Bullet Club was once at a point where they took over the wrestling world, leading to even Vince McMahon asking about the sensational faction.
The group, originated by Finn Balor, was once so popular that you couldn’t attend a wrestling show without seeing a Bullet Club t-shirt. This was especially the case at WWE events, leading to then-boss Vince McMahon allegedly asking about the supergroup.
As Matt Hardy revealed on his podcast – aptly titled The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy – the former ECW Champion indicated that Vince seemed both intrigued and intimidated by the power the group held over the wrestling world:
“When this Bullet Club phenomenon was happening, and they were selling all this merch, I mean, obviously, it was on Vince’s radar. There was one point where Vince said, ‘All these shirts, they keep showing up at our shows, these Bullet Club shirts, who are these people? Who are these people? Where are they from?’ ‘It’s this real hot act. They’re from New Japan; sometimes they come over and do Ring of Honor stuff,’ and Vince said, ‘I want them. I want them all’.”…He got a lot of the Bullet Club, but he didn’t get them all.”
Bullet Club was born at the 2013 Wrestling Dontaku when the then-Prince Devitt was joined by Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale. Throughout the group’s near-decade history, several top indie stars have joined the group, with Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Adam Cole being ex-members.
With Vince McMahon’s proclamation that he wanted all of Bullet Club under WWE contract, he has been successful with certain talent. Adam Cole and The Good Brothers have come and left the company, while Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, and Finn Balor remain with WWE.
At the time of writing, the group appears predominantly in NJPW, AEW, and IMPACT Wrestling, with IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White serving as the leader. Several new members have joined this year alone, including Juice Robinson, IMPACT’s Ace Austin, and the returning Good Brothers.