You Should Like NJPW Vol. 2 - Bullet Club

You've heard of Bullet Club. You've seen the t-shirts. You know what the Too Sweet is. You know who Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Cody Rhodes, and probably The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and/or Adam Cole are. If your twitter timeline is any indication, Bullet Club is probably the coolest, hottest, most important act in New Japan Pro Wrestling! That's not exactly the case anymore. However, the Bullet Club seems like a good place to start, thanks to its name recognition among even the most casual wrestling fans on twitter. I think I'm going to try and separate the members of the Bullet Club in tiers, based on importance within the group and within the company, along with a brief breakdown of the character and history of each individual wrestler. Some will be longer than others, mostly because not everyone in Bullet Club is important. At all.

Bullet Club began in early 2013, when Finn Balor, then known as Prince Devitt formed a group of bad guys along with "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale, and Tama Tonga. Anderson and Balor left the group when they signed to WWE, as did later members AJ Styles and Luke Gallows. Nowadays, the Bullet Club is sporting eleven members, mostly separated into different sectors of Bullet Club. They are far from a cohesive unit, with only the logo and theme music holding them together as a faction. The really important sector is The Elite, consisting only of The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. So to start, we'll go with the bottom of the food chain.

Tier 1 - Random Tag Matches

Chase Owens 

I often forget that he's a member of Bullet Club. He might pop up once in a while in one of the seven hundred thousand randomly thrown together undercard tag matches that you'll watch across a year of New Japan programming. He will probably get pinned in that match. He's not a bad wrestler, he's just kind of irrelevant at this time in the grand scheme of the stable and the company.

Yujiro Takahashi

He's the second best wrestler in NJPW with the last name Takahashi. His character is that he's a pimp, which makes for a very cool entrance. And then the bell rings. I personally find his matches bland, which is why he always finds himself buried in multi-man tag matches to open the show. He's fine at his limited role, but it's hard to see him elevating past where he is now.

Hangman Page

He's slightly higher up in the rankings than Takahashi and Owens, but still hasn't found himself featured in many significant singles matches in NJPW to this point. He frequently works with Ring of Honor, where he gets more of a featured role. He'll find himself teaming with Cody in New Japan from time to time, indicating that he's slightly higher on the food chain and not quite bottom of the barrel. I could see him getting a bit more shine in the months to come.

Tier 2 - Pretty Important

Bad Luck Fale 

He's one of four original members and a human mountain. He's a Tongan ex-rugby player that mostly just wrestles in tag matches and throws people around. However, he recently made it to the finals of the annual New Japan Cup, albeit in a losing effort to Katsuyori Shibata. Fale is relevant when New Japan decides he's relevant. Otherwise, he's an intimidating guy that beats up on lowercard wrestlers. You've probably seen pictures of Finn Balor riding on his shoulders. Also, his nickname is THE UNDERBOSS. I felt like mentioning that because it rules.

Guerrillas of Destiny 

Former IWGP Tag Team Champions, Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa, formerly known as Camacho in WWE. Tama Tonga is the Tongan guy with the beard and cool facepaint that you've seen on your timeline. Since Roa found his way to New Japan, G.O.D have been consistently in the tag team title scene, but the heavyweight tag division in New Japan as a whole is weak at the moment, and therefore they find themselves in this part of the list. They're fine as a tag team. Their matches feature a lot of very audible swearing. Tama Tonga looks awesome. That's pretty much all I can say about Guerrillas of Destiny, to be honest. There's not a whole lot there.

Adam Cole

Former multi-time Ring of Honor World Champion, frequent PWG wrestler, and someone who has been rumored to be on his way to NXT on multiple occasions. There's a very good chance you've seen at least something that Adam Cole has done in a wrestling ring. Currently, he mostly works uppercard tag matches with The Young Bucks and/or Kenny Omega. He's a good enough wrestler to be where he is, and his matches become more entertaining through the personality that he shows with his actions and dialogue in the ring. It's really, really fun to chant ADAM COLE BAYBAY along with him.

Cody 

The artist formerly known as Cody Rhodes, also formerly known as Stardust. Since Cody left WWE he's been a polarizing figure, but it's clear that NJPW sees something in him, as he's found himself in important spots since he stepped foot in the company. He's a very strange and somewhat random fit in Bullet Club, but he's there nonetheless, and he works a style that is slowly adapting itself to what people look for in a typical NJPW match. Expect Cody to pick up some steam throughout the rest of the year. 

Tier 3 - Big Deals

The Young Bucks 

You know who they are. You're familiar with the Superkick Party, and you've heard about how great they are from almost everybody that has ever watched an indie show. Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson, who are, contrary to popular belief, not twins, make up the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Their act is more popular elsewhere in the world than it is in New Japan, but you'll see them pop up in so many different parts of a typical New Japan show that it's hard not to elevate them above the second tier of Bullet Club. They're in Japan less than some of the other members of Bullet Club, but they always find themselves in a semi-important role, and are the centerpieces of the Junior Heavyweight Tag Division.

Tier 4 - The Leader

Kenny Omega 

I'm not even sure if I have to really explain this. "The Cleaner" Kenny Omega is not only the leader of Bullet Club, but one of the main faces of New Japan as it expands globally, especially in North America. Kenny is coming off a losing effort in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11 against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, in what was dubbed by many to be the greatest wrestling match of all time. I'm not here to debate that. Omega is a tremendous performer, easily one of the best in the world. His matches are great, he looks amazing, he has the best finisher, and he's incredibly weird. Which is awesome. If you do decide to dive into the world of New Japan, be prepared for a heavy dose of Kenny Omega, and for good reason.