Over the last few months, AEW (All Elite Wrestling) has made a few waves in professional wrestling, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s reader-voted awards concur.
While it feels a bit late for 2019 awards to be announced, it’s still a good thing for many in the industry as it shows fans appreciate them, and it helps expose them to a wider fanbase in general. For some, it’s a reaffirmation that they’re reaching the audience whether it’s a new gimmick/promotion or old. In this case, Chris Jericho won the coveted Lou Thez/Ric Flair Wrestler of the Year award for the third time (2008, 2009 previously), but it was one of AEW’s young talents that he helped to put over that won the Rookie of the Year award.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9ZnICMp7dk/
Finding his path
“Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry not only won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Rookie of the Year award, but also the love of the fans that made it happen.
As the son of the late Luke Perry, Jungle Boy chose a different path to follow than his father and it’s starting to pay off. As the middle-sized member of the Jurassic Express, he became widely known for his match against Chris Jericho where Jericho claimed he couldn’t last ten minutes against him.
Jungle Boy did that and more by refusing to tap out as time expired, then put on a great show against Jericho for the AEW Championship.
But there’s more to jack Perry than his wrestling skill and being a “wrestling’s teen heartthrob” according to Chris Jericho.
At 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds his diminutive size belies his heart, as he’s been chasing his professional wrestling dream since he was a senior in high school.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said he was careful not to allow his father’s success to overshadow his.
“My family is a part of who I am, but I’m trying to make my own way. I don’t want to use (my father’s fame) to be successful, I want to have my own success,” Jack said.
He’s succeeded in that as not many know he’s Luke Perry’s son, but that didn’t stop his father from attending his matches prior to his death. According to the above linked PEOPLE article, Luke was seen at one of Jack’s matches in 2017 and even recorded the entire match.
Shannon Doherty told PEOPLE Luke was a proud father and regularly bragged about his children’s accomplishments.
“Luke loved his family. He raved about his kids and how proud he was of them,” she said. “He showed me videos of them often. They were his heart and for him, his biggest accomplishment.”
Given everything he’s faced thus far form his father’s death and lack of size, it’s great to see fan show their appreciation for him by voting him the top rookie. Hopefully, this marks the start on bigger and better things to come for him.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get TheOvertimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
