From Bullet Club To Judgement Day, Finn Bálor Proves He's A Natural Born Leader

Regardless of the promotion he's represented, Finn Bálor has proven time again that he will excel when presented with a challenge. Whether it was his time in NJPW that marked the genesis of The Bullet Club, or his memorable run in WWE, Bálor has set himself above the pack with consistency and leadership skills. 

He has often been placed at the forefront of the groups he's in — The Bullet Club in New Japan, the Bálor Club variant in WWE alongside Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, and The Judgment Day faction alongside Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio. 

Bálor's ability to elevate himself and his allies started truly shining through with the first rendition of The Bullet Club. The former Universal Champion revealed in a 2015 episode of "Talk Is Jericho" that he was the one with the original idea for the group. His inspiration for the "Bullet Club" title was because he was nicknamed "the real shooter" and Karl Anderson was fondly called "Machine Gun." Bálor, Anderson, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Luke Gallows, and The Young Bucks — Matt and Nick Jackson — went on to dominate their respective divisions.

Though his intention was for it to just be him and Bad Luck Fale as his bodyguard, management altered the plans slightly to make it a faction. Bálor was the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion when the group started gaining steam, and then went on to win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

By the end of 2013, Bullet Club was in possession of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles, while they had also won three of the five NJPW annual tournaments. Finn Bálor's dominance caught the attention of WWE and he signed with the company in 2014. 

Not long after, he was crowned the NXT Champion when he defeated Kevin Owens. His arrival on WWE's main roster was equally impressive, with Bálor quickly earning his way to a one-on-one match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016 for the new Universal Championship and became the inaugural champion. 

In 2022, Bálor transformed into a ruthless character after joining The Judgment Day. A faction that felt lackluster after Edge was eliminated from the group became truly terrifying, and a major part of that has been down to Bálor. His mic skills, aggression in the ring, and uniquely spiked mask he sometimes wears brought an irreplaceable element to the group. 

During the run with Judgment Day, he was allowed to let his heel side shine, something we've not witnessed in WWE, and also picked up definitive victories over legends like Edge and Rey Mysterio. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque reportedly wasn't a fan of the group when they started out. But the impressive transformation of the four characters, whom WWE had grown accustomed to seeing as babyfaces, may have sold him on the concept — and Balor may have played a big part in this change.