8 Major Talking Points From NJPW Dominion In Osaka

8. The Young Bucks Can Rein It In

The Young Bucks are the most polarising act in wrestling. And it’s all by calculated design. Criticism is their sustenance; for every super kick some critics deem excessive, they will throw another one into their matches. Those who decry it as arbitrary are missing the point; they aren’t interested in suspending disbelief but rather mining a postmodern source of heat.

Interestingly, their Dominion match with Roppongi Vice was different fare to their lucrative fallback style. This was a more vicious Matt and Nick Jackson to which we are accustomed.

Rocky Romero was bounced off the ring apron with two power bombs during the initial heat sequence. It was excessive, but then, expecting subtlety from the Bucks is a pointless endeavour. Romero sold the assault with the utmost conviction. It took him several minutes to reenter the fray, at which point he ate another running powerbomb on the ramp.

This was essentially a gloried handicap match that portrayed the Bucks as an actual force, more strategists than spot monkeys, and portrayed Beretta as a dynamic, never-say-die babyface - all while furthering the slow burn Roppongi Vice breakup.

And some critics moan that the Bucks are incapable of telling stories.