Matt and Nick Jackson have been a tag team for almost two decades. Since they’re real-life brothers, they have a lot of effortless chemistry in the ring, which is one of the reasons they’re one of the best tag teams in the world today.
The Young Bucks have wrestled across the globe for countless different promotions, both big and small. Given how vast their careers have been, some moments can get lost in memory. Here’s a list of 10 photos of the Young Bucks behind the scenes and in promotions you might’ve missed them in.
10 The Dream Team
During Adam Cole’s time in Japan, he joined the trio of the Elite to form what they called the Dream Team. The four of them got up to a lot of mischief during their time in Bullet Club. Here they are at a store in Japan, trying on some Disney onesies.
When they weren’t wreaking havoc in NJPW, they also hit up T.G.I. Fridays' and sang karaoke together.
9 Younger Bucks
There’s a pretty common misconception that the Young Bucks are twins. In reality, Matt is four years older than Nick, which is a lot easier to see in pictures from when they were younger. Here are Matt and Nick playing video games together in their childhood home. Matt’s in the forefront, and Nick’s behind him with some very blond hair.
8 Buck Triangle
The Bucks’ first excursion to Japan didn’t come through NJPW, but through the Jackson brothers’ time in Dragon Gate. When they worked for Dragon Gate, they made friends with PAC. The Englishman helped guide the Bucks around Japan since the two didn’t speak any Japanese at this point. Maybe in a parallel universe, PAC became their Kenny. Would Kenny be a best friend of the Lucha Bros, then?
7 Lost Jackson Brother?
The Bucks sure look different with short hair, don’t they? This is the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada, the current IWGP Heavyweight champion. While Okada was a great rival to Kenny Omega, he was a good friend of Matt and Nick. He often liked to prank the Bucks backstage, sometimes by trying on their gear like he is doing in this picture.
6 Short Haired Matt
Matt and Nick had a run in TNA back before their careers in ROH and NJPW took off. They were known as Max (Matt) and Jeremy Buck (Nick). Together they were the tag team Generation Me. According to the Bucks’ autobiography, they were told to cut their hair before their first match in TNA. This apparently upset them, but they did as they were told in order to not upset their bosses. That’s how we got this shot of Matt and his new hair-do. It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?
5 Teenage Matt
Matt Jackson has been a wrestling fan his whole life. You can see that through this picture of Matt as a teenager, wearing a t-shirt of the Rockers, one of his favorite tag teams growing up. He also has his ears pierced, which is kind of cute. It looks like he went through a bit of a punk rock phase, which is the most teenage thing you can do, really.
4 Mount Rushmore
Kevin Steen (now known as Kevin Owens) was a very close friend of the Bucks back when all three of them competed on the independent circuit. They had a lot of matches together in PWG in particular, where they formed the stable Mount Rushmore alongside Adam Cole. This picture shows Kevin and the Bucks backstage in Reseda, California with their matching attire on.
3 D-Generation Bucks
Cody isn’t the only EVP to have made an appearance in WWE. Back when Matt and Nick were independent wrestlers, they were sometimes brought into WWE as enhancement talent. On this particular episode, they were brought in to make a parody of Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Matt is playing Triple H, which you could probably tell by the big fake nose he has on.
2 FTYB
When FTR first joined AEW, there were rumors about what gimmick they would’ve had if they stayed in WWE. One leaked image showed Dax and Cash in silly cartoonish attire. To mock their rivals, Matt and Nick asked their friend Mrs. Cutler to recreate the gear, which they’re wearing in this picture.
No one really knows what WWE was supposedly planning with this look, but it probably wouldn’t have been good. FTR are probably happy to have left WWE, despite how grumpy they seem on Twitter.
1 Young Rockers
This is a picture of Matt and Nick dressed up as the Rockers, the tag team of Shawn Michaels and Marty Janetty. The Rockers were very inspirational for the Bucks’ sense of style both in and out of the ring. These costumes were featured in the 200th episode of Being the Elite. Nick causes Matt to hallucinate the two of them in the infamous barbershop window promo where Michaels turns heel and attacks Janetty, throwing him through a barbershop window. Nick’s apparent mind control powers have been largely unexplored in AEW, but he still subjects Matt to them on occasion. Younger brothers, am I right?