Young Bucks Squashed by Don Callis Family on Dynamite

The Young Bucks’ run atop AEW’s tag team division hit a rough patch on Wednesday, October 21, when AEW Tag Team Champions Matt and Nick Jackson were handed a decisive non-title loss to Mark Davis and Jake Doyle of the Don Callis Family on Dynamite. The match was lopsided from the start, with Matt Jackson absorbing a barrage of piledrivers before the finish left both champions laid out in the ring.

The defeat comes just weeks after the Bucks survived a far closer call at AEW WrestleDream 2026, where they narrowly retained the AEW Tag Team Championship against another Don Callis Family pairing, Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher, in Orlando. Between that grueling title defense and now a clean loss to Davis and Doyle, it’s become clear the champions are taking a beating even as the belts stay around their waists.

What makes this stretch notable isn’t just the result — it’s what it suggests about where AEW might be taking arguably the most accomplished tag team in its history. Matt and Nick Jackson have already done virtually everything a tag team can do in AEW, holding the titles multiple times both as a duo and alongside the Young Bucks wing of The Elite. They don’t need another reign to validate their standing in the industry. That gives the creative team room to use this championship run differently than past ones.

Rather than booking the Bucks as battle-tested vets fending off hungry newcomers to prove they’re still the best team on the roster, AEW appears to be leaning into a more vulnerable version of the story — one where tenure and accolades aren’t enough to guarantee the Bucks keep coming out on top. A loss like the one to Davis and Doyle, even in a non-title setting, plants doubt. It suggests cracks that could be exploited by the next team that finally dethrones them.

That’s a compelling shift for a title reign. If the Bucks lose the belts after a string of statement defeats and close shaves rather than during a dominant, unbeaten run, the team that finally beats them inherits a far bigger moment. It elevates whoever ends the reign and, by extension, strengthens the entire tag division rather than simply reinforcing how good the Young Bucks already are.

The Don Callis Family, with multiple teams now circling the champions, looks increasingly like the group positioned to benefit most from that arc. Whether it’s Davis and Doyle building momentum off this win or Knight and Fletcher looking for a rematch after coming so close at WrestleDream, AEW has several directions to take the chase for the titles.

For now, the Young Bucks remain AEW Tag Team Champions, but the story being told around them has shifted from invincibility to vulnerability. That’s often a more interesting place for a title reign to live, and it leaves plenty to watch for as AEW builds toward whoever eventually takes the belts off two of the division’s defining stars.