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WWE Shares Balor Club History, References NJPW and Bullet Club

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The WWE Universe witnessed one of the most highly anticipated faction formations on Raw. Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor has formed a union with former Raw Tag Team titleholders Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

For wrestling fans who have followed the trio’s careers in the last 6-7 years, it was a joyful site to see the three former members of the Bullet Club standing aside each other and throwing up a too sweet.

Some fans speculate whether or not WWE would acknowledge these three were at one time in the Bullet Club. Anderson and Balor, when he was Prince Devitt, were two of the founding members when the group formed on May 3, 2013 and served as leaders of the faction. Gallows joined the group on Nov. 23 of that year.

Broadcasters have run down Balor’s accolades in New Japan, as well as Anderson’s and Gallows’, but they have never given much air to mentioning Bullet Club, except for when talent did it themselves or social posted a reference to the NJPW stable, and in those instances they were usually edited out.

However, WWE has in fact acknowledged the trio as former Bullet Club members in a video it released on its Youtube page.

The video, “Who are The Bálor Club and how do they know each other?” shares some information about the trio’s days in New Japan Pro Wrestling and founding of the Bullet Club. It also references how the three were on seperate paths when they came to WWE – Balor’s journey from NJPW to NXT and main roster while Gallows and Anderson formed “The Club” with A.J. Styles when they arrived.

The video does not feature any audio narration, but displays still images with text and music. It’s not the usual style of WWE videos and it’s reminiscent of pieces produced from pro wrestling Youtube channels.

The trio teamed up on the Jan. 1 episode of Raw to defeat Elias, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. The next week, they formed the Balor Club and  defeated Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan, and Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns in a 6 man tag team match.

The win against Rollins, Jordan and Reigns was a good way to introduce the group as a new force on Raw. IT also gives Anderson and Gallows something to do, and associates them with a major talent on the roster in Balor.

The Balor Club may not reach the heights that the Bullet Club has, but it is an opportunity for Anderson and Gallows, and especially Balor, for have a fresh start in the WWE and really get over with the crowd. Balor also has a chance to delve back into his heel Prince Devitt persona and try it out in front of a WWE audience. Fans may not see him make gun gestures with his fingers, but they could get some of his personality to shine.

The WWE does not have to limit the Balor to Club to just Balor, Anderson and Gallows. The company could move the stable to Smackdown Live and add A.J. Styles. There is also room for the group to add its first female member, possibly Balor’s Mixed Match Challenge partner Sasha Banks.

That does not mean the Balor Club needs more members to be successful.

Balor, Gallows and Anderson have good chemistry together and when you get wrestlers in a faction who are good friends in real life, it translates well in and out of the ring. Fans have seen this type of chemistry with the current incarnation of the Bullet Club, The Shield and The New Day. If WWE allows the Balor Club to be themselves in front of the camera and in the ring, fans will see how much fun they are having together and how they cool they are and gravitate toward them.

As Balor said during a backstage segment, 2018 is the year of the Balor Club. He may be right.

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Former WWE Star Lanny Poffo Dies at 68

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Lanny Poffo

Former WWE star Lanny ‘The Genius’ Poffo has reportedly died at the age of 68, according to his close friend “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, although no cause of death has been given at the time of this writing.

Poffo made his in-ring debut with the All-South Wrestling Alliance back in 1974, and also wrestled for a number of promotions such as the National Wrestling Alliance where he won a tag-team title with his father, Angelo.

Poffo debuted for WWE back in 1985 where he would be known as “Leaping Lanny Poffo” and “The Genius.”

Poffo would return to WWE back in 2015 to induct his brother, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, into the WWE Hall of Fame in a touching induction ceremony ahead of WrestleMania 31.

“With a very, very heavy heart, I’ve been asked to let everyone know about the passing of our friend and colleague Lanny Poffo, The Genius,” Duggan said on Twitter.

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Braun Strowman Talks Brock Lesnar Shooting On Him at Royal Rumble

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WWE superstar Braun Strowman has had a number of memorable moments during his career at WWE, but none are quite like the 2018 Royal Rumble where Brock Lesnar got upset with Strowman for catching him with a knee.

Lesnar didn’t take to kindly and immediately hit Strowman with a flurry of legitimate punches, including a right hand to his jaw.

“Shit got real” Strowman said, during an interview with BT Sport.

“I mean, at the end of the day it’s two scary guys, two dominant males, not wanting to give an inch to either one, and we took it from each other. Things happen. We’re not playing, we’re not ballet, we’re not badminton. We’re physical. He’s [Lesnar] 300lbs, of just unadulterated animalistic beast and I’m a 385lbs monster. Things happen. At the end of the day, we made one hell of a segment, that’s what really happened.”

“I pat myself on the back. I think I’m the only person in history to take an overhand right from Brock Lesnar and not get knocked out. Anytime you get in the ring with “The Beast” and mix it up, the bigger the challenge the better. If you’re not wrestling the best, then who’d you beat?”

 

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Ex-NJPW Star Karl Fredericks Signs with WWE

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NXT 2.0

Former New Japan Pro Wrestling star Karl Fredericks has officially signed with WWE following the conclusion of his four-year tenure with NJPW. Fredericks announced on social media back in summer 2022 that he would not re-sign with NJPW.

Fredericks was initially linked to WWE last September, when he was reportedly spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

According to PW Insider, Fredericks has officially signed with WWE and will be a part of the NXT brand initially.

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