NJPW News: Tama Tonga reveals the mastermind behind the recent Bullet Club attack, praises AJ Styles and Finn Balor and more

What’s the story?

In a recent conversation with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Bullet Club OG Tama Tonga opened up about his recent attack on the rest of The Bullet Club at the G1 Specials in the US and also revealed the person who actually made the initial call on this attack.

In case you didn’t know...

This past weekend at The G1 Special in the US, Bullet Club’s Kenny Omega successfully defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes in what was one of the most hard-hitting and gruesome singles matches of this year.

Only Sportskeeda gives you the latest Wrestling News, rumors and updates.

However, after Omega’s triumphant title defense against Cody, the former along with The Young Bucks—collectively known as The Elite—were brutally attacked by fellow Bullet Club members Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and the legendary Haku.

Shortly afterward, fellow Bullet Club members such as the likes of Hangman Page, Marty Scurll, Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi also suffered the same fate, as every single Bullet Club member was laid out in the ring thanks to the newly formed Tongan trio.

The heart of the matter

While speaking with Justin Barrasso, Tama Tonga discussed a host of topics and below are a few highlights from his interview: (H/T: WrestleZone)

On who made the actual call on this attack:

According to Tama Tonga, this attack on the rest of The Bullet Club was apparently a long time coming due to the fact that reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega decided to instead focus on his subgroup The Elite and the leadership position of The Bullet Club.

“This has been a long time coming. Kenny Omega started a subgroup, ‘The Elite,’ within Bullet Club. No one is the head of Bullet Club, no one ever has been, and we had a self-proclaimed leader focusing on his own ‘Super Kliq’ or whatever else nerd ass name it’s called. This war was sparked the moment ‘The Elite’ was formed.”

As per Tama, the mastermind of this attack was non-other than Bullet Club originator Bad Luck Fale.

“Fale is the one who made the call. You’ll all find that out soon.”

The actual decision behind this attack:

Tama Tonga stated that The Bullet Club was mostly known for its unity and sticking together as a team, however, watching each other’s backs was no longer what The BC stood for, as the group started to feel more and more like a divided club.

Additionally, Tama also praised his former stablemates and current WWE superstars Finn Balor and AJ Styles, claiming that the two men taught and showed The Bullet Club what the term teamwork stands for.

Balor seemingly guided both Tama and Fale to a better career and taught both men lot of important things in the New Japan Dojo, whereas, Styles came into The Bullet Club as a humble team player and always wanted the betterment of the club. Thus both Balor and Styles were apparently placed as frontrunners of The Bullet Club by rest of the group.

On his goals regarding The Bullet Club:

Tama Tonga stated that his solitary goal and focus is currently to make sure that The Bullet Club is straightened out and to take back the group and push it forward towards greatness.

“My goal, my sole focus, is to straighten out Bullet Club. Take it back and push it forward. Wherever that takes me, that’s where I’ll go, whether that’s the G1 final or a match with Kenny. People still don’t know what Bullet Club is, but in due time, everyone will understand.

Furthermore, Tama also stated that he is not the leader of The Bullet Club and everyone who rather decides to side with him, Fale, and Loa will be billed as the leader of the entire group.

“I am not the leader of Bullet Club,” Tonga explained. “Fale, me, and Loa, we are the leaders of Bullet Club, and anyone that’s with us. We are not ‘Firing Squad,’ we are Bullet Club, the Bullet Club. ‘Firing Squad’ only arrives when there is bulls— and betrayal. Finally, after over two years, Bullet Club is now fine. After Saturday, Bullet Club is on its way to being the best we’ve ever been.”

What’s next?

NJPW’s G1 Climax will kick-start within the next few weeks as Bullet Club members Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page, and Kenny Omega all prepare to take part in this year’s tournament.