As AEW builds toward its Dynasty pay-per-view in St. Louis on April 21, the promotion is using the behind-the-scenes events at All In from Wembley Stadium last year to move the rivalry forward between the Young Bucks and FTR.
Speaking to Uproxx Sports ahead of Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, AEW CEO Tony Khan says it’s important for the Young Bucks to explain why this footage is relevant.
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“It’ll be a must-see segment when the Young Bucks play this footage and talk about what happened at Wembley Stadium and how it relates to what’s coming up next for the Young Bucks in AEW,” Khan says. “I think that it will create a lot of interest in what this is all about. And I think the Young Bucks will have an explanation for why they think this is important and why it’s relevant to what’s going on at AEW Dynasty on pay-per-view.”
The release of this footage comes one week after CM Punk shared his side of the story on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour, offering details about his backstage scuffle with Jack Perry following his infamous “cry me a river” comment. When asked on his reaction to Punk speaking out and if that impacted the release of this footage, Khan says, “That was interesting timing given where everything stands.”
“For us, this is a decision based on the timing of our upcoming pay-per-view, AEW Dynasty, and given where the Young Bucks stand going into the World Tag Team Championship Tournament finals at AEW Dynasty,” he says. “This was the right time and place for them to play this footage and talk about why it’s relevant to them and AEW going forward and what this means going into AEW Dynasty.”
The Bucks and FTR’s showdown will be their fourth under the AEW umbrella, and Khan expects another spectacle. He expressed his belief that their previous three matches — at Full Gear 2020, on an episode of Dynamite in 2022, and their All In showdown last year — were each “a classic.”
“All three Young Bucks-FTR matches are phenomenal bouts and classic displays of great tag team wrestling,” he says. “It’s another great match at AEW Dynasty and the rivalry has changed. I think there’s always been a lot of interest in Young Bucks versus FTR as two of the greatest tag teams of all time and very different teams with very different approaches. I expect the rivalry will keep up, and it should be a very exciting Tag Team Championship Tournament final at AEW Dynasty.”
The rest of the Dynasty event is shaping up to be a standout card, with Thunder Rosa earning a return AEW Women’s Championship match against “Timeless” Toni Storm, Swerve Strickland squaring off one-on-one with Samoa Joe for the AEW World Heavyweight title, and Bryan Danielson matching Will Ospreay in what’s expected to be a match of the year contender.