Heartwarming / Bullet Club

• The whole way that AJ won over the Bullet Club behind the scenes, as described by himself, Fale, and several other members from that time. Initially certain members (most likely the "core four" of Tama, Fale, Anderson and Gallows), while recognizing his talent and the great boon his addition could prove, held onto some internal resentment towards the outsider coming in and taking the place that their good friend was abdicating as the man to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on the first annual Bullet Club Day. Part of the reason for Anderson being treated as the leader despite Styles becoming the group's new ace is that, having been one of the original four dojo boys, they knew that he had their backs. Shortly after the title victory, AJ had a heart-to-heart with the other members and told them that everything he did in NJPW from that point on would be to push Bullet Club forward, not just himself.
  • Since then, it is known fact that the core four, especially Anderson and Gallows, consider Styles to be their brother — and the same holds true vice versa. Since he, Anderson, and Gallows followed in Devitt's footsteps and left for WWE, Styles has made it known on numerous occasions that he's pushed for WWE to work an angle with the four of them. The best he got was The OC run with Anderson and Gallows in 2019-2020, in which they crossed paths with Finn Bálor just a couple of times, and once Gallows and Anderson were released as part of the COVID-19 restructuring budget cuts, he described feeling devastated about it, treating it as though he was responsible for taking care of his brothers and somehow failed to do so. Styles has been consistently reported as being furious backstage in the ensuing months following The Good Brothers' departure. It got to the point his move back to SmackDown in June 2020 was said to be because of his anger towards Paul Heyman for not fighting harder to keep Anderson and Gallows employed (though as Styles hinted and Anderson and Gallows confirmed, what Heyman did wasn't nearly "not fighting hard enough to keep them" so much as "actively putting them on the chopping block while charming them to think otherwise"). Not bad for someone plugged into a position many fans thought he was ill-fit for.
• The night that Omega became the first ever gaijin winner of New Japan's annual G1 Climax Tournament Arc, he used both Devitt/Bálor's Bloody Sunday and Styles' Styles Clash on Hirooki Goto before finishing Goto off with the One-Winged Angel. See Fridge Brilliance for what it shows about how things are between him and Styles, and note that it also shows no hard feelings towards Devitt for beating him up when he was still a face during the early days of the stable. Then after the match, when he had the opportunity to wave the flag of the G1 Climax, he declined and chose to wave the Bullet Club flag instead. Given his insane Funny Foreigner persona, being the Bastard Understudy to AJ Styles, and some of his comments in interviews about The Elite being his main concern and Bullet Club basically still being a thing because it's a Cash-Cow Franchise, it's nice to know Kenny is still deep down loyal to the brotherhood and not just using them for success.
• AJ Styles and Finn Bálor in a rare picture together, posted in a Tweet by the Prince congratulating Kenny Omega on the aforementioned historic achievement. Bullet Club 4 Life. What makes it more heartwarming was this was taken after the brand split, where Bálor and Styles are currently operating on different shows, and that Styles was happy to show his support despite Omega being the (kayfabe) one responsible for kicking him out of the Bullet Club.
• Speaking of which, in an interview with WhatCulture Wrestling's Adam Blampied, AJ briefly mentions his excommunication from NJPW while talking about Omega's finisher tribute to him and Devitt during the G1 Climax final. This doubles as funny because of the matter-of-fact and deadpan delivery and heartwarming because it exemplifies AJ's closeness with the rest of the Bullet Club crew both on and off the screens:
  "I appreciate that, even though they did beat me up before I left. Um, I hope people forget about that."
• Following AJ filling in as Finn Bálor's opponent TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2017 in an absolutely epic encounter, they faced each other in the ring and exchanged first a handshake…then a Too Sweet. And contrary to what Elite fans may be thinking after the Cease & Desist, the "one-sweet" thing, and the traded shots between Being the Elite and Roman Reigns, Vince McMahon did not even tell them to do that, much less as a shot at the Elite. That moment was all Finn and AJ.
  @AJStylesOrg: Just so you know Luis. Vince had nothing to do with the 2 sweet between Fin and I. In fact, I say it was two men showing the world that we haven't forgotten where we came from. Forever we will love our BC brothers.
• Unlike WWE, NJPW accepted being forced into downtime and did not cut any talent when the COVID-19 event struck the world. However, one Bullet Club member managed to create a heartwarming moment even during the quarantine. When asked what he considers to be his best entrance from his time in NJPW, Jay White chose the entrance for his 2019 G1 Climax final against Kota Ibushi. Despite the fact that he's had more than a fair share of Hero Killer victories whose entrances he could herald since assuming the ruthlessly cutthroat persona of The Switchblade, a character whose previous faction run saw him pose as the most treacherous wrestler in all of NJPW, Jay picked an entrance from a match in which he lost as his fondest to date because it was the first time he was flanked to the ring by the entire united covenant of Bullet Club.
  Jay White: That was Bullet Club, unified. That was Bullet Club, stronger than ever. Everybody was saying, 'Bullet Club is dead. It's not what it used to be.' No no no, that moment right there showed that Bullet Club is better than ever, because of that moment, and that is my favorite entrance.
  • It was also summed up really well by a commenter:
  "This is a Bullet Club that hasn't been seen in a while. Brothers, walking down to the ring together, reveling in their power. No split factions. No one thinking that they're better than the rest. A Bullet Club that has not been seen since the days of AJ Styles. This is the true Bullet Club. #4Life"
• Jay White being supportive of Gallows and Anderson when they went to WWE and backed up AJ Styles just six months after he officially brought them back into Bullet Club, treating them as not only still being members of Bullet Club, but contributing to his plan for The Club by spreading its influence across the globe. He even gave his approval to Mia Yim as a new member in an interview after she was added to The OC, while answering a question not about Mia, but about Gallows and Anderson. While par for the course, it's still nice to see The Switchblade put aside his ruthless and sometimes treacherous streak to support the boys in a manner consistent with his character even when many hardcore fans wouldn't.
• Despite the personal rivalry developed between Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga on the route to Wrestle Kingdom 17, the backstage aftermath of the match saw Karl and Tama make amends over beer and the Machine Gun put over his former protege before leaving. Despite both men no longer being full-time members of Bullet Club with Tama's ex-communication and Anderson's commitments to WWE, it felt nice to see two of the four founders link up before going their separate ways.