When Cody Rhodes left WWE in 2016, his future in professional wrestling was removed from sure. However the wrestler was decided to make it huge with out WWE’s equipment, and he did precisely that. Rhodes had spectacular runs in Ring of Honor and TNA, profitable the World Title with the previous. Arguably, it was his stint in New Japan Professional Wrestling (NJPW) that catapulted him into international stardom.
He joined NJPW in 2016, asserting himself as the latest member of The Bullet Membership. He had a number of high-profile matches and even received the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. Nevertheless, it’s his affiliation with the faction that followers most bear in mind him for. Bullet Membership was a longtime secure that included varied leaders over time. Nevertheless, Rhodes’s current feedback in regards to the widespread group have drawn ire from the followers.
Cody Rhodes Faces Criticism for Daring Bullet Membership Claims
Based in 2013, Bullet Membership turned one of the distinguished factions in professional wrestling. They have been led by Finn Balor (fka Prince Devitt) on the top of their recognition after which noticed AJ Kinds take over because the chief. AEW star Kenny Omega additionally took over the reins simply when Rhodes was discovering his ft in NJPW.
Whereas he was not thought-about the chief of the group at the moment, he did turn out to be an vital member later. Wrestling followers have argued over whether or not he added something to the secure, however Rhodes believes he was chargeable for the group being commercially profitable.
Talking on his “What Do You Wanna Discuss About” podcast, he stated, “I speak with AJ and Finn about this on a regular basis. Bullet Membership was so cool when Finn Balor was doing it. So cool when AJ Kinds was doing it, however they weren’t like printing cash. It wasn’t the cash making enterprise. I joined, and it did begin getting cash. Nevertheless, it was the least cool factor ever.” Protected to say, his feedback didn’t go down effectively with a bit of the net wrestling group.
A fan took to X and posted, “Cody Rhodes is filled with c*ap Finn Balor, AJ Kinds and Kenny Omega made Bullet Membership related and worthwhile.”
Followers have been removed from pleased with Rhodes’s evaluation, with one indignant consumer noting, “Cody useless to me after right now.”
Cody useless to me after right now.
— Mengetsu #BLM 🇵🇷 (@MengetsuSetsuna) June 11, 2025
Balor was instrumental in founding the group alongside King Fale and later Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga. Bullet Membership grew over time with the likes of The Younger Bucks and Kenny Omega becoming a member of them with AJ Kinds as their chief.
Highlighting this, a fan famous, “The truth that he’s all the time making an attempt to dismiss TYB and Kenny, reveals what a narcissist piece of sh*t he’s.”
Criticism continued to pour in, with followers reminding Rhodes that it was his affiliation with the Bullet Membership that propelled his profession. A fan talked about, “And bullet membership saved Cody’s failing profession.”
And bullet membership saved Cody’s failing profession
— Ace Corino (@CorinoAce) June 11, 2025
One other fan referred to as out the claims of The American Nightmare, saying, “Cody is simply too company now. To say Bullet Membership wasn’t worthwhile is a lie. The most effective heel faction in NJPW for over a decade.”
Cody is simply too company now . To say Bullet Membership wasn’t worthwhile is a lie. The most effective heel faction in NJPW for over a decade .
— Zach Grill (@Zgrobbot) June 11, 2025
Rhodes would possibly stand by his argument, however the followers aren’t having it. The Bullet Membership not solely put NJPW within the highlight, however it additionally helped Rhodes turn out to be a extra distinguished star. His ‘American Nightmare’ gimmick first got here into focus in NJPW as a part of the faction. In actual fact, the group was so widespread that WWE tried to capitalize on its identify.
WWE Tried to Get Bullet Membership Rights
Again in 2016, it was reported that WWE needed to purchase the Bullet Membership brand and even tried to get all of the rights of the faction. Nevertheless, NJPW refused to promote, and WWE determined to have its model of the group.
Having signed AJ Kinds, they aligned him with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, dubbing them as ‘The OC.’ Regardless of AJ getting a push in consequence, the faction failed to realize the identical recognition as its NJPW counterpart.
Inconsistent reserving and never having correct factions to feud with led to the group being phased out over time.
