The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the globe of skilled wrestling every Tuesday in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle.
AEW has some work to do with “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry — with themselves and a few bad luck guilty.
What we saw Wednesday on Dynamite was a talented performer turning heel before the story and audiences’ anger with him had been fully cooked.
He and his loose tag-team partner Hook have only had three matches together, winning all of them. That’s not precisely the style of adversity that sparks the post-match betrayal we saw at Forbidden Door.
It left Perry, 26, in his promo coming off as unsure of who he’s and who he must be to make this turn truly work because there’s so little tangible story to tug from. Being unsure of who you might be is just about the other of what a superb heel must be.
Normally when this happens even the perfect performers turn to what they think a heel has to say, throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall and hoping it sticks. That may come off as generic and compelled and that’s precisely the feeling Perry gave off for much of his promo.
On top of that, people appeared to equate his sunglasses and leather jacket outfit with Hyde from “That ’70s Show” as a substitute of the nod to his famous “90210” dad, Luke. Apart from possibly turning more “Hollywood,” references to his beloved father make more sense as a babyface, something Perry hasn’t fully leaned into and will not need to.
Perry threw a variety of Heel 101 on the market by eliminating his “Tarzan Boy” song, insulting the host city, touting his youth and his checking account. One in every of his big lines was that he’s “still banging the most well liked bitch in this complete place” in reference to real-life girlfriend Anna Jay. It’s hard to see that having a variety of intending to a superb portion of the audience that is probably going unaware of his relationship status because the two haven’t had any significant time together on AEW TV. (That’s something that needs to alter.)
Things got a bit of higher when he moved to Hook, whom the audience generally likes. This feud could find yourself really helping him greater than Perry. Nevertheless it’s hard to consider Perry’s line in regards to the FTW champ flaunting his belt in his face with how little they’ve actually interacted. They might need made a wonderful tag team if given an extended run.
But Perry is on this position due to a few of AEW’s creative missteps and a few bad luck.
It’s been a bit of over a 12 months since Christian Cage turned on Perry at Road Rager because it appeared AEW had its young star on the suitable path. Perry was a popular babyface about to grow up feuding with a veteran heel. But things modified when Cage tore his triceps and his grudge match against Perry at All Out became a 20-second squash.
As a substitute of moving Perry onto something interesting and meaningful, he form of treaded water outside of a steel cage match with Luchasaurus until Cage returned, losing some steam. Perry did look great and added some edge in his burial match win over Cage at Revolution.
But thrusting him into the 4 Pillars storyline for the AEW championship match at Double or Nothing revealed he wasn’t quite as ready for the essential event as the opposite three. Losing to IWGP heavyweight champ SANADA at Forbidden Door seems like it was a way to an end of attending to the turn. Perry had vowed to win singles gold this 12 months, and he’s now left with attempting to win the FTW championship, which shouldn’t be an official AEW title.
Perry’s heel turn may be resurrected after his babyface run felt underwhelming and too short. It’s going to take some work, more layered creative and story and Perry digging deeper than the surface bad-guy stuff to make good on AEW’s faith in him.
A Rowdy Closing Chapter?
The abruptness of Shayna Baszler’s attack on Ronda Rousey at Money in The Bank makes quite a bit more sense with the potential context of the Wrestling Observer’s report that the previous UFC champion’s time with WWE will likely be up soon. Fully explaining it in storyline was in regards to the only thing missing from Baszler’s effective promo on Raw, which was capped by a brutal-looking knee to Rousey’s head.
The Queen of Spades brought the intensity needed as she ripped into her friend, insulting her long-criticized mic skills, Rousey debuting at WrestleMania while Baszler clawed her way into WWE, and saying she owed everyone “an apology for bringing you into this business.” Rousey tried to get Baszler to elucidate why she cost them the tag titles, but she began talking about times long before Rousey was even in WWE. While a few of the logic wasn’t perfect, the group loved it as Baszler is on her option to babyface status.
Not in a Rush
I applaud WWE for letting the prospects of Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the WWE women’s championship marinate for a bit and never attempting to jam it into Money within the Bank. Either do it as an enormous TV essential event or reserve it for SummerSlam as Belair getting in a hoop with Flair is big deal. Their only clean singles finish was a 2020 match won by The Queen in NXT.
The excellent news for WWE was the frustrated Belair was still getting cheered for now when she stepped out of the stands and snapped to attack Asuka on Smackdown for a DQ, costing Flair a likelihood to win the title. A full heel against them wouldn’t be the perfect idea.
The ten Count
Dark Order is in desperate need of a reboot and the contention with “Hangman” Adam Page and The Elite is the long-overdue vehicle. The query now’s, can Hangman get them back on his side against the Blackpool Combat Club or will they turn full-blown heel? If it’s the latter, they could need one other leader to make it feel big.
This Judgment Day storytelling across the Money within the Bank briefcase is basically good, and you may see how the cash-in will fail and never hurt Damian Priest as Finn Balor will likely be the one to cost him.
The WWE women’s tag team division still seems like mess. While some recent teams were formed for the tag team turmoil, having Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville win seems like wash, rinse, repeat as champ Raquel Rodriguez also looks like women’s world champion Rhea Ripley’s next challenger.
One thing you already know you’ll get from NXT and Shawn Michaels is obvious and logical booking, even for those who see it coming. Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak’s diversion costing Thea Hail the NXT women’s championship and Andre Chase returning to team with Duke Hudson against them is the proper example.
MJF’s patriotic ring attitude for Fourth of July weekend and to troll Canada Day really made him look able to jump on the Lex Express.
With Bryan Danielson injured and potentially sidelined until after All In, AEW has a likelihood to lean even harder into the Eddie Kingston-Jon Moxley-Claudio Castagnoli story. It doesn’t get more reality-based than the story they need to tell. Getting Renee Paquette involved this week was a pleasant touch.
First, can we stop encouraging Sting to do silly stunts like jumping off a ladder within the ring onto two tables on the skin? We would like him to make it to his retirement match. Outside of that, let’s appreciate Sting, 64, and Chris Jericho, 52, giving us all the things that they had of their Dynamite match and long-awaited feud.
While I even have been an advocate of the ladies getting more microphone time in front of a live crowd, Ruby Soho’s promo on Dynamite was all over with loads of bad comedy. I’m a fan of Soho and the promo improved when she got more serious at the top. A few of it has to do with the feud itself having cooled off.
Yes, the “AEW: Fight Eternally” video game feels a bit of bare at launch, needing more wrestlers, arenas and match types and that ought to change if Kenny Omega delivers on his promise of consistent updates. But at its core, the in-ring motion is a ton of fun, it lived as much as the pick-up-and-play form of “WWE No Mercy” and I feel like I’m learning recent things in regards to the game every day. It’s a 7/10 now with room to enhance.
My trial of Roman Reigns prediction for SmackDown at MSG: He choses trial by combat in a match at SummerSlam — likely against Jey Uso — for control of The Bloodline.
Wrestler of the Week
Jey Uso, WWE
Nobody’s stock got an even bigger boost than his this week as he became the primary person to pin cousin Roman Reigns’ shoulders to the mat since Baron Corbin in December 2019 by doing so at Money within the Bank. Uso, who it began with, now becomes much more more likely to finally end Reigns’ historic title run or a minimum of get one other essential event match with him at SummerSlam.
Match to Watch
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe, Owen Hart Cup Tournament semifinals (Collison, Saturday, 8 p.m, TNT)
We’re finally getting one in every of the dream matches we envisioned when CM Punk joined AEW. He and Joe will reboot their famous trilogy from Ring of Honor in 2004. The primary two matches were draws and Joe won the third. Punk has never defeated his rival in a singles match. Joe leaving Roderick Strong needing a stretcher was an ideal option to show the danger Punk faces.
