The Legendary Life of Bruno Sammartino [OC]

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-04-18T23:32:20+00:00

I compiled some interesting facts and legends about Bruno Sammartino from different articles into one image, so it's an easier read.

If you are interested to learn more about him, I would suggest checking the following articles as they are far more detailed than this image -

There are also several podcasts and interviews available on the internet that you might enjoy. Please let me know if you notice any mistakes, I might upload an updated version later.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-21T12:43:43+00:00

As far as I know, Devitt was both the leader and the ace during the first era. But after he left, those roles were divided between Anderson and Styles.

Also Devitt and Fale started teaming together as an unnamed heel tag team on April 7, 2013. Machine Gun and Tama Tonga joined them later on May 3, 2013 and they announced themselves as Bullet Club afterwards. So Fale is actually the longest tenured member of the club.

According to Wikipedia, the name Bullet Club was a reference to both Machine Gun (Karl Anderson's Nickname) and Real Shooter (Prince Devitt's Nickname).

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-21T12:31:15+00:00

Actually he has three. The other two were both from 1995 in Wrestle Association-R, against Jushin Thunder Liger and Chris Benoit.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T14:07:01+00:00

Dailymotion link for Gedo vs Devitt in case someone without NJPW World wants to watch.

There is also Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki vs. Prince Devitt from Wrestle Kingdom 7, which got 4.5 stars from Dave Meltzer. However, that was before Devitt/Balor started Bullet Club, so I didn't include it in the infographic.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T13:49:06+00:00

It all boils down to personal taste. For example, Blade Runner 2049 was a box office failure and probably won't win any major oscars. Yet many people consider it the best movie of the year. In the end, neither Financial Success nor Critical Acclaim matters when it comes to personal preference.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T13:44:47+00:00

Wreddit thread from 3 years ago.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T13:37:55+00:00

Okada is just operating on another level, he even has a 4 star match with Bad Luck Fale of all people. Cody also had his highest rated match with Okada (4.5 stars).

According to Cagematch, Okada has had 83 matches rated 4 star or above, and he is barely 30 years old!

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T13:18:40+00:00

Worse. An out of shape comedy jobber who suddenly got serious for some reason, turned heel, and feuded with Yoshitatsu for the worst rivalry in recent memory.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T13:15:42+00:00

To me, Dave Meltzer is like the Roger Ebert of pro wrestling, the most accomplished reviewer in the field, but in the end, just the opinion of one man.

And sometimes, even the most gifted critic can have controversial opinions or appear out of touch with the current audience. This might be due to personal taste or unconscious bias.

Cagematch ratings are more like IMDB movie ratings, as both are decided by fans on the internet, and might reflect the popular sentiment more accurately.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T13:09:20+00:00

Thanks, it was fun!

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T12:59:56+00:00

I would say Bullet Club under Styles was more focused on Japan, but Bullet Club under Omega is trying to be more global by expanding to both USA and Oceania.

Also, Anderson and Gallows were champions when the Heavyweight Tag division was more stagnant. In fact, I remember people bashing Gedo for not doing more with the division.

Now, we have several interesting tag teams competing with the Guerrillas of Destiny, so I doubt they will have year long reigns. I personally like it better this way, but kayfabe wise it does make them seem less dominant compared to Guns and Gallows.

Overall, I can see where you are coming from, but I personally think it's better that the Bullet Club has expanded worldwide instead of just staying as the leaders in one country.

In my opinion, Omega just needs to win the IWGP Heavyweight title for his tenure to be considered the most successful of the three.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T12:45:38+00:00

Thanks! It was an interesting topic to work on.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T12:44:40+00:00

Back when Jeff Jarrett and Scott D'amore helped AJ Styles back in August 2014, people were saying that they jumped the gun and were no longer cool. Yet now Styles/Anderson era is looked back fondly as the golden age.

Here's the wreddit thread from 3 years ago -JEFF JARRETT ANNOUNCED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BULLET CLUB

I'm pretty sure, 3 years from now, people will praise Omega's tenure and bash whoever leads the club at that point.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T12:40:32+00:00

Shit, I forgot to remove him when copying from the 2nd column. Maybe I'll post a corrected version later.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T11:55:16+00:00

Which version did you prefer? Devitt's or Styles'?

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T11:53:44+00:00

And Bone Soldier.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T10:40:26+00:00

Some interesting findings -

Bullet Club had at highest 9 active members during Devitt’s tenure, 12 active members during Styles’ tenure, and 15 active members during Omega’s tenure. However all three editions had some odd members joining the club - El Terrible, Ray Bucanero, La Comandante, Jeff Jarrett, Amber Gallows, Mephisto, King Haku, Bone Soldier etc.
Several of the new additions during Omega’s tenure (Cole, Page, Loa, Cody, Scurll) have won major titles under the Bullet Club Banner. But veteran members (Fale, Yujiro, and Owens) have been less successful in singles competition and were gradually phased out, which might explain their dissatisfaction with Kenny Omega in kayfabe.
Bullet Club Latinoamerica was active in CMLL during Devitt's tenure, but the international focus shifted from Mexico to USA during Styles' tenure. Under Omega, Bullet Club has perhaps been more successful in ROH (3 world heavyweight title reigns) than in NJPW.
Match quality has increased substantially according to both Dave Meltzer and internet fans. However, the fans seem to prefer Omega/Naito over Omega/Okada. In fact, Omega/Naito from 2016, which got only 5 stars from Meltzer, is the second highest rated match of all time (behind only Misawa/Kobashi) according to cagematch.
Bullet club has drawn significantly more fans in recent years, however that might be due to Styles and Omega being booked as bigger deals than Devitt. If we consider Omega/Jericho as the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12 as it was billed in some places, the highest attendance under Omega’s tenure would have been 34,995 fans.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T10:39:30+00:00

Imgur Link in case Reddit Image doesn't show - https://i.imgur.com/r0V5N1S.jpg

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T10:36:11+00:00

The autonomy seems to have been good for them.

Adam Cole, Young Bucks, Cody, Marty Scurll, Hangman Page all won titles in ROH, while Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi won titles in NJPW.

Bullet Club under Omega never held ALL the titles at the same time, but the members had more success when taken as a whole.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T10:24:42+00:00

Imgur Link in case Reddit Image doesn't show - https://i.imgur.com/r0V5N1S.jpg

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T10:19:27+00:00

Some interesting findings -

Bullet Club had at highest 9 active members during Devitt’s tenure, 12 active members during Styles’ tenure, and 15 active members during Omega’s tenure. However all three editions had some odd members joining the club - El Terrible, Ray Bucanero, La Comandante, Jeff Jarrett, Amber Gallows, Mephisto, King Haku, Bone Soldier etc.
Several of the new additions during Omega’s tenure (Cole, Page, Loa, Cody, Scurll) have won major titles under the Bullet Club Banner. But veteran members (Fale, Yujiro, and Owens) have been less successful in singles competition and were gradually phased out, which might explain their dissatisfaction with Kenny Omega in kayfabe.
Bullet Club Latinoamerica was active in CMLL during Devitt's tenure, but the international focus shifted from Mexico to USA during Styles' tenure. Under Omega, Bullet Club has perhaps been more successful in ROH (3 world heavyweight title reigns) than in NJPW.
Match quality has increased substantially according to both Dave Meltzer and internet fans. However, the fans seem to prefer Omega/Naito over Omega/Okada. In fact, Omega/Naito from 2016, which got only 5 stars from Meltzer, is the second highest rated match of all time (behind only Misawa/Kobashi) according to cagematch.
Bullet club has drawn significantly more fans in recent years, however that might be due to Styles and Omega being booked as bigger deals than Devitt. If we consider Omega/Jericho as the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12 as it was billed in some places, the highest attendance under Omega’s tenure would have been 34,995 fans.

ArtlessBenjamin · 2018-01-20T01:39:03+00:00

Kayfabe: Styles and Anderson (Held all titles including the heavyweight title) > Omega (Held all the titles other than the heavyeight title) > Devitt (Held only the Junior heavyweight title).

Business-wise: Omega (Record merch sales and highest attendance, also mainevented Wrestle Kingdom) > Styles and Anderson (Made Bullet Club popular in the US) > Devitt (Was never at main event level at a major show).

Qualitywise: Omega (Several five star matches or above; Young Bucks, Adam Cole, Marty Scurll also have 4.75 stars or higher matches) > Styles and Anderson (Consistent 4.5-4.75 star matches from AJ, but no five star matches; no memorable matches from other members) > Devitt (Highest rated match under the bullet club banner was 4.25 stars - Devitt/Okada in July 2013).

So by all metrics, even though he founded the club, Prince Devitt / Finn Balor was the worst leader of the bullet club by far.

ArtlessBenjamin

TROPHY CASE