Generation Me Provides TNA Wrestling More Bang for Their Buck

When the team of Desmond Wolfe and Brutus Magnus, collectively known as London Brawling, were unable to compete at TNA's "No Surrender" pay-per-view, the team of Generation Me were given another shot at the The Motor City Machine Guns and their TNA World Tag Team Championship.

Max and Jeremy Buck gave the Guns a run for their money a few weeks ago on Impact and TNA management deemed them worthy of another shot based on that stellar, show-stealing performance.

The high-flying duo couldn't get the job done at "No Surrender" but they once again proved to be worthy challengers for the Guns.

After the match, the Bucks showed ferocity that they have rarely shown in TNA. They attacked the champs and delivered a double spike DDT to Alex Shelley, driving his neck into the floor in a move that will undoubtedly mark the official TNA heel turn of Generation Me.

It comes as a bit of a surprise because just a few weeks ago the brothers were featured as TNA's "Impact Players of the Week" on Reaction. The video package focused heavily on their Christian faith and made them out to generally be good guys with their hearts in the right place.

For anyone who has followed Generation Me over the years, the heel turn was not all that surprising.

The team has been turning heads and gaining popularity on the independent scene as The Young Bucks since 2005. They first gained notoriety in the southern California independents, namely Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

The Bucks began picking up momentum in PWG during 2007 and won their first PWG World Tag Team Championship in mid-2008 by defeating The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black).

It was the beginning of one of the most dominant runs by any tag team in wrestling over the past decade. Matt and Nick Jackson (as they are known in the independents) went on a sixteen month unbeaten streak in PWG and established the longest reign of any team as the PWG World Tag Team Champions.

Along the way, they picked up wins over teams like Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong, Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor, Kevin Steen and El Generico, The Briscoes and The Cutler Brothers.

The team of Paul London and El Generico, known as Peligro Abejas, finally took the titles from the Bucks in the finals of PWG's annual DDT4 tag-team tournament in May. It was the third title match of the night for the Bucks and their incredible run on top of the tag team division of PWG had finally come to an end.

Over the course of their 616 days as tag team champions in PWG, The Young Bucks became known as one of the most arrogant teams in pro wrestling. Signing contracts with TNA only gave them more reason to gloat, drawing ire from their southern California fan base.

The Bucks have also taken their cocky and egotistical act to Dragon Gate USA, where they have put on impressive performances against some of the best teams Japan has to offer.

At the "Untouchable" PPV, the Bucks took on the Real Hazard team of Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi, who at the time were the Dragon Gate Open The Twin Gate Champions. It was an incredible match that could arguably be ranked as one of the very best tag team performances of the past five years.

They put on another solid performance during the show-stealing 3-way tag team match at DGUSA's "Fearless" PPV where they faced off against Speed Muscle (Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino) and Kamikaze (YAMATO and Shingo).

In addition to their work with PWG and DGUSA, the Bucks have also competed for CHIKARA and Ring of Honor. They have more or less spent time in every major independent promotion in the United States over the past few years.

Fans have criticized the Bucks for being "spot monkeys" but their dynamic offense and innovative double team moves have helped them gain a spot in the number two wrestling promotion in the country. Comparisons to teams like The Rockers and The Hardy Boys don't seem too far off, especially when considering how those tandems have obviously had a great influence on their style.

Their first several months in TNA were filled with occasional appearances on Impact and Xplosion. They made an impressive debut on Impact, defeating The Motor City Machine Guns before losing to them a month later in an Ultimate X match at the "Destination X" PPV.

For the most part, Generation Me were placed on the back burner in TNA. The brothers continued to excel on the independent circuit but were not getting a whole lot of exposure on Spike TV. After two entertaining matches with the Guns, it seems that may be about to change.

By turning the Bucks heel and putting that huge chip back on their shoulders, TNA apparently seems ready to give the brothers from southern California their proper shot at tag team stardom in the mainstream.

Given the hard work and dedication that the Jackson brothers have put in over the past few years, it is well deserved.