The Elite (NJPW)

The Elite
Kenny Omega (left) and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson - left and Nick Jackson - right) (right)
Stable
Members	Kenny Omega (leader) Nick Jackson Matt Jackson
Name(s)	The Elite
Debut	January 5, 2016
Promotions	NJPW ROH

The Elite is a professional wrestling stable that compete's in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and it is a subgroup of the Bullet Club stable. It was formed after Kenny Omega took over Bullet Club's leadership, he and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) formed their own subgroup.

History

On January 5, 2016 at the NJPW New Year's Dash the rest of Bullet Club turned on Styles and kicked him out of the group with Omega taking over the leadership.^[1] Omega also announced his graduation from the junior heavyweight division,^[2] stating that he did not want a rematch with Kushida, but instead a match with Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.^[3]

In the aftermath of Omega taking over Bullet Club's leadership, he and The Young Bucks formed their own subgroup within the stable, called "The Elite".^[4][5][6] Omega stated that he and The Young Bucks were The Elite, but accepted if NJPW continued calling them Bullet Club "in parentheses" as the stable was their "cash cow". He explained the name change by stating that following Anderson, Gallows and Styles' departures from NJPW, "Bullet Club [wasn't] so much the Bullet Club anymore", adding that the stable "had all sorts of wrestlers come and go. Some were good, some were bad, some were god-awful", but that "there's a place you can go to watch the most ridiculous and entertaining stuff in pro wrestling, and it's The Elite".^[7]

On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka he Young Bucks lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Matt Sydal and Ricochet in a three-way match, also involving reDRagon.^[8][9] Three days later at The New Beginning in Niigata, In the main event of the show, Omega defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated following Shinsuke Nakamura's departure from NJPW.^[10][11] On February 20 at Honor Rising: Japan 2016, Omega and The Young Bucks defeated the Briscoes and Yano to bring the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship back to Bullet Club, while also making Omega a double champion in the process.^[5] On April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016, The Elite lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu.^[12][13] On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016, The Elite regained the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship from Tanahashi, Elgin and Yoshitatsu.^[14][15] Five days later at the NJPW and ROH co-produced Global Wars show, Adam Cole was revealed as the newest member of Bullet Club as he helped the Guerrillas of Destiny and The Young Bucks taking over the ring in a show-closing angle.^[16] On June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, The Young Bucks won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the fifth time by defeating Matt Sydal and Ricochet, reDRagon and Roppongi Vice in a four-way elimination match.^[17] Later that same event Omega lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in NJPW's first ever ladder match to Michael Elgin.^[17] On July 3, Omega and The Young Bucks lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Matt Sydal, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima.^[18] From July 22 to August 13, Omega took part in the round-robin portion of the 2016 G1 Climax, where he won his block with a record of six wins and three losses, advancing to the finals.^[19] On August 14, Omega defeated Hirooki Goto in the finals to win the 2016 G1 Climax and earn a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017.^[20] With the win, Omega became the first non-Japanese G1 Climax winner.^[21]

In wrestling

• Triple-team finishing moves
  • Omega and The Young Bucks
    • Tiger Hattori Special (Rolling fireman's carry slam into a springboard moonsault by Omega followed by a high-angle senton bomb by Nick followed by a 450° splash by Matt)^[22]
  • The Young Bucks
    • Indytaker (Springboard spike kneeling reverse piledriver)^[23][24][25]
    • Meltzer Driver (Springboard somersault spike kneeling reverse piledriver)^[26]
    • More Bang 4 Your Buck (Rolling fireman's carry slam by Matt followed by a 450° splash by Nick followed by a moonsault by Matt)^[27][28]
• Omega's finishing moves
  • Croyt's Wrath (Electric chair dropped into a bridging German suplex)^[29]
  • Katayoku no Tenshi / One-Winged Angel (One-handed electric chair driver)^[30][31][32]
  • V-Trigger (Running knee strike)^[33][34][35] On September 30 at ROH's All Star Extravaganza VIII, The Young Bucks won the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the second time by defeating defending champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) in a three-way ladder match.^[36]

Championships and Accomplishments

• DDT Pro-Wrestling
  • Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time) - Young Bucks
• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times, current) - The Young Bucks^[37]
  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time) – Omega^[38]
  • NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times)^[39]
  • G1 Climax (2016) - Omega^[20]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked Kenny Omega No. 23 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016^[40]
  • Ranked Matt Jackson No. 46 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016^[40]
  • Ranked Nick Jackson No. 49 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015^[41]
• Ring of Honor
  • ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – The Young Bucks^[42]

References

1. Johnson, Mike (January 5, 2016). "AJ Styles & Nakamura-New Japan updates". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
2. Namako, Jason (January 5, 2016). "1/5 NJPW Results: Tokyo, Japan (Bullet Club turns on Styles)". Wrestleview. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
3. Rose, Bryan (January 5, 2016). "NJPW New Year's Dash report: Big Bullet Club angle, NEVER trios titles defended". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
4. "Omega & Bucks vs Kushida, ACH & Sydal at 14th Anniversary". Ring of Honor. February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
5. "Honor Rising:Japan 2016". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-02-20.
6. Barrasso, Justin (March 25, 2016). "Indie wrestling stars the Young Bucks are ready for anything, even the WWE". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
7. Oster, Aaron (February 24, 2016). "Kenny Omega Has Conquered Japan, Now He Wants the New Day". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
8. Meltzer, Dave (February 11, 2016). "NJPW Beginnings live results: IWGP Heavyweight championship Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
9. <??>IWGP??????????????????. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
10. Meltzer, Dave (February 13, 2016). "NJPW New Beginnings: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega for the IWGP IC Title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
11. ???????????????????. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
12. Meltzer, Dave (April 9, 2016). "NJPW Invasion Attack live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
13. ???·?????????1?????? ?????6???????. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
14. Rose, Bryan (May 3, 2016). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku results: Super Juniors lineups; IWGP champ Naito vs. Ishii". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
15. ??????????????·??? ?????????????. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
16. Caldwell, James (May 8, 2016). "5/8 ROH Global Wars PPV Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
17. Meltzer, Dave (June 18, 2016). "NJPW Dominion live results: Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP HW Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
18. Meltzer, Dave (July 2, 2016). "NJPW Kizuna Road 2016 live results: Katsuyori Shibata defends NEVER title, Young Bucks, Kenny Omega". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
19. "2016 New Japan G1 Climax Results". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
20. Meltzer, Dave (2016-08-13). "NJPW G1 Climax 26 finals live results: Hirooki Goto vs. Kenny Omega". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
21. 【8月14日（日）両国全カード！】『G1』決勝は後藤vsケニー！　オカダ＆矢野＆丸藤組！ L・I・J揃い踏み！ノア・潮崎、谷口、北宮が緊急参戦！【G126】. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
22. "Honor Rising:Japan 2016". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 21, 2016.
23. "Road to Power Struggle". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 4, 2014.
24. "Road to Power Struggle". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 4, 2014.
25. "Road to Power Struggle". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 4, 2014.
26. ROH&????????War of the Worlds '15 Night 1?. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 13, 2015.
27. "Road to Power Struggle". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
28. "Road to Power Struggle". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
29. ???·???. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 13, 2014.
30. ???·???. Dramatic Dream Team (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
31. ???1·4??????IWGP?????????????????. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). January 5, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
32. Kapur, Bob (January 4, 2015). "Wrestle Kingdom 9: New Japan and Global Force joint effort a must-see event". Slam! Sports. Canoe.ca. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
33. "Road to The New Beginning". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2016.
34. Rose, Bryan (January 30, 2016). "NJPW Road to New Beginning report: Nakamura bids farewell to New Japan". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
35. ??????? ??????????????. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
36. Meltzer, Dave; Currier, Joseph (September 30, 2016). "ROH All Star Extravaganza live results: Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
37. "Jr. Heavy tag weight class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2015.
38. "InterContinental champion". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2015.
39. "NEVER open weight 6 men tag class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 20, 2016.
40. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
41. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
42. "World Tag Team Championship". Ring of Honor. Retrieved September 30, 2016.

External links

• Bullet Club at Shop.NJPW.co.jp (Japanese)