Jungle Boy made Dax Harwood submit in a singles match on Dynamite this week. It was Jungle Boy’s first singles victory on AEW’s flagship show and Harwood’s first singles loss, as well.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was Harwood who pitched the match to Tony Khan with the idea being it would help turn Jungle Boy into a top babyface for the company.
“Harwood was the guy who put together the angle and presented it to Tony Khan with the goal of the angle to make Jungle Boy come out of it as a superstar babyface,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Harwood is certainly on to something. Both men looked great in the match, but Jungle Boy is the young prospect with unlimited upside. He’s been looking better during each outing. Working with ring savvy veterans like Dax Harwood will only help his progress.
Jungle Boy, Dax Harwood & Jim Ross React
Jungle Boy took to Twitter following the match to talk about its importance to his career. He tweeted:
“That was the biggest win of my career, and a match I will never forget. Dax Harwood, you are a son of a bitch, but thank you for bringing that out of me.”
Dax Harwood of FTR also commented on the match on Twitter:
“I’m a tag team wrestler. I’m upset about losing my first singles match in years, but my ultimate goal is to be AEW World TAG TEAM Champions. Maybe, in time, I’ll take that TNT belt & be a double champ, just like a certain Enforcer. Oh yeah, I have the best kicks in the business.”
Finally AEW broadcaster Jim Ross went out of his way to call Jungle Boy vs. Dax Harwood a “Beautiful pro wrestling match.” That’s high praise from JR, who is known to be critical from time to time.
AEW posted this video from the bout and awarded it the #1 Moment of the Week: