Painful Departure: Milwaukee Bucks key player is gone…
Painful Departure: Milwaukee Bucks key player is gone…
The Bucks have unquestionably brought tag team wrestling into the spotlight, whether it was through their Ladder War matches in Ring of Honor—a type of match that has never been replicated at that level anywhere in the world—tearin’ it up in California super-indie Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, or making a name for themselves in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Regarding who is the best, people can disagree. Unquestionably, though, the Bucks are one of the most divisive tag teams in wrestling history.
Matt and Nick Jackson of the Bucks now wear all-black gear when they wrestle, just days before Sting announced his retirement. The pair is accepting the criticism that comes with their abundance of achievements as they get ready for what is anticipated to be the main event of Revolution—a tag team title matchup versus Sting and Darby Allin.
“There is no denying our success,” Matt Jackson declared. “Our flowers will arrive one day, but regrettably, they will be placed beside our graves. You have to accept the position of villain when it is assigned to you. We have lived through it, so we know what we’ve done. Hate our wrestling style? Hate our appearance? Dislike the way we speak? That’s alright. However, we made a lot of individuals very wealthy. In my backyard lazy river, I bathe in the tears of yesterday’s broken wrestling personas, whose only conversation is about what I did yesterday.
The Bucks’ style has split spectators since they began competing in TNA fifteen years ago. When CM Punk declared at the controversial All Out press conference in 2022 that he didn’t particularly like the Bucks—who are both AEW EVPs—or fellow EVP Kenny Omega or “Hangman” Adam Page, it further highlighted this.
The Bucks are always surrounded by controversy, not because they actively seek it out (they have long supported the notion of an Elite vs. New Day battle that would have been really entertaining) but rather because it seems to find them. The irony is that Matt and Nick Massie, two diligent men from Rancho Cucamonga, California, are the Jackson brothers. To say that they are 90s kids and wrestling-obsessed is an understatement given their work (superkicks, Too Sweet gestures, breaking the fourth wall, etc.) and excitement for what goes on inside the squared circle.
They launched their own professional wrestling promotion in their parents’ backyard as teenagers. They were always broke from working long construction hours to pay for it, but they were happy creating something greater than themselves. Decades later, as EVPs of AEW, they wrestle Sting in his final match. Sting, who is only a few weeks away from turning 65, still looks amazing in the ring.
“The past 20 years have been an insane rollercoaster ride,” Nick Jackson remarked. “I recall being enraged that Sting would consistently beat up Hogan when I was watching Nitro and witnessing him descend from the rafters to assault the NWO. It is therefore astounding to watch him performing at such a high caliber after all these years. It means a lot to me and Matthew to be his final match. It’s the most important game of our careers, and I never imagined this would happen.
