10 Wrestling Storylines That Wasted Incredible Premises
2. The Bullet Club Civil War
The premise:
In a cracking slow-build that respected the intelligence of the dedicated Bullet Club fandom, the stable splintered very subtly in 2018 unbeknownst to the Elite, who were too absorbed in their own strife to notice an hilariously apathetic Tama Tonga no-selling a chair-throwing battle in their civil war. This was all phenomenally layered storytelling that only teased the agony of the unthinkable (brilliantly, in the case of Cody replacing the iconic, sacrosanct design in his own image).
The Elite never did explode, only threatening to throughout some incredible pro wrestling matches. At the G1 Special in San Francisco, Omega extended forgiveness to Cody after their main event. But, in a great twist, he offered it to the wrong party; Tonga, Tanga Loa and King Haku brutalised them in act one of a war that never made it to act three.
The waste:
The Elite left New Japan before it could conclude in any meaningful way, not that it had a strong chance of doing so. When he disengages troll mode, Tama Tonga is a very capable tag team wrestler, but his subsequent, deeply obnoxious G1 Climax run ruined what was only a tentative anticipation, given the huge gulf in quality and credibility between the two sides.