The Young Bucks Talk WWE Purchasing AAA, Wrestling Competition (Exclusive)

The Young Bucks, as well as Cody Rhodes, Tony Khan, and Kenny Omega, turned that appetite for something different into a new company that launched in 2019 — All Elite Wrestling.

Since AEW's launch, the industry has continued to change. WWE is in the midst of a rise in popularity, reaching highs that they haven't seen in many years. That momentum likely doesn't happen without competition pushing them to improve their product. A product that was creatively at its nadir prior to the launch of AEW.

And yet, the landscape in professional wrestling continues to change. One such change was made during WrestleMania weekend in April when it was revealed that WWE had purchased AAA, the legendary lucha libre promotion in Mexico.

AEW currently has partnerships in place with Mexico's CMLL and NJPW. During our exclusive interview with The Young Bucks this week, The Takedown on SI asked The Young Bucks if WWE purchasing AAA makes it more important than ever for AEW to continue fostering good relationships with NJPW and CMLL.

"Absolutely," Matt Jackson replied. "A large reason we took the route of being founding fathers for a new wrestling company called AEW back in 2019 was to prevent a monopoly in wrestling. We have to continue to establish competition in order to keep a healthy wrestling economy for the wrestlers.

"We have to continue to establish competition in order to keep a healthy wrestling economy for the wrestlers."Matt Jackson

"Nobody ever plays until the end of Monopoly, but when a player owns all of the properties, what happens? It’s game over. If you openly root against a wrestling company, and hope that it fails, you’re telling every wrestler that you’re not actually a wrestling fan and you don’t care about wrestlers."

Matt Jackson appears to be referencing the scores of bad faith actors on social media who actively root for the failure of AEW (or WWE). If you've been on social media, you know the type of fan he's targeting with that comment.

More successful wrestling companies means more job opportunities, and more money, for the wrestlers themselves. Something every fan should root for. Hence Jackson's comment.

Nick Jackson added his thoughts to the conversation.

"We’ve always wanted to work with everyone. I don’t think our mindset as a company has ever changed. We have great partners and I think Tony values NJPW and CMLL a great deal," Nick Jackson said.

If using quotes from this article, please credit Ryan Droste atThe Takedown on SI.