Bullets and Rice and Gravy

[saintpat]

Can someone more well-versed in Japanese wrestling explain to me how Gallows and Anderson and Albert became big sensations there?

I understand that the Bullet Club was basically some kind of invading force of non-Japanese wrestlers and I get how AJ Styles and (due to his entrance) Balor got over there, but these three mystify me.

Gallows made his name mostly as a comedy act in WWE and was never a serious force, same with Albert.

I know Anderson had a long run in Japan and made a name for himself before his BC days, but I've seen him live and on a few ROH matches and don't see anything special about him, just kind of a generic brawler who I'd have trouble believing would ever make it out of NXT if he had gone that route.

I frankly don't see a long-term future for Gallows and Anderson in WWE, but I could be wrong. They'll be good for an angle that can last a year or so trading off between AJ and a called-up Finn or something, but my guess is that's about it.

So what made these otherwise indistinguished acts go over so big in Japan. Someone will say "booking," but Albert as Tensai was booked to be a monster heel in WWE and never got over, so I don't think that's the whole story.

[Deleted]

This is just a guess, but gaijin tend to be held in higher regard because they are often presented as people who didn't give a damn about customs and will do as they please, making them exotic and intriguing to a Japanese audience who want to see their own overcome the evildoers (kinda mirroring traditional wrestling xenophobia, ironically). It doesn't really matter what they were before in WWE; they are often given a different presentation once they arrive, anyway.

It's been like this since before the days of Stan Hansen & Dr. Death Steve Williams.

[Professor Chaos]

Everything better over Sushi with Japenese businessmen.

[Deleted]

I get what you're saying, and I personally find Gallows and Anderson a bit underwhelming, but for the record, Balor only did the whole paint thing over there a few times.

He got over for years as a risk-taking babyface, and then became a cocky, slimy heel who did stuff that was kinda cool (riding on Fale's shoulders, "Captain f***ing New Japan?," etc.).

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

I liked em just fine, figure they just need to find a groove.


Their outfits with the mask on it just makes me want to call them The Shockmasters.