# What is with Bullet Club Kliq / NWO imitations?



## Riddle101

They're paying tribute obviously. Besides, the NWO idea was actually taken from New Japan all those years ago, so as far as unoriginal goes it would be the NWO who would be considered unoriginal, more so.


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## FenceMan

NWO started in NJPW? I always knew that NJPW had a "version" of the NWO but I always assumed it was an extension of what was born in WCW??

Just seems a little off to me, these guys are all awesome and have a cool faction - no reason to imitate a bunch of guys that outside of HBK have nowhere near the in ring ability that they do.


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## SWITCHBLADE

Riddle101 said:


> They're paying tribute obviously. Besides, the NWO idea was actually taken from New Japan all those years ago, so as far as unoriginal goes it would be the NWO who would be considered unoriginal, more so.


This.


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## Chismo

Great, another newcomer trying to apply the WWE logic to everything.


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## FenceMan

Chismo said:


> Great, another newcomer trying to apply the WWE logic to everything.


Huh?

I am not seeing anything through WWE colored glasses, simply seeing some guys do other guys signature poses / taunts and wondering what the deal is.

If I were to see it raining money during Randy Orton's entrance I would ask the same question....


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## Dimas75

FenceMan said:


> NWO started in NJPW? I always knew that NJPW had a "version" of the NWO but I always assumed it was an extension of what was born in WCW??


There was an NWO Japan stable in NWO, lead by Chono. But that wasnt the angle that inspired Bischoff. The original invasion angle was UWF vs NJPW. A group of wrestlers left NJPW and formed the UWF promotion. 2 years later they returned to NJPW, but there was no internet and people didnt know UWF was basicly gone. So it looked like UWF was invading NJPW when those wrestlers appeared in their UWF clothes. Do a youtube search on "UWF vs NJPW" and you should find some matches from those days.


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## doctor doom

Dimas75 said:


> There was an NWO Japan stable in NWO, lead by Chono. But that wasnt the angle that inspired Bischoff. The original invasion angle was UWF vs NJPW. A group of wrestlers left NJPW and formed the UWF promotion. 2 years later they returned to NJPW, but there was no internet and people didnt know UWF was basicly gone. So it looked like UWF was invading NJPW when those wrestlers appeared in their UWF clothes. Do a youtube search on "UWF vs NJPW" and you should find some matches from those days.


^This. It's basically come full circle now.


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## Kaze Ni Nare

Suzukigun > Bullet Club


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## FenceMan

After watching several events I have come to the (now educated) conclusion that the Bullet Club is clearly ripping off the NWO mannerisms (angle is different but they are blatantly ripping off the mannerisms).

They should have come up with their own lingo and symbols.

"Too sweet"
"4 Life"
Crotch chop
Sideways pointing

I know they were all probably fans but what if some faction just started holding up four fingers and claiming to be limousine riding jet flying son of a guns? I don't know why this is any different....


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## Genking48

FenceMan said:


> After watching several events I have come to the (now educated) conclusion that the Bullet Club is clearly ripping off the NWO mannerisms (angle is different but they are blatantly ripping off the mannerisms).
> 
> They should have come up with their own lingo and symbols.
> 
> "Too sweet"
> "4 Life"
> Crotch chop
> Sideways pointing
> 
> I know they were all probably fans but *what if some faction just started holding up four fingers and claiming to be limousine riding jet flying son of a guns*? I don't know why this is any different....


You mean what if some guys tried to redo The Four Horsemen?


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## Natecore

Too Sweet, WrestlingForum!


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## Clif Grime

It's american wrestlers invading Japan as the storyline basis. I think the Japanese promoters are actually poking fun at the american wrestling that ripped them off so many years ago.


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## Taker-Tribute-Act

FenceMan said:


> After watching several events I have come to the (now educated) conclusion that the Bullet Club is clearly ripping off the NWO mannerisms (angle is different but they are blatantly ripping off the mannerisms).
> 
> They should have come up with their own lingo and symbols.
> 
> "Too sweet"
> "4 Life"
> Crotch chop
> Sideways pointing
> 
> I know they were all probably fans but what if some faction just started holding up four fingers and claiming to be limousine riding jet flying son of a guns? I don't know why this is any different....


If they were ripping it off, do you think they'd be tagging the original members of the Kliq and NWO in their pictures and tweets on twitter? It's an homage, they're paying tribute. It's not ripping it off. It didn't even start out anything like it's current incarnation either.


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## NastyYaffa

Everything they do is just too sweet


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## BruceLeGorille

Isn't one of the young bucks' aspect being the representation of this generation who grew up watching DX and NWO?


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## Ham and Egger

AKBest Miyazawa Sae said:


> You mean what if some guys tried to redo The Four Horsemen?


Don't forget Fourtune!


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## FenceMan

Maybe there is some irony I am missing there but it really came off bad this weekend, for those of us that don't get the irony it just looks like a cheap imitation.


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## SOR

I never understood the "Bischoff stole the nWo from NJPW" I mean sure he took the idea of an invasion angle from them but the taunts, black and white videos and everything else the nWo did was his own original idea.


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## BornBad

love them


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## FenceMan

SOR said:


> I never understood the "Bischoff stole the nWo from NJPW" I mean sure he took the idea of an invasion angle from them but the taunts, black and white videos and everything else the nWo did was his own original idea.


Exactly, he may have stole the invasion angle but the act was all the "secret" language of a few close friends, it makes no sense for the bullet club to be using NWO catchphrases.....

What's next, are they all gonna do a curtain call with their face buddies?


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## erivera

i don't know if anybody caught this on twitter, but there was some interaction on twitter between scott hall and devitt and the bucks and that's when they started doing the kliq/nwo stuff a lot more. i could be wrong, but that's what i was thinking.


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## FenceMan

I wouldn't even mind it if they had some storyline to explain it, right now it just looks like they started a new NWO without any of the old members and called it Bullet Club...l


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## Jaysfromnyc

I's hilarious to see New Japan feature this NWO style faction, matches with multiple interference and wrestlers doing turns. You think Japanese wrestling you think honor, respect and competition, not this stuff. New Japan is funny, even more so than Chikara.


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## bigbuxxx

fwiw The YB's did the NWO gestures in PWG in every match. They just have fun out there and imitate a lot of shit.


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## BeastOfTheEast07

I will address this post to specifically to you FenceMan, because everyone else seems to be in the know. It is not that complicated, but I'll try to elaborate on what I can to mollify your sense of confusion. I know it can be frustrating to understand the significance of certain events without being provided any justifiable context. Perhaps in this case, things are literally lost in translation. Here we go:

You are half-right here - Bullet Club is indeed an ersatz NWO/DX. As to provide great context to this discussion, it should be noted that the Bullet Club is a heel stable that is labelled as "invaders," mostly due to the fact that they are literally foreign to the nation of Japan. Known as "Gaijin," Westerners have played an important role in the grand scheme of puroresu. Some wrestlers have a successful career playing as a babyface, but there is more of a tendency for the Gaijin to assume the role as a heel. 

Now, as we know from our perspective of wrestling, it is the promoter's oft-played leitmotif to introduce the _foreigner villain_. It's quick, it's been done before, it's generally easier than coming with an altogether new idea, and it can be quite effective. I would imagine the early members of the Bullet Club understood their place in the organization and capitalized upon that. As the _foreigner villain_, it is vital to emphasize the stereotypes ascribed to their totemic background. I have to imagine that the Japanese would look to Hulk Hogan as American as denim jeans and Harley Davidsons. The hyper-distilled composite of America that was Hulk Hogan in the 1980s was a cultural oddity, and became an anachronism worldwide as the '90s developed. Of course, the NWO boomed all of pro wrestling, extending on a global dimension. As a result, the Japanese probably have an extreme parity of the identity of American wrestling with the character of the NWO/Attiude Era.

In a long way of going about it, the Bullet Club is essentially playing the NWO/Attitude Era tropes because it is associated with Western wrestling, and they are heels playing the _foreigner villain_. It is recognizable to the Eastern audience and is a fun way to gain cheap heat. It's also worth a mention that the Bullet Club always looks like they are having a ball playing their roles, which in summation are really just embellished, two-dimensional portraits of American Pro Wrestling that have goofy smiles while they imitate their heroes.

Obviously I made some assumptions all there, but I think they are broad enough to hold some truth. I hope some of this had shed some light on the workings of this angle, as well as global pro wrestling in general.

So go on and enjoy the Bullet Club now, dammit!


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## TheRealFunkman

Bullet Club 4 Life


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## FenceMan

BeastOfTheEast07 said:


> I will address this post to specifically to you FenceMan, because everyone else seems to be in the know. It is not that complicated, but I'll try to elaborate on what I can to mollify your sense of confusion. I know it can be frustrating to understand the significance of certain events without being provided any justifiable context. Perhaps in this case, things are literally lost in translation. Here we go:
> 
> You are half-right here - Bullet Club is indeed an ersatz NWO/DX. As to provide great context to this discussion, it should be noted that the Bullet Club is a heel stable that is labelled as "invaders," mostly due to the fact that they are literally foreign to the nation of Japan. Known as "Gaijin," Westerners have played an important role in the grand scheme of puroresu. Some wrestlers have a successful career playing as a babyface, but there is more of a tendency for the Gaijin to assume the role as a heel.
> 
> Now, as we know from our perspective of wrestling, it is the promoter's oft-played leitmotif to introduce the _foreigner villain_. It's quick, it's been done before, it's generally easier than coming with an altogether new idea, and it can be quite effective. I would imagine the early members of the Bullet Club understood their place in the organization and capitalized upon that. As the _foreigner villain_, it is vital to emphasize the stereotypes ascribed to their totemic background. I have to imagine that the Japanese would look to Hulk Hogan as American as denim jeans and Harley Davidsons. The hyper-distilled composite of America that was Hulk Hogan in the 1980s was a cultural oddity, and became an anachronism worldwide as the '90s developed. Of course, the NWO boomed all of pro wrestling, extending on a global dimension. As a result, the Japanese probably have an extreme parity of the identity of American wrestling with the character of the NWO/Attiude Era.
> 
> In a long way of going about it, the Bullet Club is essentially playing the NWO/Attitude Era tropes because it is associated with Western wrestling, and they are heels playing the _foreigner villain_. It is recognizable to the Eastern audience and is a fun way to gain cheap heat. It's also worth a mention that the Bullet Club always looks like they are having a ball playing their roles, which in summation are really just embellished, two-dimensional portraits of American Pro Wrestling that have goofy smiles while they imitate their heroes.
> 
> Obviously I made some assumptions all there, but I think they are broad enough to hold some truth. I hope some of this had shed some light on the workings of this angle, as well as global pro wrestling in general.
> 
> So go on and enjoy the Bullet Club now, dammit!


That makes sense thank you for actually addressing my issue. This still seems lazy, they should be able to get the same amount of heat without imitating the NWO. If they wanted to have a "new" NWO they should have brought in Hall and Nash for a one shot pass the torch to Bullet Club type of deal....


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## DGenerationMC

I blame it on The Young Bucks. They've been doing little Kliq shout-outs in PWG for a couple of years now. And, they got Cole and Steen doing it too. Very hilarious seeing Cole and Steen imitate HBK and Diesel's pose. Young Bucks telling people to suck it makes me chuckle as well.


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## FenceMan

DGenerationMC said:


> I blame it on The Young Bucks. They've been doing little Kliq shout-outs in PWG for a couple of years now. And, they got Cole and Steen doing it too. Very hilarious seeing Cole and Steen imitate HBK and Diesel's pose. Young Bucks telling people to suck it makes me chuckle as well.


Yes but while I love PWG, it is a whole different product than NJPW...You expect one thing from PWG and one thing from NJPW. I do not expect to see a ballsplex, trench coat, or slow motion moves anytime soon in NJPW though all is very entertaining in the context of a PWG show.


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## RyanPelley

Taker-Tribute-Act said:


> If they were ripping it off, do you think they'd be tagging the original members of the Kliq and NWO in their pictures and tweets on twitter? It's an homage, they're paying tribute. It's not ripping it off. It didn't even start out anything like it's current incarnation either.


That reminded me of Scott Norton talking major shit to Devitt on Twitter. Saying "you're not one of us." I didn't know what he was talking about until this thread.


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## Joshi Judas

I don't mind their imitations, consider them imitation or homage or whatever. It looks like they're having fun and gets them heat. Young Bucks doing the Suck it pose and going on a Superkicking spree is wildly entertaining.

In the grand scheme of things, all I want is that this doesn't change puroresu as we know it for good. Interferences and cheating and the like were extremely rare in puro and I hope the success of the Bullet Club doesn't lead promoters in the future to overdo it.


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## Ham and Egger

Blame it on the Young Bucks.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## Chismo

It seems people easily forgot Great Bash Heel and their title matches.


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## BornBad

RyanPelley said:


> That reminded me of Scott Norton talking major shit to Devitt on Twitter. Saying "you're not one of us." I didn't know what he was talking about until this thread.


and Devitt trolled him back 

@scottnorton great seeing you Senpai norton-San. I love them old road stories.. 'Hell rock, you were there' 









And some people really blame The Young Bucks???


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## LibertarianAtheist

FenceMan said:


> NWO started in NJPW? I always knew that NJPW had a "version" of the NWO but I always assumed it was an extension of what was born in WCW??
> 
> Just seems a little off to me, these guys are all awesome and have a cool faction - no reason to imitate a bunch of guys that outside of HBK have nowhere near the in ring ability that they do.



Technically no, but the NWO were pretty were a ripoff of a stable that was in NJPW that came in as "outsiders" trying to take over the company


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## Muerte al fascismo

All I know is the Bullet Club is money and great to watch at the moment. Kudos to New Japan for that one.


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## BornBad

OneHourTees @OneHourTees · 21 h

Secret is basically out! We are the Official US Distributors for New Japan Pro-Wrestling Tees. Yes... Bullet Club. #bulletclub #dontfreakout


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## Toonami4Life

So long as they don't try and overflow it with members. They got eight guys and that's plenty.


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## Taker-Tribute-Act

The shirts were already easy to get with Devitt basically posting a 'how-to' on twitter. I'm sure that indy wrestling shows will now become swamped by them.


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## MTheBehemoth

I hate their new theme.


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## Heath Scumm

The young bucks have been doing the dx chops for quite some time now ... not a big fan.


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## Hencheman_21

I do not follow the foreign promotions closely but 2 things.

1 Bullet Club sounds better and better the more I hear about them.

2 can they be compared to La Legión Extranjera in AAA as much if not more than nWo?


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## 777

Kaze Ni Nare said:


> Suzukigun > Bullet Club


This.


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## Heath Scumm

Hencheman_21 said:


> I do not follow the foreign promotions closely but 2 things.
> 
> 1 Bullet Club sounds better and better the more I hear about them.
> 
> 2 can they be compared to La Legión Extranjera in AAA as much if not more than nWo?


Yes, until recently they were supposed to be a group of gaijin wrestlers beating up the legends of New Japan. That was until Takahashi came on board and ruined the whole theme


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## BornBad

here we go 

The Young Bucks ‏@MattJackson13 
Tonight http://prowrestlingtees.com announced they were now selling #BulletClub t-shirts. Shortly after, the site crashed. #over


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## HBK for ever

yeah... i guess

The Young Bucks @NickJacksonYB
. Hey @HulkHogan can we get a retweet for being the new NWO in professional wrestling?


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## HBK for ever

Double Post.


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## DGenerationMC

They know they are blatantly ripping of the nWo and they don't care. It's hilarious.

They probably want to outrage people.

They are to the nWo what Bo Dallas is to John Cena.


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## BornBad

when you're Bullet Club you're Bullet Club 4 life


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## Toonami4Life

For those who'll be attending ROH events, I found out that they'll be selling Bullet Club merchandise at their shows starting on the 12th.

http://www.pwmania.com/bullet-club-merchandise-to-be-available-at-roh-shows-now-available-in-the-us

As for the group, so long as they have good matches and entertain me I'll enjoy them. Just as long as they don't get stale.


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## Kincaid

God, if there was any point I wish people would stop parroting it's "Bischoff stole the NJPW idea from Japan." It's not even that it's not true. It is. It's that whenever someone says it they GROSSLY oversell how much of the idea he got from Japan. All the NWO has in common with the UWFI angle is "Invading guys from other company." Japan was hardly the first place to have it. The UWFI thing also worked because those dude's came across as badass shooters showing up to kill the "fake wrestlers". It's one of my favorite things in all of wrestling and it sucks that people perceive it as a proto-NWO when it was something so much cooler.


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## rockdig1228

DGenerationMC said:


> They know they are blatantly ripping of the nWo and they don't care. It's hilarious.


This, exactly.

On the Kizuna Road iPPV, on the way to the ring for the Bullet Club tag match Karl Anderson is talking to the camera and says something like "What's up Big Sexy? Shout out to Scott." :lmao


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