Wrestling’s Top 10 Matches of January: A Month of Heartbreak

Photo Source: njpw1972.com

Coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 12, The Young Bucks had just reclaimed their IWGP Junior Tag Team belts against Roppongi 3K, becoming seven time champions.

However, it came at the cost of Matt Jackson’s back. This match did a brilliant job building off of that, basically making Matt an incredibly weak link for Nick. On the flip side, YOH was dealing with a similar back injury sustained in that Wrestle Kingdom match as well. However, Roppongi’s ability to minimize his time in the ring helped them out in the end while Nick Jackson kept his faith in his brother’s abilities, eventually leading to their demise.

As everyone knows, the Bucks are very much an aerial based tag team who can do everything at an incredibly high work rate. However, this would be what cost them the match because after a dive off the ramp onto both SHO and YOH, Matt’s back became a problem again. Matt began to struggle holding up either member of Roppongi 3K, and in the end, his back couldn’t withhold the torque after locking the Sharpshooter on, forcing him to relinquish the hold.

Sometimes wrestling doesn’t need to be complicated. Something as simple as a back injury can drive the story of the match and make it great as it did here. We all know how great the Bucks are, but Roppongi 3K are becoming a top tier team in the world, helping bolster a very weak tag division in New Japan.