WWE's recent string of releases and furloughs left quite a few surprising names as newly minted free agents. Among them are such wrestlers as Rusev, Aiden English, Zack Ryder, as well as former members of The O.C., Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Gallows and Anderson just signed a new five-year contract with the WWE in 2019, which is why it came as such a surprise when Vince McMahon decided to let them go so early into their contract.
Gallows and Anderson were formerly a part of the widely popular faction Bullet Club back during their runs in New Japan Pro Wrestling. They were members alongside the first leader, Prince Devitt (now Finn Balor in the WWE), and later the second leader of Bullet Club, AJ Styles. Both Anderson and Gallows eventually left New Japan, following their leader and real-life friend Styles into the WWE. While Styles is still under contract with WWE, it appears Gallows and Anderson might be heading back towards a Bullet Club reunion elsewhere.
Soon after getting fired, Karl Anderson teased a return to his former moniker "Machine Gun" in a tweet. More curiously, Anderson also tweeted a short clip of an airplane flying from Santa Monica to Tokyo. Many interpreted this to be a hint that they would soon be returning to New Japan, where the Bullet Club faction is still going strong. However due to NJPW being on an indefinite hiatus due to the pandemic, it is unlikely they'll be dropping into Tokyo any time soon. Anderson also tweeted a photo of him and Gallows with former Bullet Club members The Young Bucks, now known as two of the EVPs of All Elite Wrestling.
It is not yet known whether this tweet is only Anderson reminiscing his past or whether it is a hint at him signing with AEW. The latter suggestion isn't out of the realm of possibility, as AEW allows many of its talents, such as Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho, to also wrestle for New Japan while still being under contract with AEW. One of the primary reasons why Anderson and Gallows left New Japan in the first place was because the two wanted to be closer to home and family. Signing with AEW guarantees this, while simultaneously leaving open the opportunity to rejoin the Bullet Club in New Japan, or even within AEW, which is home to many former Bullet Club members, most prominently one of its former leaders, Kenny Omega.
When Bullet Club first formed in 2013, it took the wrestling world by storm, first elevating Finn Balor from a simple junior to a dangerous foe in New Japan, and later skyrocketing Styles, Omega and the Young Bucks to international fame. The Bullet Club faction garnered so much international popularity that fans wearing Bullet Club shirts began to appear across arenas even in the United States. The group's immense popularity in the west led to its inaugural leader, Balor, receiving a contract with the WWE. Balor was replaced by Styles, who soon followed in Balor's footsteps towards a WWE contract. Styles' successor, Omega likewise found success in the west through the upstart AEW, where he is now also an EVP.
The Bullet Faction itself still holds a firm presence within New Japan, where Jay White is the current leader. Both Gallows and Anderson could potentially rejoin White's Bullet Club, or form their own western wing in AEW with former members Omega and The Young Bucks. The idea of a Bullet Club in the United States is not a new one. Ever since Gallows and Anderson's first appearance in the WWE, fans have speculated that they might form a new Bullet Club with Styles, Balor, or both.
This never came to fruition in WWE, despite Anderson and Gallows being teased to align with Balor many times. The closest that WWE got to a western chapter of Bullet Club was in fact The O.C. However, no larger faction akin to the nWo or New Japan's Bullet Club ever showed any signs of forming.But this might no longer be the case, as Gallows and Anderson continue to tease a Bullet Club reunion, whether it takes place in AEW, New Japan, or possibly even both.