Major AEW team had allegedly once rejected a $500,000 offer from WWE
AEW made a huge splash when the promotion burst onto the scene a few years ago. However, this may not have been the case if WWE got their way. Triple H allegedly offered The Young Bucks $500,000 each to join the Stamford-based company, which the brothers rejected in favor of "pushing the industry forward."
Speaking at the post-Double or Nothing 2019 media scrum, Matt and Nick Jackson expressed their desire to take wrestling to new heights and revealed that they had to turn their heads on a lucrative offer to do so:
"We made it a pact. We said, 'We could just go to WWE and make millions of dollars, or we could join together and try to change wrestling for the better,' and I feel like that’s what we’re doing," Nick said. [From 02:17 – 02:29]
Kenny Omega and/or The Young Bucks going to the WWE would be the biggest deal since AJ Styles signed to the company.
It would rock the wrestling world to it's core. https://t.co/66COHrqPP0
The brothers later stated on Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows' Talk N' Shop podcast that WWE's Chief Content Officer, Triple H, offered the high-flying brothers $500,000 each. Although, they would reject this proposal in favor of launching AEW.
While many would call the former AEW Champions crazy for turning down such a mammoth figure, the brothers have defended their decision many times. Matt Jackson said the following at the 2019 scrum:
"The economy of wrestling is up and If we have a reason to do with that…all we ever want to do in this business is help the boys. Because for so long the boys haven’t had any leverage and they’ve been eating dog cr*p for years, and if we’ve come along and we’ve helped the boys make a little bit more money and have a little bit more power, then more power to us." [From 02:44 – 03:04]
AEW is all about pushing the industry forward, say The Young Bucks
During the same media scrum, Matt Jackson delved a bit deeper into his motivation behind establishing AEW. For him, legacy outside the ring is far more important than his matches in the ring or the zeros in his bank account:
"If there’s anything that I want to be remembered for, it’s not like having great matches or any of that. Like, we’ve had a lot of great matches that I’m very proud of. That’s fine. But if I could be remembered for something bigger than that, something that actually pushed the industry forward and helped pay the guys, that’s what I want to be remembered for." [From 03:16 – 03:34]
Phenomenal response by The Phenomenal One when he was asked to be The Young Bucks' partner in the Trios Titles Tournament 👌
#WWE #AEW #AJStyles #YoungBucks https://t.co/77wJJ6K6TK
It's fair to say that The Young Bucks have done a tremendous job of helping the wrestling industry as a whole, and they continue to do so in their roles as EVPs of the second-largest promotion in America.
With rumors surrounding their contract status in AEW ever-present, only time will tell whether Matt and Nick stick it out in Tony Khan's company further or eventually decide to make the switch.