In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Nick and Matt Jackson, The Young Bucks, about their work in ROH and NJPW and a possible jump to WWE in the future. Here are highlights:
Nick on calling themselves The Elite: “We came up with ‘The Elite’ name years ago on a bus as a joke. We’d ask each other, ‘Who do you think are the most elite wrestlers in the world?’ Then we’d make a list, but every list was just us and our friends. We thought it was hilarious, and we decided, ‘What if we just called ourselves that?’”
Matt on forming a group with Kenny Omega: “‘The Elite’ is something we just did on our own. The night we turned on AJ Styles at Korakuen Hall with the Bullet Club, we were all leaving the ring. Kenny asked us, ‘Should I go back in the ring and give AJ the Styles Clash? And you guys double superkick him?’ The rest of the Bullet Club had left, so this was going to be a signal to the audience that we are the three guys. Kenny looked at Nick, and Nick said, ‘Ask Matt.’ So Kenny asked me, and I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Kenny slid in the right, we were right behind him, and he picked up AJ in the Styles Clash. We double-superkicked him, Kenny gave him the deal, and we all posed. That was the night ‘The Elite’ was born.”
Nick on if wrestlers need WWE to be successful: “You don’t need to make it with WWE to be a successful wrestler. We’re trying to change that perception and prove otherwise. The last few years, we’ve done better financially than a lot of guys in the WWE. No one knows that, but it’s possible to make a living without them. It takes a lot of hustle, but it’s possible.”
Matt on a possible jump to WWE: “Could we handle the WWE? We don’t know. It’s never been a real enough thing for me to even to know. Maybe one day will come and then I’ll know how I feel about it. But if they want to make money, then the WWE is missing out by not having us. We are a proven draw without the WWE machine behind us.”
