10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (May 24)

4. How ROH & NJPW Accidentally Created AEW

Aew Young Bucks
AEW/ROH

Matt Jackson told Bleacher Report this week that he conceptualised AEW's formation over the phone with his wife and Tony Khan from the comfort of his patio bench. Things moved quickly from there, but there wouldn't have even been a discussion had New Japan and ROH agreed to play ball with The Young Bucks.

Both Matt and Nick sat down to crunch the numbers and felt they'd need more cash to have a "liveable retirement". From there, they approached both companies and tried to broker a joint deal between the pair that'd let them work in North America and Japan.

Neither side was interested.

This, according to Matt, accidentally set wheels in motion for All Elite Wrestling. Annoyed by New Japan and ROH's refusal to give them what they wanted, the brothers started exploring other options. That's when AEW entered their lexicon and the thought of running their own company became a real possibility.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.