WWE's Kevin Owens & Cody Rhodes Shout Out AEW Stars The Young Bucks, Colt Cabana

By Faden Cloete
The Young Bucks posing with the IWGP Tag Team Championships during a New Japan Wrestling show. Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

Despite being in two different promotions, the friendship between The Young Bucks, Colt Cabana, Kevin Owens, and Cody Rhodes is something many fans are well aware of due to the time the wrestlers spent together in Ring of Honor before moving on to bigger and better careers. During Owen's recent appearance on Rhodes' new podcast, "What Do You Wanna Talk About?," the two sent a cross-promotional name drop to their old friends when discussing Rhodes' 2016 departure from WWE.

"You of course told me, 'If you can talk to Matt and Nick — Matt and Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks — and see if there's anything there," Rhodes recalled, confirming that Owens suggested that he link up with the Bucks since they were at ROH together. Owens added that when he left Indies, the Bucks instantly became the biggest names, but before him it was Cabana, who gave Owens a lot of advice on growing his brand.

"He was ahead of the curve," Owens said. "I'm the reason why Pro Wrestling Tees exists, because at the time Colt kept telling me, 'You gotta get t-shirts and sell merch.'"

Owens recalled that he had to go all in with wrestling in 2012 and explained that getting merch was difficult, but Cabana set him up with the owner of 1 Hour Tees who came up with the idea that became Pro Wrestling Tees.

"The first ones on the site were me, Bucks, Colt, and then the site grew, and grew, and grew," he added.

'People were gonna pay money to see them'

Nick and Matt Jackson attending C2E2, 2020. Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images

Owens further emphasized that The Young Bucks had made themselves such a major act on the independent circuit that it didn't matter where they went or what they did — they were a must-see act.

"People were gonna pay money to see them, and on the independent scene that's a rare... that was a rare thing," he recalled before addressing Rhodes directly. "That's why when you left, I said these were the guys that you need." Owens added that he had no idea they would go on to establish AEW together with Kenny Omega and Tony Khan.

Since it was released, clips of the podcast have since gone viral on social media, and both The Bucks and Cabana have since seen what was said about them, with the latter specifically confirming Owens' story.

"For 20+ years I OBSESSED about how to be a full time pro wrestler without being in 'the machine,'" Cabana wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). "I wanted all my friends to have the same ability. Kevin's story is phenomenal. I try my best backstage [with] AEW implementing where I can. Those 20+ [years] were tough but so rewarding." The Bucks, on the other hand, were content to repost the clip with a "clinking glasses" emoji.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Comments

Recommended