Jack Perry’s in-ring return has now been confirmed, With Perry’s first match announced following seven months away from the ring after his incident with CM Punk.
Perry hasn’t wrestled since dropping the FTW Championship to HOOK on All In Zero Hour pre-show.
The former AEW Tag Team Champion was suspended following the show due to the backstage incident that took place at Wembley later that evening involving CM Punk.
While Perry hasn’t appeared for AEW since then, he has teased his NJPW debut on several occasions, attacking Shota Umino at the January 13 Battle in the Valley event, and more recently having a promo video air at the February 24 New Beginning at Sapporo show.
NJPW has now announced Perry’s first match since August 2023. Perry will face off against Shota Umino on March 6.
This bout will be a first round match in the New Japan Cup 2024, a 28-man single elimination tournament. You can view the full bracket for this tournament below.
Interestingly, Perry has the chance to face off against SANADA if both of them make it to the third round. This would mean two wins for Perry and one for SANADA, since he has a first round bye.
Perry unsuccessfully challenged for SANADA’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the June 2023 AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door event. He turned heel after the match, attacking HOOK, leading to a rivalry which culminated with Perry’s most recent match at All In in August 2023.
Other top stars announced for the tournament include Zack Sabre Jr, Shingo Takagi and Tomohiro Ishii.
Kazuchika Okada has now finished up with NJPW, making his last appearance for the company over the weekend.
For details on what happened following Okada’s final NJPW match, click here.
NEW JAPAN CUP 2024 BRACKET REVEAL!
March 6~March 20!28 entrants in the spring classic!
Four prior winners receive byes!
Jack Perry makes NJPW debut and more!https://t.co/EZNuSjhrMj#njpw #njcup pic.twitter.com/xJKFJo2nJU
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 26, 2024
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