10 AEW Stars Who Desperately Need New Gimmicks

3. Jungle Boy

Maybe today isn't the day. Maybe it won't be tomorrow, or even a month or two from now. But sooner rather than later, Jungle Boy is going to need to shed the more gimmicky aspects of his AEW presentation if he is to emerge as the company-carrying babyface his Pillar status demands.

AEW has thus far done a great job of highlighting Jungle Boy in 2022. Revolution 2022's Tag Team Title scramble was calibrated specifically to make him look excellent. He has since followed that with good showings against The Acclaimed and Adam Cole/reDRagon, continuing his in-ring evolution while continuing to sharpen up his promo game. Working alongside Christian Cage has helped him in that regard. Though he still comes off shy at times, Jungle Boy is slowly emerging from his shell, bit by bit, segment by segment.

At some stage, though, the 24-year-old is going to need to lose the little booties and other Tarzan-isms. Jurassic Express was an effective vehicle to showcase his AEW run's nascent stages. It can continue, absolutely, but the Boy needs to become a man.

Jim Ross' insistence on referring Jungle Boy by his real name, Jack Perry, may serve as inadvertent future-proofing. A light reboot will eventually prove critical to his long-term success.