REVEALED: Why The Young Bucks Lost The IWGP Tag Team Titles In Their First Defence At NJPW New Beginning In Osaka

The Young Bucks' second reign as IWGP Tag Team Champions only lasted 37 days as Matthew and Nicholas Jackson dropped the belts to Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi at NJPW New Beginning in Osaka on February 11. The Young Bucks only won the titles on January 5 at Wrestle Dynasty and New Beginning in Osaka was their first defence.

Ultimately, The Young Bucks only had a short reign as New Japan Pro-Wrestling were primarily focused on Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi and the promotion wanted to ensure they became tag team champions by beating a great team, according to Dave Meltzer.

Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio:

"The whole thing was to get over Naito and Hiromu as a team because Naito, who is the biggest star they've got, can be in championship matches on a championship team because he's got Hiromu, who's really freakin' good, to carry the matches. So it's a way to keep Naito in the spotlight and use Naito's name and make the tag team titles mean something. So they wanted them to beat a great team to win the belts."

Naito's body has been breaking down in recent years and he has suffered from issues with his knees and eyes. The leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon remains as popular as ever, though, and continues to be one of NJPW's top-drawing stars.

Following their loss at NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, The Young Bucks noted they would be returning to All Elite Wrestling soon. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson have not been on TV since they opted to work from home in late 2024 due to the Death Riders' running roughshod over the promotion.

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