Revealed: AEW's Plan To Make Jungle Boy A "Superstar Babyface"
Backstage notes from AEW Dynamite, where Jungle Boy faced Dax Harwood.
This week's AEW Dynamite match with Dax Harwood was designed to help make Jungle Boy a "superstar babyface" in the promotion
This is according to Dave Meltzer, who writes in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Harwood presented the plan to company president Tony Khan after devising it himself. That's exactly how it came together onscreen, with Harwood a relentless, grinding heel, forcing Jungle Boy to work from beneath for extended periods before mounting his comeback, with the Jurassic Express man's targeted limb work paying off with a submission victory.
Meltzer notes that while people in AEW understand Jungle Boy is a tremendous athlete, it is important that he now generates sympathy and draws support by taking beatings and mounting well-timed comebacks. The Harwood match was this to a tee, with Jungle Boy forcing the FTR man to tap the cherry on top, putting him over the edge.
The well-received clash was awarded an excellent ****1/2 in the Observer.
Jungle Boy's highest-profile AEW singles match to date was against MJF, who beat him at Double Or Nothing 2020 last May. The Jurassic Express/FTR feud looks set to continue after Harwood, Cash Wheeler, and Tully Blanchard cut Luchasaurus' horns from his mask after the Jungle Boy bout.