Since wrestling for NJPW in 2018, Matt Jackson has sold a back injury in nearly all of his matches.
The pain shown on his face during matches is excruciating. Many have wondered how long the Young Bucks have left as a team with his back in such a state. Many have questioned whether he should retire, and let his brother Nick Jackson go solo.
Every time he hits his trademark Northern Lights Suplex, Matt Jackson grabs his back. It is a relic of an injury long ago that still pains him to this day.
In most matches, the opposition targets his back to try and take him down. Jackson’s offence consists of many moves that require a strong back, so nullifying that removes his threat.
There are times when the fans are incredibly concerned about his back injury – audibly gasping as he painfully grabs for his back, almost retching from the pain.
But was if I told you Matt Jackson’s back injury was fake?
Matt Jackson’s Back Injury Is Not Real
Matt Jackson’s back injury is all a work, and he never actually suffered a serious back injury.
The former AEW Tag Team Champion has feigned a back injury for nearly a decade, although the exact date he began to fake the injury is hard to pinpoint.
One of the earliest examples noted of Matt Jackson working a back injury was during his time in NJPW. He wrestled alongside his brother (Nick Jackson) and Kenny Omega in “Bullet Club”, the precursor to The Elite.
One of the first time that fans remember it happening was at Wrestle Kingdom 12, when the Young Bucks took on Roppongi 3K for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
He sold his back extremely well during this match, so much many fans thought that he was injured for real.
However, Matt Jackson later admitted that he sold the back injury so intensely as a response to people criticizing the Young Bucks selling. He has continued to sell it to this day, seven years on.
You will struggle to go a match nowadays without seeing Matthew Jackson clutching his back and wincing in pain. It makes his decision to do countless suplexes a mystery, but it does make for some excellent wrestling.
I’ll allow it.
Matt Jackson has still suffered injuries in his career, outsize of his worked back injury. He suffered a torn bicep earlier in 2023, which threatened to derail the feud between the Blackpool Combat Club and the Elite.
Luckily, he managed to wrestle with a cast on, which kept the feud alive and allowed him to compete in the Blood & Guts match. Now with him and his brother turning heel, Nicholas and Matthew Jackson are two of the top heels in AEW, despite his debilitating back injury causing him immense pain every match (it is not real).
