Bullet Club - Civil War: Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks

[ABMorales787]

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The Golden Lovers, the team of Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi, made their successful return to tag team action defeating the team of Cody & Marty Scurll in the main event of NJPW/ROH Honor Rising Night 2. Following the match in the tradicional to NJPW post-match promo, Kenny Omega talked about how good it felt to be teaming with Kota Ibushi once again. Declaring they were "the greatest tag team in the world". Of course, that triggered Kenny's fellow 'The Elite' teammates, Nick & Matt Jackson. The Young Bucks. Not pleased with their friend's rather selfish statement, they announced they were finally moving to the Heavyweight Division. And if The Golden Lovers really believe they are the greatest tag team in the world, maybe they should actually prove it.

Omega, while not too happy with his and his group's dirty laundry still airing for the world to see, was pretty interested in the Young Buck's apparent challenge and accepted it. Though the match is not official yet, is presumably soon to be set for either Strong Style Evolved, which would be in the US where the Bullet Club All In is to take place. Or NJPW's next mayor event, Sakura Genesis.

[ABMorales787]

UPDATE -

NJPW has made the match oficial for Strong Style Evolved. Also confirmed was Jay White vs Hangman Page for the IWGP United States Championship and Rey Mysterio vs Jushin Thunder Liger.

[Yaz]

I always thought the fifteen subgroups inside BC would be their downfall, with most signs pointing to Omega being forced to choose between BC and Ibushi. BC won't die because they make too much money, but moving Omega out of the leadership role and to an actual face could do good things for New Japan and a potential move into the North American market.

[klunderbunker]

I'm with Yaz. The Bullet Club itself isn't going to die because there's too much value to it. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a new leader, probably either Cody or Marty Scurll. There's more than enough talent around to make the team work and the Bucks along will give them the cool factor. That being said, I can't imagine this Golden Lovers reunion is going to be long term. Omega is too big of a deal on his own.

[Jack-Hammer]

The Bullet Club is going to stay around because, as has been mentioned, there's simply too much money generated by it. It's easily been the most recognizable brand in all of wrestling for several years now, at least that's outside of WWE control. In some way, shape or form, it'll still be around.

As for the Golden Lovers, maybe this is just me or is a western culture thing but doesn't that seem like a strange name for a team? I know this is going to sound somewhat Neanderthal-ish but that's got to be one of the "gayest" sounding names for a team I've ever heard and it'd surprise me if it hasn't been the butt of endless jokes online. At any rate, as to what's important, this seems like a step backwards for Omega if this is to be a long term thing. However, I don't believe it'll be a long term reunion as Omega's been the hottest non-WWE wrestler out there for more than a year now. Of course, you'd have thought that Omega would be IWGP Heavyweight Champion by now given that particular fact but it hasn't come to pass.

[noahconstrictor]

The Bullet Club is going to stay around because, as has been mentioned, there's simply too much money generated by it. It's easily been the most recognizable brand in all of wrestling for several years now, at least that's outside of WWE control. In some way, shape or form, it'll still be around.

As for the Golden Lovers, maybe this is just me or is a western culture thing but doesn't that seem like a strange name for a team? I know this is going to sound somewhat Neanderthal-ish but that's got to be one of the "gayest" sounding names for a team I've ever heard and it'd surprise me if it hasn't been the butt of endless jokes online. At any rate, as to what's important, this seems like a step backwards for Omega if this is to be a long term thing. However, I don't believe it'll be a long term reunion as Omega's been the hottest non-WWE wrestler out there for more than a year now. Of course, you'd have thought that Omega would be IWGP Heavyweight Champion by now given that particular fact but it hasn't come to pass.

That's actually 100% the point of it. It's genuinely a gay love story. This Twitter thread does a fantastic job of explaining just how long this story has been building up, and how much it actually means in terms of Omega's development as both a singles and tag team wrestler. Even if this is a short-term storyline, it's still the culmination of something that has been brewing for multiple years.

https://twitter.com/EffingBoring/status/967145669038260224
(https://twitter.com/EffingBoring/status/967145669038260224)

[FunKay]

Essentially this allows Omega an opportunity to turn face whilst not having to turn on the Bucks, thus preserving their babyface unity abroad and making Omega one of the top tier good guys in Japan, all while causing the Bullet Club to evolve and develop under a new leader (or fragment into smaller factions)

[Darkest Timeline]

What shouldn't be lost in all of this is what it means for The Bucks themselves. Anyone who still thinks of them as just a couple of undersized, generic, spot monkey's profiting off 90s nostalgia has not been paying attention to them for the last couple years, and definitely not the past few months. Also anyone still thinking that they're not comparably over in Japan as they are in the states hasn't been paying attention for just as long. Even as much as the crowd was in love with Kota and Kenny, they were frantically chanting for the Bucks the second that they walked out for the showdown, even Don Callis had to remark at that moment at how crazy over the Bucks have become in Japan.

They have fully and rightfully grasped the title of best tag team on earth, and between his promo at Honor Rising, the work he's done in matches selling his back injury during and since Wrestle Kingdom, and the work he's done on Being the Elite, Matt Jackson has been as good as any pro wrestler on the planet period thus far in 2018. And New Japan's heavyweight tag division that was on life support at this time last year is now positioned as a major point of strength and intrigue going forward in 2018 between the great run of Evil and SANADA, and the addition of the Golden Lovers and The Young Bucks. The thought of the Bucks in the Global Tag League this year will make that tournament must-see on every night that their block competes, and that hasn't been a must-see tour for years. The Bucks belong wrestling the best wrestlers in New Japan, not just the best juniors, and they should be a lock to grab gold by Wrestle Kingdom next January.

If the Golden Lovers and The Bucks are set to be the actual headline match at Strong Style Evolved, that match could deliver the best tag team match anywhere in the wrestling world since the 90s.

[FunKay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx_pZWrHCng

If you have a spare 20 minutes or so, this video is a very good insight into the history of the Golden Lovers - it's a bit hyperbolic at times, but it does a good job at setting the stage and explaining the gravitas of their reunion.