Posted in: Opinion, TV | Tagged: bleeding cool, bullet club, cable, luke gallows, njpw, NXT, nxt uk, pro wrestling, Raw, Smackdown, streaming, television, the oc, tv, wrestling, wwe

WWE Wasted Golden Opportunity with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

With the WWE announcing today that there would be massive furloughs and cuts coming — many via text message — wrestling fans have been on edge. Mere minutes ago WWE announced a number of talent cuts, including Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Anderson has a solid background in wrestling. From his time at Pro Wrestling Guerilla to his run in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and finally to his lackluster run in WWE, Anderson has been around. Most notably Anderson was one of the first members of the Bullet Club (alongside Prince Devitt, now Finn Balor, and Gallows). Gallows has a long-standing history with WWE, but he also made a name for himself in the independent scene as well.

But his time in NJPW I feel defined him the most as a wrestler. It was here that Gallows and Anderson would join up as a tag team within NJPW, and the rest is history. During the Kenny Omega years of Bullet Club (2016-2018) it seemed everyone had Bullet Club fever. And WWE had several key players from Bullet Club's history: Finn Balor, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and AJ Styles. Out of the group, Styles has arguably had the best run in WWE thus far — Balor was injured early on in his main WWE run, and Gallows and Anderson were used mostly as comedic bait.

Which brings me to the point of this article. If WWE was smarter they should have created "The Club" during their 2017-2018 years. Let's be real, Gallows and Anderson were basically an afterthought throughout most of their WWE career. When The Original Club was formed in April of 2019, it was frankly too little too late. With Bullet Club fever dying down after The Elite left at the end of 2018 — it was a moot point. The OC was still popular, especially with the charismatic Styles taking the lead.

If management had been quicker to respond to Bullet Club fever, we could have potentially seen a better outcome for both Gallows and Anderson. Hell, WWE could have turned Balor heel at the start of 2018, brought the good brothers to back him, and holy shit look at all the potential money they could have printed. Maybe even do an angle where The OC antagonizes Styles, Styles realizes he should be in charge of the OC, and wow what a great storyline we will never see from WWE.

Seriously, can you imagine that kind of stable with Balor, Styles, Gallows, and Anderson? Yea I know it sounds great. The Boneyard Match I can now only assume was a way for WWE creative to officially kill off The OC. Styles will be fine on his own: he's one of the best solo performers in WWE. But it does leave a bitter taste in my mouth looking back at that otherwise great match. Yet more grievances from a disgruntled WWE and pro wrestling fan. It's a shame too. The four of them are natural heels and all have solid chemistry (thanks to their respective histories) with each other. Here's hoping the brothers pop up somewhere where they'll be more appreciated.

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