AEW is poised to release its best possible episode of Rampage on Friday, with one particularly intriguing factor.
During the first 30 minutes of the program, Rampage will have direct, face-to-face competition from WWE (due to an extended two-and-a-half hour edition of Slap). This is an exciting proposition for The Young Bucks’ Matt and Nick Jackson, who are also Executive Vice Presidents of AEW and the world’s most talented tag team.
“I love competition,” says Nick Jackson. “It makes professional wrestling so much more fun to watch. This is what wrestling has needed for the last 20 years. I’m glad I helped bring that excitement back. Let’s go. “
The Bucks bring undeniable charm and passion to professional wrestling. Continually seeking to improve and improve the industry, the two on-screen villains even found a way to bring a more attractive feel to Twitter, which has an overwhelming tendency to dwell on negativity.
Instead of tweeting, the Bucks constantly update their Twitter bio. The biographies include a mix of humor, name calling and bravado in the character, even blurring the lines between character and reality, as they did on Thursday when responding to a tweet from WWE’s Top Dolla (who is former NFL player AJ Francis). Whether people agree or disagree with what they write, the Bucks, once again, have found a way to take an already established medium and add an entirely new component to it.
“We are constantly trying to use each and every platform that we have available,” says Matt Jackson, who creates the Twitter bios. Unfortunately, the days of pondering ideas or reading constructive criticism on Twitter are over. It’s mostly just hyperbole, or trolls trying to give their best shots so that their tweets are the ones I like the most. As a creator or someone in the limelight, if you tweet something, no matter what it is, you’ve probably just created your own hate thread.
“Although social media has become a crowded cesspool of toxicity, there are still ways to use it as an effective tool. I wanted to find a way to do Twitter without having to, so I started writing my thoughts in the bio. Most of the time I post and ghost, and I have no idea if people liked what I wrote. I knew I was on to something when the boys [in the locker room] he would come over and tell me. “
After setting a new standard for excellence in tag teams in Complete team Last November, in a game with the exceptionally talented FTR team, the Bucks raised the bar again last month when they fought in an instant classic in a cage match against Fénix and Penta. The match was spectacular, taking wrestling to new heights in terms of storytelling, physicality, and athleticism.
“I’m still pretty beaten by that match,” Nick says. “Was it worth it? Hell yeah, it was. I was telling the guys in our locker room that it was the most nervous thing I’d ever been before a game because I knew it could, and would, be something special if everything went well. In fact. , I remember talking to the Dark Order before the event, telling them some ideas that I had and I said, ‘This could be the best cage fight of all time if it goes well.
“After the match, [Evil] One laughed and said, ‘Well, I think it all worked out.’ It always sucks when your career as a champion comes to an end, but we worked so hard to build those titles that I actually felt a bit of relief when Fénix flew from 20 feet high crashing into us. I knew it all worked out, and trying to beat the streak we had would be quite difficult. The Lucha Bros. could be my favorite opponents. I respect them very much and believe that our rivalry will live forever. “
Matt Jackson was also in awe of Fénix when he flew out of the top of the steel cage in the final sequence of the match.
“She felt like an Olympic gymnast landing that perfect landing, or the crescendo of a live opera performance,” says Matt. “That live reaction made me realize that the story we told that night worked better than I could have imagined. The father in me had tears running down my cheeks, alone in my hotel room, as I watched Penta celebrate this special moment with his children. It may have been our best match. “
The game, which featured a series of intricate locations and very dangerous risks, was designed in the same way as an action movie.
“We were inspired by art forms other than professional wrestling,” says Matt. “We want the viewer to feel as if they have been absorbed by a live movie, where they experience a little bit of each emotion. We want the experience to feel like a journey. Our job that night at the cage match was to be the villains and make you support the heroes. The thumbtack shoe was like the showdown at the end of an action movie, where the bad guy pulls a knife in the middle of a fist fight with the good guy and then has an unfair advantage. As a spectator, all you want is for the good guy to get his hands on that knife.
“When I watched the game back, I didn’t expect him to hit me the way he did. The moment older brother Penta protected his little brother Phoenix from the dreaded studded shoe, I was very excited. It brought me back to when Nick, me, and our other two brothers were little, and I defended them on the playground against bullies. “
In addition to their pioneering work in the ring, the Bucks remain the heart and soul of the Being the elite YouTube series. They were incredibly excited to welcome Adam Cole back to the BTE world, as Cole left WWE in August after five successful years with the company and then made his AEW debut in September on Completely.
“I cannot fully express the happiness I currently have, sharing a ring with Adam Cole again,” says Matt. “His positivity and energy had really helped morale in our dressing room. I haven’t stopped smiling since it appeared. When it arrived, it felt like we had finally found the missing piece of the puzzle. The whole gang is finally back together. We hadn’t worked together in five years, but the chemistry was still there. The guy is a star and has some of the biggest reactions I’ve ever heard. “
As soon as he signed with WWE in 2017, the Bucks joked that Adam Cole was dead. Now that Cole is on AEW, Nick Jackson talked about how someone was raised from the dead.
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Nick says. “But even crazier than raising the dead is letting a superstar walk away from your company to join the competition.”
The Bucks, Cole and the rest of The Elite, including AEW Champion / Undisputed Fighter in the World Kenny Omega, will be looking to add to the excitement and frenetic pace of Friday night. Rampage. And no matter how tonight plays out, the wrestling business is a more engaging, exciting, and better place with the Bucks prominently involved.
“If you’ve followed our careers to this point, you know it,” says Nick. “If we are on the screen, it will be something that people praise or bury.”
“Whether they see us physically or not, our fingerprints will be on the show,” added Matt. “So we look forward to another wild Friday night.”
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Justin Barrasso can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Justinbarrasso.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.