10 Wrestlers Who Will Change The Business Over The Next 10 Years

8. Jungle Boy

Santana Jungle Boy
AEW

In about five to seven years, that image above is going to trip you out.

It's going to develop the same no-way connotations as those old super-ripped photos of Ric Flair, of a pink-haired Jon Moxley working a WWE dark match, of Taz working a not dissimilar gimmick as the Tazmaniac. One day, Jungle Boy is going to work as the ripped, grizzled Jack Perry as he realises his destiny as North America's next great babyface.

And he'll change the business by reimagining it in his image as a top star. Inordinately sympathetic and prodigiously talented, Jungle Boy has already half-mastered the arts of electrifying the audience and pulling them into the emotional core of his matches. He gets that which cannot be taught, and he will use that as the platform to ascend to greatness.

Beyond that, AEW President Tony Khan recently forked out for the rights to schadenfreude Europop banger 'Tarzan Boy' by Baltimora. This is a tell - Jungle Boy is getting pushed in 2021 - with, vaccine rollout all going well, a packed-arena sing-along in mind. Think the Fandango craze, only with AEW actually committing to the push and not instructing Jerry Lawler to tell you "Isn't this great? We approached cultural relevance for one whole night!"

AEW has in effect patterned its philosophy around doing that which WWE can't or won't: unscripted promos, win/loss rankings, clean finishes.

Has Tony Khan recognised that WWE's in-house music dept. has deteriorated badly, and developed a new strategy to counter it?

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!