AJ Styles is on his way to WWE, but first they had to get him out of the Bullet Club.
Monday night before this week’s edition of WWE RAW, the professional wrestling world was excitedly shaken with the news that the company had made some major acquisitions. According to the Wrestling Observer, they’ve more or less performed a mini-raid of New Japan Pro Wrestling, signing Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson — some pretty big names to say the least, especially the first two.
In regards to Styles, though, there was a small problem, as he was the leader of the infamous faction the Bullet Club. As is the case anytime a wrestler moves on from one promotion to the other, you have to find a significant way for him to make his exit. Well, New Japan ended up doing just that right after the Wrestle Kingdom show this past weekend where he lost to Nakamura.
The company held their second big show of the year, New Year Dash. During the show, Bullet Club member defeated Nakamura, whom had just defeated AJ in Toky0 Dome, to earn an Intercontinental title shot. After the match, Styles came down to celebrate, but he was met with quite the surprise.
His days as Bullet Club leader came to an end, as the rest of the crew turned on him and beat him down viciously.
New Japan normally takes care of wrestling business the right way, and this was the best way to get the job done here. Having Omega, one of the best wrestlers on the planet, take the reins of the Bullet Club following AJ’s departure is certainly the right thing to do if they hope the group can thrive without its biggest member, as well as Gallows and Anderson.
Really, though, the best part of the whole segment was at the end where Styles says goodbye to the Japanese people with the bows.
Now, it’s time for the next chapter for Styles, the one that everyone has been waiting years for.