Jungle Boy chats with Fightful about a variety of topics.
All Elite Wrestling's Jungle Boy made his debut appearance for the company at Double Or Nothing in Las Vegas on May 25th in the Casino Battle Royale. He did not emerge victorious from the Battle Royale but later in the show, he stood alongside the likes of Jimmy Havoc to confront MJF at the AEW World Championship reveal. The winner of the AEW Casino Battle Royale was Adam "Hangman" Page and Page earned himself a spot in the AEW World Title match against Chris Jericho at All Out. Fightful had the opportunity to speak with Jungle Boy at Starrcast II and asked him would he have rather faced "The Cleaner" Kenny Omega or Chris Jericho if he won the aforementioned Battle Royale.
“I mean either way, that’s kind of a dream match. I mean Chris Jericho for obvious reasons: he’s been around, he’s done so much. He’s arguably the greatest of all-time so that right there is amazing and Kenny Omega, obviously newer than Chris Jericho. He really excited me about wrestling again, and either way, both of those would be dream matches.” Jungle Boy expressed.
Jungle Boy splashed onto the independent wrestling scene and was soon featured in various promotions including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Jungle Boy was asked about his time in PWG and stated that every moment he's had in the promotion thus far has been special.
“I’ve done three [shows] there so far. The first one for me, that was just like, I felt like I’d made it almost because PWG is like what I dream about." He said. "So that was amazing. The second one I got to do it with Jake Atlas who’s one of my best friends. It’s always great to be able to share it, and the last one I did was a super fun match with Puma King. Honestly pretty much every moment in PWG is a special one.”
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla holds a special place within Jungle Boy as his late father Luke Perry was able to see him wrestle at a PWG show. Luke Perry unfortunately passed away on March 4th of this year and the wrestling world rallied together for the 22 year old Jungle Boy following his father's passing. Jungle Boy had a tribute match with David Arquette and he reflected on that match and the support he received from fans.
“It’s awesome. It’s really comforting to have all these people -- and these people don’t really know me. They’re a fan of what I do and all that but to have them offer me that genuine support, it’s really nice.” He expressed.
There have been a number of wrestlers from the independent scene who have recently been signed exclusively to either Ring Of Honor, NJPW, WWE or AEW. Jungle Boy feels that those signings are a positive for the independent wrestling scene because it will allow for fresher talents to secure that spotlight.
“I think this is an opportunity for new growth. A lot of the people who have been independent stars are obviously leaving to do other things, and while that is kind of sad, it makes room for the next generation to come up and fill those spots and it’ll be tough, but [there’s] kind of a cycle that has to repeat and there’s another batch of guys coming right along.” He told Fightful.
Jungle Boy will be in action at AEW's Fyter Fest in a Four Way match against MJF, Jimmy Havoc and Adam "Hangman" Page. To get a look at the updated Fyter Fest match card, head over to Fightful's "events" page.
