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Over the past decade, there have been few wrestling stables that have been as influential, as trendsetting, and as globetrotting as the Bullet Club. A group of vile individuals who have little to no honor as they cheat their way through wrestling matches in New Japan, and around the world. With a group built upon treachery, it has not been uncommon for there to be a bit of power struggle at times at the very top of the pecking order. Since it took form in 2013 The Bullet Club has been led by many people with the count ranging depending on who is asked. The following should aid in remedying the confusion around the history of Bullet Club leadership.
The Foundations Of The Bullet Club
In May of 2013 after spending the last five years being the ace of New Japan’s Junior Heavyweight division, and their top foreign wrestler, Prince Devitt (WWE’s Finn Balor) would decide that he had had enough. After six Junior Tag Team Championships, Best Of The Super Juniors, and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Multiple times, Devitt turned on the man who was with him along the way Ryusuke Taguchi. His tag partner was quickly replaced by his new bouncer, “The Underboss” Bad Luck Fale. Not long after Karl Anderson was added, and the name Bullet Club was first uttered in a post-match interview. Around this time long-time members of the group like Doc Gallows, Tama & The Young Bucks are added.
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Friction between the Young Bucks & Devitt would form after the Bucks would continue to ignore orders from Devitt to, at times, not interfere. This would be one of the first bits of Mutiny within Bullet Club, the first firing squad taking out a leader. With Devitt gone, Karl Anderson and Gallows would take the role of soft second leaders. Around this time AJ Styles had been released from TNA and had just debuted for New Japan, joining the Bullet Club in the process. With Devitt gone, Styles quickly set himself apart from the other stablemates by reaching a much higher level as a single competitor. By the time AJ Styles wins the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, he has established himself as the (third?) leader of the Bullet Club.
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Bullet Club Is 4 Life, Except AJ Styles
The Bullet Club grew in numbers from 2014 to 2015, and in 2015 the new Junior Heavyweight Ace for the BC came in the form of “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega coming in hot off of being the top babyface in DDT for a time. Less than a year after joining Bullet Club it would be Omega, once again with the help of the firing squad Young Bucks, turning on Styles, Gallows, and Anderson who all were headed to WWE. Kenny would then state that the Bullet Club was “Fuh-Fuh-Fuh 4 Life, Except AJ Styles” claiming the thrown as the unofficial fourth leader of the band of hooligans. This is also the formation of “The Elite” seemingly.
It really begins to get blurry through this time. A Civil War of sorts happened between Cody and Kenny. However, Cody isn’t recognized as a leader of the club. Adam Cole was seemingly the leader of the ROH faction of the Bullet Club with Kenny rarely leaving Japan at that time but is not recognized as a Bullet Club Leader. Tama begins to get more of a voice around this time and seems to form a group within BC called the Bullet Club OG's that Tama seems to lead. However, Tama is not recognized as a Bullet Club Leader.
The Switch Blade Era Of The Bullet Club
The end of Kenny’s reign at the helm of Bullet Club was full of dissension, smaller groups within the group, and soft alliances with Kota Ibushi. Tama’s OG Bullet Club would claim to be the true Bullet Club. While Tama was never a leader, he is the man who made the decision to add Gedo & Jay White to the Bullet Club after they turned their backs on Okada & CHAOS. Soon after Gedo & Tama would claim Jay White as the fifth leader of Bullet Club. White would attempt to leave chaos in the rearview, but chaos would continue to follow him as the Civil Wars of Bullet Club's past would re-manifest themselves in EVIL ways. During the pandemic, and while Jay White was not in Japan, EVIL made a big move when he would leave Tetsuya Naito’s LIJ group to join Bullet Club. There was then some insinuation that EVIL may be the new leader, that Evil was creating a new era for the Bullet Club.
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Jay White would return to Japan and insist that it was still his era. Within Bullet Club, Evil would lead a subgroup known as the House of Torture. Jay White would then begin to travel the world in 2021 adding new members like Chris Bey and bringing back originals like the Good Brothers of Anderson & Gallows. These moves would go along with Jay White putting all club members back home in Japan on notice and eventually would oust G.O.D's Tonga Loa & Tama Tanga. White would cap the momentum off with an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship victory over Okada in 2022, cementing the fact that is still currently his era.
