It's Official: The Young Bucks Are Wrestling's Greatest Ever Tag Team

Young Bucks movez
AEW

This was just one of countless examples of the incandescent crescendo for which the Bucks became infamous.

This match took place in a promotion you may not have heard of, and the YouTube match has racked up just 25,000 views. If the GOAT argument is weighted in the past, because of how many times the legendary duos of old made the towns, the Bucks made the miles too.

The Bucks worked countless incredible matches in Ring Of Honor to further build their case as the greatest ever to do it. The Addiction, reDRagon, the Briscoes, the Motor City Machine Guns, the Hardys: the Bucks worked at a minimum very, very good matches with every great team of the last decade to generate some of the most impressive gates ROH ever did. Drawing power, longevity, consistency: the Bucks were peerless within their own generation. They were the kings of the underground. They eventually transcended what that term meant by playing a key role in the convergence of factors that led to the formation of mainstream upstart All Elite Wrestling.

In New Japan Pro Wrestling, after years of exceptional heel work, the Bucks integrated more traditional modes of wrestling psychology towards the end of a decade they had dominated. Matt Jackson was sublime selling his back. He looked near retirement at times, his work was so authentic. But the Bucks never lost sight of their trademark twist. There was always another layer to build. At Dominion 2018, Matt sold the back in SANADA's Skull End. It was left to Nick to once more make the hot tag, but he smashed his foot against the post after EVIL ducked the kick. All hope was lost when so little was left. The Bucks were un-f*cking-real at orchestrating this sense of drama - of making a match feel so definitively over - before mounting babyface comebacks so stirring that they never once resonated as histrionic.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!