The War Dogs Era of Bullet Club Has Been Great for the Faction
Opinion Article: The Long Running Stable Has Fresh, Young Life Injected Into It
Bullet Club was formed in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in 2013 by Prince Devitt (now known as Finn Balor in the WWE) alongside Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, and Tama Tonga. The faction has seen many membership and leadership changes throughout its 10+ year history. A major changing of the guard took place in the spring of 2023. This change saw David Finlay take over as leader of the faction along with the addition of Alex Coughlin, Clark Conners, Drilla Maloney, and Gabe Kidd to the stable. This group became collectively known as the “War Dogs” and is managed by the veteran Gedo. The largely youth-based stable gave fresh life to Bullet Club following the departure of Jay White as leader as he headed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Let’s examine some different aspects of what the youth restart has done for the legendary stable.
The Youth Resurgence in Bullet Club
Gave Life to a Long-Running Stable
Bullet Club has seen many faces come and go. Many of the members who were focal points of the club were key to the beginning of All Elite Wrestling (The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Adam Page, and Cody Rhodes). Following their departure and the start of AEW, the club was taken over by Jay White. A major sub-group, The House of Torture was also formed that had a much darker tone to it than previous sub factions within the group.
War Dogs is largely comprised of younger wrestlers. Coughlin and Connors completed their “Young Lion” portion of their NJPW careers in 2020 while Kidd finished his in 2023. Moloney came to NJPW with experience in Progress, Revolution, and NXT UK but is still only 26 years old. Finlay being the oldest at age 30 and most experienced with nearly 10 years in an NJPW ring under him is running not only the Club itself but also the War Dogs stable. In addition, Ren Narita who just finished his excursion in 2023 at age 26 has joined the House of Torture portion of Bullet Club.
Overall, the influx of young talent has given a fresh breath of air to the long-running staple that at times, has been heavily comprised of veterans such as The Elite, Guerillas of Destiny, The Good Brothers, etc.
Split the Stable with Two Specific Themes
Bullet Club is mostly split between War Dogs and House of Torture. The two subgroups have two very different feelings for each.
War Dogs feels more like the traditional heel wrestling group that Bullet Club has been known for. They are the type that functions as a unit. If you are in the ring with one member, more are surely hiding and waiting for the best moment to strike with numbers. They come to the ring with a mental advantage as their opponent must keep their heads on a swivel.
House of Torture, on the other hand, has a bit more of a veteran presence to it. Comprised of veterans Dick Togo, Evil, Sho, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi, alongside the younger Ren Narita the group has a much darker and sinister feel to it. While they do have strength in numbers, they also find strength in intimidation of their opponents through their gothic and sinister look.
Both subgroups carry staples of Bullet Club but with their own twist on them. One being heavily youth-focused, the other being extremely sinister.
Current Feud with United Empire
Staples feuding with other stables (or even within the stable itself) is nothing new in wrestling. These feuds taking center stage at major events are also nothing new. The current War Dogs feud with the United Empire, however, has a lot of tension built in.
NJPW rarely has gimmick matches such as ladder, cage, or table matches. These are normally reserved for the biggest moments and most heated rivalries.
On Sunday, February 11th at New Beginning in Osaka, we will see a 10-man tag team steel cage match. The complete team of War Dogs (Moloney, Connors, Coughlin, Kidd, and Finlay) will step into a cage against United Empire (Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE, Jeff Cobb, and Will Ospreay in Ospreay’s final contracted NJPW match).
We have seen Bullet Club in many high-stakes feuds throughout its history. Many main event matches have come from those rivalries. This one, however, will feature the first cage match in NJPW in 20 years. This is also the first cage match to have 10 men locked in it in NJPW history.
To say the War Dogs will make history alongside the United Empire in this match is an understatement. The rivalry became bloody at New Year Dash in Sumida, but this is going to turn things up a notch.
Youth Movement in TNA/AEW
The youth movement in Bullet Club is not limited to the main stable in NJPW. Younger teams have popped up in both Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and AEW.
Ace Austin and Chris Bey, teaming together as ABC are mainstays in the TNA tag division. Ace and Chris ages 26 and 27 respectively are not new to professional wrestling by any means but are younger than many of the veteran Bullet Club members such as Evil, Sho, Togo, Chase Owens, KENTA, Takahashi, etc. The team has expanded the Bullet Club brand to one of the major independent promotions in the United States.
On the AEW side of things, former leader of Bullet Club Jay White has teamed with Juice Robinson to recruit Austin and Colten Gunn to form Bullet Club Gold. Both Austin and Colten started their careers in the past 4-5 years with Ring of Honor and AEW. This again expanded the Bullet Club's reach formally to AEW.
The War Dogs are leading a youth movement in one of the most recognizable stables in NJPW history. This has given a breath of fresh air to Bullet Club, which has crossed into other promotions across the world.
How do you feel about the youth movement in Bullet Club? Sound off in the comments.