Darby Allin: "If anybody’s benefited from the incident that happened last year at All In, it’s Jack Perry"

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Originally published at Darby Allin: "If anybody’s benefited from the incident that happened last year at All In, it’s Jack Perry"

Allin feels ‘The Scapegoat’ is where he needs to be.

A full year has passed since the physical altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at AEW All In 2023. Their scuffle led to Perry being indefinitely suspended and Punk being fired from the company.

Perry is currently the reigning TNT Champion and since winning the belt, he’s had five successful title defenses. The different versions of Perry’s on-screen character over the years was discussed by Darby Allin. 

Allin told the New York Post that Jungle Boy had a shelf life, the ‘Hollywood’ version of Jack was not believable but the current version is exactly where he needs to be. He said if anyone benefitted from the All In incident, it’s Perry.

Honestly, it sounds crazy, but it’s awesome. Because when he was Jungle Boy, I felt like it was just too hokey and had a shelf life, if that makes sense. Like there was a glass ceiling with Jungle Boy, and then when he first became a bad guy, Hollywood Jack, or wherever the hell he was, it just wasn’t believable. Nothing he was doing was believable. It felt like a horrible made-for-TV Lifetime movie network character. 

If anybody’s benefited from the incident that happened last year at All In, it’s Jack Perry, because now what he is, I feel like is kind of where he always needed to be.

On the topic of a potential new television deal for AEW, Darby stated that when it happens, it does not mean it’s time to get comfortable.

Everybody literally needs to work harder. Once we get a new TV deal, it’s not time to be like, oh yeah, let’s celebrate. Like, which is fine. I think when someone makes a lot of money, they almost feel like they don’t have to work. They feel like people have the best work ethic when they have nothing, they’re broke, they’re like, living paycheck to paycheck. That’s the work ethic we need to have at all times.

Both Allin and Perry were featured at AEW Grand Slam. Allin competed in the main event of Dynamite. On the 9/28 Collision, Perry defended the TNT Title against Minoru Suzuki.

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Agreed. The marginally talented guy who went from losing on the pre-show to main eventer instead of getting fired for going into the business for himself on live pay-per-view – mostly because the owner/booker and least two of his EVPs want to prove a point about CM Punk or something – has benefited from the incident.

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Has he even benefited? I remember years ago when he lost that title match to Omega, everyone thought he was a legit future main eventer and was considered one of the “core four”.

I realize there has been plenty of time in between, but since his singles push, the buzz around him is kind of dead, and if anything the chatter is going in the other direction.

While his “card placement” may be better, I’d argue he’s in a worse status with the fans.

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I’ll probably get laughed at for this… But given their careers (not speaking for the future), but I don’t see a huge difference between Jack Perry at 27 and Shawn Michaels at 27.

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I would say he benefitted. The idea was that he was beat up by Punk was lingering, despite even what Punk said.

I thought showing the footage was a good idea after Jack’s reaction at that New Japan show but now I wonder if the ratings downturn happened because of showing that footage. I’ve talked before about AEW’s issues with disappointing people being the main reason they’re struggling and I feel that was the biggest disappointment. Jack got a new lease on life, but I don’t know if it was worth it.

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Yes of course the guy who benefitted the most is Jack Pretty.

It’s totally not the guy who was the aggressor and got exactly what he wanted (which was getting fired) and then proceeded to go to the competition with a massive pop in his hometown in front of a sold out crowd.

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He’s certainly benefited, though I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s capitalized on the opportunity.

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Punk went from “big money contract and main event status” to “big money contract and main event status.” And if he is to be believed, he is happier now.

So yes, it did work out for him. But I think Jack Perry benefited more.

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I see what you’re getting at. But I have a feeling the futures are going to diverge dramatically, if it’s even fair to compare the 90s to now

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I don’t think that’s silly……we’re talking 1992, right? At that point, I sure as hell didn’t see him being what he ended up being.

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It’s entirely possible, and the landscape is so different in-ring wise. But I feel like Scapegoat ear Perry is equal to Boy Toy, early HBO Shawn.

I think people who write off Perry aren’t considering how many years ahead he has.

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Yup, 1992.

Like, Shawn was challenging for the WWF title at Survivor Series that year, the same way Perry was challenging at All Out. Their paths have been similar.

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What I don’t know, and I don’t know if it’s been reliably documented, is what people in the business thought of Shawn in 1992. Right now, it seems obvious they should have recognized him as the future of the business, but between his attitude and his size, I don’t know if that was the case then.

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That’s right, against Bret at SS. My brain went to mania that year when he was facing Tito. Definitely didn’t scream main eventer to me at the time lol.

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Let me correct that for you.

Punk went from “big money contract and main event status” in the distant second biggest company that on the decline in the industry to “big money contract and main event status” in the undisputed biggest company in the industry. And if he is to be believed, he is happier now.

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Why do you keep ignoring the parts that make it very clear I’m not arguing with anyone?

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Because I disagree with you. I’m not arguing either. I disagree with your point that it benefited Perry more.

Jack Perry went from being the 32nd most important guy in the AEW roster to the 22nd most important guy in the roster. It’s a big jump. Good for him. But Punk went from being the number one guy on Saturday Night Collision to the number one guy on Monday Night Raw. And I’m saying that is bigger jump in status. Now you might disagree and say that going from 32 to 22 in AEW is a bigger jump. And that’s your opinion. I respect that.

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It’s not a bad comparison at all except that Sean Michael’s very quickly moved into the intercontinental role and that title means much more than any secondary title right now.

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@MarkP brings up a ton of interesting points (some intentionally, some probably not). Even take out Jack Perry and Shawn Michaels specifically, and you still have the following things to consider:

  • 1992 WWF was transitioning from the loss of Hulk Hogan. I don’t think any company will ever deal with the loss of that huge and that singular of a star, ever again.
  • The 1992 Intercontinental Title was exponentially more prestigious (in the eyes of the majority of fans) than the 2024 TNT Championship.
  • The modern audience (at least, those being honest with themselves) doesn’t care as much about size and physique.
  • There is more money to be made today, and in a wider variety of places, than in 1992.
  • Guys used to be able to start over when they went to a new place or even just took an extended hiatus (i.e. a 1992 version of Jack Perry could have gone to WWF and not even be known/acknowledged as the former “Jungle Boy”).
  • More (definitely not all) main eventers today are willing to work with and even put over midcard guys on their way up.
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