Great news, Jungle Jack Perry fans, as the star finally gets what he wants at AEW Grand Slam: France on October 6.
That’s right: having lost matches against two past AEW World Champions in his quest to be one himself, he now gets Samoa Joe.
It’s been quite the road for Perry as he previously called out Samoa Joe, only to find that the former AEW World Champion wasn’t just going to step up to the star.
With mere days to go before AEW makes its debut in France, let’s see how we got here:
Two losses & the pre-show
He’s been learning things with every loss to a former champion, failing to pick up the win against Jon Moxley in the Continental Challenge Cup match on August 12 and then against Swerve Strickland later that month in Glasgow, Scotland.
All this led to the star calling out Samoa Joe next, with the former Jungle Boy having to go through Katsuyori Shibata before getting what he wanted. That match would take place on September 29, the day of AEW All Out, but as the Tailgate Brawl match, as opposed to on the main show itself.
Despite relationships with other in The Opps (JungleHOOK, anyone?), having Perry face one member before the head honcho himself doesn’t quite suggest the trial that it could have been.
The insurmountable Samoa Joe
There’s no doubt that Samoa Joe is an imposing opponent for anyone who steps in the ring with him. He’s built an entire career across multiple companies that showcases just how impressive he is as a star.
Joe describing himself as “the fire” as opposed to the hammer or anvil makes it clear as to how the leader of The Opps is approaching this match.
Whether Perry is ready to face Joe is a different matter, particularly as he’s yet to pick up a win in his AEW World Champion contender journey. Surely, another loss will make it less believable should he get that title shot!
Is there an order to all this?
Moxley, Strickland and now Samoa Joe. The plan doesn’t appear to be for Perry to face former AEW World Champions in any particular order.
Chronologically, Moxley was the second to hold the title, with Strickland being the eleventh AEW World Champion, while Samoa Joe was the tenth.
There’s still Chris Jericho (inaugural AEW World Champion), Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page and MJF (obviously, overlooking CM Punk), if we were going champion to champion.
It’s not even in total reigns order, with Moxley being a four-time AEW World Champion, Samoa Joe having held it twice, and Strickland once.
It does look like the names are just being pulled at random, despite the prestige of every star to have held the top title.
“You are here because of me”
Addressing the challenge he had issued, Perry stated that he was the one who brought back Samoa Joe, beating Shibata to get what he wanted, in a video package at last night’s AEW Collision.
He did, indeed, beat Shibata, marking his first win since going on his quest. Following re-signing with AEW, Perry has, thus far, only had two victories: against Nick Wayne on July 18 and the one against Shibata.
Wayne and Shibata are yet to hold singles gold in AEW, while Perry is a former TNT and National Champion. Having failed to overcome two former AEW World Champions, it’s little wonder that Samoa Joe doesn’t see Perry as the threat that he perceives himself to be.
There’s more at stake than just facing Samoa Joe, though, with both stars competing to qualify for the Clockwork Carnage Match at WrestleDream on October 17.
Jack Perry vs. Will Ospreay
Whether Perry goes through his “former World Championship” path or survives Clockwork Carnage, we could see him face Will Ospreay for the title.
Such an outing would be a solid main event at any pay-per-view, but only if the story going into it is not “Jack Perry lost against all these former world champions and now gets his shot”. From an in-ring perspective, Perry and Ospreay are bound to put on a masterclass, but without a real risk of the title changing hands, some of its impact may be lost.
The rise of an AEW OG
One of the Four Pillars of AEW, Jack Perry is certainly a star in an ideal position to advance his standing in the company and a World Championship run would do that. So far, only MJF and Darby Allin have held the top title, with Sammy Guevara and Perry having seen limited opportunity in that capacity.
Perhaps there’s a future where all four will hold the World Championship one day, as a testament to just what AEW have built since its inception.
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