A massive brawl broke out on the October 21st edition of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Dynamite. The chaos started after Jon Moxley of the Death Riders defeated Roderick Strong of the Conglomeration in a Continental Championship Qualifier match. Shortly after the match Clark Connors and David Finlay of The Dogs charged the ring to beat down Strong. Moxley came back to the ring to call off The Dogs but the peace was short lived. As soon as Moxley turned around he was taken down from behind by The Dogs. Gabe Kidd who has allegiance to both The Dogs and The Death Riders came down and was quickly ousted from the Dogs as Kidd took a spear from Connors. At that point Jay White from the Bang Bang Gang charged the ring with Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly from the Conglomeration seemingly to aid Moxley and Strong only for Jay White to turn on them and align himself with the Dogs.
A full-on brawl broke out as the rest of the Bang Bang Gang (Austin and Colton Gunn, Juice Robinson, and Ace Austin) joined with White and The Dogs, as the rest of the Death Riders (Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli, and Marina Shafir) came to the ring to try and defend their leader, but in the end it was the Bang Bang Gang and The Dogs standing tall.
The turn was a surprise to many, but here is why I am excited about the newly formed alliance.
The Dogs and The Bang Bang Gang - A Match Made in Heaven
Fresh Coat of Paint for the Bang Bang Gang
The Bang Bang Gang has been part of AEW in some capacity since Jay White signed with the promotion in 2023. Originally called “Bullet Club Gold” and starting as the team of Jay White and Juice Robinson, The Gunns joined them shortly after the groups inception. Ace Austin rounded out the group after he signed with AEW in 2025.
The group has had mixed success, with Jay White and The Gunns holding trios gold in both AEW and Ring of Honor (ROH). However, the team’s momentum has been stifled at times due to injuries to White and Juice. It has been hard for the team to have a consistent place in the greater AEW landscape due to the rotating injuries to the team.
The stable received some fresh blood when Ace Austin, who has a strong history of tag team wrestling with long-time partner Chris Bey during the duo’s time together in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.
Now the alignment with the Dogs gives the long-standing stable a shot in the arm and a fresh coat of paint. It also gives once tag team partners David Finlay and Juice Robinson a chance to reunite under new circumstances and with plenty of options for trios tag team matches. With plenty of tag team combination options available and a brewing rivalry with the Death Riders and the Conglomeration, there are plenty of storyline and match options for the Dogs and the Bang Bang Gang.
Bullet Club Nostalgia
Bullet Club was a key part of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) becoming popular in the United States. The Japan based group eventually had spin-off subgroups based in the United States that further cemented their place in North American wrestling. One of those featured Ace Austin with then tag team partner Chris Bey. Jey White himself also made appearances in TNA/IMPACT during his tenure as leader of the Bullet Club alongside Austin, Bey, and other Bullet Club members such as ELP, Hikuleo, and the Guriellas of Destiny. That is far from the only Bullet Club connection within this new alliance, however.
Jay White was the fourth leader of the Bullet Club, taking over after Kenny Omega departed the stable in late 2018, shortly before formally signing with AEW in 2019. White led the club until he departed for AEW in 2023.
David Finlay took over as the leader of Bullet Club in 2023, but it was not a peaceful transition of power. At Battle in the Valley in February of 2023, Jey White lost a “Loser Leaves NJPW” match to Eddie Kingston. Before White could get on the microphone to address the crowd for a farewell speech, he was jumped by David Finlay. Finlay was appointed the leader of Bullet Club just weeks later at the NJPW 51st Anniversary Show, after his beatdown of White gained the attention of long time Bullet Club manager, Gedo.
Finlay’s leadership saw the War Dogs splinter faction come to fruition with members Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin, and Clark Connors. The fact that Kidd was dropped from the new Bang Bang Gang/Dogs faction has plenty of fuel for a brutal and fun storyline, given his long history as part of the Bullet Club War Dogs.
Bullet Club left a memorable mark on wrestling history. For many fans, they were the introduction to New Japan Pro Wrestling, and the members’ constant appearances in independent promotions throughout the 2010’s brought many fans to the NJPW product. Alumni members such as Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), A.J. Styles, and Adam Cole eventually signing with NXT/WWE also brought more eyes to Bullet Club and NJPW. The stable has many memorable moments from its decade-plus run of dominance, and the nostalgia of seeing former members and leaders standing together (sorry Gabe Kidd) is a fun bit of nostalgia coming across television screens every week.
Brutal War Against Death Riders
Jon Moxley is the ace of AEW. He is also one of the most hardcore wrestlers on the card. Inside and outside of an AEW ring, he is known for a hardcore wrestling style, frequently featuring bleeding and heavy foreign object use. The Death Riders took part in the 2025 Blood and Guts match against the Conglomeration. The match lived up to the promised brutality with plenty of blood, foreign objects, and pain inflicted across the two caged rings.
Connors, Kidd, and Finlay took part in the “Dog Pound” match that saw the War Dogs take on the United Empire in a 5 on 5 no DQ all out war. The match was a sharp departure from the normal NJPW style that heavily focuses on hard strikes, techincal mastery, and pure one on one clean competition. The match left many of the participants a bloody mess and left a memorable impression on NJPW fans.
The War Dogs also squared off with the Bullet Club members in the “House of Torture” subgroup in a Dog Pound match for control of the Bullet Club faction. Once again, many members were left banged up after the rare NJPW match type.
The ingredients are all there for an absolute bloodbath. Gabe Kidd is the wild card here as he has been removed from the Dogs and is seemingly finding himself on team Death Riders/Conglomeration. He has a vendetta against the Dogs, and we have seen him get bloody on many occasions. AEW is no stranger to long-term faction-based storylines, and we could see members of this feud in a Blood and Guts match in 2027.
Built-in Time Bomb with Finlay and White
All good things must come to an end, and this faction has a built-in time bomb. As mentioned earlier, the transition of Bullet Club leadership from White to Finlay was anything but peaceful. This was called back to when White and Finlay were in the ring together on Dynamite as Finlay handed the Shillelagh off to White during the beatdown of the Death Riders.
The two can only work side by side for so long before jealousy and revenge become top of mind for one of them. Of course, there are many ways this story can end, but there is a built-in dynamic between the two former leaders of the storied NJPW faction.
How do you feel about the merger of the two factions? Sound off in the comments below.
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