
Melbourne
March 29-30, 2025
Melbourne Showgrounds
Written by Leah Williams
When we last caught up with independent wrestling stars The Young Bucks, they were on Australian shores for Supanova 2017 – Sydney as part of Tommy Dreamer’s House Of Hardcore tour. Having just regained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, Matt and Nick Jackson are riding a wave of success from a year that’s seen them take on the entire wrestling world.
It’s been a year of highs and lows for the pair, as they’ve gone toe to toe with some of wrestling’s biggest names, from an absolutely stellar match with veterans the Hardy Boyz at Ring Of Honor’s Supercard Of Honor XI to hard-hitting affairs with New Japan Pro Wrestling’s most popular stables, Roppongi Vice and Los Ingobernables de Japon. Now, the Young Bucks are taking on wrestling’s most prolific giant, WWE itself.
The Bucks have built a passionate fanbase across the globe, aided, in part, by their self-produced YouTube series, Being The Elite, which follows them, and their fellow Bullet Club members Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll and Adam Page in their travels across the world. A recent episode saw them re-enact the famous ‘DX Invasion’ of WCW’s Monday Nitro by holding a rally outside a recent Raw taping. Calling for the release of their former Bullet Club Members (Finn Balor, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows), the group marched on the venue, rallied fans together and ‘kidnapped’ a man known only as ‘the WWE stooge’.
While the episode brought them a great deal of attention, it also caught the ire of WWE head honcho, Vince McMahon, who swiftly delivered them with a cease and desist order for their use of the WWE-owned “Too Sweet” gesture, a staple of the Bullet Club’s wrestling personas. Not only that, but it wasn’t the Young Bucks’ first threat either, with WWE having issued them with a similar warning over their use of wrestling stable DX’s ‘suck it’ catchphrase.
The threat of the Bucks’ popularity has seen WWE go to extensive lengths to admonish them, however, it’s arguably only raised their profile. To commemorate their latest cease and desist order, they’ve designed a new ‘Cease & Desist’ shirt, which has gone on to become one of their most popular (and soon to be appearing in Hot Topics across the United States).
The Young Bucks’ ascension to the top of the wrestling world has been paralleled by a WWE product that has been seen as increasingly stale by a restless audience. Poor booking decisions, coupled with bare bones, nonsensical storytelling and cringe-worthy dialogue has turned away many longtime fans.
Recently, these changes have seen notable fan favourite wrestlers Austin Aries and Neville depart the company to re-join the independent scene, along with Cody Rhodes, who’s since proved his success and talent outside of WWE as part of the Bullet Club stable. Given the fast-paced action and entertainment of independent promotions like Ring of Honor or New Japan Pro Wrestling, it’s little wonder that the indie scene is currently experiencing a great boom.
While reports coming out of WWE have revealed a significant drop in live attendance, with images surfacing of hundreds of empty seats at both Smackdown Live and Raw, the Young Bucks are fresh off performing at the sold out ROH/NJPW co-produced Global Wars tour, which became the fastest selling event in Ring Of Honor history. The popularity of indie wrestling has never been higher, and it’s led to a boom in merch and ticket sales across America and Japan.
Not only that, but it’s led to increase visibility in the mainstream for wrestlers like the Young Bucks, whose shirts have been spotting frequently at WWE’s own events – most recently in the front rows at their Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV. The popularity of the Bucks and their fellow Bullet Club members has led to lucrative merchandising deals for both Hot Topic and toy juggernaut, Funko.
Hot Topics across the United States frequently sell out of Bullet Club and Young Bucks merchandise, unable to keep up with the unexpectedly strong demand for them. Not only that, but coming later next year will be a whole line of Bullet Club pop vinyl figures, thanks to a recent and largely unprecedented deal with Funko.
Over the next few months, the Young Bucks are touring across America and Japan along with the Bullet Club in NJPW’s Power Struggle, as well as main eventing their own PPV, Ring of Honor: Elite. The future of independent wrestling is looking bright, and with events lined up well into the new year, you’ll be hearing a lot more from the Young Bucks in the months to come.