WWE RAW: The Club gets a Rebirth with Balor at the Helm

The first RAW of 2018 had its peaks and valleys.  One of the high points of the episode was the rebirth of The Club.  Finn Balor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows finally joined forces after a year of anticipation.

In what was a surprise moment from the first RAW of the new year, Finn Balor would call on his old pals, Gallows and Anderson, for some help.  What may have been just a throw-away on any other episode felt important and exciting here.

This isn’t the first attempt at capturing the Bullet Club magic in the WWE.  In 2016, AJ Styles – another former leader of the Bullet Club – would join Gallows and Anderson to form The Club.  As great as it was at the time, fans deep down always dreamed of a Balor affiliation.

Not to say that the original incarnation of The Club wasn’t good, because it was.  But something about Balor, who has been treated as a pure white meat babyface since his debut, being involved was tantalizing.

Currently, the WWE has five former members of the Bullet Club on the current roster. Balor, Gallows, and Anderson on RAW, AJ Styles on Smackdown Live, and Adam Cole in NXT.  Balor and Anderson are founding members, with Gallows joining soon after.  Styles was a leader of the group for a period, while Cole believed he was a leader (and was a sort of leader in the US while Kenny Omega was the true leader in Japan).

The Club could run the WWE on all levels

Monday night’s reforming of The Club once again opened up so many outside the box possibilities for the future.  With the Royal Rumble looming in the not so distant future, alliances are bound to happen.  The Club could aid Styles in a title defense, in a cross brand angle.  Adam Cole could potentially be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble – or maybe The Club could make their way to NXT to aid The Undisputed Era.

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Much like when they were in Japan as the Bullet Club, when Balor and later Styles led the faction, there’s a different vibe to the group.  It’s the same group of guys with the same mission – run the show – but they all take different routes to the destination.

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It feels as if this version of the group may be taken more seriously than before as Balor has an extra edge.  With Bullet Club ties within every avenue of the WWE, a cross-brand takeover may not be out of the question.  It would be one of the most exciting things the WWE has done in years.  To have a single faction run over all three brands and become dominant would be unique. There’s the possibility of expansion, too – adding Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly would give the group more firepower.

The Club kicked off 2018 with a bang and look to continue their run.  The real business begins on January 28th at the Royal Rumble.  Now that he has two of his best friends watching his back, Balor’s odds in the Rumble just went up – even if it’s every man for himself.  With the ability to grow from within and add more former Bullet Club members, The Club could become the premier group in the WWE.

Next: WWE WrestleMania 34: 5 Possible Women's Singles Matches

The reformation of The Club will also make this summer’s draft/superstar shakeup even more important.  Will either GM mortgage the farm to gain the services of The Club?  If RAW was any indication, 2018 will be an exciting year for wrestling fans.