Matt and Nick Jackson, 2 kids from California who went from running a backyard wrestling promotion with their friends in a ring their dad built for them, to one of the most divisive, yet influential tag teams in wrestling history. While to their fans, they are the greatest tag team of a generation, with an athleticism and creativity that eclipses everyone who came before, but to their detractors, for all their athleticism, what they do is a circus performance rather than a wrestling match.
Whichever side of the fence you sit on as a fan, while their status as greatest tag team is hotly contested daily on social media platforms, the influence they have had is without question. Like it or not, the style they made their own has been copied by up-and-coming wrestlers for the past decade, and you are more likely to see a flip than a body slam in most wrestling shows today. They, along with Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes revolutionized American wrestling when they, with the backing of Tony Khan, formed All Elite Wrestling, giving wrestling fans a viable alternative to WWE. As divisive as they are with the fans, the same can be argued for the locker room. Their friends and supporters defend them passionately, but their detractors despise them just as passionately.
10 Friends: Kevin Owens
For those only familiar with WWE Kevin Owens, they may be taken aback to learn that there is a very strong friendship between the Bucks and Owens. Along with Adam Cole, Owens, then wrestling as Kevin Steen and the Bucks formed the Mount Rushmore stable in PWG.
A babyface team predominantly, with Kevin Steen even wearing matching outfits to the Bucks, a far cry from his plain no nonsense look now. Despite working for different companies, the 3 remain close still, often interacting with each other on social media.
9 Not Friends: FTR
When talking about who is the greatest tag team, FTR is the other name to feature in the fans' argument. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler are the Midnight Express to the Young Bucks' Rock And Roll Express. 2 contrasting styles, one a more athletic while the other more rough and ready, which could make for this generation's greatest tag team rivalry.
For that reason alone, you can't rule out any animosity being part of the show, sadly however, the 4 have traded barbs in interviews and online more than they have exchanged moves in an AEW ring.
8 Friends: Chris Jericho
When AEW was announced with close friends Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and Matt and Nick Jackson as EVPs, the internet wrestling community was beyond excited, but for all their success in Japan, they had no mainstream name value in America. Enter Chris Jericho.
Jericho was brought in to give the name value TV stations would recognize when setting deals for airing their show, and a face fans would see on advertising. Since AEW's infancy, Jericho has been a key figure backstage, becoming more of a locker room leader since Cody Rhodes departed. Jericho in the last 3 years has become very close with the remaining EVPs
7 Not Friends: CM Punk
After the fall-out from the 2022 All Out PPV this is no surprise, however the issues between Punk and the Bucks go back much further. When Matt and Nick first joined the Bullet Club, Punk was critical of them, saying they weren't as good as the others in the group and didn't belong.
When Punk signed with AEW it was hoped this heat would have cooled and been laughed off, but that appears to have been too much to hope for as there is a real animosity between them.
6 Friends: Hardy Boys
It's no secret Matt and Nick's biggest influence on their style is the Hardy Boys, Matt and Jeff Hardy. The 2 teams have worked together many times over the years, forming a close friendship based on mutual respect and a shared philosophy on wrestling.
It seems that as highly as the Bucks rate the Hardys, that respect goes both ways, with Matt and Jeff being very vocal in their support and praise of the Young Bucks.
5 Not Friends: Will Ospreay
Much like with FTR, any heat between Ospreay and the Bucks should be taken with a pinch of salt, as there is a long-standing social media feud between Ospreay and the Bucks fellow Elite member, Kenny Omega, which fans are hoping is all building to Omega vs. Ospreay.
But the Bucks have often come out in support of Omega, claiming the issues are real, as have Omega and Ospreay. Whether there is a real dislike or not, fans hope that the Elite Vs United Empire match in the Trios Championships semi-final is just a taste of what's to come.
4 Friends: Brandon Cutler
To AEW fans, Brandon Cutler is the comedy stooge of the Young Bucks, but the reality is, Cutler and the Bucks have been friends since they were kids, wrestling together in their backyard federation in California.
Cutler never made it as a pro wrestler to the extent his friends did however, when the Bucks started AEW, they brought Cutler in both as an on-screen talent and as a media producer for AEW. Cutler is also heavily involved in the filming and editing of the Being The Elite YouTube channel.
3 Not Friends: Rob Van Dam
Newly arrived at TNA, then wrestling under the name Generation Me, the Bucks first fell foul of RVD. In what was a matter of etiquettes, RVD felt that these 2 young unheard of brothers were disrespecting the locker room by not showing the appropriate respect to the veterans and locker room traditions.
Matt Jackson claims this was all a misunderstanding, but the issues have not been resolved, with RVD being a vocal critic of the Bucks as well as AEW.
2 Friends: Dave Meltzer
.While not a wrestler, it could be argued that the Bucks wouldn't be where they are today without Dave Meltzer. The editor of The Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer is the most influential person in the wrestling media, the yearly Wrestling Observer awards and Dave's star rating system are things wrestlers often look out for. Meltzer has always followed Japanese wrestling, so when the Bucks started to make a name for themselves in New Japan, Meltzer made sure American audiences knew how well they were doing.
Nick Jackson actually has more 4 star and above rated matches than anyone else in history, and the Bucks appreciate Dave's support so much, they named one of their signature moves the Meltzer Driver.
1 Not Friends: Jim Cornette
If Dave Meltzer is the Young Bucks' staunchest supporter, the opposite is true of legendary wrestling manager, promoter, and booker, Jim Cornette. Jim Cornette made his name in the territory days managing the iconic tag team the Midnight Express, and is still very rooted in the tradition of wrestling. To him, the style the Bucks have popularized is not professional wrestling, but trampoline wrestling, where everything is about moves and no story telling.
When at Ring of Honor together, Cornette didn't see anything in the Bucks and never booked them strong, which may be where the heat between them stems from, but Bucks/Cornette is without doubt one of the most entertaining rivalries in all of professional wrestling.