The new Bullet Club is obnoxious and it hurts to watch

‘The Bullet Club is fine’ was a staple line when talking about the group’s future, but are they really?

The Bullet Club has been fronted by many outstanding wrestlers: AJ Styles, Finn Baylor, Jay White, and Jeff Jarrett. The presence of the Bullet Club in NJPW, Impact, or AEW means one thing: heel tactics and shenanigans that prove they are the baddest boys in wrestling.

David Finlay is amping up the new Bullet Club. After he got Jay White “banned” from Japan (I don’t know how you do that in a wrestling match) he took over as the new leader. The result was his decision that the Bullet Club would be even more vicious. On Impact and AEW the Bullet Club acts like the old stable, but in Japan it is bizarre.

Watch any recent NJPW show and you will see one of two Bullet Club matches. Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney as a tag team or Alex Coughlin and Gabriel Kidd. Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin were young lions in the NJPW Strong program back in 2022. This is their first big push in the main roster.

My first exposure to Clark and Drilla tag teaming was shocking. Both men dropped more F-bombs than a whole ECW taping. Part of the match was spent just swearing out their opponents. Another part of the match was getting frustrated and throwing barricades and chairs like a child having a tantrum. Some of the chairs got dangerously close to the audience. Clark Connors ended up losing the match so he spit on the lens of the camera and knocked over some barricades.

I thought to myself, that must be a gimmick for them, but sure enough, Gabriel Kidd and Alex Coughlin came out and did the exact same thing. Cussing out the opponents with several F-bombs, throwing chairs and barricades, threatening to hurt the audience, and all sorts of obnoxiousness.

I understand that heels need to make the audience cheer for the good guys. TJP and Akira Francesco ( The United Empire) are currently feuding with the Bullet Club and the audience has no problem getting behind the baby faces. The problem is that the Bullet Club’s performance went from a frat party of cheaters to an insane posse of senseless inanity. This behavior is mostly from the English-speaking wrestlers so I am wondering what the connection is with speaking English and taking on such a vicious persona.

Then again, I notice the NJPW Strong audiences (NJPW’s American show) have turned into a ruthless ECW crowd. Fans will chant “F****em up” or “F*** you” to the heels louder than any other chant. Is NJPW equating American audiences with raucous adults? Is that the best way to market it to us?

New Japan is not an M-rated show for those who love blood, barbed wire, and lewd behavior. Usually, the fan who loves the intricate details of Japanese strong style is the core demographic. I can understand that New Japan and AEW want to separate themselves from the kiddie era of WWE, but this is too much.

There are two kinds of heels in pro wrestling. There is the kind of heel that you love to hate, but are entertained by their antics (MJF). Then there is the heel that is so sour to the taste that you hope they never step in front of a camera again. New Japan’s Bullet Club seems to be heading toward the latter.