THE YOUNG BUCKS
Matt & Nick Jackson
2004 - Present
AEW World Tag Team Championship
IWGP Tag Team Championship
IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship (seven times)
PWG Tag Team Championship (four times)
AAA Tag Team Championship
ROH World Tag Team Championship (three times)
Written by Canadian Bulldog
While The Young Bucks are now known as one of the greatest tag teams in modern history... I first became familiar with them during their run in TNA as Generation Me. Though fans were certainly impressed with their abilities, it wasn't until they left that promotion that the team of Matt and Nick Jackson really caught my attention.
As the story goes, the brothers were backstage at a WWE tryout and when Booker T came by to shake their hands, The Young Bucks either failed or outright refused to do so -- a cardinal sin in the fraternity of professional wrestling and an incident that may have sent lesser men packing.
But to their credit, Matt and Nick not only acknowledged their oversight, but they also worked it into their act, refusing to shake their opponents' hands in promotions -- a wink and nod to those who were in on the joke.
It wouldn't be the last time they did so.
The next time The Young Bucks caught my attention was at a 2015 House of Hardcore show in Toronto. Not only did the brothers Jackson superkick the hell out of me (still smarting from that move today!), but they won a lot of new fans after facing Team 3D, a/k/a WWE Hall of Famers The Dudley Boyz.
Following their "Toronto Streetfight," Bubba and D-Von extolled the virtues of The Bucks and called them the best team out there today. What an amazing endorsement.
Matt and Nick continued to make names for themselves in Ring of Honor and other promotions, but it really wasn't until they became staples in New Japan Pro Wrestling that The Young Bucks became legitimate stars.
Using creativity and a sense of humor rarely seen in professional wrestling, The Young Bucks parlayed a successful run in Japan via The Bullet Club into something much, much larger.
Through Being The Elite, The Bucks (along with Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and others) created a series that was not only chock-full of inside jokes and wrestling industry references, but became must-watch television for fans, even those who didn't watch NJPW with any frequency. The web series also enhanced storylines and created interest in matches involving The Bucks and others.
From there, they (along with Rhodes) created the largest independent show in pro wrestling history, September 2018's All In. Using promotional moxie that even ROH and TNA haven't been able to muster, the group attracted more than 11,000 fans to Chicago and put on a show that will be remembered for some time.
Following the runaway success of All In, The Young Bucks finished up their commitments with both NPJW and ROH and became both executives and top performers for All Elite Wrestling.
Since the debut of AEW, Matt and Nick have routinely stolen the show, battling the likes of The Lucha Brothers, Private Party, The Jurassic Express, FTR and Santana and Ortiz. Their first run with the AEW Tag Team Championship added to an already-impressive list of tag team gold, and I really doubt they're done yet by a long shot.