In 11 days, All Elite Wrestling will make their debut as a weekly episodic show. AEW Dynamite comes to TNT and it’s the first time since 2001 there has been a genuine alternative to WWE.

The wrestling business needed this fresh injection from AEW and now, the industry is booming in a way that was inconceivable to many just a few years ago.

6 All Elite Wrestling fronted by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks

Tony Khan – part-owner of Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars – has smartly surrounded himself with Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks – Nick and Matt Jackson – in executive vice president roles.

Having seen these men change the face of independent wrestling on many fronts in addition to the genius marketing of their merchandise and the beloved Being The Elite YouTube channel, Khan couldn’t have been more prudent in his approach.

talkSPORT had the chance to talk to The Young Bucks as the debut of AEW: Dynamite looms over the horizon and the brothers were totally open about all things AEW, the brewing Wednesday Night Wars – as fans have coined it – and their own journies.

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Hi guys! AEW Dynamite is just over 10 days away. You’ve had many big moments in your career to get nervous about, but how does that compare to the launch of your own TV show?! That’s uncharted territory for the vast, vast majority of people in this industry.

Nick: Man, it’s pretty crazy. Because it’s do or die, you know? We have to hit a home run. What is good, though, is to look back at the shows that we have done and take what was good from that and what was bad from that and try and deliver everything we can on the first TV show. So that’s what we’re aiming to do. We’re excited, we’re nervous, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Matt: Double or Nothing, what was it, a five-hour show when you include the preshow? So we had the luxury of going long and the times are easier to hit and whatnot. Being our first show, I was actually really impressed with how well it went. There’s always going to be some hiccups, productions issues and some things like that, but since Double or Nothing, I think our production has definitely tightened up. After every show, we always kind of watch through the show multiple times – I know Nick and I do – we put together a list and we take it to the team and say ‘these are the things we think we need to be fixed’.

And it’s silly. It’s even things like little details that I notice. Some of the matches with repeat spots, moves or poses; we really want everybody to stand out and differentiate from each other so those are big things that Nick and I catch a lot. Whether it’s repeat finishers or high spots, we’re trying to get better at that stuff. Silly stuff like when the lights go out and sometimes it takes a little too long to get a full restore [laughs]. It sounds boring but we’re really just trying to come up with something tighter, especially when we get to TV because we’re going to be really restricted for time when we’re looking at literally 90 minutes of content with commercials. We haven’t done one yet, we’ve done a couple of four or five-hour shows, but not a 90 minute one yet, so this is a whole new ball game for us. But I feel like we’ve all done it a few times together now and I feel like we’re pretty prepared.

AEW's rally 6 The Young Bucks are pivotal to AEW

While I have you here, I’m sure you’re not suprised to learn I need to ask you some questions about the UK! Can you give us any update on what channel that will be on here, will it be live – what can you tell us?

Nick: Well, we can’t say. It’s still being negotiated, but something will happen. I don’t know when, I don’t know when it will be announced, but something will happen and hopefully, the announcement happens soon.

Matt: We’re just as anxious as you guys are. I get messages too every single day and I would really like to scream from the rooftops all of the information that I know, but I can’t. But hopefully sooner rather than later we’ll have an announcement and I think everybody will be happy.

Can we assume this will be sorted out before October 2 so the UK has the first show?

Nick: Man, I don’t want to say yes and then it doesn’t happen and everyone crucifies me [laughs].

Matt: Hopefully. Sooner the better.

Tony Khan said to me after Double or Nothing that he wanted to bring a pay-per-view to the UK and potentially do it annually. Is that something that has been talked about by you guys? It would certainly be a big deal, WWE haven’t had a major PPV here in a long time.

Nick: Oh yeah, we all know – well, firstly Nick and I because we’ve done the indie scene in the UK for the past decade or so – we know there is a huge fanbase of hardcore wrestling fans out there. They’re very passionate and very loud, so the atmosphere at the shows is always very cool. Bringing shows out there, that’s something Matt and I have brought up multiple times during our meetings that we have constantly. I don’t know how many, but we’ll probably have multiple shows a year in the UK. I’m not sure about a pay-per-view yet, but if Tony [Khan] said it, it will happen [laughs].

6 The Young Bucks as PWG and IWGP tag team champs

Matt: We had an idea to do a big pay-per-view there and I already had a name for it. I wanted to call it ‘Royal Flush’ and Tony was like ‘Yeah, I think there that sounds more like a trip to the loo, I don’t think we’re going to be calling it that!’ Well, there goes my one big idea! Never mind.

Speaking of you guys making big decisions, how has it been wearing two hats – one as producers and bookers and the other as performers? I imagine even something as simple as deciding whether you guys should go over or not is very hard?

Nick: I feel like Matt and I have been preparing ourselves for what we’re doing now for the past three years with producing and directing Being The Elite our YouTube series – and booking it, because it intertwined with Ring of Honor storylines and New Japan storylines. So we actually, for the last three years, we’ve had experience booking things, producing things, directing things, filming things; a lot of stuff we didn’t know about we were doing it and preparing ourselves for what we have now. So the transition was a little easier for Matt and I because of that. But still, it’s a completely new territory doing these massive live events. The challenge has been fun, it’s probably been the most rewarding of my whole career.

Matt: It’s fun, and kind of weird, when a guy like Keith Mitchell [former WCCW, WCW, TNA producer], who has probably directed and produced… what is he, only under Vince McMahon as the most wrestling shows ever in his career?

Nick: Probably second, or third behind Kevin Dunn

Matt: Right, Kevin Dunn. For Keith Mithcell to come up to us and say ‘how do we want to go about this and how do we want to do that’ – I almost feel like the young guy who is behind the desk and all these older people are working for me and I’m like ‘Wow, this just doesn’t feel right!’ And at first it didn’t. But now, now that we’ve done it a few times, I feel like ‘Wow, I am pretty good at this. I’m made for this.’

Like Nick said, we’ve been doing this so long. We basically booked PWG for years with Super Dragon so the Mount Rushmore stuff was us, the Candice LeRae and Joe Ryan story, that was us. We knew how to write long story arcs. Then we did the Adam Cole joining Bullet Club story and the Marty Scurll joining Bullet Club story. We directed and produced and we literally got in the ring and mapped out the scene for the cameramen.

So we were slowly learning how to do these things without realising that it was actually going to benefit us one day and here we are. As far as writing and creating stories, I love it, man. It’s a blast. I think all the daily struggles, the e-mails and the conference calls – that’s the tough part for me. It’s the adjustment like ‘man, I used to have a lot more free time and now this job is literally a 24/7 job’.

FITE 6 CM Punk talking at Starrcast III

Let’s talk potential signings. A lot has been said about CM Punk lately among others and it seems if anyone is available, you guys are the go-to rumour, none more so than with Punk and even WWE talent. What’s your take on those rumours?

Nick: Yeah, that’s definitely true [everyone gets linked]. It’s hard to say because like you said, everyone is linked [to us]. If there is anyone that’s unhappy anywhere else it’s like ‘oh, well they’re going to AEW’ [laughs]. The reality is we already have a full roster, completely. And we’re only going to have one show a week. The roster we have now is what we want and what we wanted. For us to utilise each talent as much as we can, I feel like we have enough people. Never say never though for someone who is a huge superstar. I guess you can make room for a big, big name. For now though, I feel like we have a complete roster.

Matt: Whenever you hear or see things on Twitter it’s like man, I used to read everything and it got to a point somewhere along the line just recently, within the year probably, where I was like ‘You know what, it’s impossible to navigate all of this and take it all in’. You can’t defend yourself because there is just going to be five more stories that pop up about you. If I tried to clear up every single headline I would just be on my phone all day long fighting a fight that is unwinnable.

How about the likes of PAC and the Lucha Bros? Are they guys that will sign with you exclusively now TV is starting?

Nick: I wanted PAC the day we started AEW. I think he’s the greatest high-flyer to ever wrestle. He was in my top five. Same with the Lucha Bros; when I stood on the stage at one of our first press conferences, I think it was in Las Vegas, and our main objective is to make the greatest tag team division in the world, the Lucha Bros were immediately… we were like ‘Those are our two guys. Those are the guys we need to work with to introduce to the world what this new AEW thing is’. So yeah, we’re talking three of the most featured wrestlers, they’re going to be three of them for sure.

AEW rally 6 Hangman Adam Page and PAC was announced at AEW’s first rally, but it ultimately did not happen

NXT made their debut on USA last Wednesday and it seems as though the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ as it were are upon us. In a way, is it better that WWE have rivaled you on Wednesdays because wrestling as a whole is booming and exciting with this rivalry, or would you have preferred to travel your own path?

Nick: Ah man [laughs]. We all knew in AEW, we all knew they [WWE] were going to make that exact move, it was just a matter of what channel they were going to choose. So we were prepared for them to do this because it’s Vince McMahon. He’s done this for years and years! He’s tried to kill territories his whole career so what he’s trying to do is kill us from the start. But, you know what? I feel like it’s not going to happen this time around because wrestling fans need this and wrestling fans know that they need this. If it’s 20 years since we had a real, true alternative, I feel fans finally understand that and they know that and feel the momentum. I feel like we’re ready for it.

Matt: I really think it will bring more attention to us and it’s going to make their product better, our product better because they’re competing head-to-head with us and they have to put on a better show.

Did you guys watch NXT’s show?

Nick: I watched some of it. Matt and I, we have a lot of friends there. Candice LeRae, we have a history with so I was happy for her. She was in the first match in the four-way and she did great, so I was happy for her. It was a fun show, but in 10 weeks from now, those fans might get tired. It happened with IMPACT. It took a while, but some of those shows at the Universal studios…[laughs] – those crowds were dead. It’s definitely possible that this happens to this NXT audience because it’s the same formula.

Matt: I’m rooting for them, though. I want them to have a good show. Ours is just going to be better.

6 AEW talent and vice presidents; Cody & The Young Bucks

One thing Triple H did say to me recently was that he would not trade anyone on his NXT roster for anyone else in the world. Now, we know that signing a free agent and trading someone are two different things, but still, it’s no secret he tried to sign you before AEW was born. How did you react to those comments?

Nick: That made me laugh. Like, come on.. we know you wanted us.

Matt: A year ago you were trying to get us all [The Elite]! A year ago you were trying to get every one of us to come and work for you, so, that’s cool. You can say whatever. Don’t act like there was no interest in us and you wouldn’t trade for us because I know for a fact, you would. You know what I mean?

One thing I did want to ask was about the Jon Moxley injury ahead of All Out. It was impressive how quickly PAC was inserted in his place and it seems like a terrible situation was handled very well. Can you tell us when you knew Moxley was injured bad and how all that went down?

Nick: Oh, man. That happened like almost when everyone else found out. We found out maybe a day before the fans found out he was being replaced? So we had to work hard and fast. Credit to Tony [Khan] though, because he got the deal done with PAC and the rest is history.

Matt: We were all basically on the phone and whenever anything like that happens it’s just like crisis management. What do we do next? The thing with us is, we just want to completely honest and transparent with the audience with what is going on. Nick and I are always forward-thinking. ‘Ok, now that that’s happened, what’s Plan B? And what’s Plan C?’ It’s one of those situations where we tried to make the best of a terrible situation. And luckily, it ended up being OK and most importantly… man, Moxley, it was a serious situation. It could have gotten really bad for him so I’m just happy and thankful that he’s on the mend now and he’s getting better because, man, it’s scary.

Finally, was PAC always the first choice for you guys? Was anybody else in the running?

Nick: No, that was the first name I came up with. I was like ‘we need him’ and there was other options that some of the other guys were floating around and I said ‘nope!’ – not happening. It had to be him.