"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry responds to SANADA's comments.
Perry will challenge SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. The champion issued an open challenge on the June 14 episode of AEW Dynamite, and Perry accepted it. SANADA later stated that he was expecting a bigger challenge at the pay-per-view, and he noted that he has no knowledge of Perry.
Speaking with Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone, Perry was asked about SANADA's comments.
“I’m gonna be completely honest. I was a little bit relieved when I saw that because I’ve been feeling a little guilty, kind of secretly. I’ve never seen a SANADA match in my life, and I was feeling a little bit guilty about that, like, ‘Oh my god, that’s kind of rude, whatever.’ But then he said [that], and I was like, ‘Okay. That’s great.’ I haven’t watched anything, other than Kenny and Will Ospreay, in New Japan since Cody and Kenny and the Young Bucks left and started AEW, so I have not seen any of that. I don’t really keep up with that. I thought Okada was the champion last time I was caught up with things, but it is what it is. I don’t think he has any particular reason to know too much about me, but I think it’s gonna be fun because we’re gonna learn pretty much everything there is to know when we’re kicking each other in the face on pay-per-view," Perry said.
Perry also shared his thoughts on the match in a more general sense. He stated that, before the match announcement, he didn't even know who held the title, but he was confident in his intention to win the gold. Perry made it clear that he wants to win a world championship, and he didn't necessarily care who his opponent was.
“I’m excited. I feel like there’s momentum on my side. I knew there was gonna be an open challenge, and to be completely honest, I didn’t even know who the champion was, but I knew I was gonna take it. Because for me, it’s not… I’m looking forward to the match and getting in there with him and experiencing what this is gonna be like against a top Japanese talent, but for me, my goal that I said at the very beginning of the year is that I’m going to become a world champion. It doesn’t really matter to me who ends up across the ring from me. It’s about the championship that he has. That’s what the deal is for me. I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna take the championship, bring it back to AEW, and it’s gonna be a good night," he said.
Perry will face NJPW star DOUKI on the June 23 episode of AEW Rampage. Check out the card here. Fightful will have live coverage of the show as it airs.
Perry previously discussed AEW's Pillars. Click here to see what he had to say.
Fans can check out the lineup for Forbidden Door 2023 by clicking here.
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