Bullet Club: homage or rip off?

[¡Tranquilo!]

The recent cease and desist WWE has put out on the Young Bucks got me to thinking about what the bullet club has become. In 2013 they were an actual heel faction with actual heel heat and what made them unique is that they were (at that time) all gaijin wrestlers. There were small hints of 90's factions during the Devitt era. The 'two sweet' hand gesture used by the NWO/Kliq was a thing before the Bucks but it didn't define the group. 2014-'16, AJ Styles' run as Bullet Club ace and the faction started garnering a lot of interest because of it. The Bullet Club was still it's own thing, they had back stabbed their former leader in typical 90's faction fashion which worked the that time and worked again when they did it to Styles in 2016. Now we have a Bullet Club that has departed from the original vision. They went from a cool rag-tag group of gaijins wanting to take over the company with brute force to a organized, less threatening platform for more popular stars mostly from the American indies to work on. They've pushed aside the core members that made the group interesting in favor of bigger American names.

The reason I put this in the American Indies section is because that's kinda the source of the current problem. The Young Bucks...they're a great tag team and really fun to watch...but they're not original. They've taken DX's entire shtick and made it synonymous with Bullet Club. Whether it was done in an ironic sort've mocking way to pay homage to DX's own rebellious nature or just a way to spite WWE by making money of their IP's we don't know and it's what we are here to discuss. Have the bullet club become a rip-off? Have the bullet club always be rip offs or are they just a not-so-subtle homage to 90's wrestling factions? lets discuss.

 

[Stopspot]

They became rip-offs soon after the Bucks joined

 

[RedDwarfTechy]

I think it started off as an homage and became a marketing machine for the most part. I know there may be some BC fans here but to me this group is as tedious and stale as a group can get. It reminds me of the NWO that got too big and then there were different kinds of World Orders. It went from a group of friends that stuck together to a franchise that is all about selling tshirts and superkicks.

There's nothing wrong with that, I mean I find them truly exhausting to watch (I like Kenny, rest are meh at best) but they obviously have tons of fans that can't get enough of them, but its hardly a homage anymore.

 

[Pop Tatari]

Still amazed at how bucks made it big should of been rick Knox. He made them.

 

[¡Tranquilo!]

I think it started off as an homage and became a marketing machine for the most part. I know there may be some BC fans here but to me this group is as tedious and stale as a group can get. It reminds me of the NWO that got too big and then there were different kinds of World Orders. It went from a group of friends that stuck together to a franchise that is all about selling tshirts and superkicks.

There's nothing wrong with that, I mean I find them truly exhausting to watch (I like Kenny, rest are meh at best) but they obviously have tons of fans that can't get enough of them, but its hardly a homage anymore.

That's my point though, they're going almost the same Direction the NWO went. It's too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence someone has to be booking this.

 

[RedDwarfTechy]

That's my point though, they're going almost the same Direction the NWO went. It's too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence someone has to be booking this.

Vince Russo....

 

[¡Tranquilo!]

Vince Russo....

Yeah...yeah makes all the sense. I was thinking Gedo...but I don't think he could get this meta.

 

[RedDwarfTechy]

Yeah...yeah makes all the sense. I was thinking Gedo...but I don't think he could get this meta.

His booking is also a lot more enjoyable.

 

[Stopspot]

The ones I feel bad for are the remaining BC members from the original lineup. Fale and Tama Tonga (Yujiro counts as well since he is clearly on that side of the entire divide).

Fale was the fucking second member in the original lineup and now he's basically just the stooge. Much respect for the big man

 

[Snowman1]

Jus subbing for replies. I don't watch New Japan as much as I'd like, but outside of the main event of the U.S. show I don't see them as much more than a bunch of great individual talents put together for Bullet Club vs CHAOS tags

 

[¡Tranquilo!]

Jus subbing for replies. I don't watch New Japan as much as I'd like, but outside of the main event of the U.S. show I don't see them as much more than a bunch of great individual talents put together for Bullet Club vs CHAOS tags

New Japan's faction system is very streamlined. Most of the talent in the company belongs to one of the five factions so they manage it by putting factions against each other in tag matches on house shows and on the undercard of the big shows. I llke to think of them as wrestling unions or teams/camps rather than the tradition wrestling faction.

 

[Brother Loathe]

I don't really care about people taking stuff from others if they use it for a good reason or it's just as good as the original or better, but the Young Bucks ripping off DX is the lamest shit I've seen in wrestling and I watched a couple of ROH shows from July where the Young Bucks and their matches are so cringe worthy.

Anderson, Gallows and Styles using is fine because they are actually talented and incorporate into a cool team whereas the Bucks just do it to oversell how much of a good team they are not.