The Young Bucks were never supposed to be AEW‘s first-ever two-time Tag Team Champions, at least not as of the summer of 2022.

It has all but been confirmed that The Hardy Brothers, Matt, and Jeff were supposed to win the belts over The Bucks and the Jurassic Express, and considering the Christian Cage story was about to pop off in a major way, Tony Khan likely pivoted at the last second to give his EVPs a little extra love and a few surprise weeks with the belts once more.

Unfortunately, at least for Matt and Nick, Young Bucks summer wasn't a summer at all, but instead, a 28-day fever dream that now makes the team the first-ever two-time team champions in the promotion's history and also their shortest tag team champions by a pretty good margin.

Sidebar: Do you know who had the shortest AEW title reign period? That would belong to Sammy Guevara, who held the belt exactly 12 days before he lost it to Scorpio Sky.

And the worst part? The Bucks didn't even lose their belts via a pinfall or submission in the middle of the Fyter Fest ring but instead had to watch from under the weight of Keith Lee as Swerve Strickland rolled up Ricky Starks for the pin, the confetti, and the championship win.

All in all, not ideal for the team called out earlier in the evening by Uncle Dax Harwood of their long-time rivals FTR.

Where do the Young Bucks go from there?

Had the Young Bucks never won the AEW Tag Team Championship belts on the June 15th edition of Dynamite, their next month in the ring likely would have looked very different. Sure, they probably would have still wrestled on Forbidden Door, maybe even in a multi-man match alongside the Bullet Club versus the Dudes with Attitudes, but their biggest feud both in and on the cards proceeding would have been with the Hardys as they attempted to cash in on one final run with championship gold around their waists.

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On paper, it was a good idea, as Jeff and Matt remain incredibly popular two-plus decades into their wrestling careers and the two teams had a very good match at Double or Nothing 2022; why not have the Bucks shepherd their friends through a few more big-time matches and make them the first team in wrestling history to hold the AEW Tag Team Championships, the TNA Championships, the WWF World Tag Team Championships, the Impact Tag Team Championships, the ROH World Tag Team Championships, and both the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships?

With the duo gone, the Bucks sort of floated around aimlessly, still putting on wonderful matches anytime they took the ring but doing so against predominantly out-of-promotion talents like Shingo Takagi and Bishamon. The Bucks looked happy to be champs but disheartened that FTR remained the hottest team in the promotion, and even cut a video segment about how they don't have any healthy friends left in the promotion. Factor in their increasing desire to get back into “Hangman” Adam Page's good graces as evidenced by their recent segments on Being The Elite and the second time just wasn't the charm for Matt and Nick.

Fortunately, free of the burdens of the belts, the Bucks can now go their own way, compete in a few classics and maybe get the band back together with their former “Hung Bucks” stablemate, who is back in the on-again side of his on-again, off-again relationship with the surprisingly slimmed down Dark Order.

Unless Kenny Omega is ready to get back into the ring in the not-too-distant future, a mini-Elite reunion between the only healthy members of the group could be a fun way to bring some excitement to the promotion as it gets further and further away from its original roots. Christen a proper Trios Belt to give teams like Death Triangle, House of Black, and Best Friends something to do – Tony Khan does love his belts – and suddenly the storyline will be flowing fast and loose.

All things considered, the Young Bucks took their short-term title run like pros and proved that they are as reliable as any team in professional wrestling today both in victory and in defeat. They made the most of a bad situation, hyped up the belts with their social media mastery, and were ultimately protected in defeat thanks to the rules of a three-way tag team match. All things considered, Tony Khan could have done the Jacksons a whole lot worse and instead set them up for a long and fruitful run of success moving forward in whatever long-term angle ultimately sticks, instead of a string of unusual bouts brought on out of necessity.