8 Ups & 2 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12

6. A Hot Start

The main card kicked off with relative newcomers Roppongi 3K defending their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles against divisional mainstays The Young Bucks, who were out to score their seventh run as champions.

It was their job to jump start the show proper with speed, adrenaline, and athleticism, and it delivered. The bout brought a clear experience gulf, but Sho and Yoh more than kept up with their veteran opponents, taking them out with tandem early-match dives. This opened the big bump floodgates. Apron powerbombs and suplexes followed, with the Bucks taking control through a torturous (for 3K, not the crowd) heat segment on the champions, who proved themselves excellent faces-in-peril.

Nick and Matt Jackson are tremendous wrestlers, but their annoying tendency to let their matches become disposable meme-fests is a constant worry. Fortunately, they brought their working boots to the Tokyo Dome. The Bucks played to their gimmick, of course, but they didn't let it get in the way of the action, even when assaulting 3K's manager, Rocky Romero, on the ramp.

Roppongi retaliated with aplomb, though both were forced to work through some serious back damage, but their spirit wasn't enough - an Indytaker/Sharpshooter combo put the beleaguered Sho away. A disappointingly early end to 3K's reign, but it'll be interesting to see how the young team cope with this adversity.