WWE's AJ Styles Explains Why He Didn't Want To Be The 'Leader' Of Bullet Club In NJPW

Throughout its 13 year existence, Bullet Club became one of the most successful stables in the history of both New Japan Pro Wrestling, and the wider wrestling world. One major reason for that was the group was always led by one of NJPW's top stars, such as Kenny Omega, Prince Devitt, and "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, but despite being considered many as the second official leader of Bullet Club after Devitt left NJPW in 2014, Styles doesn't necessarily see it that way.

During a recent appearance on the "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" podcast with Cody Rhodes, another former Bullet Club member, Styles stated that while people refer to him as a former leader of Bullet Club, he never made that call himself. "I never claimed to be the leader of the Bullet Club," Styles said.

"Our whole thing was, at least the way I presented it to the world, was we don't follow anybody, and so therefore that means you don't follow me. I'm not your leader, I'm just part of this group because we don't follow anybody, and that was a way for me to make sure that everybody stays important. It wasn't just one guy, like we as a group were a big deal, I didn't want it to be about AJ Styles, I didn't want it to be about [Doc] Gallows and [Karl] Anderson, I wanted it to be about all of us together, and I thought that's what made it special."

Styles rounded off by saying that you could tell that everyone in Bullet Club was enjoying themselves and having a good time, which in turn made the group more popular in Japan because when people see their attitudes and think it's cool and want to either be a part of it, or support it. Bullet Club was quietly disbanded at the beginning of 2026, with the remaining members either leaving NJPW, or joining the new Unbound Co. stable led by Yota Tsuji.

Please credit "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.