For years during the 2010s, Bullet Club revolutionized what an international faction could accomplish, as the anti-authority gang spread its reach from New Japan Pro Wrestling to Ring of Honor to offshoot versions The Club/OC and Balor Club in WWE. A great group or stable will always find a deeper place in history if its a story that follows its members to other promotions, altering their timelines too – a universal kayfabe. While WWE will never publicly acknowledge Bullet Club or NJPW on WWE television, the story of The OC is dependent on knowing the reason why the Club is together and WWE is quick to point out their history together in Japan whenever they united on TV. But since The Elite became All Elite, Bullet Club has slipped in the wrestling zeitgeist and has been replaced by another stable, although this time, its one that comes from Mexico. The international syndicate known as Los Ingobernables. And after the events of Monday Night Raw, it would appear that the tale of the ungovernable may have reached its fourth promotion.
LOS! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/y0UR30P9tL
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) April 14, 2020
La Revolución 2020: The Year of Los Ingobernables
Becoming Ungovernable (CMLL)
In 2013, CMLL was seeing some of their new stars emerge as future stars, with young tecnicos (babyfaces) Rush, La Sombra and La Máscara. But by the summer of 2013, tides were turning. Rush was beginning to use rudo (heel) tactics in his matches, drawing the ire of his fans, while La Sombra turned rudo following his rival, Volador Jr., turning tecnico. Rush paired up with La Máscara and won the CMLL World Tag Team titles that October, becoming one of the most hated duos in the company. La Sombra had also made his mark in NJPW, where he captured the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. By 2014, the three were ready to make their impact felt and at Super Viernes in April that spring, they would unite and attack Volador Jr., Negro Casas, Shocker, and Mr. Niebla, announcing to the world they were taking over. The trio that would become known as Los Ingobernables had arrived.
Los Ingobernables (CMLL)
La Sombra would bring them their first singles gold as a new faction, defeating Volador Jr. for the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship (becoming a double champ as he was also reigning World Historic Middleweight Champion). Rush began tagging with former Marco Corleone (former WWE Superstar Mark Jindrak), who had worked alongside Rush in La Tercia Sensacion, and soon became the fourth member of Los Ingobernables.
In 2015, Tetsuya Naito arrived in CMLL on an excursion from New Japan and began to tag with La Sombra. By the end of his tour, he had learned the ways of tranquilo and become the fifth member of the group. La Sombra and Rush would finally but heads later that year, seeing La Sombra lose his mask in a Hair vs Mask Match, but would make amends just in time for La Sombra’s departure from CMLL. He headed to NXT and became Andrade “Cien” Almas, winning the NXT Championship.
Over the next few years, they would become a crime syndicate, bullying their way into the CMLL main events. La Máscara would leave briefly after feuding with Rush’s family in 2016, after Rush’s father, CMLL veteran Perrioth (now La Bestia del Ring) joined the stable, before returning to add the CMLL World Light Heavyweight title to the stables trophy case. Unfortunately, he was fired from CMLL in the spring of 2017. Soon after, Los Revolucionarios del Terror‘s Rey Escorpion turned on his stable to join Los Ingobernables, assuming La Máscara’s spot in the group. He too would leave CMLL by year’s end.
By the early, it was a new look Los Ingobernables, as Rush lead a unit with La Bestia and El Terrible (with sporadic appearances from Naito), with Rush and El Terrible capturing the group’s second CMLL World Tag Team titles. Rush began to work with Ring of Honor on a more consistent basis in late 2018 and signed with the company in 2019, becoming a 2x ROH World Champion. But shockingly, in October 2018, Rush and La Bestia were fired from CMLL, leaving Los Ingobernables a shattered memory.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NJPW)
Upon his return from Mexico in 2015, Naito continued to represent Los Ingobernables in New Japan, carrying on the destino gangster persona in his homeland. He was soon joined by another returning New Japan star from excursion, Takaaki Watanabe, who joined Naito’s side and changed his name to EVIL. That fall, the new allied duo entered the 2015 World Tag League tournament, under the banner of Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ), and on opening night revealed their third member to be BUSHI, returning from injury. The following spring, Naito won the 2016 New Japan Cup to start a huge year that saw him win his first IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships. His World title win over Kazuchika Okada came at Invasion Attack 2016 that April, when SANADA made his debut to assist Naito and join LIJ. SANADA arrived following runs with TNA and All Japan Pro Wrestling.
LIJ became the new home for the returning prospects, as Hiromu Takahashi joined the stable in December 2016 after a 3-year excursion in CMLL, where he was the CMLL World Lightweight Champion. It only took a couple of months for Takahashi to capture his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight title and soon the trio of BUSHI, EVIL & TAKADA were NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. LIJ was becoming synonymous with the glitter of gold.
By 2018, LIJ was looking to expand its membership once again, as other factions like Bullet Club and CHAOS gained more foot soldiers. In October of 2018, it was revealed that Shingo Takagi from Dragon Gate had arrived and was the latest member of TIJ. The addition of Shingo only made LIJ more powerful. EVIL & SANDA have become 2x IWGP Tag Team Champions, Takahashi has is the reigning and 3x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, BUSHI & Shingo have won IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team gold, and the stable are 4x NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Naito continues to be its guiding force, as the reigning 2x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and reigning 5x IWGP Intercontinental Champion. So far 2020 has been the land of Los Ingobernables by itself.
Los Mercenarios (AAA)
While Los Ingobernables may have left CMLL (for now), it’s been inserting itself into their rival, AAA Lucha Libre, for a few years. La Máscara had arrived in AAA after his CMLL firing and was teaming with his brother Maximo in Los Mosqueteros del Diablo. But in August of 2018, all that ended, when Máscara turned on his brother to finally bring the mantra of Los Ingobernables to AAA with another former member, Rey Escorpion. By the fall, Los Mercenarios had recruited former 2x AAA Mega Champion Texano Jr. into their cause, as well as AAA Latin America Champion El Hijo del Fantasma. Texano and Rey Scorpion would capture the AAA World Tag Team titles for the stable. By early 2019, Máscara and Fantasma left AAA, with Los Mercenarios adding Taurus and women’s wrestler La Hiedra.
La Facción Ingobernable (AAA)
Following their firing from CMLL, Rush and La Bestia would head Nación Lucha Libre, the short-lived new promotion from former WWE Superstars and lucha legends Alberto del Rio and Chavo Guerrero Jr., where they reunited with Máscara to form La Facción Ingobernable. Rush and La Bestia would head to AAA Lucha Libre, teaming with Los Mercenarios members Taurus and Rey Escorpion in tag matches. In December of 2019, at AAA Guerra de Titanes Rush announced a new roster for La Facción in AAA Lucha Libre that would include La Bestia, LA Park, Killer Kross, and Konnan. The group lost Killer Kross to NXT in early 2020, but the rest of the unit has had their hands full feuding with Pagano and The Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix).
La Facción Ingobernable Goes To America (ROH)
The following night after AAA Guerra de Titanes in Mexico, at ROH Best in the World, Rush announced that, much like he did with Los Ingobernables in CMLL, he was franchising the group. He unveiled the ROH chapter of La Facción, that would include himself, the reigning ROH World Champion, plus his brother, reigning ROH World Television Champion Dragon Lee, who was also a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and 2x CMLL World Lightweight Champion. Rounding out the burgeoning new stable in ROH is former 2x ROH Television Champion and 2x TNA X-Division Champion Kenny King and manager “La Diva de Diamantes” Amy Rose.
Ungovernable in WWE?
Now that Los Ingobernables have a foothold in New Japan, Ring of Honor, and AAA Lucha Libre, it would appear that the story is expanding into the WWE Universe as well. On Monday night’s edition of Raw, the new trio of Andrade (ex-La Sombra), Angel Garza and Austin Theory, guided by Zelina Vega, made a huge impression as all three men competed that night. But for the first time since the trio was formed, following each beat down, they would pose in a familiar pose that Andrade has led on many occasions in CMLL – the united raised fists of Los Ingobernables. While WWE is highly unlikely to acknowledge Los Ingobernables by name (outside of Charlotte Flair Instagramming photos of her wearing their baseball cap), they have referenced Andrade’s Mexico career pre-WWE and the use of the Ingobernables raised fists is as iconic to longtime fans of the stable as the Too Sweet of The Club was to fans of Bullet Club. A nod to a story that has infiltrated multiple promotions in the past few years to showcase some of the world’s greatest performers.
LOS…again. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/BFJuOTVCfm
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) April 14, 2020
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch classic Los Ingobernables for free on CMLL’s Official YouTube Channel.
