Bullet Club
In 2013 Prince Devitt founded what would eventually become one of the most popular entities in professional wrestling this entire decade that is, of course, the Bullet Club! As the years go by, the popularity of the faction just grew and some would argue they were bigger than the organization itself, very reminiscent of the nWo.
AJ Styles’ leadership was at their peak in terms of success, with Kenny Omega and The Elite though would gain them notoriety in the monetary department but now a new era for the Bullet Club is upon us. The Cut Throat Era led by the Switchblade.
BC has seen many variations in its short existence but it’s been a while since they truly felt like what the original foundation was all about. The Outsiders of the roster not wanting to deal with the politics and just generally being assholes. Suzuki-Gun are the proper villains whereas BC are more on the “edgy” side of things, where they can still be cool despite being bad. Although with its present incarnation, I’m not so sure as I haven’t seen a man be as hated by many in a while in Jay White.
Members:
Jay White – The leader since betraying CHAOS on October 2018 and became Gedo’s new protege. In my opinion, there is no greater heel in pro wrestling today than Jay White. He’s just a purely detestable villain which makes him so compelling to watch.
Gedo & Jado – Long time tag-team partners and were originally from CHAOS. They have since betrayed their former friends and allied themselves with what was once the rival faction.
Bad Luck Fale – The Underboss now the Rogue General. One of the original founding members with Devitt.
Tama Tonga – Also an OG BC. While Jay White is the official leader, Tama is more-like the honorary leader, especially on the Tongan side of things. Having recruited many new members ever since The Elite and the Firing Squad split.
Tanga Loa – 1/2 of Guerrillas of Destiny with his brother Tama. Been a member since 2016 after leaving the WWE.
Yujiro Takahashi – Member since 2014 and the very first Japanese wrestler to join BC after betraying CHAOS as well.
Chase Owens – Honorary Tongan since 2015.
Taiji Ishimori – Became the new and improved Bone Soldier. Originally from Pro Wrestling NOAH, Ishimori quickly became one of the top wrestlers of the junior heavyweights since joining BC.
El Phantasmo – Earlier this year vignettes of Phantasmo have been shown and finally made his debut at this year’s BOSJ.
Hikuleo – GoD’s big little brother. Debuting in 2017, currently having his excursion in RevPro.
KENTA – The latest addition to Bullet Club. Ever since coming to New Japan, KENTA was always treated as an outsider because of his roots in NOAH so he betrayed the fans and his best friend Shibata to join BC.
King Haku – An honorary member, if his sons are a part of the group, of course, he automatically is.
Gino Gambino – “Mr. Juicy” representing BC in Australia (MCW) since 2017, personally recruited by his friend Fale.
Los Ingobernables de Japon
After being resented by the fans as the Stardust Genius, Tetsuya Naito would go on to have another excursion in Mexico. There he found CMLL’s Los Ingobernables faction led by La Sombra (now known as Andrade), Rush, and La Mascara. Translated to The Ungovernable, their belief is that they won’t be led by the machine and start pushing their own rules. Naito would return to New Japan with this new mindset and ironically instead of being hated, the fans became fonder of him and would become arguably the most popular wrestler in the roster today, rivaling only Tanahashi.
Unlike other factions though, LIJ is more like a true brotherhood. They’re not after the large numbers but are just there to help each other out and motivate each member’s goals. Challenge one another to reach the top and become even better. It’s honestly why I’m such a big fan of them, it all feels natural. Healthy competition within the group itself. They were originally heels but nowadays would fall more onto the “gray area” where they aren’t really villains nor heroes neither, maybe anti-heroes would be the better term or tweeners.
Members:
Tetsuya Naito – Founding member and leader.
BUSHI – The second to join in, originally from All Japan but would join Naito as soon as he officially created LIJ.
EVIL – Also another founding member, after his excursion in the States, he donned the EVIL persona which was initially odd but is now one of the top prospects in the heavyweight scene.
SANADA – Disciple of the great Keiji Mutoh, SANADA joined in 2016 helping Naito in capturing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time, defeating Kazuchika Okada.
Hiromu Takahashi – After his excursion from Mexico, the former Kamaitachi joined the ranks of LIJ and quickly rose to fame as one of the top stars of the junior heavyweight division. He is currently injured though so hoping to see Hiromu as soon as he’s cleared up.
Shingo Takagi – One of the greatest ever in Dragon Gate history, Shingo had a long history with Naito and eventually became the newest member of LIJ since October of last year after weeks of hyping up a pareja.
Seki-Gun
Basically, all other unaffiliated wrestlers fall under the “Seki-Gun” category and some of them are divided into other sub-groups, depending on the situations. Recently however due to the act of Switchblade and the rest of Bullet Club, some members of Seki-Gun and CHAOS would team up against the common enemy, which is historic in itself.
Being the most popular wrestler in Japan, “The Ace of the Universe” Hiroshi Tanahashi is the unofficial leader of Seki-Gun.
Kota Ibushi isn’t really allied with anyone is more often than not an independent wrestler. Especially after Kenny left, he sparingly tags with the other wrestlers here but does not associate himself with anyone officially.
Taguchi Japan is more of a brand rather than an official stable where members go in and out. Led of course by the coach himself, Ryusuke Taguchi. Members would rotate through the years but guys like Juice Robinson, David Finlay, and Toa Henare would often join in.
Members of the Third Generation, the top stars of the 2000s or affectionately called “New Japan Dads” are the veterans of the roster and would often team up with each other. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroshi Tenzan. All of whom are former IWGP Heavyweight Champions.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Tiger Mask IV are the veterans of the junior heavyweight division. Not really affiliated with anyone else and would also team up with the aforementioned wrestlers in multi-men tags.
Whatever is left of GBH, Togi Makabe and the only member who didn’t betray him: Tomoaki Honma is now under Seki-Gun. In fact, the reigning NEVER Openweight 6 man tag-team champions are collectively from different groups: Makabe (GBH), Taguchi (Taguchi Japan), and Yano (CHAOS.)
Other groups:
Young Lions – Not really an official stable, it’s just the term used for the trainees both in the New Japan Dojo and the LA Dojo.
Wrestlers from partner promotions – ROH, CMLL, and RevPro whenever they tour with New Japan.
Free Agents – Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.
