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The Young Bucks Offer Inside Look at Blood & Guts

Matthew and Nicholas Jackson detail AEW’s signature match

Justin Barrasso

The Young Bucks are villains in AEW.

But even if you are a bad guy in pro wrestling, it doesn’t mean you are lacking a heart.

Last night was a particularly emotional one for Matt and Nick–ahem, Matthew and Nicholas–Jackson. They were overcome with memories of a friend, one taken far too soon–Jay Briscoe.

There was a plethora of highlights to this year’s Blood & Guts match, which took place on Dynamite this Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. Yet only one pierced the heart.

An indelible link to the past, present, and future of AEW occurred when Mark Briscoe blitzed through opponents in two caged rings, further endearing himself to those in attendance–as well as in the ring.

“We wrestled The Briscoes so many times,” said Nick Jackson. “It felt really good to wrestle Mark. When he was hitting those Jay Drillers on all of us, I knew Jay was smiling. I was feeling pain by then, but I still kind of smiled a bit during that moment.”

Mark Briscoe
Mark Briscoe shined at Blood & Guts / AEW

A year-and-a-half ago, Jay Briscoe lost his life in a car crash. For the Bucks, they could feel the spirit of their friend as his brother Mark tore them apart.

“Wrestling Mark, it was like old times,” said Matt Jackson. “It brought back so many memories of years past. For a stretch of time, it seemed like we wrestled every other weekend at an independent show or a Ring of Honor event. We developed such a camaraderie and rivalry.

“Out there at Blood & Guts, I was reminded of the amazing chemistry we have. It’s like lightning in a bottle, a type of magic you only have with a very few select opponents.”

Hours after the match, as Matt settled into his hotel room, a sobering reality stung him far harder than anything he was hit with at Blood & Guts. That was the reminder he’ll never share another moment with Jay, which brought him to tears.

“I felt Jay out there with us,” said Matt. “I couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was such an overpowering feeling.”

This iteration of Blood & Guts was defined with a handful of faces previously unfamiliar to the main event. The Bucks teamed with Hangman Page, Jack Perry, and Kazuchika Okada against Team AEW’s Briscoe, Darby Allin, The Acclaimed’s Anthony Bowens and Max Caster, and AEW world champion Swerve Strickland.

“This match definitely felt fresh with so many different players in it,” said Matt. “Team AEW was a group of various styles, so I think it made the match more interesting. And with the addition this year to our team of the best big match wrestler in history–Kazuchika Okada–and the unpredictable Scapegoat Jack Perry, The Elite was much more versatile. Because of multiple moving parts, intangibles, and injuries, the build wasn’t what we had planned, but I think we still made this one work.

“I heard a lot of people in the back saying it was the best Blood & Guts ever, so that’s a huge compliment to the men who participated. They all certainly have our respect.”

Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland
Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland continued their feud at Blood & Guts / AEW

Multiple stories were woven into the fabric of the inherently dangerous match, which is like the old-school WarGames but with the addition of a whole flurry of appliances bound to leave their recipient in varying degrees of agony. Staple guns, barbed wire, and kendo sticks were all featured in Blood & Guts.

“I don’t think The Acclaimed have ever been in a match like that before, and they showed a way more violent side,” said Nick. “Swerve seemed superhuman in there taking all those staples to the flesh and laughing about it, which was terrifying. Mark, we knew he would be insane. The same goes for Darby.”

From the very beginning, Darby Allin was a human highlight reel. Embedding a whole new layer of intensity to his feud with Jack Perry, the match ended when Allin threatened to light Perry on fire–causing Matt Jackson to surrender for Team Elite. Allin also created a preposterous spot where he climbed up the inside of the cage, then dropped a ferocious coffin drop onto a table-strewn Perry.

“Darby is out of his mind crazy,” said Matt. “When production lowered the cages down earlier in the day to look over everything, I heard Darby climbed to the top while he was wearing socks. He’s fearless. We’ve done some crazy things in our career, and even he frightens us.”

The Bucks–who are AEW EVPs–are also the reigning tag team champions. They continued their feud with The Acclaimed, even temporarily silencing Caster by superkicking his mouth when it was stuffed with thumbtacks. Swerve and Hangman also went back and forth, adding more vitriol to their blood feud, and there was even a brief tease of Hangman against Okada.

Crafting a match with multiple storylines speaks directly to the Bucks, especially considering their history with Ladder War spectacles in Ring of Honor. They are among the very best in the world in constructing these types of matches, which, as Matt Jackson joked, is similar to putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle.

“Or directing traffic on the interstate,” said Matt. “Multi-man gimmick matches with many moving parts and several complex stories to tell has always been our calling card. And we obviously had a huge team of talented people on the other side in there with us.

“Tons of people stood out. I thought Bowens had a great night and showed just how hungry and tough he is. Jack Perry showed never-say-die attitude and perseverance. We obviously showed the naysayers again that we can still hoop and move around with the best of them. In fact, I don’t know if anyone else worked harder or took more punishment than we did. And coming up with new ways to violently inflict pain on someone has become a great joy of ours. Whether it’s a barbed wire board sandwich, or making Max Caster eat thumbtacks before a double superkick so he hopefully can’t rap for a long time, I get giddy when I come up with a new way to hurt someone I don’t care for.

“This is certainly the marquee match in AEW, and it’s quite the daunting task to perform in a match like this. We’ve done two of them now, and I shared this with a couple of people, and I know I can’t tell the future, but I think that might’ve been my last one. Who knows. I think I’d like it to be.”

Blood & Guts is destined to be violent because there are no pin falls or submission. Since the structure of the match is designed for the losing team to quit, it further increases the amount of outrageous, dangerous spots.

“At this point, coming up with the ideas is a lot more fun than executing them,” said Nick. “It’s a really intense match. And Darby is the most unpredictable wrestler in the business. You can’t really prepare for someone who isn’t scared of pain. When he was doing the monkey bars into the coffin drop, it blew my mind.”

Jack Perry
Jack Perry was handcuffed to the cage / AEW

A controversial spot in the match took place near the closing sequence when Briscoe drilled Perry in the head with a steel chair. That is a spot that was fairly typical in the late 90’s, but it is exceptionally rare now because of advanced research in brain trauma. Multiple contacts in AEW confirmed that it was a gimmicked chair, but out of respect to the match and those involved–wrestling exists in a perpetual was-it-real realm–neither would discuss the moment in too much detail.

“All I know is Jack is fine, and that’s all that matters,” said Nick Jackson. “We know the risk we’re taking in the ring and it wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t prepared for it.”

Even though Team Elite lost the match, Matt and Nick shared a positive outlook. They both agreed it was ultimately a victory for The Elite because they have the fortune of teaming with the man they consider to be the most compelling talent in the industry–Kazuchika Okada.

Kazuchika Okada
Kazuchika Okada wrestled in his first Blood & Guts match / AEW

“Okada has come to AEW and completely stepped out of his comfort zone,” said Matt. “I couldn’t be prouder to see him trying new things and learning a new style. He’s a movie star with perfect timing, an unbelievable sense of humor, and he just so happens to be the greatest wrestler alive. I can tell you while he doesn’t exactly prefer being in these types of matches, he’s certainly having a damn good time. It would’ve been so easy to just come here and rely on the things he’s already known for. I’m so proud of him and his versatility.”

“Okada is the best,” added Nick. “He is performing so great and adapting to new matches he’s never been in as well as I’ve seen anyone be able to do it on the fly. It’s been so much fun working with him these last several months. There’s no one better.”

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Justin Barrasso

JUSTIN BARRASSO

Justin Barrasso has been writing for Sports Illustrated since 2014. While his primary focus is pro wrestling and MMA, he has also covered MLB, NBA, and the NFL. He can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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