The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where they also act as executive vice presidents. As performers in AEW, they were the inaugural and two-time AEW World Trios Champions with Kenny Omega; the trio team together as The Elite. They are also former two-time AEW World Tag Team Champions. They also wrestle for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where they are the current ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions with "Hangman" Adam Page.
The Young Bucks are known for their work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where they became members of the NJPW faction Bullet Club; after a "civil war" in 2018, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Marty Scurll, and Cody Rhodes were kicked out of the Bullet Club & went on to form The Elite. They have performed for various American independent promotions – most notably Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) – and had previously worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Generation Me under the names Max and Jeremy Buck. On the independent circuit, they have won numerous titles as well, including four reigns as PWG World Tag Team Champions as well as being the only team to win PWG's annual Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament on three occasions (2009, 2011, and 2013).
They have held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship seven times, three reigns as ROH World Tag Team Champions, three reigns as NJPW's NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions (twice with Kenny Omega, and once with Marty Scurll), three reigns as ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions (twice with Page, and once with Cody Rhodes), and the IWGP and AAA World Tag Team Champions once each. They were also the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions with Elite teammate Omega. All totaled between AEW, ROH, NJPW, and AAA, they have held seven World Tag Team Championships, seven Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, and eight Six-Man/Trios Championships (with various partners).
On two occasions, first in 2014 and again in 2016, they held the ROH World, PWG World, and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships simultaneously, and in 2018, they held the IWGP Tag Team, ROH World Six-Man, and NEVER Openweight 6-Man titles simultaneously.
Professional wrestling career
Training and debut (2001–2004) In 2001, the Massie family put a wrestling ring in their backyard, where brothers Matt, Nick and Malachi taught themselves how to wrestle by impersonating what they saw on television. At the age of 18 or 19, Matt began his professional wrestling training in La Mirada and City of Industry, California, at the Revolution Pro Wrestling School called Rudos Dojo, training primarily under Ron Rivera (The American Wild Child), Disco Machine, Scorpio Sky and Super Dragon, among others. Matt attended the school with his good friend Dustin Cutler, and the two taught what they learned to their friends back home. Eventually Nick joined his brother and attended a few sessions at the school. Matt, Nick and Dustin were involved in their first professional match at an Alternative Wrestling Show/C4/Revolution Pro joint event held on August 8, 2004. Matt worked as Fluffy the Dog, Dustin dressed as a hillbilly and Nick was a high flying referee wearing a Santo mask. Afterward, Matt and Nick wrestled various times for Revolution Pro and Revolution X in chicken costumes, under the team name "Los Gallineros".
High Risk Wrestling (2004–2009) In October 2004, with the help of his family, Matt opened up his own independent wrestling company called High Risk Wrestling (HRW). Matt was originally the head owner of HRW, but had help from Nick and Malachi, as well as good friend Dustin Cutler – these three eventually took over ownership years later. The company ran shows twice a month and helped Matt and Nick learn their craft. In the main event of HRW's "Highway 2 Hell" on August 4, 2007, Matt and Nick teamed up with Marty Jannetty ín a six-man tag, where they defeated Joey Ryan, Karl Anderson and Diablo.
On February 26, 2005, at a show for Full Contact Wrestling, Matt and Nick were called "The Young Bucks" for the first time. Originally, Matt was wrestling under the name "Mr. Instant Replay", while Nick was called "Slick Nick". That night The Young Bucks were defeated by the Kaos and Mongol, the Santino Brothers. Later on, another promoter decided that Matt and Nick needed a surname and came up with "Jackson", which the two have used ever since.