In-Depth Interview With Bullet Club's Karl Anderson

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Source: WrestlingInc

Sean Ross Sapp spoke to Bullet Club member and IWGP Tag Team Champion "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson recently ahead of next week's huge Wrestle Kingdom 10 show. Anderson speaks about his friendship with NXT Champion Finn Bálor, negotiating with WWE, NJPW's aggressive expansion into America, and several other topics.

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The Bullet Club has blown up, even domestically. Did you expect something that huge when it started?

"When I look back on it, I guess I did. When it first started, I don't thing Ferg (Finn Bálor), Tama and Fale and I realized how big it would get with the number of shirts we've sold and the positive feedback we've gotten, when those bone soldier shirts came out. We have so much chemistry and so much fun in the ring doing what we do, I should have realized it would be as big. It's been fun and it's still going. A lot of people think it's dying and there's too many people in it and all this other bulls--t, but it's still going good, making money and selling shirt. I was doing laundry earlier and realized I had like 15 different kinds of Bullet Club shirts. I was actually bragging to the #HotAsianWife earlier how well Bullet Club shirts in Japan were selling, and she was mad at me for not getting her one, and I said 'I couldn't get you one, because they sold out too fast, baby.'"

That shirt transcends wrestling, and now WWE has the Bálor Club shirts. How did you feel about that?

"It's great. Ferg is one of my best buddies in the world. It's awesome. WWE is WWE. It's cool, it's huge, it's great, I have a lot of friends there. I loved it, I'm glad they made Bálor Club. You never know, one day it might be cool to join Bálor Club."

Speaking of, have you ever had conversations with WWE or TNA about coming in?

"Yeah, I've had lots of conversations. I don't want to give the cliche answer and say business is business. If the right offer came along, you never know what could happen. I love New Japan, I love wrestling in Japan and I love the fans and how comfortable I am over there. I've been there for 8 years, but if the right offer came, I'm not scared to come to America."

Your former tag partner Jason Albert is the head trainer at NXT now. How'd you feel about that move?

"Yeah, he likes to let me know that he's the head coach down there. He lets me know a lot. It's a smart move. He's always been a respected guy within professional wrestling, but he taught me a lot in Japan. He has an unbelievably smart mind for professional wrestling and I think it was a great move to make him head coach at NXT. I'm glad for him and happy for his family. He gets to be home more."

You have this big IWGP Heavyweight Tag Title Match at Wrestle Kingdom 10 on January 4, with yourself and Doc Gallows taking on Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe. Do these Big Shows ever get old? It looks like a blast.

"No, man! I'm still pumped. I was playing with my kids today and got a call from AJ Styles and realize we have Wrestle Kingdom next week, and I started getting pumped. There's going to be over 30,000 range there. It's awesome. Makabe and Honma are over as you're going to find, especially in Japan because they're on regular TV with their own shows in Japan, so they're even more famous and transcending wrestling in Japan. To face them in Tokyo, which is like f--kin' New York for WWE, it's going to be sweet, man."

NJPW has moved aggressively into America with PPV, English commentary, the AXS show. Being one of their bigger English language speaking stars, do they approach you about any of this for input?

"No they don't. They do their own thing. They know what they're doing, know what they wanna do, know where they wanna go. They have a vision and they're doing it. They don't ask me for advice, they don't need it, they seem to be doing fine. I don't know if down the line they may need advice from somebody in America, but I'd like to see where NJPW can go in the next 5-10 years. I think it can blow up if done properly."

You've worked with Global Force Wrestling lately too. Tell us about that.

"It's been fun. Whenever I'm asked about Global Force, I have nothing bad to say. It was awesome, tons of Bullet Club fans, relaxed atmosphere, the boys were cool, Jeff was cool, Karen was awesome, it's cool to see Sonjay. I love wrestling in baseball stadiums because it's fun to wrestle in a ballpark and outside. I wish nothing but the best for GFW. I hope they can catch on with whatever they're trying to catch on because I'd like to work for them as much as possible."

What would you tell a non-NJPW fan about Wrestle Kingdom 10?

"Wrestle Kingdom is the biggest event in Japan, it's like WrestleMania in Japan. It's cool to know there are other companies thriving besides WWE. You'll turn the TV on and see between 30-50,000 people inside this dome going on in Japan. NJPW is thriving and it's not going anywhere, they've got 15-16 foreigners under contract now that they're booking every single tour. They have an owner who has a lot of money and NJPW is doing great. You're going to see great wrestling. Hard hitting, high flying, probably the best wrestling in the world when it comes down to in between the ropes."
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