The Young Bucks became major players in the wrestling industry, when leading noteworthy changes outside of WWE. Mainstream brands like Funko and Hot Topic started working with other promotions and wrestlers not employed by WWE, when seeing the success of the Young Bucks and others. Matt and Nick Jackson’s momentum aligned with others' star power, and Tony Khan’s vision to launch AEW.
The book titled, Killing the Business from Backyards to the Big Leagues, featured the Young Bucks sharing their stories, from childhood to making it to the top of the industry. Matt and Nick each went back and forth, writing their own chapters, sharing each step of their journey. The book offered insight into their careers and others they worked with.
10 Didn't Like Cody Right Away
The friendship between the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes played a huge role in the start of AEW. Tony Khan signed them all following their incredible success as The Elite, in Ring of Honor and New Japan. One surprise about their friendship is that they didn't become close on their first meeting.
Nick Jackson revealed that Kevin Owens texted the Young Bucks to "take care" of Cody on the indie circuit since he was a good guy. Matt and Nick thought Cody was a bit odd, meeting him at PWG while wearing a suit in a heated indie venue. Their friendship blossomed a little later when working together in ROH.
9 Pac Warned Them About Signing With WWE
Former WWE star Neville has found his groove in AEW as Pac. His intensity and aerial prowess allow him to consistently showcase just how unique a performer he is. There were a few major accomplishments for Neville in WWE, but he ultimately left disappointed.
The Young Bucks met up with Neville when he still worked for WWE. Despite enjoying the money and high profile, Neville warned them about the negatives of signing with the company. The difficult travel schedule and the stress backstage were things Matt and Nick knew of before ever working there.
8 ROH Lowballed Them Before AEW Came Into The Picture
Ring of Honor benefited most from the rise of the Young Bucks when they were primarily working there. Even though the Bucks and other stars spent time representing Bullet Club in New Japan, the ROH run made them the biggest names in the promotion.
Matt Jackson revealed that the ROH offer to them was much lower than anticipated when their contract was expiring at the end of 2019. The Young Bucks started expressing interest in Tony Khan’s idea and Triple H’s WWE offer, when they realized that ROH was not valuing their worth.
7 Alex Shelley Got Them Into TNA
Matt and Nick Jackson were looking to make the next big step in their career when first breaking out in PWG and Ring of Honor. The Motor City Machine Guns were the top face team in TNA while they were also working independent shows.
Alex Shelley told the Young Bucks that he would fight for them to get a TNA shot after the Machine Guns faced them in PWG. Matt and Nick received a tryout with Shelley and Chris Sabin that received huge praise, to instantly get them a TNA contract offer.
6 The X-Division Confronting Vince Russo Led To Jay Lethal's Firing
The TNA run of the Young Bucks as Generation Me was a failure. Matt and Nick expected to make much better money, but their pay-per-appearance deal hurt them, when they ended up getting little television time. The entire X Division was fed up with their treatment at one point.
This book told the story of Brian Kendrick leading the Bucks and other X-Division performers to confront Vince Russo, looking for an answer on why they weren’t getting booked. Russo was diplomatic and confirmed he didn’t make those decisions. However, the entire X-Division was heartbroken when Jay Lethal was fired days later with the assumption being that it came due to this confrontation.
5 Seth Rollins Predicted Being In The Main Event Of WrestleMania
The friendship between Seth Rollins and the Young Bucks started back in their Ring of Honor days. They used the term “scrub room”, when referencing the hotel room where the wrestlers who didn’t party would hang out after shows.
Sami Zayn and Jimmy Jacobs joined Rollins and the Bucks, where they’d often talk about their wrestling goals. Rollins used to be definitive that he would one day main event WrestleMania, with that being his ultimate goal. He made this prediction years before it came into fruition at WrestleMania 31.
4 They Felt Violated In A Match Against Daniel Bryan & Roderick Strong
The Young Bucks had positive relationships with Daniel Bryan and Roderick Strong when working together, but one night made them question themselves. PWG’s DDT 4 tournament was a one-night event with the teams looking to win the entire thing.
The makeshift team of Strong and Bryan faced the Bucks in the finals after the audience turned on the babyface duo of Matt and Nick earlier in the match. Bryan and Strong decided to viciously beat down the Bucks hoping it would turn the audience again them. Matt revealed in the book that they went too far, and the Bucks felt violated at taking such a beating.
3 Triple H Talked To Matt Jackson For Hours
The free agent status of the Young Bucks made for a fascinating time in the lives of Matt and Nick Jackson. Matt shared the details about how great Triple H was on the phone, when trying to talk him into signing a deal with WWE, along with Nick and Kenny Omega.
Tony Khan coming into the picture saw them eventually choosing to make history by agreeing to start AEW. However, Triple H made it “difficult” for Matt, with great conversations, telling him about exciting plans for their characters and offering perks that were hard to turn down.
2 Tony Khan Said He Wouldn't Create AEW Without The Elite
The dream of Tony Khan has always been to start a wrestling promotion. Dynamite was even the name Khan would use when fantasy booking his own shows as a kid. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho and Jim Ross were the first names contacted by Khan about his project.
The Bucks were going back and forth between starting AEW with Khan or going to WWE with Triple H appeasing them. Khan told them that he would hold zero bad blood if they signed with WWE, but that he would give up on the idea without The Elite. A conversation with Nick and Kenny Omega in the room as well, would see The Elite agreeing to Khan’s idea.
1 Dixie Carter Thought Matt Was A Fan, Months After Signing
Nick Jackson shared a ridiculous story about Dixie Carter that showed just how out of touch she was trying to run TNA. Dixie had no history in the wrestling business before TNA, but she loved the role of being in charge.
The Young Bucks were on the TNA roster for a few months when Dixie approached Matt and assumed he was a fan. Dixie told Matt that he had a great look and should consider the wrestling business, before being informed she employed him on the roster.