Arguably the biggest tag team in the world today, The Young Bucks are the marmite of pro wrestling – dividing fans as to whether they are elite or egregious in-ring. Here, we back The Bucks and list some of the reasons Matt and Nick Jackson are among the greatest in wrestling today.
Superkick Party!
Probably the biggest criticism against The Young Bucks is how their overuse of the superkick has made the move seem a non-finish – devaluing it. This is a particular point of contention for old-timers and wrestling traditionalists, as the former punctuation piece for Shawn Michaels, Chris Adams and Lance Storm is now a commonplace move.
However, for those who can actually have fun and don’t take wrestling too seriously, the move is enjoyable. Seeing a high quantity of superkicks in a small amount of time is both effective and impressive. A spree of such kicks can be entertaining, but little is more fun than seeing an unexpected or surprising superkick. Whether it’s their mid-air kick on Sammy Guevara in February 2020 in the tag team battle royal, or the one on Jon Moxley in April 2021 during an unseen heel turn, these moments have become a Bucks trademark.
Athleticism
Bombastic high-flyers, Matt and Nick are a huge act behind the ‘flippy s**t’ genre of wrestling. While their excessive athleticism isn’t for everyone, their stunts still have a special aura – bewildering and impressing fans with unique flips and dives.
A recent example of their fluid agility was their 5-star rated AEW Dynamite match against 2/3 of Death Triangle, Pac and Rey Fénix — a bafflingly athletic bout filled with Canadian destroyers, poisonranas and top-rope offence. The feats The Bucks can pull off will always make them a dynamic team to watch, often trying to one-up their opponents through preening heel acrobatics.
Competing in the Stadium Stampede, jumping off ladders, and falling through tables – their athletic nature sometimes brings people to incorrectly call them ‘spot monkeys’ (which we’ll get to later). Even if they were – which they’re not necessarily – there’s nothing wrong with that. Many great wrestlers and matches have built their legacies from these kinds of encounters.
More Than Just Moves
The Jacksons are underrated storytellers of the modern era, proving they’re more than just moves.
Their ongoing story with ex-Bullet Club stablemates Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers was one of the most intriguing in AEW, showing the confliction of the duo — wanting to stay loyal to the friends who got them to where they are, but also tempted to do the right thing. For weeks they teased where they truly stood, eventually choosing to betray the light and join their mates in The Elite.
The Bucks are also great emotional storytellers, conveying agony, confliction, or smarminess through their facial expressions. Nick and Matt are masters of subtle in-ring reactions.
Charisma
If there’s one thing The Bucks are not short on, it’s charisma. While not as visually spectacular in physique as fellow AEW stars like Brian Cage or Jungle Boy, they make up for it in personality.
With attire straight out of a child’s imagination — complete with tassels and flair — their gear reflects their journey from young wrestling fans to fully realised characters. Drawing inspiration from many indie gimmicks, their style became more prominent in large part due to their time as Generation Me in TNA.
Whether heels or faces, they always have their character work down, as either disgustingly excessive acrobats or heartfelt heroes willing to pull out all the stops.
Bullet Club
As referenced earlier, the duo were an integral part of the success of Bullet Club and The Elite. Alongside top stars such as Adam Cole, Prince Devitt (later Finn Balor) and AJ Styles, the faction dominated New Japan Pro Wrestling for years. One of the coolest factions in wrestling, they were also among the biggest merch sellers, with their simple black-and-white aesthetic making them a modern-day nWo — hated by some, ‘too sweet’ for others.
Being part of wrestling’s grandest modern group, it was an exciting concept then, and with AEW as their platform now, there’s still room for them to rule the world again.
Being The Elite
To further their popularity and entertain fans, The Bucks — alongside their stablemates — created Being The Elite.
A weekly YouTube series since 2016, it mixes absurd wackiness with progressive storylines, often giving underused talents more screen time and character arcs. These days, the show is more removed from The Bucks than in the early years, but they still appear regularly. With over 200 episodes, it’s part comedy, part behind-the-scenes insight, and part AEW brand-builder — all from the creative minds of Matt and Nick Jackson.
Hatred For Cornette
Former manager and booker Jim Cornette is one of the most divisive personalities in wrestling. Known for his disdain for the ‘gymnastics’ style popularised by The Bucks, he’s traded numerous barbs with them over the years.
Insults, jabs, and even tense encounters at autograph signings have kept the feud alive, with the Jacksons refusing to work with him again. While opinions differ, many fans see The Bucks as having the moral high ground, standing up for themselves and their peers against unprovoked criticism.
Reaction To Being Sued
If there’s one thing The Bucks have in abundance, it’s a smarmy sense of humour. This was on full display during their legal spat with WWE, who threatened them with a $150,000 lawsuit for using the ‘Too Sweet’ hand gesture — originally from the nWo in WCW.
In response, the Jacksons leaned into the joke, releasing ‘Cease and Desist’ merch and comically censoring the gesture in their appearances.
Post-Covid Era; Exclusively with AEW
Even four years on from when this was first written and posted, The Young Bucks have kept themselves in the spotlight and continued to evolve — both in-ring and behind the scenes.
In April 2025, the Bucks made a shock return at AEW Dynasty after a six-month absence, costing Swerve Strickland the AEW World Title and aligning with Jon Moxley’s Death Riders faction. This heel-leaning move reignited interest in their storylines and cemented their willingness to shake things up.
At All In Texas later that summer, they lost to Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay in a high-stakes tag team match — a defeat that, in storyline, saw them stripped of their Executive Vice President roles in AEW.
They’ve also continued to make waves internationally. In January 2025, The Young Bucks returned to NJPW and captured the IWGP Tag Team Championship at Wrestle Dynasty, adding another reign to their already stacked résumé. They dropped the belts the following month in Osaka but reminded everyone they can still dominate in Japan when they choose to.
Recognition has followed too. In 2024, they were named Tag Team of the Year in the New York Post Pro Wrestling Awards — a nod to their consistency and influence. That same year saw them heavily involved in major AEW feuds, including playing a part in the build-up to Sting’s retirement.
On the stats side, as of 2025 their AEW ranked tag match record sits at 55-21 (a 72% win rate), with a 3-1 record in tag action so far this year (As of August 11th 2025, with a lost to Bandito & Brody King)
From superkick sprees to high-flying chaos, subtle storytelling to breaking the fourth wall, The Young Bucks have gone from divisive indie darlings to defining forces in All Elite Wrestling. Whether they’re changing the landscape with Being The Elite, ruling the ring in AEW, or making headlines overseas in NJPW, Matt and Nick Jackson have proven they can thrive in any era.
Nearly two decades in, they’re still polarising, still innovative, and still impossible to ignore — whether you’re in the “elite” camp or the “egregious” one. Love them or loathe them, the Young Bucks are here to stay… and the party isn’t over yet.
