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Over the last number of years, Matt and Nick Jackson, collectively known as the Young Bucks, have established themselves as one the greatest tag teams of not only this generation, but of all time. They have held championships across a wide variety of different promotions and excited fans with their dynamic wrestling style. They are also co-founders and Executive Vice Presidents of AEW, which they helped found with wrestlers Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes, along with Tony and Shahid Khan. With such tremendous talent, to many fans it is surprising that the Young Bucks have never been signed to compete in WWE. However, it might surprise them to know that they have made a couple of appearances for the promotion in the past and probably did not realize it either.
Matt Jackson Showed Up On SmackDown A Few Times As An Enhancement Talent
The first appearance in WWE from the Young Bucks came in 2008. Matt Jackson made his debut in WWE competing on the February 22, 2008, episode on SmackDown. Matt, donning generic trunks unrecognizable from the elaborate tights and Dior Air Jordans they would later wear, served as enhancement talent against Chuck Palumbo. The bout lasted roughly three minutes, with Matt losing to Palumbo. However, Matt would return again a few months later.
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On the October 17, 2008, episode of SmackDown, Matt made his return to WWE once again. At this time, the Big Show was in the midst of a feud with the Undertaker. Big Show was scheduled for a match at Cyber Sunday against the Deadman. In this episode, Big Show was presenting three match options for the Cyber Sunday match that fans could vote for. He demonstrated all three match types, including a Knockout match, an “I Quit” match, and a Last Man Standing match. Matt had come out for the Last Man Standing match. Once again, he was quickly beaten. After being dismantled, Matt was put through a table and Big Show picked up the win. However, his work with WWE was not done yet for that month, and he would return once again with Nick.
The Young Bucks Worked With The Miz And John Morrison As DX Imposters
The brothers first collective appearance came on the October 28, 2008 of ECW. It was an episode of “The Dirt Sheet”, hosted by the Miz and John Morrison who were feuding with D-Generation X, at this time consisting only of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. As a part of humiliating them leading up to their match at the 800th episode of RAW, Miz and Morrison had the Jacksons dress as Triple H and Michaels. Matt portrayed Triple H and Nick portrayed Michaels. They came out to the DX theme, posed as them, and did their catchphrases. After they finished their promo, Miz and Morrison beat them up.
The Young Bucks Embarked On Their Own Path To Greatness
The Young Bucks were not seen again on WWE after this. While they did receive a tryout in 2011 and impressed William Regal, as explained in Title Match Wrestling interview, the Jacksons did not receive offers from WWE. Instead, they went on to compete in companies such as ROH, PWG, Dragon Gate USA, NJPW, and numerous other promotions. The brothers captured tag team titles all across the world and have had classic matches. They also joined the infamous Bullet Club faction, later forming a subgroup with Kenny Omega known as The Elite. Their eventual partnership with Cody Rhodes also led to All In, the most successful independently produced wrestling event. It sold out 10,000 seats, something which Dave Meltzer said at the time could not be done. This in turn led to the formation of AEW.
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The success of All In garnered interest from WWE, and they even had offers sent to them, which the Jacksons turned down in order to be with AEW. As history shows, this proved to be a successful endeavor for the Young Bucks. They are former two-time AEW World Tag Team Champions and the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions. They have competed against teams such as the Lucha Brothers, FTR, Private Party, the Hardy Boyz, SCU, Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley, and countless more.
The Young Bucks are among some of the most successful wrestlers in history who have never signed to WWE. They bet on themselves and were able to build a legacy in professional wrestling for themselves as not only phenomenal competitors but also as history makers. They have been one of the premier tag teams for some time and will continue to be for years to come. When comparing the brothers from their appearances in WWE to now in AEW, they have come very far in their professional wrestling journey.
