The Young Bucks recently spoke with Rolling Stone, here are the highlights…
On being “kings” on the independent scene:
Matt: It’s huge. That’s what we do, we’re independent wrestlers. If anyone is ever going to rank us at the top of, well, anything, it makes us feel proud. We’re the kings of being independent. We represent that. We don’t need a contract, we’re on our own thing. You can make money without Vince [McMahon]. You can make money without going there and selling your soul. You can be yourself. You can make a good living.
Nick: I think that’s the most rewarding thing about it: we don’t have to be on Monday Night Raw for people to know us. We don’t need a machine to push us, like the majority of guys. We take pride in the indies, because obviously this is where we work, so for anyone to say that we are the kings of it, that’s cool. That means we’re the kings of what we’re doing right now.
On rumors of their being bidding wars for the team:
Matt: It’s 100-percent true. Everyone has been hitting us up. We’re in a very good position. We’re blessed. In the old days, you could say, “Well Vince, WCW has been offering us this, what do you offer us?” We don’t need another company. We can say, “We do better than that on the indies, and can you beat us?” It’s not like we have Ted Turner’s money, but we know what we can do on our own, and if you can’t beat that, then sorry, we can’t play ball. It makes negotiations really nice for us. We’re in the driver’s seat.
On rumors that GFW will do a season format:
Nick: I think it would be better for the wrestlers. Then there would be some breaks. There would be a point where your body could rest. We’re athletes, so why is it that basketball players and football players have an offseason and we don’t? One day, I hope we all get an offseason. I hope it starts with WWE, because it won’t get popular with anyone unless WWE does it. So if they do it, I think everyone will do it. It would be so much better for everyone’s bodies.
On NXT’s impact on the independent scene:
Nick: I don’t think it’s changed much of the indie scene. That’s a hard question to answer. NXT is essentially WWE’s independent company. I think they’re smart, because the indies are red-hot right now. We’ve been wrestling 11 or 12 years now, and now every show we go to there’s almost 1,000 people there. That wasn’t happening five years ago. WWE obviously sees where the money is.
Matt: I think it’s more that indie wrestling is changing NXT. They’re seeing what works out here, and what’s hot out here and they’re wanting some of that. They’re really gearing their product towards these types of fans. I think they saw that people were making money on the indies, and who doesn’t want more money? Of course Vince does. He’s going to want to get a piece of that.
