During their interview with Adam’s Apple, The Young Bucks opened up about one of the biggest “what-if” moments of their career: just how close they came to joining WWE.
While the tag team has long been linked to speculation about jumping to the rival promotion, Matt and Nick Jackson confirmed that 2019 was the closest they ever came to actually making the move.
When asked directly how close they were to signing, they didn’t hesitate: “Pretty close.”
They clarified that although WWE never sent over a physical contract, the discussions were very real and reached an advanced stage. “There was never an actual physical contract, but we were negotiating.”
What may surprise fans is that this wasn’t the Bucks’ first time talking with WWE. They revealed they had multiple rounds of discussions with the company throughout their career. “Not even at that time, but many times before in our career almost. There’s been a couple. In 2019 was probably the closest.”
At the time, the Bucks’ popularity was booming. Their work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and on the independent scene had created a major momentum shift. WWE took notice. According to the Bucks, WWE’s interest stemmed from the massive organic wave they were riding internationally:
“We had a ground swell at the time, with stuff we were doing in Japan and on the indies, and I think they just wanted to, you know, buy it.”
Despite talks progressing, the deal never finalized – opening the door for what would soon become AEW.
According to Fightful Select, WWE offered The Young Bucks a multi-year contract worth $500,000 guaranteed. Back then, that was far above the company’s usual entry-level pay – which was much lower than today – and came with a much heavier schedule of required dates.
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