Ending speculation, Matt and Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks have signed an exclusive deal with Ring of Honor today.
The deal means the Young Bucks will still work tours for New Japan Pro Wrestling but as Ring of Honor talents through their partnership. Over on Twitter, Matt Jackson also confirmed they will still work for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, as PWG is an important promotion for them.
— The Young Bucks (@MattJackson13) October 28, 2015
There have been a lot of eyes on the Young Bucks as to where they would go next for their pro wrestling careers. They have been making a lot of references to other promotions and outright said on Twitter they would be signing with either WWE, NXT, Lucha Underground, ROH, TNA or NJPW. When you break down the choices, it’s easy to see why they went with ROH.
First off, while they never signed an exclusive deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling, they still get to work there as previously mentioned. As two fathers raising kids, they probably didn’t want to live full-time in Japan.
TNA Wrestling is probably out of the question due to the uncertainty of their future. I was surprised to see them named over Global Force Wrestling, which Young Bucks worked a few dates, but I can only presume their time in GFW cut them out of being an option. Or they just didn’t think of it, which would be an even deeper shade.
Lucha Underground was rumoured to be the company that low balled the Young Bucks, leading to them calling out an unnamed promotion on Twitter. It wouldn’t stop them from signing a contract that gives them dates in Mexico as well for AAA, and Lucha Underground would still give them dates in PWG. Lucha would have been a good spot for them, but it would take Ring of Honor off the table.
WWE and NXT has been the greatest speculation after some of their good friends like Finn Balor and Kevin Owens have made it to NXT successfully, with Owens the Intercontinental champion in the WWE. While the WWE allowed both men to adopt much of their independent wrestling characters to their style, they still had to make a lot of adjustments. The Young Bucks are the epitome of independent wrestling, the arbiters of the current “give the fans everything” style prevalent in pro wrestling today. The Young Bucks are high energy, entertainment and athleticism, at whatever expense to wrestling story or psychology. It’s what makes them so successful. In the WWE, that all changes. They may keep similar clothing and a few of their high spots, maybe even keep the name, but not much else. Their crotch chops and Wolfpac signs will be discarded for something more generic to not step on any toes. They would stop being the Young Bucks if they went to NXT or WWE. And that could be fine a few years down the road when their kids are older, similar to what happened with their buddy Owens. Get a few years of good money in ROH, exhaust the roster and then head to WWE after seeing how Owens, Balor and other former indie friends of theirs have been treated by NXT and WWE.
Finally, why Ring of Honor? They are familiar there. More importantly, they are draws. The Young Bucks are easily one of the most talked about talents on an ROH card every time they appear, despite their matches not treated as a major part of the show. Now with exclusive deals, ROH doesn’t have to work around them. They can have them be the headline. ROH fans are comfortable with seeing Tag Team championships be the main event and the Young Bucks could spearhead that into 2016. That’s why the contracts are considered a big deal. Not only that, but their situation changes for the better. They still get to work PWG and NJPW, only now they do it with ROH as their home. That means more time to raise the kids, more time in a company that treats them like the biggest deal and still get to keep their second and third homes happy. There’s no losing situation here.
One could question just how much ROH plans to pay them compared to what they could make in the WWE, but you have to get through NXT to get to the WWE, and word around the wrestling business is that independent talents are not making great money in NXT. The Young Bucks would likely be taking a paycut, and it’s a difficult risk to make. ROH means money now, main events now, Japan touring now and a lot less dates than what WWE would be forcing them to make (when they leave NXT to WWE).
Back in December, I talked about the Young Bucks turning down an offer from the WWE to stay independent. Today, the Young Bucks signed exclusive to ROH without losing their independent hearts. Nick Jackson said he felt like he was part of an underground hardcore band. Thinking about it today, I disagree. Fans around the world know the Young Bucks. They just proved you don’t need the WWE to be one of the biggest deals in pro wrestling.
Photo by Anton Jackson of Flickr
