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Private Party is ready to make good on their promise of ‘new year, new champs.’
The duo will challenge the Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team titles at AEW’s WrestleDream pay-per-view on Saturday night. Private Party’s Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about how they are feeling going into the match, why it’s a full circle moment, and how they’ve progressed over the years.
Private Party’s Isiah Kassidy noted the fact that their first win over the Bucks came in October (2019), and the next match is nearly five years to the day.
Isiah Kassidy: “The first time it was high stakes, this is for higher stakes. First time was to advance in the tournament, this time it’s to be AEW World Tag Team Champions. So I think it’s pretty insane.”
Marq Quen: “We’ve advanced as wrestlers, we’ve advanced as performers. Like Zay said, the first time was to advance in the tournament but this one is higher stakes. Therefore, I feel like back then, the Young Bucks underestimated us. Now, they know what we’re capable of. [I don’t think it’s a] full-circle moment as far as what we can do in the ring, but it is one as far as what the outcome is going to be.”
This match could carry Private Party into the new year
Kassidy went as far as calling this the biggest match of their careers, laying out the gravity of the situation they are in.
Kassidy: “Not only do we face the Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, but this is our first time in five years to actually be in a [traditional] 2-on-2 tag team match on a pay-per-view. We don’t take that lightly. We’re tired of being overlooked, we’re tired of being passed on and I feel like we have a lot to prove.
“We have the biggest chip on our shoulder — you can see it here. [Points to his left shoulder] It’s a big Pringles chip there, this one [points to the right] too. I think this match is going to mean a lot when we beat the Young Bucks and become the next AEW Tag Team Champions.”
Marq Quen: “I would say winning this match is momentum for not just this year, but [it could carry us] all the way into next year. Look who the tag champions are, that to me, is the best tag team there is. They beat FTR, they beat pretty much everyone. They started a company off of tag team wrestling, so in order for us to establish moment — earlier this year, we said, ‘New year, new champs.’ And this is the moment where we prove that.”
Private Party said they will have all of the momentum by beating the Bucks on Saturday. They had it back in 2019, too, but admit that they lost focus. They pledge to not let that happen again.
Marq Quen: “We had all the momentum when we beat them [in 2019], but we partied too hard. That was the difference. After 2019 — we did say the party never stops and it didn’t. It did not stop, but when we beat the Bucks, we said who is messing with us? And then we started getting sloppy and we caught some L’s.”
Isiah Kassidy: “We took that W for granted, we took it as the end all, be all,” Kassidy said. “We lost focus.”
Jon Moxley was the catalyst
Partial credit for Private Party’s new attitude can be linked to Jon Moxley, who broke Zay’s hand with a hammer on the September 18 episode of AEW Dynamite. Moxley pointed out that Private Party was in the same spot they were five years ago, and used the hammer to “give them some friction and an obstacle to overcome.”
Private Party has rebounded since then and find themselves as the number one contenders. However, they know that Moxley put them on notice, and now they are ready to fight at all costs.
Marq Quen: “We’re pretty much the most laid-back people in the locker room. Moxley woke up a beast inside of us, because no one would try to cross that line with us. Because who’s going to mess with Private Party like that? Who is going to do that to them? Some dickhead did, and guess what? He got messed up. Now we’re going to become Tag Team Champions, who is messing with us then?”
Isiah Kassidy: “I agree. Preach.”
Marq Quen: “I don’t plan on out-moving the Bucks. I don’t plan on out-flipping the Bucks, I don’t plan on having match of the night. I do plan on winning though. And as Matt Hardy said, by any means necessary. I’m just going to beat their asses.”
Isiah Kassidy: “Quote that.”
AEW WrestleDream takes place on Saturday, October 12.
Watch our full interview with Private Party below:
