The April 27, edition of AEW Collision saw not one but three names from WWE NXT make their debuts for the All-Elite promotion. 

The first episode following the inaugural AEW Dynasty event, Collision saw the Grizzled Young Veterans in action. Their arrival on the show wasn’t a surprise given that it’d been announced had been announced days earlier. The team of Zack Gibson and James Drake put up quite the effort against The Acclaimed but ultimately lost to the former AEW World Tag Team Champions. 

In a post-match interview, the Grizzled Young Veterans were frustrated about their defeat and blamed ‘Daddy Ass’ Billy Gunn for their setback. 

EXCLUSIVE: The Grizzled Young Vets, although frustrated, are more determined than ever! #AEWCollision@ZackGibsonGYV | @JamesDrakePro pic.twitter.com/fdRAjwd6My

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 28, 2024

Gibson and Drake joined WWE in 2018 and would become the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions. They were later moved to WWE NXT and joined Joe Gacy’s Schism but chose to leave WWE when their contracts expired in September 2023. 

The Grizzled Young Veterans weren’t the only NXT alum on the show. Martin Stone also made his AEW debut on Collision in a losing effort to RUSH. In addition to being Stone’s debut, this was RUSH’s first match back after not competing since AEW Worlds End in December 2023. 

In WWE NXT, Stone competed as Danny Butch and held the NXT Tag Team Championships with Oney Lorcan. He was released from the gold brand in January 2022 as part of cuts that saw many names close to Triple H be let go. 

AEW will soon see the debut of two more former WWE NXT Superstars. The Grizzled Young Veterans are very prepared for their first match in Tony Khan’s company.

The Grizzled Young Veterans’ AEW debut will take place on this week’s Collision (4/27). The company made this announcement via a video on social media.

The former NXT Superstars are in the land of All Elite to make a statement. They also said The Acclaimed have been on their radar for “a few years now,” and they will collide this Saturday. Gibson and Drake promised to teach Max Caster and Anthony Bowens a lesson.

EXCLUSIVE! @Lexynair stands by with a WORLD-RENOWNED tag team set to DEBUT on #AEWCollision… ???@ZackGibsonGYV | @JamesDrakePro pic.twitter.com/tsXWiXKcwX

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 25, 2024

Grizzled Young Veterans’ WWE Exit & Return To Indies

There was a time when Grizzled Young Veterans had some steam in WWE. They made their mark by winning the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament in 2019 and went on to become the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions. The two were then brought to Orlando’s version of NXT, but things didn’t pan out for them.

After a run in NXT UK as Grizzled Young Veterans, the two entered NXT, but were written off television. James Drake and Zack Gibson were eventually unveiled with Joe Gacy’s in his Schism faction, adopting the ring names Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler as The Dyad.

They were unhappy with the creative direction that WWE was taking them toward. After their departure, they have made this very clear in an interview with Metro.

“In a nutshell, this is one of the big driving forces as to why we wanted to leave and get out because without going into too much, we just weren’t particularly happy with how things were going,” said Gibson. “It all felt a bit boring. And ultimately, you know, this is our job, but it’s also it’s our hobby, and it’s our life. So we want to be enjoying what we’re doing.”

“Our decision to move on wasn’t necessarily like, ‘We don’t like that company anymore!’ It’s not a big middle finger to the company, the company is doing great business, it’s just we felt that as a product, we weren’t doing the best business,” Gibson explained.

The Grizzled Young Veterans have been making the rounds since exiting WWE. They re-appeared in DPW, spreading their message that they are not a cookie cutter tag team enhanced by sports entertainment’s creative influence. During the event, they answered an open challenge set by DPW’s tag team champions, The Workhorsemen.

They have also launched ‘Burning Heart Pro Wrestling‘ which has been “created by wrestlers, for wrestlers and fans.” The promotion’s first event will take place on June 21, at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England.

James Drake and Zack Gibson could do big things in AEW. SEScoops will keep an eye on this story to see if Tony Khan locks them down with contracts.

A new promotion from the Grizzled Young Veterans will host its inaugural event this June with tickets set to go on sale for the show very soon. 

Taking to Twitter, the team of James Drake & Zack Gibson announced the launch of ‘Burning Heart Pro Wrestling‘ which has been “created by wrestlers, for wrestlers and fans.” The promotion’s first event will take place on June 21, at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England. Tickets for Burning Heart Pro Wrestling’s first show go on sale at 10 am GMT on Monday, April 29.

So far, no wrestlers have been announced for the show though Drake and Gibson will likely be competing. It was said that the promotion will be led by a “committee of international wrestlers.”

Friday 21st June 2024 Burning Heart Pro Wrestling takes over the historic @LpoolOlympia

Led by a committee of international wrestlers. Created by wrestlers, for wrestlers and fans. Pro wrestling from the heart ???

What do you wanna see from us?@ZackGibsonGYV @JamesDrakePro pic.twitter.com/ElNMny7Ngb

— Burning Heart Pro Wrestling (@burningheartpw) April 24, 2024

As Gibson made clear in the video, the Liverpool Olympia is no stranger to wrestling and violence. TNA Wrestling has often used the event for shows in the UK. In 2006, the Olympia saw the unification of the Ring of Honor World & PURE Championships as Bryan Danielson defeated the UK’s own Nigel McGuinness. 

The Grizzled Young Veterans aren’t the first wrestlers to try their hand at launching a promotion. Hopefully, the pair will have better luck than AOP who attempted to launch Wrestling Entertainment Series: UK in 2022. 

WES:UK promoted an impressive debut event featuring ex-WWE Superstars including CJ Perry, Lina ‘Nia Jax’ Fanene, and Adam ‘Braun Strowman’ Scherr. The promotion’s inaugural event was canceled following reports of low ticket sales and all plans for the promotion quickly fizzled out. 

WWE released a number of people over the past year, but some of them requested their releases. The Grizzled Young Veterans wanted out of WWE, because they weren’t happy with their creative direction. Now, they are landing in Impact Wrestling.

Impact Wrestling released a video to let everyone know that the Grizzled Young Veterans are coming to Hard To Kill.

TNA Wrestling Hard To Kill Date, Location, and How To Watch

The 2024 Hard To Kill is scheduled for January 13th, 2024, at the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada. That pay-per-view will mark the fifth Hard To Kill show. The pay-per-view will be available on FiteTV.

Why Grizzled Young Veterans Left WWE

The Grizzled Young Veterans are showing up in Impact Wrestling just in time for the company’s re-branding efforts. They are changing back to TNA Wrestling in January 2024.

James Drake and Zack Gibson were unhappy in WWE NXT, as they were changed to The Dyad and joined Joe Gacy’s Schism faction. After asking for their releases, they were eventually granted their requests.

Another day, another name change for WWE talents.

WWE has been known to make changes to its characters. These modifications can range from attire, to theme music, to an entirely new gimmick.

Over on the NXT brand, WWE is given far more leeway to experiment with these ideas.

While NXT is featured on the USA Network, it’s a developmental brand. This allows WWE to experiment and see what shines and what flops.

In this case, two NXT talents will be going by different names.

Grizzled Young Veterans Get Name Changes

PWInsider is reporting that James Drake and Zack Gibson of the Grizzled Young Veterans are undergoing name changes.

James will be referred to as “Jagger Reid,” while Zack’s new name is “Rip Fowler.” Many have speculated that the pair will be joining Joe Gacy’s faction, “The Schism.”

Gacy announced the new faction during the July 12 episode of NXT 2.0.

The belief is that Jagger and Rip could be “The Dyad” team that Gacy has been teasing.