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May 3rd, 2020 marks the 7-year anniversary of one of the most popular factions to have ever stepped foot into the professional wrestling business, the Bullet Club.
Initially formed by Irish wrestling sensation Prince Devitt aka Finn Balor in 2013, the Bullet Club has established itself as an iconic and revolutionary group throughout the seven years of its existence.
At the NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku 2013 event, Devitt and present Bullet Club OG, Bad Luck Fale was joined by Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga, as the four men announced the inception of an all-gaijin faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Since that day fateful day in Fukuoka, Japan, the Biz Cliz has changed the game forever and throughout the years, we've seen some of the biggest names in the business align themselves with the group.
The Bullet Club has had quite the global presence in the world of pro wrestling and former notable members of the faction are currently a part of the present-day WWE, ROH, and AEW roster, as well.
During the group's seven-year tenure so far, Bullet Club members have had the privilege of holding titles and championships all around the world, specifically in countries like the US, Japan, and Mexico. And having the services of some of the household names in the business, the faction has also had a few world champions in their ranks, over the years.
With that being said, let us take a look back at seven Bullet Club members who have held World Championships with the faction.
Honorable Mention: Robbie Eagles - WSW World Championship
In November of 2018, Robbie Eagles captured his first singles championship under World Series Wrestling, the same promotion which helped him get recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Bullet Club in the first place.
Eagles, who had made quite the impact as a member of the BC, won the WSW World Championship from Austin Aries and as a result, became the only Bullet Club star after The Young Bucks to win a title under the Australia-based promotion.
#7 AJ Styles - RPW British Heavyweight Championship
Following his historic stint with TNA/Impact Wrestling, AJ Styles made his return to the Independent Circuit and simultaneously also made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling as the newest front-runner of the Bullet Club.
While Styles was considered as the "leader" of the faction (despite him repeatedly claiming that he never was), 'The Phenomenal One' did enjoy a quality run on the Independent Circuit, wrestling for promotions such as Chikara, CZW, and even PWG.
However, it was under British promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling where Styles made history, as he became the first Bullet Club Superstar to hold the RPW British Heavyweight Championship when he defeated future Bullet Club member Marty Scurll on 14th June 2015 at RevPro: Summer Sizzler, to win the title.
As the tog dog of RevPro UK, Styles enjoyed a formidable run as the promotion's champion and eventually dropped the title to Zack Sabre Jr. in early 2016 when he made his return to the UK.
In the aftermath of his loss, Styles would tease entering the 2016 Royal Rumble Match (which he eventually did) and within the space of a few days, 'The Phenomenal One' had marked the end of his run as a member of the Bullet Club.
#6 El Terrible - CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
Over the years, New Japan Pro Wrestling has developed a healthy working relationship with Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, commonly known as CMLL.
In November of 2012, one of CMLL's top stars in the form El Terrible teamed up with Bullet Club OG Tama Tonga and won the CMLL World Tag Team Championships from Diamante Azul and Atlantis.
Prior to the formation of his tag team with Tama Tonga though, Terrible won the vacant CMLL World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Rush and marked his first world title win in the Mexican promotion.
Terrible eventually made his way over to NJPW as well and along with Tonga and Rey Bucanero worked under the Bullet Club as a member of the faction. The trio eventually created the Bullet Club Latinoamerica sub-group and was in possession of the CMLL World Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships at the same time.
However, as time gradually progressed, Tama Tonga and Terrible lost the tag titles to Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin 'Thunder' Liger. Terrible's three-year reign as the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion also came to an end in January, as he lost the title to Maximo in what was Terrible's first title defense in fourteen months.
Nonetheless, Terrible's presence marked Bullet Club's first world title reign in Mexico, as well.
#5 Jay White - IWGP Heavyweight Championship
In 2017, Kiwi sensation Jay White made his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling and in his first year back, White aligned himself with the CHAOS faction and had just the one goal in mind, which was to crumble the Bullet Club.
Fast forward to a year later and boy-oh-boy, how times have changed!
Jay White was initially offered a spot in the Bullet Club by Kenny Omega in order to bring peace within the faction after the latter and Cody Rhodes had constant disputes over the leadership reigns of the faction. However, White's goal was to split The Elite away from the faction, which he successfully did after he won the IWGP US Championship from Omega in 2018.
Following The Elite's split from the BC, White turned his back on Kazuchika Okada and CHAOS and along with veterans Gedo and Jado, 'Switchblade' finally jumped ship over to the Bullet Club and joined the faction.
Moving forward, Tama Tonga announced White as the new leader of the faction. Following Hiroshi Tanahashi's historic IWGP Heavyweight title win over Kenny Omega in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13, 'Switchblade' defeated 'The Ace' to surprisingly capture the IWGP Heavyweight title and bring it back to the Bullet Club for the fourth time.
White did go on to lose the title to Okada at the MSG in his first defense but it was a historic win for the Bullet Club leader, nonetheless.
#4 Adam Cole - ROH World Championship
During his time with Ring of Honor, Adam Cole was mostly a heel and was part of The Kingdom, who over the years have had their fair share of issues with the Bullet Club.
However, on May 8, 2016, at ROH: Global Wars, Cole made his return to the promotion and was revealed as the new member of the Bullet Club. He and The Young Bucks took out Jay Lethal and Colt Cabana, while the rest of the Bullet Club closed out the show.
Cole and The Young Bucks went on to form the Superkliq sub-group and at ROH: Death Before Dishonor XIV, 'The Panama City Playboy' ended Jay Lethal's legendary reign as ROH World Champion and became a two-time ROH World Champion.
In doing so, Cole brought the ROH world title to the Bullet Club for the first time before eventually dropping it to the returning Kyle O'Reilly. However, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 at the Tokyo Dome, Cole regained the title and became the first-ever 3-time ROH World Champion in history.
While the Bullet Club also had the likes of Cody and co., Cole also had his fair share of issues with Kenny Omega before eventually being fired by the 'The Best Bout Machine' as Marty Scurll came in as a replacement for the departing Adam Cole.
#3 Cody Rhodes - ROH World Championship
In the aftermath of his WWE departure, Cody Rhodes stunned the world and became the newest member of the Bullet Club. He thus added more star power to a group that already had the likes of Kenny Omega, Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, The Guerillas of Destiny, and Adam Page in their ranks.
Upon his arrival, Cody mostly became a part of the ROH incarnation of the Bullet Club and it wasn't long until the former 'American Nightmare' also thrived and brought gold for the faction.
After an initial unsuccessful attempt at winning the ROH World Championship, at Best in the World, 2017, Cody defeated the veteran Christopher Daniels to win his first world title in professional wrestling.
As Cody signed a multi-year deal with ROH, the 'American Nightmare' also enjoyed quite a successful run with his first world title before eventually dropping it to Dalton Castle and shifting his focus on taking over the Bullet Club's leadership from Kenny Omega.
The ROH World Title wasn't the only championship Cody brought into the BC, as he also captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in yet another emotional win at All In.
#2 Kenny Omega - IWGP Heavyweight Champions
At NJPW New Year's Dash 2016, Kenny Omega surprised everyone around the world when he and the rest of the Bullet Club turned their backs on former leader AJ Styles. With Styles departing for WWE, Omega took over the leadership of the Bullet Club from 'The Phenomenal One' and entered his name into the NJPW Heavyweight Division.
For his first title in the heavyweight division, Omega won the vacant IWGP Intercontinental Championship by defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi but the former always had his eyes on the bigger prize, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
Later that summer, Omega made history when he became the first gaijin Superstar to win the G1 Climax, as 'The Best Bout Machine' set up a dream match against 'The Rainmaker' Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11.
At the event, Omega and Okada wrestled each put up an instant classic, in what was also the longest match in Wrestle Kingdom history. The champ successfully retained his title and thus marked the beginning of one of the all time classic rivalries in NJPW history.
Omega and Okada came across each other three different times with their second collision ending in a time-limit draw at Dominion 6.9, the following year. However, at the 2017 G1 Climax, the then-IWGP United States Champion finally secured a win over 'The Rainmaker'.
This eventually led to the fourth and final match between Omega and Okada which was set for Dominion 6.9, as two of New Japan's top stars were set for a 2-out-of-3 Falls bout. This was probably Omega's last and final chance of winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and this time, the Bullet Club leader made sure that he walked out with the gold.
After a gruesome match which lasted over 70 minutes, Omega won the coveted IWGP Heavyweight title for the first time and became the first Canadian star to win the title, as well. Not only did 'The Best Bout Machine' bring the gold back to the Bullet Club since Styles' departure, he also confirmed that he would be leading the BC from the front, despite the reunion of The Golden Lovers.
#1 AJ Styles - IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Prince Devitt departed from NJPW and ended his reign as the leader of the Bullet Club back in 2014 when he lost a "Loser Leaves Town Match" against former tag team partner Ryusuke Taguchi.
As Devitt prepared for his journey as Finn Balor in WWE, NJPW secured the services of another top gaijin Superstar who made his debut on the same night as the former's departure from Japan.
Enter AJ Styles!
At Invasion Attack, 2014, 'The Phenomenal One' attacked Kazuchika Okada after his match and laid out 'The Rainmaker' with a Styles Clash, only to reveal a Bullet Club t-shirt underneath.
Under his NJPW contract, Styles wrestled his first match at Wrestling Dontaku, 2014 and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first attempt. The win also made Styles the first American to win the title since Brock Lesnar in 2005. After losing the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi in his third defense, the Georgia star was determined to regain his title.
In early 2011, Styles did exactly that when he bested 'The Ace' and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in order to become a two-time champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Throughout Styles' two reigns as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, 'The Phenomenal One' put up some of the most memorable matches and title defenses in NJPW, especially against the likes of Minoru Suzuki and Kota Ibushi.
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