How AEW Are Quietly Building Wrestling’s Next Main Event Megastar

26 June wasn't the right time for Jungle Boy to become AEW World Champion. He isn't ready yet, and losing to Omega in the way he did, without interference or other chicanery, was the right outcome.

Jungle Boy wasn't yet on Omega's level and taking a straightforward, clean pin from the One-Winged Angel, after Jurassic Express and Frankie Kazarian had chased off the Good Brothers, highlighted that.

But Perry was much closer to World Championship level on 26 June 2021 than he was on 18 December 2019, when he faced then-champion Chris Jericho in a non-title bout put together by the Inner Circle leader, who wanted an easy victory. Picking Jungle Boy (who hadn't worked a single one-on-one match in AEW at that point) for a flex, Jericho arrogantly slapped a 10-minute time limit on the bout. He was punching down.

So when Jungle Boy survived those 10 minutes, earned a draw, and shook Jericho to the point of walking out on their five minutes of extra time, he looked like the winner without pinning or submitting the World Champion. For a short period of time, the rookie was on the veteran's level.

AEW had taken a similar approach to Darby Allin's Fyter Fest 2019 draw with Cody Rhodes, which was pivotal in the former TNT Champion's own star-making process. Darby's first seeds were own that night. Since then, the plant's shoots have kept growing.

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