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

AEW is a talker's promotion. From Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley to Ricky Starks and Britt Baker, and even all-timers like Tully Blanchard and Jake Roberts, its roster is crammed with skilled orators who have mastered wrestling's other performance art. Darby Allin is the rule-proving exception, having become a drawing asset without cutting weekly or bi-weekly promos. For the most part, though, those who can't talk stand out in AEW.

Jungle Boy barely opens his mouth on television. When he does, his lines are short and succinct so as not to expose this hole in his game. This has been the case since December 2019, when Jericho ripped him for being "mute" the week before their match. Fast-forward to June 2021 and Kenny Omega, Christian Cage, and Don Callis carried the load on the microphone for Perry's short World Title program.

This must change if Jungle Boy is to become the man. His boyish charm and shyness are part of his appeal, but these qualities don't make for a convincing pro wrestling World Champion. They are a barrier between Perry and his ceiling.

Jungle Boy must learn to carry himself with assuredness and confidence. Even Daniel Bryan, modern wrestling's greatest underdog babyface, fought, walked, and talked with self-belief. The current Jungle Boy character doesn't project these traits because he hasn't learned how to yet.

And that's why the slow path to the top is the right one. Rushing wrestlers into roles they aren't ready for kills their credibility and tanks their long-term prospects. Jungle Boy's status was enhanced in his loss to Omega. When wrestling history is littered with broken husks of burnt-out would-be-stars who walked before they could crawl, there's no argument that he should have won.

Fortunately, Jack Perry is 24. He is six years younger than Jericho's wrestling career - and there are plenty of reasons to feel bullish about his long-term prospects.

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