court battle.
Instead, The Young Bucks issued a cease and desist shirt, which quickly became the most popular t-shirt on several platforms. This upset WWE even more, and it didn’t help that Cody and the others disclosed that many independent wrestlers earn more than the majority of WWE talent.
Cease and Desist shirt by Young Buck Image Source: TeeSpring
MSG Show: All In
This competition reached a new level when Bullet Club members Cody and The Young Bucks, as part of a wager with Dave Meltzer, set out to put on a self-funded wrestling event with 10,000 spectators, something no other promotion had done in the United States in the twenty-first century.
“All In” is the name of the event, which will take place on September 1 at the Sears Centre in Illinois. The event was a huge success because it sold out in less than 30 minutes. WWE attempted to ruin the show by attempting to contract stars who were scheduled to appear in All In, but they were unsuccessful.
NJPW and ROH are seeking to capitalize on the Bullet Club’s popularity by putting on an event at Madison Square Garden (MSG) since WWE is the only promotion to have done so since the 1920s. While WWE attempted to prevent this from happening, it was unsuccessful, as ROH and NJPW jointly confirmed that G1 Supercard will take place on April 6, 2019, at MSG.
With so much going on lately, the conflict between WWE and Bullet Club is certain to continue. While WWE is currently bulletproof due to their global empire, the Bullet Club could pose a serious danger in the near future.
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