The Young Bucks Comment on Cody Rhodes Leaving AEW, Say They Have Grown As Friends

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, The Young Bucks gave their thoughts on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE and how their friendship is stronger than before. Cody left in 2022, returning to WWE at Wrestlemania 38. Here are highlights:

Matt Jackson on their success as a team: “Our success is undeniable. One day, we will get our flowers, but unfortunately, they will be at our gravesides. When you are cast as a villain, you must accept that role. But we know what we’ve done–we lived it. Hate our style of wrestling? Hate the way we look? Hate the way we talk? That’s fine. But we made a lot of people a lot of money. I bathe in the tears of yesterday’s broke wrestling personalities, whose only content is talking about what I did last, in my backyard lazy river.”

Nick Jackson on being in Sting’s last match: “It’s a crazy rollercoaster ride we’ve been on the last 20 years. I remember watching Nitro, seeing Sting come down from the rafters to attack the NWO, and how mad I’d be that he’d always beat up Hogan. So to see him still performing at a high level all these years later is amazing. For Matthew and me to be his last match means a lot. It’s the biggest match of our career, and it’s a moment I didn’t think would happen.”

Matt on their new heel characters: “In our eyes, we’re the good guys–trying to keep AEW on course with the mission statement of changing the world. We sparked the movement that created a revolution that birthed AEW. We were the fresh, young, disruptors who thought outside of the box and spat in the face of tradition. AEW is now a much different place than it was five years ago, but I think that same disruptive attitude is still there. So who better to lead the charge than the company’s own EVPs who sought out for that change originally, anyway? Sometimes you have to protect the thing you love the most, from people who don’t fit the image of what this is supposed to be. And I thought the $25 Amazon gift card to Tony Schiavone was a great way to extend the olive branch. My brother, who can be a bit of a hot head, had a quick quibble about something trivial, but we circled back and deescalated the situation.”

Matt on Cody’s departure: “AEW will always be our baby. It’s our life’s work. We sought out to change the world, and we did just that. We created a new workplace for so many deserving people. Tons of talented individuals received a spotlight that they may have not gotten otherwise. And several people’s careers were taken to new heights because of the sole existence of AEW. We’re proud of the things we accomplished with Cody and happy to see him rising to the occasion. We’re all rooting for each other.”

Nick on their friendship with Cody: “Cody is the face of the WWE now, and it’s cool to see because we always knew how much of a star he was. The founders of AEW will always have a lifetime bond with each other because we all know what we did for wrestling. We talk every week and in a weird way him leaving made us grow more as friends.”