Who Could Dethrone The Young Bucks As AEW Tag Champs Next

The Young Bucks are deep into their fourth reign as AEW World Tag Team Champions, and the list of teams lining up to end it keeps growing. Matt and Nick Jackson won the titles at All Out 2026 in a three-way ladder match over FTR and the pairing of Cope and Cage, then successfully defended against The Dogs at Grand Slam France and against Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight of the Don Callis Family at WrestleDream 2026. Most recently, on the October 21 episode of Dynamite, the champs survived an eliminator match against Don Callis Family duo Mark Davis and Jake Doyle.

With the Bucks now chasing the all-time record for tag title reigns, the question of who finally takes the gold off them is becoming one of the more interesting open storylines in AEW’s tag division. A handful of candidates stand out above the rest.

The Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, made their official AEW debut in July and have since launched a Best of Five Series against FTR, taking Match #1 at WrestleDream 2026. Should they close out the series, a Guns-Bucks matchup feels like the natural next step given the momentum. FTR, meanwhile, haven’t gone anywhere — Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler are still chasing a tie of their own record four tag title reigns, and a rematch with the Bucks would be the kind of high-stakes classic both teams have delivered before.

Davis and Doyle, the latest Don Callis Family tag entry, already got a crack at the champs in that Dynamite eliminator match. Their size and physicality make them a credible long-term threat even if that particular bout didn’t end in title change. Brodido — Brody King and Bandido — also loom as a possibility. The pair won the tag titles from FTR and the Hurt Syndicate at Forbidden Door 2025 before pivoting to trios gold alongside Adam Page, capturing the AEW World Trios Championships twice. Once that trios run winds down, a third run at the tag belts wouldn’t be surprising.

Then there’s The New Level — Kofi and Austin Creed (the former Xavier Woods) — who arrived in AEW at All In London 2026 and immediately won the Trios Roulette Royale alongside Swerve Strickland to become trios champions. The pair have made no secret of wanting the tag titles too, and a Young Bucks matchup would carry real emotional weight given the history between these performers dating back years.

None of this is confirmed booking — it’s speculation built on where the current storylines are pointing — but that’s exactly what makes AEW’s tag division worth watching right now. Between an active Best of Five series, a Don Callis Family faction stacked with challengers, and two trios championship teams with tag title ambitions on the side, the promotion has no shortage of credible next steps once the Bucks’ historic reign eventually ends. The only certainty is that whoever gets there will have earned it the hard way.