The O.C. also known asThe Club, was an Americanprofessional wrestlingstable inWWE. The group was composed of leaderAJ Styles,Luke Gallows,Karl Anderson andMichin. Their team name is derived from a previous catchphrase: "the official, the original, the only club that matters" due to the three original members of theBullet Club.
Previously working inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling as members ofBullet Club, the trio of Styles, Gallows and Anderson reunited in WWE in May 2016 as The Club, before splitting two months later. They would officially reunite in July 2019, having adopted The O.C. as their new name. The team split again in April 2020 when Gallows and Anderson were released from WWE but reformed upon their return to the company in October 2022 with Michin joining the group the next month. As of September 2024[update], the stable has quietly disbanded.
At the2016 Royal Rumble, AJ Styles debuted for WWE in theRoyal Rumble match.[7] A few months later on the April 11, 2016, episode ofRaw, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson then made their WWE debut as a team, attackingThe Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), establishing themselves asheels in the process and with the duo's NJPW background being acknowledged by WWE announcers.[8] On the following week'sRaw, WWE began teasing an alliance between Gallows and Anderson and their former Bullet Club stablemate Styles when, after meeting Styles in a backstage interview, Gallows and Anderson attacked hisPayback opponentRoman Reigns in the ring; Styles, however, did not seem pleased with the attack.[9] Over the next few weeks, Gallows and Anderson continued teasing an uneasy alliance with Styles, while having several face offs with The Usos and Roman Reigns, including at Payback, where the two failed in their attempt to help Styles capture theWWE World Heavyweight Championship from Reigns.[10] On the May 9 episode ofRaw, the trio of Styles, Gallows, and Anderson was dubbed "The Club" (a reference to their former NJPW stable, Bullet Club).[11] The Club disbanded two weeks later onRaw, when Styles stated that he wanted an amicable separation from Gallows and Anderson, blaming them and The Usos for his failure to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the previous day'sExtreme Rules.[12] Though Styles stated that the three could remain "brothers", Gallows and Anderson refused and ended the friendship altogether.[13] On the May 30 episode ofRaw, Gallows and Anderson entered theWWE Tag Team Championship picture by attacking reigning championsThe New Day (Big E,Kofi Kingston, andXavier Woods), while later in the show, Styles turned on the returningJohn Cena and reunited with Gallows and Anderson.[14] This set up a match between Styles and Cena atMoney in the Bank on June 19, which Styles won after interference from The Club.[15] On July 19, The Club was split up in theWWE draft, with Gallows and Anderson being drafted to theRawbrand and Styles toSmackDown,[16] which resulted in them wrestling their last match together as a trio on July 24 atBattleground in a loss against Cena,Enzo Amore, andBig Cass.[17]
Gallows and Anderson were both drafted to SmackDown in the2018 Superstar Shake-up, where they made a one-off reunion with Styles on the April 24, 2018, episode ofSmackDown Live asfaces, in a losing effort toShinsuke Nakamura,Aiden English, andRusev.[18] After an unsuccessful stint on the SmackDown brand, Gallows and Anderson returned to the Raw brand on April 29, 2019, losing to The Usos.[19] At that point, they had not won a match on television since they defeated The Usos in May 2018.[20] Throughout the following weeks, Styles frustratingly encouraged Gallows and Anderson to be the successful duo they once were.
On the July 1, 2019, episode ofRaw, Gallows and Anderson encouraged Styles to be the guy he once was in NJPW. After Styles lost aUnited States Championship match toRicochet, Gallows and Anderson helped Styles to beat up Ricochet, and reuniting The Club as heels.[21][22] Two weeks later atExtreme Rules, Styles, accompanied by The Club, won his third United States Championship by defeating Ricochet.[23] On the July 22 episode ofRaw, The Club was renamed "The O.C." and repeatedly claimed that they were the "official, original, and only club that matters".[24][25] The following week, Gallows and Anderson won their secondRaw Tag Team Championship, making all members of The O.C. champions,[26] but they lost the titles on the August 19 episode ofRaw toSeth Rollins andBraun Strowman, ending their reign at 21 days.[27] AtCrown Jewel on October 31, Gallows and Anderson won the nine-teamtag team turmoil match to win the WWE Tag Team World Cup and be called "the best tag team in the world". Styles also retained his U.S. title againstHumberto Carrillo at the event.[28]
The O.C. would have unfortunate luck atSurvivor Series; during the Kickoff pre-show, Gallows and Anderson were eliminated from the interbrand tag team battle royal, and on the main show, Styles lost the interbrand triple threat match, in which he faced SmackDown'sIntercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura andNXT North American ChampionRoderick Strong, where Strong stole the victory from Styles after Styles had performed a Phenomenal Forearm on Nakamura and Strong threw Styles out of the ring and pinned Nakamura.[29] The O.C. would again have bad luck on the following night'sRaw as during Styles' championship match againstRey Mysterio, Gallows and Anderson were ejected from ringside and Styles ultimately lost his U.S. title to Mysterio thanks to help fromRandy Orton.[30] All members of The O.C. would enter the2020 Royal Rumble, with Styles entering at 18, Anderson at 20, and Gallows at 24, but they were all eliminated.[31] AtSuper ShowDown in February, Gallows and Anderson took out Mysterio in an attempt to help Styles win the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet match, butThe Undertaker in turn took out Gallows and Anderson, and then took Mysterio's spot in the gauntlet match and defeated Styles to win the trophy, thus beginning a feud with Undertaker.[32] Styles then facedAleister Black atElimination Chamber in ano disqualification match, but would lose after The Undertaker came out and took out Gallows and Anderson and chokeslammed Styles, allowing Black to hit Black Mass and win the match.[33] Styles would then face The Undertaker in the main event of the first night ofWrestleMania 36 in aBoneyard match, but would lose despite interference from Gallows and Anderson.[34]
On April 15, 2020, the stable was dissolved when Gallows and Anderson were released from their WWE contracts as part of budget cuts stemming from theCOVID-19 pandemic, while Styles formed atag team withOmos a short time later.[35][36][37]
After a two year absence, Gallows and Anderson returned to WWE on the October 10, 2022, episode ofRaw, reuniting The O.C. with Styles as faces. They attacked former Bullet Club leaderFinn Bálor and his stable,The Judgment Day (includingDamian Priest andDominik Mysterio), as Bálor had issued Styles an ultimatum to join his group, whereby Styles refused and brought in Gallows and Anderson as his backup.[38] The following week, a six-man tag team match between the stables was scheduled forCrown Jewel on November 5.[39] At the event, The O.C. lost to The Judgment Day after interference fromRhea Ripley.[40] On the November 7, episode ofRaw,Michin, returning to WWE herself that night, aligned with The O.C. to counter Ripley.[41] AtSurvivor Series WarGames on November 26, Styles defeated Bálor while Michin’s team defeated Ripley's team in aWarGames match. On the following episode ofRaw, The O.C. was defeated by The Judgment Day in an eight-person mixed tag team match to end their feud.[42] As part of the2023 WWE Draft, The O.C. were drafted to theSmackDownbrand,[43][44][45] with Styles and Michin subsequently feuding briefly withKarrion Kross andScarlett, with Styles and Kross trading victories in singles matches and the two sides facing off in tag team matches. The feud concluded on the August 11 episode ofSmackDown, when Styles defeated Kross.[46]
The O.C. would begin a feud withThe Bloodline, with Styles losing toSolo Sikoa on the September 1 episode ofSmackDown after interference fromJimmy Uso.John Cena would come to Styles' aid, setting up a tag team match between Cena and Styles against Uso and Sikoa forFastlane. However, Styles was taken out by Sikoa backstage, removing him from the match; he was replaced byLA Knight. After a two-month hiatus, Styles returned on the December 15 episode ofSmackDown and assisted Knight andRandy Orton in fending off The Bloodline. Styles took out Knight after The Bloodline was cleared from the ring.[47] In the following week, Michin pinnedWWE Women's ChampionIyo Sky in aneight-women tag teamholiday street fight match againstDamage CTRL, granting her a title shot atSmackDown: New Year's Revolution. Later that night, The O.C. greeted Styles, but he blew them off for not coming to his aid when he was attacked by The Bloodline, thus leaving the group.[48] AtSmackDown: New Year's Revolution on January 5, 2024, Michin failed to win the title from Sky.[49]
On the February 20, 2024 episode ofNXT, Gallows and Anderson attackedAxiom and Nathan Frazer andChase University (Andre Chase andDuke Hudson) after the two teams faced each other, marking Gallows and Anderson's return to NXT.[50] On the February 27 episode ofNXT, Gallows and Anderson defeated Edris Enofe and Malik Blade in their first match back in NXT.[51] Gallows and Anderson entered a tournament for anNXT Tag Team Championship match atStand and Deliver, which was won byAxiom andNathan Frazer. Michin would also return to NXT on April 30. On the May 28 episode ofNXT, Michin defeatedTatum Paxley to qualify for the ladder match to crown the inauguralNXT Women's North American Championship atBattleground. Later that night, NXT General ManagerAva announced Gallows and Anderson will face Axiom and Frazer for the titles at the event.
On the May 31 episode ofSmackDown, Styles seemingly delivered a retirement speech, which was revealed to be a ruse after he attackedUndisputed WWE ChampionCody Rhodes as Gallows and Anderson stopped security from intervening.[52] This led to an"I quit" match between Styles and Rhodes being announced forClash at the Castle. At the event, Styles failed to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Rhodes after saying "I quit!" into the microphone.[53] After that, Styles took time off television, leading to the start of the dissension of the stable. 3 months later, on September 1, Michin confirmed that the stable had disbanded.[54]
