AEW Dynamite live results: The Young Bucks return to action

The Young Bucks will return to action in an AEW ring for the first time since October on tonight’s Dynamite.

Matthew and Nicholas Jackson of The Young Bucks will square off with the “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight duo on tonight’s Dynamite in New Orleans. The last time The Young Bucks wrestled in AEW was on the October 30, 2024 Dynamite where they dropped the Tag Team titles to Private Party’s Zay and Quen.

The Owen Hart Foundation women’s tournament also continues on tonight’s Dynamite, with Kris Statlander taking on Jamie Hayter in a semifinals matchup. The winner advances to the tournament finals at next month’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view where they will face Mercedes Mone for the Owen Hart Cup. The tournament winner also earns a title shot against the Women’s World Champion at All In in July.

Rapper and former WCW wrestler Master P is also set to appear on tonight’s episode. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Tony Schiavone welcoming us in the ring, as he announces Master P, who makes his entrance and introduces the new AEW Trios Champions, The Opps, to a huge ovation. Samoa Joe wastes no time singing Make’em Say Ugh with Master P and the crowd, thanking him for everything he does for the city and student athletes. They’re cut off quickly by the Death Riders music, as Marina Shafir walks out alone, but it was a distraction, as Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta attack The Opps from behind. Master P was left alone in the ring with Moxley, they had a brief face-off until Joe recovered and sank in a Kokina Clutch on Moxley, as Master P got in a few shots and laughed, ordering Joe to put Moxley to sleep. The Young Bucks & Kazuchika Okada hit the ring with chairs and save Moxley, as Master P bailed. Moxley stumbled to his feet, but had to be pulled away by Shafir before coming face-to-face with The Elite. Swerve Strickland’s music now hits and he walks in from the crowd. Joe recovers, as Strickland hits the ring and the Elite bail up the aisle way, but Kenny Omega’s music hit and The Elite scurrying away through the crowd. Omega, Strickland & The Opps stood tall, as Excalibur talked about how Team AEW must display a united front.

Joe said he’s going to beat Jon Moxley’s ass and choke him out, taking back his (as he glances at Strickland at this point) AEW World Title. The Opps leave, as Omega & Strickland give each other a nod before leaving as well.

-Renee Paquette is backstage with The Patriarchy, congratulating Nick Wayne on winning the ROH TV Title and being the youngest champion in the company. Christian Cage took the title from Nick and said she should be congratulating him, as he’s responsible for what Nick has become, The Prodigy. Cage told Nick he & Mother Wayne celebrated extensively later that night. Cage said you see what happens when you shut your mouth and listen to him, good things happen and he always tells the truth. Nick said what happens when you stick to the plan, you actually win championships. Nick went to take back his TV Title, but Cage resisted and put it on Nick’s shoulder himself, saying he loves his family.

-Before our opening match, Taz informed us HOOK is back in New York and recovering, but when the time is right, he’ll be back and do what he has to do.

Ricochet vs. Mark Briscoe

(This turned into a darn fine first ever singles meeting between these two. Finally, Briscoe gets the much-needed win, as he’s been long overdue, even if Ricochet stood tall in the post-match, initially. Ricochet seems to be headed into a program with Kevin Knight and that should be not only a great match, but a very good feud for Knight in his AEW run.)

Lots of stalling from Ricochet in the early going, so it was Briscoe who had to get things going with the quick offense. Scissor kick through the ropes connects, as Ricochet keeps trying to escape, both fought to the apron, Ricochet hit a pump kick, but Briscoe answered with a Cactus Jack elbow to the floor. Back inside, Ricochet pulled referee Paul Turner into the path, allowing him to drape Briscoe throat first on the top rope and a baseball slide that put him in control throughout break.

Ricochet took too long mocking the crowd, allowing Briscoe to battle back with a flying forearm. Ricochet blocked a bulldog, but Briscoe put on the brakes and slapped the bald head. They trade a series of pin attempts, until Ricochet hit a Northern Lights into a Brainbsuter for a close two. Again, Ricochet wasted time trashing talking, as Briscoe caught a springboard into an Exploder for two of his own. Briscoe wanted a Jay Driller, but Briscoe settled for a rolling DVD and sliding D. Ricochet avoided a Froggy Bow, repeatedly hung-up Briscoe on the ropes and hit a springboard 450 Splash for a near fall.

Briscoe cut off Ricochet in the ropes, knocked him to the floor and hit a Tope Con Hiro. Back inside, massive lariat turned Ricochet inside out for a close two. Ricochet again avoided a Jay Driller, tried to steal a pin with the feet on the ropes, but Briscoe rolled through and got the flash pin.

Briscoe celebrated the win, but Ricochet cracked him in the ribs and back with a chair in the post-match. He pulled the golden scissors out and was about to use them until Kevin Knight sprinted out. Ricochet tried attacking at the aisle, but Knight clocked him with a right hand, knocking the scissors from Ricochet’s hand, as he bailed quickly to the back. Knight helped out Briscoe, standing tall, as we see The Rock n’ Roll Express applauding from the crowd.

Match Result: Mark Briscoe defeated Ricochet

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FTR Return from Suspension

Tony Schiavone was about to introduce FTR to the ring, when he was cut off by the returning Stokely Hathaway, who gave a grand introduction to Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler, the most decorated tag team in wrestling. Hathaway made his way to the ring with FTR, as he said he’ll address the elephant in the room. FTR were suspended for accidentally hitting someone and touching Tony Schaivone? Darby Allin has lit people on fire, Hangman Page has committed arson, Ricochet has shanked people with scissors & Jon Moxley has committed acts of terrorism, kidnapping, extortion and continues walking around AEW unpunished. Hathaway told FTR not to worry, that’s why he’s here, as he’ll have their suspension expunged from their permanent record. If you want to have a conversation with FTR, you need to have one with Hathaway, who is now the new agent for the greatest team alive today, FTR.

Hathaway ordered Schiavone to do his job, as he reluctantly pointed the mic to Wheeler, who thanked Hathaway for what he’s doing for them. Wheeler said last week, Daniel Garcia made his own decision and responsible for what happened, it was 2.0 who wanted to fight and they weren’t ready to fight FTR. Out of respect to Garcia, he asked them to stop beating up 2.0 and they did. FTR put Garcia and the TNT Title first and Cope first, but it got them nothing, no more, the fans are going to boo them for that?

Harwood said they have a couple of legends in the house tonight, the Rock n’ Roll Express, welcoming Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson in the ring. They got a huge ovation, as Harwood asked them what their greatest match ever, but cut off Morton before he could answer, telling them The Midnight Express was better than the Rock n’ Roll Express. Harwood asked Morton how old they are, but cut him off again, saying they look 108-109 years old. Harwood asked what their favorite experience was, cut off again, but Morton wasn’t standing for it. Hathaway presented them with a FTR shirt and said that this shirt was for Morton. FTR quickly attacked Gibson & laid out Morton with a Spike Piledriver. The Paragon (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) hit the ring for the save, as FTR quickly bailed with Hathaway through the crowd.

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The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. Speedball Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight

(Just a fantastic tag match that had the newcomers Bailey & Knight looking incredibly strong, even in defeat. The Bucks looked like they hadn’t missed a step since not having a match in AEW in 5 months (aside from a few matches in New Japan). This match ramped up in a big way down the stretch, as I’d recommend going out of your way to check this one out.)

Fast start by Matthew & Bailey, with both trying superkicks at the same time, getting tied up, so Nicholas jumped in with a superkick of his own. Double back elbows by The Bucks, as they hit their pose, but are cut-off double slingshot dives to the outside by Bailey & Knight. Back inside, The Bucks were able to regain control with double teams, as Bailey suffered a slingshot facebuster by Nicholas, who followed with a moonsault off the apron onto Knight, with The Bucks controlling throughout break.

Bailey battled back with machine gun kicks to Nicholas, allowing a hot tag to Knight, who ran wild. Big time float over into a lariat on Mattew, as Knight hit multiple corner splashes and leaping slash for two. Rolling DDT countered into rolling Northern Lights from Matthew, even hitting a 2 for 1 on Bailey as well. Bounce back powerbomb on Knight, as Nicholas rolled through the double stomp into a backstabber on Bailey. Head fake superkick into a DDT by Matthew on Bailey, as Nichoals tagged in, played the crowd, asking if they want a Superkick Party? Everyone proceeded to hit with superkicks, until Bailey & Nicholas collided with dueling ones, Matthew & Knight hit each other with double clotheslines, as Bailey & Nicholas were up again and hit dueling corkscrew kicks in an amazing sequence into a reset.

Nicholas hit a roundhouse kick on Knight, who answered with a picture-perfect dropkick, as we got a chicken fight with Matthew on Bailey’s shoulders and Knight on Nicholas’. Matthew was caught in the corner, Knight hit a huge standing hurricanrana, as a dropkick/backstabber combo followed for a near fall. Nicholas suffered a High/Low, as Bailey & Knight went to opposite sides of the ring, as Bailey hit a massive Moonsault onto Matthew outside, as Knight hit a springboard splash on Nicholas for two. PK and Moonsault knee drop from Bailey onto Nicholas, as Knight hit the UFO Splash, but Matthew tackled Bailey onto the pile.

The Bucks looked to regroup outside, but Bailey & Knight were quick after, fighting up on the barricade. Bailey was dropped, as The Bucks hit a Doomsday Device off the barricade onto Knight. Back inside, Bailey was there to try a Triangle Moonsault, but was caught by The Bucks, as Matthew held on, as Nicholas hit a running Meltzer Driver off the barricade. Back inside, Knight dodged an EVP Trigger into a double Pele kick and double spike DDT. Referee Rick Knox turned his back as Knight went for a springboard, as Ricochet tripped up Knight, allowing The Bucks to hit an EVP Trigger and win it.

Match Result: The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defeated Speedball Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Timeless Toni Storm and asks her thoughts on Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter. Storm tells them to rip their tits off if they must, but you’re watching the feature presentation. Paquette brings up Storm appearing at the TCM Film Festival and the Empire Strikes Back. Storm said there’s not an Empire big enough to strike this back, she’s a lover and a fighter, before she cucks around Hollywood this weekend and yanks Ben Mankiewicz, she has an announcement and says attention slop-tarts, there will be a Title Eliminator performance this Saturday on Collision, as Queen Aminata quickly walks in and said she loves to fight. Storm says let’s make cinema!

MJF tries to win over The Hurt Syndicate…Again

MVP told the crowd this is an official announcement from The Hurt Syndicate. On behalf of Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley, they’re so good at hurting people, every single team they’ve beaten, haven’t been seen since. The Gates of Agony won’t be seen in the near future, after being hurt by them, but they have a bright future, just now is not their time.

MVP hands the mic over to Lashley, who was cut-off before he could talk by MJF pulling up to the arena in a snazzy ride, telling an attendant to keep it running and here’s your tip, hitting him low, calling him a douche. MJF makes his way to the ring and said we all know they had a good time last week and if they want to have a good time the rest of their lives, all he needs is three thumbs up. MVP gives a thumbs up, Benjamin slowly gives a thumbs up of his own, but holds back MJF from trying to hug him. Benjamin says he didn’t give a thumbs up for a bunch of broads and a watch, but because of MVP, don’t forget that. MJF said we all love Montel, just like we love our friend, Bob. MJF told Lashley if he’s in the Syndicate, they’ll have all the gold in the world, but some things he brings to the table that Lashley doesn’t. MJF knows this place more than anyone and cut corners better than anyone (Taz said that’s a shoot on commentary, which was hilarious) and if they let MJF into the Syndicate, they run wrestling.

MJF knows he’s been a little prickly towards Lashley in recent weeks, but will tell him two words he’s never said before. He really had to fight to get it out, but ultimately said I’m Sorry. Right as Lashley was about to give a thumbs down, MJF stopped him and said the car he drove to the arena in is Lashley’s if he gets a thumbs up. Lashley asked to see the keys and MJF said they’re in the back, so let’s go and take a walk. Everyone heads to the back, as MJF tells the crowd they’re as tough to look at as they are lovely.

Commentary talks about how MJF sees the path to the AEW World Title through the Hurt Syndicate. We go backstage as MJF hands Lashley the keys to the car, as Lashley & Benjamin get in. MJF said all he needs in a thumbs up, but Lashley gives a thumbs down as they drive away. MVP has to calm MJF down, reminding him to give the people what they want, as MJF calms and through his teeth says he hopes Bob enjoys the car.

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-Renee Paquette is backstage with Hangman Adam Page, who screamed that the minute he sees Kyle Fletcher, he’s putting his ass down. MJF strolls in and says Page’s new haircut looks like he met his wife at a family reunion. Page said unless MJF has something of substance to add, he’d get in his car and, oh wait. MJF laughs and said it’s funny, guy enters the Owen Hart Tournament, but someone strolls in the back door thanks to The Hurt Syndicate to become a two time World Champion. Page said MJF doesn’t know anything about the back door and MJF couldn’t hang with him in the ring, and couldn’t hang in the Owen. MJF called Page an idiot who acts high and mighty since he beat him, but reminds Page they are 1-1, if they fight again, he’ll send Page to the glue factory. If Page makes it to the Finals of the Owen, he’ll do what he does best, choke. MJF leaves, as Page screamed he has something for MJF to choke on, dumbass.

Will Ospreay & Brody King vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (w/Don Callis & Lance Archer)

(Hard fought win for the Callis Family, as it was a necessary win for them, especially Alexander, after losing in his debut last week. Also, with the Callis Family growing in numbers on Collision last week with the addition of Rocky Romero & returning Trent Beretta, it’s important to really get them over as a threat, so this was a good way to go about it. While I don’t like King taking another pin, there’s just simply no way Ospreay should be losing while being the favorite in the Owen.)

Alexander got the upper hand to start against Ospreay, who responded by firing off a quick hurricanrana and tag to King. Double shoulder tackle to Alexander, as Takeshita was slammed onto his partner. King & Ospreay stack on top with splashes before King fires off corner chops on Alexander. Takeshita tripped up and trapped Ospreay in the ropes, allowing Alexander to attack on the outside, as even Callis got in a cheap shot during picture-in-picture.

Back from break, Ospreay hit a double handspring Pele to be able to make the King hot tag. Series of clotheslines and back drops dished out, as King followed with a dive onto the floor. Alexander was stacked onto Takeshita against the barricade, as King hit a cross body onto both. Back inside, Ospreay tags, as King had Takeshita in a fireman’s carry, double stomp by Ospreay, as King hit a DVD onto his partner’s knees. King went outside after Alexander, as Ospreay avoided a Blue Thunder Bomb, but was starched by a massive right hand. Ospreay tried a handspring, but Takeshita hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for a wild two.

Alexander & King tag in, as Alexander wanted a piledriver, King spun-out, rolling elbow and huge lariat for two. Cannonball in the corner connects, as Archer ran distraction on referee Bryce, allowing Takeshita to get in a cheap shot. Osperay took out Archer with a dive, as back inside, Takeshita dodged Pip, Pip, Cheerio, as Alexander hit a forearm in mid-air and powerbomb to follow. Takeshita decked King with a Helluva Kick, as Alexander hit a rolling German, as he & Takeshita hit a double rolling elbow for a close two. Power Drive Knee hits, as Alexander spiked King with the C4 to get the victory.

Post-match, Ospreay tried to save his partner from an attack, but was chokeslammed by Archer for his troubles. With Ospreay & King down, Kyle Fletcher saunters down the aisle and was about to put Ospreay away, until Hangman Adam Page’s music hits and he power walks to the ring, but was attack from behind by Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero. Taz said the Callis Family simply have too many guys, as they threw Page into the ring and the Family put a 6 on 3 beatdown on them all, with Page eating a Brainbuster from Fletcher prior to their Semifinal Owen Hart Tournament match next week.

Match Result: Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander defeated Will Ospreay & Brody King

-During the match, we were told Jon Moxley will be defending his AEW World Title against Samoa Joe on the May 14th episode of Dynamite at Beach Break.

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Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter in an Owen Hart Foundation Semifinal

(For only having one singles match with each other on a Jericho Cruise, these two worked incredibly well with one another and it’s a showdown I’d really like to see happen again. As much as Statlander vs. Mone 3 would’ve undoubtedly been great, having Hayter win and advance was definitely the way to go here. We now have a full month to build this match and it has the potential to be one of the best women’s matches AEW has had coming up at Double or Nothing.)

Both tried to showcase their power early, but collided with a double shoulder tackle, neither budging. They shrugged it off, as Hayter sent Statlander crashing into the corner and followed with a dropkick off the second rope for a near fall. Statlander answered with a roll through sending Hayter face first into the corner, but was sent to the apron after a charge. Both ladies brawled on the apron, as Statlander caught a big boot, swept out the leg, wanted a moonsault, but Hayter stepped aside and Statlander crashed and burned into commercial break as Hayter dabbed the sweat from her brow.

We return to a slugfest, as during break it was an even back and forth. Statlander ducked an enzugiri into a German suplex for two. Dragon Sleeper applied with the body lock, but Hayter tilts into a pin attempt for two, ultimately escaping into a head scissors. Statlander powers to her feet and drops Hayter down face first before hitting a Meteora to the back of the head. Statlander wants Staturday Night Fever, but Hayter fired off a thrust kick and enzugiri. Hayter charges, but Statlander hit a pop-up powerbomb, rolls her through, but Hayter spun-out into a Hayt-breaker into the double down.

Statlander dodges Hayterade into a spinning suplex, as she went up top and hit the 450 Splash for a close two. Statlander went up the ropes again, but Hayter cut her off. Statlander tried to leap off, but Hayter got wrist control and leveled her with a lariat. A proper Hayter-ade took Statlander’s head off and Hayter got the win.

Post-match, the celebration was short, as Mercedes Mone walked to the stage next to the Owen Hart Foundation trophy. Mone posed and did her dance, as Hayter tried to get her to come to the ring, but Mone didn’t bite. Mone’s music cut and Hayter’s kicked in and the two stared each other down to close the show.

Match Result: Jamie Hayter defeated Kris Statlander to advance to the Finals

AEW Collision: Playoff Palooza 4/26/25

  • Swerve Strickland vs. Blake Christian
  • Bandido defends the ROH World Title against Dralistico
  • Timeless Toni Storm vs. Queen Aminata
  • FTR vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong
  • CRU (Lio Rush & Action Andretti) vs. Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) in a Tag Team Tornado Match

AEW Dynamite 4/30/25

  • Hangman Adam Page vs. Kyle Fletcher in an Owen Hart Foundation Semifinal

Young Bucks to wrestle first AEW match since October on Dynamite

The Young Bucks will return to the ring in AEW for the first time since October on next week’s Dynamite.

As revealed during Thursday’s Collision Spring BreakThru special, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson of The Young Bucks will face “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight in tag team action on the Wednesday, April 23 Dynamite in New Orleans.

The Bucks have not wrestled in an AEW ring since the October 30, 2024 Dynamite where they dropped the Tag Team titles to Private Party. The followed up their loss by making a storyline announcement that they were going home to work remotely as The Death Riders began their reign of terror across AEW.

The Young Bucks returned to AEW at Dynasty to attack Swerve Strickland in the main event World title match against Moxley of The Death Riders. The Bucks again got involved in a Death Riders match on Wednesday’s Dynamite Spring BreakThru, seemingly working in concert with the group as Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta defended the AEW Trios titles, but The Bucks were thwarted by Strickland.

Moxley addressed The Young Bucks on Thursday’s Collision, warning them to stay out of his business.

The Young Bucks wrestled twice for NJPW during their AEW hiatus — once in January at Wrestle Dynasty where they won the vacant IWGP Tag titles, and once in February at The New Beginning where they dropped the titles.

Already announced for Dynamite is an Owen Hart Foundation women’s tournament semifinals matchup between Jamie Hayter and Kris Statlander. The winner will face Mercedes Mone in the tournament finals at Double or Nothing in May.

The Dynamite lineup for next week:

AEW Dynamite, Wednesday, April 23 —

  • Owen Hart Foundation women’s tournament semifinals: Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter
  • The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight

Fight Game: Early WWE WrestleMania 41 predictions

John LaRocca and I are back to talk about the major topics in the world of wrestling on this week’s Fight Game Podcast — our last podcast together before WrestleMania 41 as I will be in Las Vegas for the F4W convention.

However, that doesn’t mean we won’t have an episode next week. In fact, we hope to have two episodes from Las Vegas next week and hope to also livestream them on YouTube, so make sure you’re subscribed to the F4WOnline YouTube channel.

We kicked off this show by giving out our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down winners and losers of the week before going into our Top Five topics which included:

  • Early WWE WrestleMania 41 predictions
  • NXT Stand and Deliver
  • The Young Bucks’ return to AEW
  • Kenny Omega’s unserious promo to start AEW Dynasty
  • Dark Side of the Ring episode on Big Van Vader

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Young Bucks return at AEW Dynasty, help Jon Moxley retain World title

After winning the World title for the first time at last year’s AEW Dynasty, Sunday’s Dynasty from Philadelphia seemed like the perfect opportunity for Swerve Strickland to regain the AEW World title.

That storybook ending didn’t happen, however, as the Young Bucks made their return for the first time in six months to deliver a BTE trigger to Strickland, giving Jon Moxley the opening to get the pin and retain the title.

The end came when Strickland threw a chair to Moxley’s head, followed by the Swerve stomp but there was no referee to count as he had been taken out by a chair shot earlier on. The lights then went out and when they came up, Matt and Nick Jackson appeared, hit the move, and dragged Moxley on top of Strickland for the pin and win to close the pay-per-view.

The Jacksons have been off AEW TV since going to “work from home” in fear of the Death Riders at last October’s Fright Night edition of Dynamite — the same show where they lost the AEW Tag Team titles to Private Party. They have had issues with Strickland in the past when he was AEW World Champion.

The ending followed a chaotic last few minutes of the match.

Given the lead-up and the men involved, the match was physical as expected with Moxley drawing first blood on Strickland. Marina Shafir attempted to get involved, stalking Strickland with the briefcase holding the title until Prince Nana prevented it. He got hit with the case, but Shafir got tossed into Moxley who hit her with a cutter by mistake.

After dumping Strickland outside the ring, Moxley got a ladder and walked Strickland up with the idea of suplexing him off it through the Spanish announce table. Instead, Strickland took control and hit a Swerve stomp off the ladder through the table.

Both men eventually made their way back into the ring and Moxley threw a chair at referee Paul Turner’s head. That brought out Hangman Page who has had issues with both men. Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Wheeler Yuta attacked Page before he took out all three men, then hitting Moxley with a Deadeye. After Page got attacked again, The Opps (Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata & Hook) then ran out to run the Death Riders off.

That sequence led into the Bucks’ surprise return.

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Moxley’s fourth run as champion began with his win over Danielson at last October’s WrestleDream which was followed by he and the rest of the now-defunct Blackpool Combat Club turning on Danielson. He now has six successful title defenses, keeping the belt inside a briefcase guarded by Shafir the entire time.

Young Bucks AEW return update

It looks like The Young Bucks will be back on AEW television soon.

Matt & Nick Jackson have been off TV since dropping the AEW Tag Team titles to Private Party in October 2024, but Dave Meltzer reports that they were backstage at a recent Dynamite episode and plans for their return are in the works. When that return will be happening remains to be seen.

Meltzer wrote in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

While they haven’t returned yet, missing several California dates already, The Young Bucks were backstage at the show in Oceanside, CA, and there are plans being worked on for a return although we don’t know when, but it’s not like they’re in that place where so many AEW talents to go disappear.

There was a storyline last October where The Young Bucks said they would be working from home amid all of the chaos that the Death Riders were causing in AEW. During their absence from AEW TV, Matt & Nick Jackson returned to NJPW for a couple of matches and had a brief IWGP Tag Team title reign.

The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) are the current AEW Tag Team Champions after winning the belts from Private Party. Lashley & Benjamin have a title match set for AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view in Los Angeles this Sunday, defending against The Outrunners.

Matt Jackson and his wife Dana Massie have launched a travel show on YouTube called “Never Not Jet Lagged” with the first episode premiering today. It covers their recent trip to Osaka, Japan.

Young Bucks: Creative changed ‘4-5 different times’ before dropping AEW tag titles

Before ultimately dropping the titles to Private Party, plans for The Young Bucks’ most recent AEW Tag Team Championship reign changed a few different times.

Matt & Nick Jackson’s third reign with the belts ended when they lost to Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) on the October 30 episode of Dynamite. While appearing on the Tunnel Talk podcast, Nick Jackson said he and his brother were originally supposed to lose the titles to a different team months before that. The creative direction changed 4-5 times before The Young Bucks faced Private Party at WrestleDream. After that, it was clear to everyone that Kassidy & Quen should be the next champions.

Both Young Bucks said they’re happy things worked out the way they did because Private Party are deserving of the spotlight and were ready for a big push. Private Party have been with AEW since 2019, and this is their first title reign in the promotion.

“This last run we just had, we were supposed to drop those titles months and months before we actually dropped them, but creative changed I would say 4-5 different times in the last like six months,” Nick said. “At one point, we were going to lose the belts to a certain team. And then a month later it changed to another team. And then, I remember Private Party came up to us actually and they mentioned about wanting to do like a long-term program with us. And we were like, ‘Well, sorry man, Tony [Khan] just gave us the layout of what we’re doing and that’s not in the cards.’

“And something changed and we ended up wrestling them in a match [at WrestleDream]… but we tore the house down. As soon as we got backstage, we knew, ‘Oh alright.’ It’s in Tony’s eyes. He was like, ‘I think we have something, I think we have something.’ And Matt and I thought the same exact thing. We were like, ‘We’ve got to pivot. We’ve got to change our plans again.’ And that was like the fourth time changing plans for those titles to be dropped. We were happy though because we wanted to put those guys over. They deserved the spotlight. It’s been five years now, so they were ready for a big push. And I’m just glad Matt and I got to give them that last shove before we left.”

There’s an angle where The Young Bucks have been away from AEW television since their loss to Private Party, but Matt & Nick are expected to feud with Jon Moxley’s Death Riders faction once they return.

For the first time since 2019, The Young Bucks will wrestle for NJPW when they compete for the vacant IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5.

The Young Bucks make surprise appearance at NJPW Strong Style Evolved

The Young Bucks have resurfaced prior to their NJPW return.

Nicholas & Matthew Jackson made a surprise appearance at NJPW Strong Style Evolved on Sunday, attacking Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, and Shingo Takagi as they were battling Jack Perry & Konosuke Takeshita following a match. The Young Bucks helped Perry take out his rivals and offered to help him back to his feet. Perry seemed perplexed by their help as he left the ring.

Matthew then cut a short promo saying it was great to be in Long Beach and back in a NJPW ring. They promised to take the IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5.

Nicholas & Matthew have not been seen since losing the AEW Tag Team titles to Private Party in October on AEW Dynamite. They were last seen on AEW television shredding papers and leaving the building, saying they were going to work at home instead of dealing with the Death Riders led by Jon Moxley.

The Young Bucks will face Great-O-Khan and a tag team partner of his choosing to determine new IWGP Tag Team Champions at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5.

Private Party: Young Bucks don’t get the credit they deserve

AEW World Tag Team Champions Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) feel former champions The Young Bucks don’t get the credit they deserve for what they have done in the wrestling business.

Ahead of their four-way title defense at this Saturday’s Full Gear against The Outrunners, Kings of the Black Throne, and The Acclaimed, the new champions spoke with me about several topics including the Jackson brothers.

At last month’s Fright Night edition of Dynamite, Private Party defeated the Bucks to capture the title for the first time ever. Kassidy and Quen have been with AEW since its inception in 2019, but had never captured gold of any kind in AEW or Ring of Honor.

“The Young Bucks changed our lives. I will forever be in debt to them because of how much we owe them. Also, the Young Bucks don’t get the credit they deserve. If you really think about it, AEW would not be here without the Young Bucks. The Young Bucks literally changed hundreds of people’s lives. They made everybody’s lives better by providing them a job and safety,” Kassidy said. “You’ve got to really think about what the Young Bucks did to impact this business. And when I really think about it, I could be wrong, but I don’t know if there’s any other wrestlers that impacted the way we look at professional wrestling today. The Young Bucks provided multiple jobs, and It’s not only the Young Bucks.”

The title win was preceded by last month’s WrestleDream where they failed to defeat the Bucks for the titles, prompting them to put their future as a team on the line in order to gain a rematch.

It was the latest chapter in their history that dates back to the second-ever Dynamite when Private Party defeated the Bucks in the first round of the inaugural Tag Team title tournament.

“They changed my life and they always went to bat for us. They always looked out for us. The Young Bucks do not get the flowers they they deserve. People need to start really giving them their flowers because they’re going to realize it when it’s too late.”

Watch our full 20-minute conversation below:

Wrestling Observer Live: Fun Friday with Lance Storm, WON Hall of Fame talk

Image: AEW

It’s Wrestling Observer Live with myself and former WWE/ECW/WCW star Lance Storm who returns for another fun Friday edition of the show.

We talk all the news, Kenny Omega speaking out, the new class of the Wrestling Observer Hall of fame, plus some really nice phone calls on a variety of topics — NO GIMMICKS.

A fun show as always so check it out in audio form or with a subscription to our YouTube channel.

Click here to listen (sub needed)

November 18, 2024 Observer Newsletter: The 2024 Hall of Fame class

Image: WWE

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available now for subscribers, Dave Meltzer presents this year’s WON Hall of Fame Class.

Who made it? Who missed out? Read all that and more in this week’s issue.

Dave also provides a few obituaries along with the news of the week.

Note: there will be no WON next week as Dave is on vacation.

Click here to read this week’s issue.

The Latest: Goldberg retirement match, Montez Ford voices frustrations, Young Bucks update

Welcome to another episode of The Latest with Denise Salcedo breaking down the biggest wrestling news headlines of the week so far.

TOPICS

–Cody Rhodes, Liv Morgan win inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Championships

–Goldberg announces WWE retirement match for 2025

–Young Bucks update following AEW Tag Team title loss

–Montez Ford voices frustration over The Street Profits’ ‘stop-and-go’ momentum

–Trevor Lee Opens Up About Fighting For His Spot On WWE’s Main Roster, Keeping Head Held High Post-Release

Young Bucks update following AEW Tag Team title loss

In the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided an update on The Young Bucks following their AEW Tag Team title loss.

The Young Bucks dropped the AEW Tag Team titles to Private Party on Fright Night Dynamite this Wednesday. Nick Jackson worked the match despite having a separated shoulder that’s been bothering him for weeks. Meltzer notes that The Young Bucks will be taking some time off from AEW programming before returning to feud with Jon Moxley’s faction, which has been wreaking havoc in AEW.

The Young Bucks did an angle after dropping the tag titles to Private Party where they were shredding papers and left to ‘work at home.’ The idea is that Moxley’s group has caused so much chaos that it’s unsafe and they don’t want to get involved, with the idea of eventually coming back and saving AEW. Nick has a separated shoulder and has been working on it for weeks. There is no set timetable for a return past it’ll be for a while, and they aren’t scheduled for the Full Gear show [on November 23]. It’ll be no longer than January since they are confirmed for the joint AEW & NJPW show at the Tokyo [Dome] on 1/5.

Nick & Matt Jackson had been AEW Tag Team Champions since April before losing the belts to Private Party. This is Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen’s first title reign in AEW.

The match on Wednesday had a stipulation where Private Party would have had to split up if they lost.

AEW injury updates: Nicholas Jackson shoulder injury, Bandido ready to return

Image: AEW

Now-former AEW Tag Team Champion Nicholas Jackson has been working with a separated shoulder that has been bothering him for weeks.

That news comes from Bryan Alvarez who made note of the injury in his AEW Dynamite recap for this website. He didn’t provide details on when it was suffered or how.

Nicholas and Matthew Jackson lost the titles on Wednesday’s Fright Night Dynamite to Private Party and then announced they would be “working from home” as they left the arena due to the AEW scene being too chaotic.

The brothers have been working regular dates the last few months with no long stretches of inactivity so it’s unclear when the injury was sustained.

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On last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the high-flying Bandido is ready to return at any time.

Bandido injured his wrist in June 2023 and after an initial surgery in July, the wrist didn’t heal properly and he had to undergo a second surgery in December 2023. There was hope he would return in April or May of 2024, but that hasn’t been the case.

Meltzer noted the 29-year-old was backstage in Salt Lake City, Utah, during last week’s Dynamite but wasn’t sure if he was in Cleveland for Wednesday’s show.

Private Party avoid breakup, win Tag Team titles on AEW Fright Night Dynamite

Private Party unseated the Young Bucks on Wednesday’s AEW Fright Night Dynamite to both win the AEW Tag Team titles and avoid splitting up as a team.

The match ended when Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy hit the Gin and Juice on Nicholas Jackson, getting the pin and their first reign as champions after starting with the company in 2019.

The Bucks defeated Private Party at this month’s WrestleDream to retain the titles. The stipulation going into the title rematch was that if Quen and Kassidy lost, they would need to split up forever.

It was a wild match that saw Kassidy bloodied up and Quen get hit with a tombstone piledriver from Kazuchika Okada near the entranceway. As Kassidy got beat up by the Jacksons for several minutes, he kept kicking out of move after move after move. Quen eventually got back and broke up a pin attempt at the last second.

The loss ends the Bucks’ third reign as champions, one that began 192 days ago at April’s Dynasty when they defeated FTR in a ladder match for the then-vacant titles. They had five title defenses in this most recent run.

Two new matches set for AEW WrestleDream

Image: AEW

After calling out the Young Bucks on this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, Private Party will get their shot to defeat the Jackson brothers for the AEW Tag Team titles at this month’s WrestleDream.

Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy earned their shot by defeating both House of Black and Top Flight in a three-way main event on Saturday’s Collision.

Quen and Kassidy have never held the titles while the Bucks will be looking for the fifth defense of the titles they won at April’s Dynasty.

The two teams have shared a history since the creation of AEW in 2019 that began in the inaugural Tag Team title tournament when Private Party defeated the Bucks on the second-ever episode of Dynamite. Since they, they have faced each other twice in traditional tag team action with the Bucks winning both of them.

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In another new bout confirmed for the show, Darby Allin will take on rival Brody King.

After Allin defeated Johnny TV to open the show, Allin took to the microphone to reiterate his open challenge for WrestleDream and how no one had answered it. As he walked to the back, the House of Black member emerged from the back and attacked Allin, choking him against the ring post while saying he accepted.

The two also have an extensive AEW history that includes a 2022 coffin match Allin won and key interactions to close out both the 2022 and 2024 Royal Rampage matches.

Here’s the updated lineup for next Saturday’s pay-per-view from Tacoma, Washington:

  • AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defends against Jon Moxley
  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
  • TNT Champion Jack Perry defends against Katsuyori Shibata
  • AEW International Champion Will Ospreay defends against Ricochet & Konosuke Takeshita in a three-way
  • ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe defends against Chris Jericho
  • Darby Allin vs. Brody King
  • Zero Hour: ROH men’s TV Champion Atlantis Jr. defends against Brian Cage