The Young Bucks recently opened up about the creative changes that shaped their third reign as AEW Tag Team Champions, culminating in their loss to Private Party. The title change occurred on the October 4th episode of Dynamite after the Bucks had successfully retained the titles against Private Party at Wrestle Dynasty.
Speaking on the Tunnel Talk podcast, Nick Jackson revealed that their creative plans shifted multiple times during their reign, including changes to which team they would eventually drop the belts to:
“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.”
Nick also recalled a pivotal moment when Private Party expressed interest in a long-term program with the Bucks:
“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.’”
However, everything changed after the Bucks faced Private Party at WrestleDream:
“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.’”
The Young Bucks ultimately dropped the titles to Private Party and were satisfied with the outcome:
“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.”
Fightful Select reports The Outrunners were actually considered for the spot to win the titles from The Bucks. Following their title loss, the Young Bucks have been absent from AEW television but are set to return to in-ring action at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5, where they will challenge for the vacant IWGP Tag Team titles.
Upon their AEW return, they are expected to feud with Jon Moxley’s Death Riders faction, setting the stage for an intense rivalry.