If there's one winner from AEW's decision to release the CM Punk backstage tape from All In, it's Jack Perry, the former Jungle Boy who was momentarily choked by the “Best in the World,” suspended for an unknown number of months, and is now putting in work as a member of New Japan Pro Wrestling's House of Torture, a subset of Bullet Club led by Evil.
Will Perry continue to work heel with one of NJPW's most polarizing factions? Or is he AEW-bound, with Tony Khan and company capitalizing on his recent string of in-ring success and resurgence in online popularity? Well, in the opinion of the Young Bucks in an interview with Sports Illustrated, a pair of performers who have a bit of a say in the goings-on of the promotions due to their roles as EVPs, Perry deserves another chance in AEW, as he was one of the three men wronged by the actions of CM Punk and FTR at Wembley.
“Since we are wrestling FTR at Dynasty, and with it being the first time doing that since All In London, so many feelings and thoughts came rushing back. Old wounds were reopened,” Matthew Jackson told Sports Illustrated. “We decided it was only fair to be transparent and honest with our fans. We needed to give them context about why we feel we came up short at All In London. Our bodies were there in the ring wrestling FTR at Wembley, but our minds were in the back with the scapegoat in the entire situation, Jack Perry. The three of us specifically were wronged that night, and I haven't gotten over that.”
Turning their attention to Perry specifically, Nicholas Jackson put over the AEW Original, declaring JB the next great breakout star in professional wrestling.
“He's been the next breakout star for a while now and he just needed something controversial to happen to him to open people's eyes. It happened with us early on in our careers, too,” Nicholas Jackson noted.
“Jack Perry was one of my original AEW hires,” Matthew Jackson added. “I saw a video clip of him on the indies, and then I went and watched everything I could find. Years prior, I'd heard stories about a nine-year-old boy being brought to wrestling training in Southern California by his celebrity dad Luke Perry. I wondered, whatever happened to that kid? Apparently, he'd been working hard and turning into a heck of a talent. I watched the videos and thought, ‘Whoa. Young, handsome SoCal kid with a great head of hair. Seems misunderstood. Has tons of confidence. He reminds me a lot of me and Nicholas at his age.' Coming back from Japan, Jack Perry now has that edge and swagger. Coming off all of this BS he's been dealing with, he has a chip on his shoulder. He's a dangerous cat right now and is about to blow up.”
You know, whether you like the Young Bucks or not, they are correct in the assertion that Perry has a very big opportunity on his hands, with a chance to debut in an incredibly high-profile way in front of a crowd that will give him a massive reaction one way or another. Whether or not he succeeds, however, remains to be seen, as hype can only take you so far if you don't have the goods to back it up.
Tony Khan is “fascinated” by Jack Perry's reaction in New Japan.
Speaking of Jack Perry's potential return to AEW at Dynasty, Tony Khan had some nice things to say about the newest member of House of Torture in an interview with The Chris Russell Show, explaining to fans why releasing the CM Punk All In tape was ultimately a positive thing for AEW as a whole, the Young Bucks, and especially JB, as it's afforded him the sort of heat that few performers can dream of cultivating.
“I think it made a lot of sense. First of all, the Young Bucks-FTR ladder match is coming up at AEW Dynasty for the World Tag Team Championships. This is the fourth chapter in FTR-Young Bucks. I believe they are the two greatest tag teams in wrestling, the two best on the planet. The last time they wrestled, Young Bucks-FTR 3, was at Wembley Stadium, AEW All In. A lot happened that day. Those guys, at one point, they were the third match on the pay-per-view, and at one point, it looked like we were going to have to call them up, and they were going to have to wrestle the first match. They ended up going on in the spot they were in, but the Young Bucks said the whole day, everything that happened, it affected their mental preparation, they weren't able to pray before the match, they were very stressed out,” Tony Khan explained via Fightful.
“They slipped on the banana peel, lost the match, and they blame FTR and what happened at Wembley Stadium. In hindsight, that's why they refused to shake FTR's hands. We've seen the Young Bucks change a lot. We saw them get really dark during the retirement run of Sting. They've only gotten darker and more twisted. That's why they felt like they should play the tape. It was fascinating to see after the tape played, the reaction Jack Perry got at New Japan. He got the reaction of a superstar. That is not altogether unexpected and it's something very interesting, perhaps a side effect of this, Jack Perry already a big star in wrestling, really the way the crowd connected with him in Chicago, that was interesting. It leaves a lot of intriguing going into AEW Dynamite and AEW Dynasty.”
Is TK on the money? Will Perry return to AEW as a massive heel, with the crowd showering him with “CM Punk” chants until he can win them over one way or another? Only time will tell, but unless AEW pulls off a massive swerve, it's safe to say fans will be crying themselves a river in St. Louis this weekend.
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