Matt Hardy evaluates WWE star AJ Styles’ time in the influential Bullet Club stable

Despite being one of the cornerstones of TNA for nearly 12 years, it could be argued that AJ Styles may not have been as successful in NJPW as he was in WWE without his time as part of the Bullet Club. The former WWE Champion established himself in the eyes of fans as one of the best to ever step into the ring during his time in NJPW, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice and taking the Bullet Club to new levels of popularity.

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Someone who knows Styles very well is Matt Hardy, who was asked on “Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” what impact Styles’ run had on establishing Bullet Club in the wrestling world. “It was huge because Bullet Club was one of the things that really transcended the business,” Hardy said. “Once people got hooked, they didn’t let go, they liked Bullet Club and AJ was really the guy that got that all started in a lot of ways.”

Hardy then recalled the times when Vince McMahon would openly ask about the Bullet Club, not knowing who they were or where they came from. Hardy said that similar to when fans chanted “delete” at WWE events before the Hardys returned to the company, McMahon’s solution was simply to buy the stable. “He said something like ‘damn, give me the Bullet Club, I want them all,'” Hardy said. “There was a time when Vince would say something like ‘damn all these shirts, they keep coming to our shows, give me the Bullet Club, I want them all,’ in a meeting and that was like a legitimate deal. So AJ was really the guy that I think catapulted that into the next stratosphere.”

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