Why The Young Bucks Were Off AEW TV Post-Blood & Guts

The Young Bucks’ latest tag title reign in All Elite Wrestling has divided fan opinion, with many unimpressed with the lack of televised defences by Matthew and Nicholas Jackson in recent months.

The Bucks were notably absent from AEW TV for several weeks after wrestling in the main event of Blood & Guts in July 2024, and Dave Meltzer has reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that The Bucks were long scheduled to have this time off, with the kayfabe reason for their absence was one of selling their injuries from the dual-ring cage match.

Whilst the ending stretch of the match itself was not extreme enough to warrant such an absence in kayfabe, The Jacksons - and team mate Kazuchika Okada - were absent for the following two episodes of AEW Dynamite, although they were still mentioned on screen.

In reality, whilst the Jacksons booked the time off to take vacations with their families, it is reported that the new lucrative deal that the two signed with the promotion in mid-2023 calls for fewer dates for the multi-time tag team champions, with The Bucks opting to take occasional dates off as to not use up contracted appearances. Meltzer notes that whilst they will surely miss more episodes of Dynamite before the year is through, the two aren’t believed to be on ‘Brock Lesnar deals’ and have worked most Wednesdays thus far in 2024.