Cody Rhodes may be joined by The Young Bucks in WWE but if it happens, it won’t happen for a couple of years. The Wrestling Observer’s Ryan Frederick stated on the F4W Board that The Young Bucks sent feelers out through a WWE talent. It should be noted that this is something that a lot of wrestlers do and there are no indications that Matt and Nick Jackson want to leave AEW.
Frederick said this in response to someone on the board who falsely claimed that Matt and Nick Jackson signed new AEW deals: “They didn’t sign new deals. Their options were picked up. They did reach out to a talent to send feelers that they would be interested in talking about coming in when their deals are up. But, everyone on both sides are going to do the same because you want to look for the best deal. Anyone who doesn’t do so is dumb and possibly leaving money on the table.”
Later in the thread, Frederick said, “…they reached out to a talent to send feelers about coming it. I can’t say they talked to anyone direct at WWE, but that would fall under tampering and this came at the same time the legal letters were being sent about tampering. Can’t confirm they actually talked to WWE people themselves, but they talked to other WWE talent about coming in, which they can do (much like WWE talent can send feelers thru AEW talent, which has happened and happens on both sides often).
Its not something they wouldn’t have done anyways since their deals are coming up at the end of 2024, and you want to maximize your leverage when it comes to getting a new deal and get the companies into a bidding war. It’s not necessarily a sign that they’re going to leave. Everyone should do it.
The hard thing with the wrestler contracts, and another reason they really aren’t independent contractors, is they can’t even negotiate new deals until their old deals are done. It’s not like they can have one deal end on December 31 and show up to their new job on January 1 unless they strike a deal in the first few hours on the 1st. But, generally the only way that happens is if there’s been indirect talks beforehand, much like in this situation. Wrestler contracts really should be more like NASCAR contracts. There was a situation there a couple of months ago where a driver, Tyler Reddick, signed with a new team for 2024 and beyond despite his contract with his current team ending in 2023. However, because he’s an independent contractor like all NASCAR drivers are classified, he’s free to negotiate to start another job when his current job ends at any point.”
The Young Bucks are friends with several people in the company so it shouldn’t be hard for Matt and Nick Jackson to get in touch with management when it is legally allowed.
Last month in response to a fan question about possibly teaming with The Young Bucks again, AJ Styles said that he misses his friends and they should come to WWE. The Young Bucks responded, “We miss you too, AJ Styles.”
The Young Bucks had talks with WWE sometime in late 2018/early 2019 during the weeks before the launch of AEW.
We miss you too, @AJStylesOrg. https://t.co/en636Bgth1
— Matthew & Nicholas Jackson (@youngbucks) August 13, 2022
