The Young Bucks are denying that they have reached out to friends in WWE to gauge the E’s interest in them when their AEW contract comes up in early 2024, but the rumor to that effect that has been making the rounds the past few weeks would seem to connect some dots.
Remember that last month, AEW head guy Tony Khan vigorously addressed reports that WWE had reached out to contracted talents in a talent meeting, and made it well-known in media appearances that he’d sent a cease-and-desist letter to WWE to deal with the reported tampering.
Fightful reported Monday that one source said Matt and Nick Jackson had made asked to make contact with someone in WWE management, something that a source close to the Jacksons denied to Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer.
The story that Meltzer was told to that effect doesn’t add up in one respect, though.
“One thing that’s kinda weird to me, it’s like the nature of the story is that they called a WWE talent, who I’m sure they did call and wanted to get in touch with Triple H or something, right?” Meltzer said. “It’s like, why would they, if you want to get in touch in Triple H, they negotiated with the guy in 2018, a lot, so why would you need an intermediary to go through?”
That’s the defense, that the Jacksons could just call Triple H directly.
Problem with that defense is, they’re under contract for another year-plus to AEW.
Leading to the question: could that have been the tampering that Khan was addressing last month?
This adds another layer to the backstage incident from “All Out” last week.
Remember that Khan sat beside CM Punk and nodded along as Punk eviscerated the “EVPs,” the Jacksons and Kenny Omega.
Was Khan nodding because he is just that socially awkward; or were the nods evidence of his frustration with the EVPs?
The night famously ended with a locker-room run-in that is the subject of an ongoing third-party investigation, and in the aftermath, Punk was stripped of his AEW world title, but that was going to have to happen anyway, because of the torn triceps he suffered in his main event win over Jon Moxley, and the surgery that will keep him on the shelf for the next 6-8 months.
The Jacksons and Omega have been suspended indefinitely for their role in the melee, and Meltzer noted Monday that the three have been pulled from advertising for upcoming AEW events including the “Full Gear” pay-per-view, which is set for Nov. 19.
The three have also put their “Being the Elite” YouTube series on hiatus, ostensibly because the series, which they have used for years to showcase what goes on backstage, would cut a little too close to the bone with everything going on right now.
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Chris Graham
