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

Double Or Nothing 2020 hosted the first in what will likely be a long series of pay-per-view matches between Jungle Boy and MJF, who will become generational rivals for Tony Khan's promotion.

It was another essential loss. MJF had already been deemed worthy of a World Title feud by that point, and was three months away form challenging Jon Moxley at All Out. Losing wouldn't have served him well. Jungle Boy, meanwhile, proved he could push the hot young heel prospect to his outer limits, having already matched Jericho, the man whose villainous spot MJF coveted. Friedman holding Perry's hands down for the decisive pin was a deft touch that acknowledged the lessons he'd learned in the fight, but, like Jericho, would never verbalise. Every risk, no matter how small, had to be eliminated.

These showings were as vital as that of 27 January 2021, when Jungle Boy bested Dax Harwood for the biggest singles win of his career. It was a tough, gritty match, and one of the promotion's best of the year, with Perry brutalised and worn down by a grinding, Ole Anderson-esque onslaught before finding the Snare Trap. AEW booked the Jericho and MJF bouts to show Jungle Boy could tough it out. Against Harwood, they showed he could tough it out and win.

One day, he will replicate that against a Kenny Omega, MJF, or Chris Jericho. Until then, AEW's decision-makers are taking baby steps. They are presenting Jungle Boy as a growing, developing wrestler, who edges closer to the finished article because that's exactly what he is in real life.

Jungle Boy isn't the finished article. Ultimately, his ability to reach that point will determine whether or not he becomes a star.

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