AEW hasn’t seen Jack Perry compete since All In London, where he battled Hook in a controversial Zero Hour match. He may have been suspended due to the fight that broke out with CM Punk after that match, but Perry is now back in the ring.
Jack Perry has finally returned to the wrestling ring after a prolonged absence. This did not happen in an AEW ring, as the former Jungle Boy wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Jack Perry has showed up in mainland NJPW making his debut in the New Japan Cup… as literally a SCAPEGOAT.
Perry’s disappearance from the spotlight followed a highly publicized altercation with CM Punk during the AEW All In event last August. The fallout from the incident led to Perry’s suspension, while Punk was released from the company.
On a somewhat related note, CM Punk has since made a triumphant return to WWE, capturing the entire pro wrestling world’s attention with his historic comeback at Survivor Series. However, Punk’s comeback has been short-lived, as he is currently sidelined due to injury.
Jack Perry’s NJPW Match
Perry’s return to the wrestling scene went down during the NJPW Battle in the Valley event, where he made a dramatic entrance by attacking Shota Umino. In a symbolic gesture, Perry tore up an AEW contract and adorned himself with an armband bearing the word “Scapegoat.”
Making his debut in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Perry faced off against Shota Umino in a match as part of the New Japan Cup Tournament. Perry won that match as well, and now he will continue to make an impact in the tournament.
Following the match, Perry aligned himself with The House of Torture faction, adding another layer of intrigue to his comeback story. We will have to see what Perry does next, but it may not be in AEW.
Despite his successful return to NJPW, it remains uncertain when Perry will step back into the ring for All Elite Wrestling. Reports surfaced last year that his AEW suspension was already over, but he did not come back. Only time will tell what happens in this situation, but we will keep a close eye on his situation here at SEScoops.
Jack Perry took the help of Ren Narita to beat Shooter, EVIL and co. then came out to offer Jack Perry a spot in House of Torture. Jack then accepted the shirt and joined the faction.
This move from the former Jurassic Express member was shocking, to say the least. They also kept the angle very close to the vest.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer brought up Perry’s big NJPW surprise appearance. Apparently, even security was in the dark about what was going to happen.
“The security didn’t know about this angle. They thought it was a fan hitting the ring. They were quickly told it wasn’t.”
Jack Perry’s AEW Status
Jack Perry’s absence from AEW is notable, and it is even more odd that Tony Khan would allow this huge angle about his company to go down during a NJPW event. Obviously, there is a lot to unpack here, but Perry needs to make some kind of impression on AEW television to really send the message home.
He has been absent from AEW television for a very long time, as CM Punk, who was fired for his part in Brawl In, is already back in WWE at this point.
While some fans thought The Devil was Perry, that role went to Adam Cole. Now, the pro wrestling world will have to wait and see how Tony Khan plays his next move in this situation.
CM Punk and Jack Perry’s backstage altercation at All In London garnered attention in the pro wrestling world. It inspired a slew of memes and commentary due to how AEW handled the aftermath as well. Now, one man who was there is talking about how it all went down.
What DJ Woo Kid Saw At AEW All In London
DJ Whoo Kid, who was present at the All In London event because he was part of Swerve Strickland’s entrance, shared backstage insights during the Jim and Sam show on SiriusXM. He saw a lot, but we already know what happened. Punk and Jungle Boy had it out backstage, and chaos broke loose.
“You already know what happened in the back,” he started before saying it was “straight brawl city.” He then made a quip about how he’s not talking about all the “blood and killing and death” before laughing.
The famous rapper said that he was, “right there. We were next. They put us to be ready to go.” It seems that the situation made everyone alert on site and ready for anything to pop off.
“It was like the moment for AEW and I guess he [Punk] tried to sabotage that moment. He wasn’t trying to go out there. I’m in the middle. You know me, I’m the fly on the wall… It was very intense. I always thought it was fake and sh*t. It’s more real…the sh*t that’s crazy is there was a yelling moment where he was like “yo, f*ck this sh*t this is our moment, everybody get the f*ck out there and do your sh*t. It was very intense. I always respect wrestling after I saw that.”
“There was a yelling moment where he [Joe] was like ‘f*ck this sh*t, this is our moment, everybody get the f*ck out there and do your sh*t.’ I was like, I don’t wrestle, but I was about to go out there. It was very intense. I will always respect wrestling after I saw that.”
He continued and said that Samoa Joe, who he called a big guy “Hawaiian looking dude,” had to talk some sense into CM Punk. After all, Joe and Punk were set to open the Wembley Stadium event with their “Real” World Title match, a contest that CM Punk won.
CM Punk famously declared that he was quitting AEW after his fight with Jungle Boy, but Joe was able to talk him down. In the end, it was a bloody affair backstage.
“The big guy. The Hawaiian-looking [dude]. It was the guy going ham and I was like, ‘Oh sh*t.’ Then blood was everywhere from the fight before that. They came in and they were bleeding. I was like, ‘what is going on around here?’ This was intense.”
What Happened After AEW Brawl In
CM Punk was fired for that altercation with Jack Perry at All In. It did not take very long for Punk to defy all reports, odds, and expectations by returning to WWE at Survivor Series just a few months later.
Samoa Joe became the AEW World Champion after beating MJF at AEW Worlds End. He also debuted a snazzy new title belt during the January 10th AEW Dynamite Homecoming episode.
Jack Perry was suspended for his part in Brawl In. Although there were rumors that he may have been The Devil, Perry has not been seen on AEW television since All In London. He was also not revealed to be The Devil, as that role went to an injured Adam Cole.
Fans tuning in to this weekend’s AEW Revolution 2023 Pay-Per-View will see one wrestler on the show receive their ‘final burial.’
Last June, Christian Cage turned heel on Jungle Boy Jack Perry, attacking the young star after he and Luchasaurus lost the AEW World Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks.
This betrayal would also mark the end of Jurassic Express, as Luchasaurus would align himself with Cage as part of the feud.
Burial
During last night’s AEW Rampage, Jungle Boy appeared in a video promo and said that a fight with Cage isn’t enough, and he looks to end the Canadian veteran.
Jungle Boy vowed that there will be “grave consequences” for Cage, who has referenced Jack’s father Luke Perry as part of their feud.
The actor, best known for roles in Beverly Hills 90210 and CW’s Riverdale, died in March 2019, and his passing has been used for heat by Cage.
Jungle Boy said that he’ll allow Cage to say ‘hi’ to his dad, and promised that their match at Revolution will be the “final burial.”
While not sharing the same name as WWE’s Buried Alive match, the Final Burial has clear similarities to the bout.
WWE’s first Buried Alive match came in 1996, when Mankind defeated The Undertaker, and the Phenom would also lost the second match against ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin in 1998.
It wouldn’t be until the August 30, 1999, edition of SmackDown that The Undertaker would win a buried alive match, teaming with the Big Show to defeat the Rock ‘n Sock Connection.
Unfortunately for the Phenom, he would lose the two following matches, losing to Mr. McMahon at Survivor Series 2003 (thanks to the interference of Kane) and being bested by his brother (thanks to the interference of the Nexus) at Bragging Rights 2010.
Some AEW wrestlers may be getting a little too friendly with management if a recent tweet from Colten Gunn is to be believed.
Gunn made his debut for All Elite Wrestling in June 2020, accompanying his father Billy Gunn but would not wrestle until the November 11, 2020, edition of AEW Dynamite.
In August of this year, Colten and his brother Austin turned on their Hall of Fame Father and are now part of The Firm.
Schmoozing
Despite being members of the AEW roster for over two years now, the Gunn Club are yet to hold tag-team gold.
When Austin Gunn took to Twitter to claim Jungle Boy Jack Perry wants to be a Gunn, the former AEW World Tag Champion fired back, saying he prefers being booked on Pay-Per-View.
This got a response from Colten, who argued that he and Austin would also get better bookings if they were up until 6 AM with AEW’s EVPs the Young Bucks.
While Colten did not directly state that Jungle Boy is someone who is schmoozing with the higher-ups, it is certainly the impression he gave.
Jungle Boy competed at AEW’s most recent Full Gear Pay-Per-View, defeating his former tag team partner Luchasaurus in a Steel Cage match.
Jungle Boy
Joining AEW right at the beginning in 2019, it wouldn’t be until January 2020 that Jungle Boy would obtain his first win in the company.
Winning the AEW World Tag Titles in January of this year, Jurassic Express would lose the titles at June’s AEW Dynamite: Road Rager special and Christian Cage would turn on Jungle Boy.
Cage would recruit Luchasaurus in their feud, and the former WWE World Champion defeated Perry in seconds at September’s All Out Pay-Per-View.
Jungle Boy hilariously mocked CM Punk during the AEW Full Gear press conference media scrum.
5 Best Moments of CM Punk’s AEW Career
After CM Punk won the AEW World Championship on September 4th at All Out in front of his hometown crowd, the former champion went on a rant at the media scrum.
He barely touched on winning the title, or MJF’s return, Punk targeted The Elite, Hangman Page, and Colt Cabana in his rant. Occasionally during the verbal tirade, Punk would take a break to enjoy a bite of a muffin.
Luchasaurus battled Jungle Boy tonight in a Steel Cage match. It was the first bout of the PPV and started the show off with a bang. Christian Cage stole the key to the cage from a referee and tried to interfere but wound up getting kicked out from ringside.
Jack won the match after hitting a massive Elbow Drop off the top of the cage and through a table. He quickly applied the Snare Trap for the pinfall victory and celebrated with his family after the match.
Jungle Boy has reached a turning point in his career as he is no longer a tag team player and has shifted towards being a singles star after his former partner Luchasaurus and past manager Christian Cage turned on him.
Now with a new direction, Jungle Boy has pivoted to a nickname, with him now using his real name of Jack Perry going forward.
While speaking with ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley, Perry revealed that he originally wanted to stay away from using his real name in order to separate his personal and professional lives.
Reality
“I initially went with the whole Jungle Boy thing as a way to not be myself or more what I guess people thought I was,” Perry said. “It was my way of really getting people to just watch my wrestling, which was really important to me. I wanted people to just watch me do what I did in the ring. I didn’t want to have to talk or have a character that other people were trying to push on me. It was like, I’m Jungle Boy. I don’t talk, I don’t do anything. You just got to watch what’s in the ring. A lot of that was to avoid my personal life in a way.”
The reason for the change is due to the nature of his current feud with Cage and Luchasaurus as Cage has frequently brought up Perry’s family on AEW programming.
“Christian goes and just blows all that out of the water and is going nuts every week, saying all this stuff,” Perry continued. “At that point it’s kind of like, what am I waiting for now? This seems like the time to go for it.”
Perry will wrestle Luchasaurus inside a steel cage this Saturday at the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view.
In the early days of AEW, there was conversation around the company’s so-called Four Pillars: MJF, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, and Jungle Boy. The spirit of the idea was that these were four talents who were relatively unproven on a national stage, but each of whom demonstrated remarkable potential, and AEW might grow alongside these youngsters—the company forging its identity as the four of them became household names.
While MJF and Allin in particular have remained in consistently featured roles for AEW, fans have looked on as the company also welcomed in stars who made their name in WWE, besides prominently featuring stars who had established themselves with hardcore fans in Japan or Ring of Honor.
It’s telling that of the five men who’ve reigned as world champion—Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, and CM Punk—three had previously reigned as WWE Champion and one had been a world champ in Japan. Only Page could be considered a homegrown main eventer.
With AEW seemingly at a crossroads after the high-profile controversies of recent weeks, the time has come to re-center their focus on young talent.
AEW Can Take Advantage Of This Moment Of Controversy To Shift Gears
CM Punk has always been a lightning rod for controversy, but may have reached new heights of heat in recent times, culminating in his wild press conference ranting after All Out and subsequent backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. That, combined with the EVPs’ role in spreading information—true or not—about Punk has created a dark cloud over AEW, and called attention to a need to shift gears and focus on some of the other high caliber talent at their disposal.
Those names might include Jon Moxley who, despite recently reigning as champion, was cast a peg below Punk. There’s also Bryan Danielson, who has selflessly absorbed more than his share of losses across his AEW tenure and Keith Lee whom some fans feel is underutilized in the tag team division. There are younger talents waiting in the wings as well, though.
Injuries Have Exposed The Limitations Of Relying On Older Talents In AEW
In addition to the poor behavior of some of AEW’s more established top talents, there’s also the matter of injuries. Besides CM Punk’s poor behavior after All Out, he also reportedly got injured in his match with Jon Moxley. That issue was compounded by Christian Cage purportedly also being hurt with a similar injury. That’s immediately after Kenny Omega returned from over a half year on the disabled list and after Bryan Danielson missed time.
Injuries can happen to anyone, but it’s also a reality that older wrestlers have more mileage on them and thus tend to be more prone to missing significant stretches because they’re legitimately hurt. It’s another reason why pushing younger names may be the best thing AEW can do at this point in time.
AEW Has Its Four Pillars And Other Young Talents Available To Push
AEW seems ready to go all the way in pushing MJF. At 26, he’s a young talent and AEW can mostly take credit for building him up to main event status. While fans may have been justifiably skeptical about CM Punk putting over the heel when he cashes in his title shot from winning the Casino Ladder Match at All Out, things are more wide open now. With Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson the presumptive favorites to win the vacant title at Grand Slam, it seems entirely realistic one of them would put over MJF—likely as not at Full Gear, staged in front of an MJF-friendly crowd in Newark.
Darby Allin also looks ready for a big push. Beating Brody King in a Coffin Match and picking up the pin for his team over The House of Black at All Out both give him some real momentum to knock on the door of the main event.
Jungle Boy suffered a setback in both losing to Christian Cage, and Cage’s injury meaning Jack Perry won’t get any immediate revenge. However, he has Luchasaurus set up as a natural rival for the weeks ahead. Moreover, being out on his own still suggests Jungle Boy could move up to a better featured spot on the card.
Sammy Guevara is a trickier talent to predict the future for, with real life controversies, and very real heat with the fans perhaps putting a ceiling over what he’ll accomplish in the immediate future. Nonetheless, there’s no denying he’s an incredible in-ring talent and his willingness to play the heel wholeheartedly could pay off in the long run.
AEW certainly has room to look beyond its original Four Pillars as well. Wardlow has gotten over a high level this year and it would only be natural to revisit his issue with MJF in time. The Acclaimed had a gutsy, star-making performance at All Out. Though he’s not that young at 40, Eddie Kingston has been on a journey with AEW and if he can avoid real life controversies like his recent issues with Guevara, he could viably factor into the main event picture again.
Add on Hook, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, not to mention emerging stars on the women’s side like Jade Cargill and Julia Hart, and it’s easy to imagine a very different AEW landscape in a year’s time.
In the end, not everyone can be featured as a main event star in AEW. Nonetheless, out of a time of unprecedented controversy and chaos behind the scenes, the company may emerge all the stronger if it can capitalize and reprioritize around its deep pool of less established talents.
AEW star Jungle Boy and Christian Cage have been in a feud on Dynamite for the past two months. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus were known as Jurassic Express in the promotion, and Christian served as their manager during their reign as AEW Tag Team Champions.
However, the 48-year-old betrayed Jungle Boy at AEW Dynamite: Road Rager and even convinced Luchasaurus to turn heel for a couple of weeks. Christian has made it even more personal with references to Jungle Boy’s mother and his recently passed father, famous actor Luke Perry.
He recently challenged Christian to a match at AEW All Out on September 4th and brutally attacked him on this past Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. Jungle Boy has since responded with a promo of his own and beat Christian down on last week’s episode of Dynamite.
Jim Cornette Wonders If Jungle Boy Will Figure It Out
On a recent episode of the Jim Cornette Experience, he was very critical of Jungle Boy and wondered if he was ever going to “get it”.
Does Jungle Boy have it? Is it going to come out? If it was, would it have come out by now? Verbally, speaking on television, having any kind of passion or emotion. Are all people of his age bracket this boring?
Jim Cornette on Jungle Boy
Co-host Brian Last suggested that Jungle Boy may find more success down the road as a heel but Cornette wasn’t optimistic. Jim claimed that the only way he could pull that off was if Jurassic Express reunited as heels, and Jungle Boy played the role of an instigator hiding behind Luchasaurus.
While Jungle Boy may not be dynamic on the microphone yet, he’s already established himself as one of the talents with the most potential on the AEW roster. The 25-year-old’s match against Christian Cage at all All Out will be the biggest match of his young career.
Do you agree with Jim Cornette’s assessment of Jungle Boy or do you believe he will be one of AEW’s biggest stars down the line? Let us know in the comments section below.
The team of Jungle Boy and Lucharsaurus finally won their first championship in All Elite Wrestling earlier this year. However, the second-generation star wasn’t a fan of how it all went down.
The AEW star recently had an interview with Steven’s Wrestling Journey. Among other things, he talked about Jurassic Express’ AEW tag team title win over The Lucha Bros at the start of this year.
Speaking about the ending of the bout where Rey Fenix got injured, Jungle Boy admitted that he didn’t like the way this match concluded:
“I kinda didn’t like the way it happened exactly. There was some stuff that kinda went wrong at the end. Fenix got hurt, which is never nice, and there were some hi-jinx going on that I didn’t fully love,
But still, to win the tag team belts in the best wrestling company in the world with my best friend was just a really special experience.”
Jungle Boy and Lucharsaurus defeated The Lucha Brothers in a tag team championship match during the January 5 episode of Dynamite. Fenix unfortunately broke his arm towards the ending of the bout.
The duo held the titles for 122 days. They dropped them to The Young Bucks in a ladder match during the Road Rager special of Dynamite on June 6.
The misfortunate for AEW may be turning a corner as a major star has made his return.
This week’s episode of Dynamite is taking place inside Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia. The main event will be a Barbed Wire Everywhere match between Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho.
The Jericho Appreciation Society will be suspended above the ring inside a shark cage.
Also featured on the show at the end of the opening hour of Dynamite was an unannounced return.
Jungle Boy is Back
Since Jungle Boy was put out of commission after suffering an injury at Road Rager, Christian Cage seemed to have manipulated Luchasaurus.
In storyline, Christian injured Jungle Boy with a post-match attack that ended in a Conchairto.
The reality is, Jungle Boy suffered a legit injury during his AEW World Tag Team Title ladder match against The Young Bucks.
While Christian thought he had Luchasaurus under control, it was all a ruse. Jungle Boy returned on the July 20 episode of Dynamite to confront Christian Cage and Luchasaurus did not stand in his way.
The company has been pelted with talent injuries left and right. The promotion’s current world champion, CM Punk, has been sidelined after undergoing surgery.
Bryan Danielson was expected to compete at Forbidden Door and Blood & Guts but that’s now off the table due to an undisclosed injury.
Kenny Omega has been out for months due to multiple injuries. There are plenty of other AEW stars out of commission to the point where a mega list has been created.
You can add another one to the already brutal list.
Jungle Boy Injured
(via AEW)
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reports that Jungle Boy has now sustained an injury. Details are scarce at the moment.
Jungle Boy is in the midst of a personal feud with Christian Cage. Cage had served as a mentor to the Jurassic Express member before turning heel. Christian hit Jungle Boy with the Killswitch after a tag team title loss and then nailed him with the Conchairto.
Jungle Boy is considered to be a top star of the future for AEW. Depending on the length of his injury, it could be yet another devastating blow to the company. If he’s out for a long period of time, it would force AEW to once again change plans.
We’ll keep you updated on the status of Jungle Boy once more details surface.
The Road Rager edition of AEW Dynamite ended with a big heel turn.
The June 15 episode of Dynamite emanated from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. This was a stacked show that featured a hair vs. hair match, a fantastic outing featuring Will Ospreay and Dax Harwood, Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker, and much more.
Of course, the night ended with a ladder match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. It was Jurassic Express putting the gold on the line against The Young Bucks.
This was a thrilling match that ended with The Young Bucks capturing the gold.
After the match, things went awry for Jungle Boy.
Christian Cage Turns Heel
After the title match, AEW doctor Michael J Sampson was checking on Jungle Boy inside the ring. Christian Cage went inside the ring and initially appeared to assist him.
Instead, Christian planted Jungle Boy with the Killswitch. He then nailed him with a Conchairto.
AEW has teased Christian Cage eventually turning on Jurassic Express for a while now. The plan has finally been executed and a fresh feud between Christian and Jungle Boy has begun.
Yesterday, Jungle Boy Tweeted out a photo that showed him and the Dark Order’s Anna Jay in an embrace. Kenny Omega was not impressed. He took to Twitter to voice his dismay.
“Oh geez Louise…,” Omega Tweeted. “Is this the part where some loser out there tells me, “there are things in the world more important than titles”??
Oh geez Louise… ? Is this the part where some loser out there tells me, “there are things in the world more important than titles”??? https://t.co/gt9OctxXCT
The win for Omega was his 5th successful title defence after winning the title at Winter is Coming on December 2nd, 2020. Omega has defeated Rey Fenix, Jon Moxley, Rich Swann (title for title in Impact), Orange Cassidy and PAC (Triple Threat), and now Jungle Boy.
AEW stars Jungle Boy and Anna Jay of the Dark Order appear to be more than “just friends.”
Jungle Boy had an impressive showing against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega this past weekend on Saturday Night Dynamite. Omega retained the gold, but Jack Perry showed once again that he can hang in the main events.
On Monday, Jungle Boy posted this photo of himself making out with Anna Jay outside Jacksonville’s TIAA Bank Field stadium.
Colt Cabana replied to the tweet and jokingly asked Anna Jay if this was her way of trying to recruit Jungle Boy to the Dark Order.
Anna Jay’s Road Back To AEW
Anna Jay has been out of action since February dealing with a shoulder injury that required surgery. At the time, AEW announced that she’s expected to miss 6-12 months of action.
I’m super upset about this…. all I can do now is put in the work to come back stronger. Thanks for all the love and support everyone. It means a lot to me! https://t.co/7OM08xn8i3
Anna Jay recently tweeted that she “can’t wait to get back in the ring.” Late July would be 6-months from the time of her injury, so she could be back in action as early as next month.
Likely not impressed with Jungle Boy’s new music are the members of FTR. On Dynamite as of late, the team has expressed disdain for the amount of attention the dinosaur-themed trio gets. The two teams will face off on Night 2 of AEW New Year’s Smash next week.
As of the last AEW Rankings on December 23rd, 2020, FTR are ranked #1 and Jurassic Express occupy the #3 position. The winning team next week could find themselves in a position to challenge for the AEW tag-team championships.
The official music video for the 35-year-old classic song can be found in the player below:
All Elite Wrestling is reportedly still heavily invested in Jurassic Express member Jungle Boy.
According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, the promotion is still committed to their long-term build of Jungle boy. This news comes following his recent loss on AEW Dynamite.
It’s reported that AEW wants to hold off on the push until its fanbase can once again attend live events. It is speculated that when this happens, AEW will be giving him some major momentum.
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite saw Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus team up for an AEW Tag Team Championship opportunity. Despite their best efforts, the defending champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page were able to retain their tag belts. Jungle Boy would be the one to take the pinfall at the conclusion of the bout.
Before the coronavirus pandemic forced changes to AEW’s plans, the Jurassic Express member had been involved in several notable singles matches. He faced off against some of AEW’s top talent, including Cody Rhodes, MJF, and Inner Circle leader Chris Jericho.
Jericho has previously stated that, had it not been for the pandemic, he and Jungle Boy would probably have continued working together following their short rivalry.
Jurassic Express’ Jungle Boy is set to face off against All Elite Wrestling World Champion Chris Jericho on an upcoming episode of AEW: Dynamite. For some, his sudden push into the main event scene is somewhat perplexing, given his current record within the company.
According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, Jungle Boy was one of those on AEW’s roster that had been earmarked for long-term development. He has apparently been given a “no rush” focus in how the company is wanting to help develop and evolve him. This extends to his growth as a character and in-ring talent. Meltzer pointed to how Jungle Boy did well as a featured talent during AEW’s first Battle Royal as an example of their approach.
When a fan asked about why Jungle Boy gets to wrestle Jericho despite his current record, “Le Champion” answered. Jericho stressed that Jungle Boy gets this chance “Cause it’s my decision. I wrestle who I want because I’m #LeChampion ….and you are a dumb moron.”
Jericho isn’t the only AEW talent to respond to the question. AEW EVP Cody Rhodes also happened to see the post. He explained that Jungle Boy’s clash with Jericho isn’t a title shot but is “Gonna’ be a great match.”
Jungle Boy faces off against AEW World Champion Chris Jericho on the December 18th episode of AEW: Dynamite on TNT.
In a recent episode of Wrestlers On The Road Ordering Room Service, All Elite Wrestling’s Jungle Boy opened up about being an extra in another wrestling promotion. His statement naturally suggested he was referring to WWE. He recalled the feedback the company gave him and also shared how he initially hated the ring name Jungle Boy.
“I did some extra work somewhere else,” Jungle Boy said, hinting at WWE. “And they basically told me, they were like, ‘look,’ they were like, ‘if you put on 30 lbs. or whatever, we will give you a job, but the way it is, it’s not going to happen.’ And I was just so bummed.”
He continued, “I was like, ‘it bums me out that that’s the one thing that it gets hung up on because I know what I can do and I can do a bunch of stuff, but I think there are a bunch of guys who are way bigger than me who are not nearly as good and it’s silly to me to get so hung up on that.”
Jungle Boy confessed how, when he first heard “Jungle Boy,” he felt it was the dumbest name he had ever heard. He stated how a random announcer came up with the name after seeing him soaking wet and “kind of crouching like a monkey” before a show. Crediting the crouch to Conor McGregor, he adopted the same animalistic stance and was attributed the nickname. He reflected on how people liked it, so he went along with it, admitting that the name changed everything for him.
All Elite Wrestling commentator Jim Ross recently shared his thoughts on people who were critical of his commentary. He recently introduced AEW wrestler Jungle Boy as “Jungle Boy Jack Perry,” which elicited a negative reaction from some fans. Now Jungle Boy himself has weighed in on the introduction.
Speaking with Collider, Jungle Boy admitted that just hearing Jim Ross say his name is a positive experience. He added that if that’s what Ross wants to call him, then “that’s cool with me.”
“Things are a bit different now than when I first kinda started it. […] I feel like I got here, at least, kind of on my own merits. For me, honestly, to even hear Jim Ross say my name is cool. That’s the voice of wrestling to me. ‘Cause when I grew up watching wrestling, he was the guy,” he explained.
Jungle Boy added, “If that had happened at an earlier age and it were someone else, I probably would have said ‘Can you not do that?’ But I’m not gonna say that to Jim. If that’s what it sounds like to him, that’s cool with me.”
Jungle Boy recently teamed with Jurassic Express partner Marko Stunt on AEW: Dynamite. The duo lost to the Lucha Bros. This loss saw them eliminated from the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament.
Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite premiere on TNT means a lot of things to a lot of people. For Jungle Boy, it marks the end of his independent wrestling career.
Jungle Boy has been one of the breakout performers of the upstart AEW promotion. Along with with Luchasaurus, the Jurassic Express tag team has taken the wrestling world by storm.
As one of eight teams in the of tournament to crown AEW’s inaugural tag team champions, the ‘boy and his dinosaur’ have hands full in the first round. They’ll face the Lucha Bros, who are arguably the odds-on favorite to win it all. That tournament kicks off in Week 2 of AEW Dynamite.
With bright lights and big cities ahead, Jungle Boy posted a message on Instagram reflecting on the independent wrestling career that led him to this big moment.
“Last night marked the end of my independent wrestling career,” he wrote. “I’m not saying you’ll never see me in an Indy ring again, but it closes a symbolic chapter of my life. I’ve had some of the most amazing times, met the wildest people, and made the best friends I could ever ask for.”
Jungle Boy continued, “There are way too many pictures to choose from, and way too many moments not photographed, but these are just a few of the most recent on my phone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has been a part of this crazy ride. I’m so excited to see what adventures the future holds, but I’ll never forget where I came from. One love. One family.”
All Elite Wrestling’s resident dinosaur-luchador, Luchasaurus, has discussed the “Jungle Book” connection between himself and Jungle Boy while speaking with press during Starrcast III. He also addressed the comparisons fans have made between their pairing to when Kane teamed with X-Pac in WWE.
Looking back on his time in ROH, NXT, and Lucha Underground, Luchasaurus spoke about only really being comfortable doing promos if he was being himself.
“I was like ‘Let me just put on the mask and be myself and see what happens,'” he explained. “And I think it’s kind of something that’s getting over with the audience. I think a lot of that has to do with Jungle Boy too, because he’s such a good babyface partner for me to have on my shoulder just kind of pantomime what I’m saying. So I kind of just wanted to be myself wearing the mask, and see where that goes, and just kind of be creative with it.”
Jungle Book Connection
He admitted that the “formula” between himself and Jungle Boy is the same one that helped Kane and X-Pac click with fans:
“[Marco Stunt and Jungle Boy are] kind of like these little babyfaces that need to be protected by the big monster. I come in and clean up after they get beat – it’s this tested kind of thing in wrestling that I think really works. Jungle Boy is such a likeable character. Kids are gonna connect with it, and he makes me—he humanized my character really. I think he gave me the backstory without me saying anything. Because it’s just a ‘Jungle Book’ thing that connects.”
In order to make sure the dynamic between them worked, Luchasaurus actually researched Kane and X-Pac matches to replicate their connection. He added that, despite making the formulas work, AEW works at a different pace and level compared to when the former WWE Superstars were an active tag team.
Jungle Boy paid tribute to his father recently on a billboard advertising his character from the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film. He scaled the billboard and took video drone footage of his actions.
Jungle Boy posted the footage to his Instagram account:
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is Tarantino’s 9th film and Jungle Boy (Jack Perry) also makes a small appearance in the film as an extra. He spoke about the experience on the Talk is Jericho podcast earlier this year.
“I did some extra work,” Jungle Boy said. “He’s like, ‘I want you to be in the same film, or like collection of footage that I’m in’ … and he was really adamant about it. I was like alright dad I’ll do it.”
“So you may see me sitting behind someone special,” Jungle Boy continued. He would also say that being in the film meant a lot to his father, who Tarantino handpicked for the role.
In addition to Luke Perry, the film also stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Al Pacino. It is the first film Tarantino has written and directed since 2015’s “The Hateful Eight.”
David Arquette and Luke Perry were good friends. In fact, when Arquette was injured following a deathmatch at a GCW event, it was Luke Perry who drove him to the hospital. Arquette wrestled Perry’s son, AEW’s Jungle Boy, last night in the main event of a show at Bar Wrestling.
Arquette has noted that Perry helped get him his role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“He actually helped me get that role in Buffy,” Arquette said to People magazine. “He campaigned for me and put in a good word. I had to audition and still get it, but it really helped that he was in my corner.”
Arquette would continue to speak about what a great guy Perry was.
“Luke was just such a tremendous friend and just an incredible person,” he continued. “Everyone loved him. He had such incredible wit and humor. I have so many memories of him. I mean, when he got cast for 90210, he was renting a room in my mother’s house where we grew up, so it was a really exciting time for him.”
