diff --git a/roomserver/internal/input/input.go b/roomserver/internal/input/input.go
index b8c8669d3..9a27ba1eb 100644
--- a/roomserver/internal/input/input.go
+++ b/roomserver/internal/input/input.go
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/Arceliar/phony"
 	"github.com/getsentry/sentry-go"
 	fedapi "github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationapi/api"
-	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal/sqlutil"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/roomserver/acls"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/roomserver/api"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/roomserver/internal/query"
@@ -103,7 +102,8 @@ func (r *Inputer) Start() error {
 				_ = msg.InProgress() // resets the acknowledgement wait timer
 				defer eventsInProgress.Delete(index)
 				defer roomserverInputBackpressure.With(prometheus.Labels{"room_id": roomID}).Dec()
-				if err := r.processRoomEventUsingUpdater(context.Background(), roomID, &inputRoomEvent); err != nil {
+				retry, err := r.processRoomEventUsingUpdater(context.Background(), roomID, &inputRoomEvent)
+				if err != nil {
 					if !errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
 						sentry.CaptureException(err)
 					}
@@ -113,7 +113,11 @@ func (r *Inputer) Start() error {
 						"type":     inputRoomEvent.Event.Type(),
 					}).Warn("Roomserver failed to process async event")
 				}
-				_ = msg.Ack()
+				if !retry {
+					_ = msg.Ack()
+				} else {
+					_ = msg.Nak()
+				}
 			})
 		},
 		// NATS wants to acknowledge automatically by default when the message is
@@ -133,26 +137,34 @@ func (r *Inputer) Start() error {
 	return err
 }
 
+// processRoomEventUsingUpdater opens up a room updater and tries to
+// process the event. It returns two values: the bool signifying whether
+// we should retry later if possible (i.e. using NATS, because we couldn't
+// commit the transaction) and an error signifying anything else that may
+// have gone wrong.
 func (r *Inputer) processRoomEventUsingUpdater(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	roomID string,
 	inputRoomEvent *api.InputRoomEvent,
-) error {
+) (bool, error) {
 	roomInfo, err := r.DB.RoomInfo(ctx, roomID)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("r.DB.RoomInfo: %w", err)
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("r.DB.RoomInfo: %w", err)
 	}
 	updater, err := r.DB.GetRoomUpdater(ctx, *roomInfo)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("r.DB.GetRoomUpdater: %w", err)
+		return true, fmt.Errorf("r.DB.GetRoomUpdater: %w", err)
 	}
-	succeeded := false
-	defer sqlutil.EndTransactionWithCheck(updater, &succeeded, &err)
 	if err = r.processRoomEvent(ctx, updater, inputRoomEvent); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("r.processRoomEvent: %w", err)
+		if rerr := updater.Rollback(); rerr != nil {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("r.processRoomEvent: %w (with additional error rolling back transaction: %s)", err, rerr)
+		}
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("r.processRoomEvent: %w", err)
 	}
-	succeeded = true
-	return nil
+	if err = updater.Commit(); err != nil {
+		return true, fmt.Errorf("updater.Commit: %w", err)
+	}
+	return false, nil
 }
 
 // InputRoomEvents implements api.RoomserverInternalAPI
@@ -202,7 +214,7 @@ func (r *Inputer) InputRoomEvents(
 			worker.Act(nil, func() {
 				defer eventsInProgress.Delete(index)
 				defer roomserverInputBackpressure.With(prometheus.Labels{"room_id": roomID}).Dec()
-				err := r.processRoomEventUsingUpdater(ctx, roomID, &inputRoomEvent)
+				_, err := r.processRoomEventUsingUpdater(ctx, roomID, &inputRoomEvent)
 				if err != nil {
 					if !errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
 						sentry.CaptureException(err)