Tanga Loa On Bullet Club’s Split From The Elite, Calling Out The Revival And The Usos
Tanga Loa recently spoke with Andrew Thompson of POST Wrestling about Bullet Club splitting from The Elite, noting that it felt like it was time to distance themselves from what became two distinctly different groups in one faction. He noted that the group was full of great talent but there was a real difference between The Elite and the original members.
“I think when two of the members, the original members of Bullet Club feel like the club is not holding on to its roots, the tradition, that mindset of what started Bullet Club, I think they felt it necessary to pump the brakes and establish what it meant to be a part of Bullet Club, and San Francisco, I think was that point where we had to draw the line in the sand.”
When asked about what New Japan’s tag division needs, Tanga Loa said he talks with Tama Tonga about it frequently and said they need some growth. He said there’s a lot of phenomenal teams out there in other companies and while it’s not their final decision, they do like to treat independent dates as ‘scouting’ the teams out there.
“Unfortunately, we’re not in charge of how tag teams come into play but I know whenever Tama and I have off from the New Japan schedule, we talk about trying to get in somewhere with an independent show to test out a tag team. It’s a recruiting tour as well for us to let the office know, ‘Hey, there’s a tag team here or there that you guys should take a look at. We work well with them. They might be good for the junior weight division and/or the heavyweight division, depending on the size and their athletic ability.’”
Tanga Loa was also asked about calling out The Revival and The Usos in their post-match promo at Dominion 2019, and he said that was really meant as a shout-out and a sign of respect. He noted that besides wanting to give props, it was also meant to serve as a heads up to New Japan to perhaps look outside for new talent that they might not otherwise know about.
“One, just wanted to shout out those teams that we recognized as amazing tag teams in our industry right now and they are the essence of what real tag teams are. So, one, that’s respect, name-dropping like that and then two, going back to what you were saying earlier — finding tag teams outside of New Japan to face against, especially for World Tag League, I mean, that’s a great tournament and that’s a great way for a tag team talent who’s not known around the world to jump on something in New Japan, to show their talent amongst New Japan tag teams. So, doing that, I think, besides the respect part, lets New Japan know, ‘Hey, it’s time to look outside our box and really take a look at young talent that’s available out there.’ There’s a lot of hungry guys out there and it’s important to keep an eye out for them.”