Jack Perry has reflected on the aftermath of his altercation with CM Punk backstage at AEW All In 2023.
All In 2023 proved to be an important event in AEW’s history, but not in the way the company might have hoped. The show was the biggest AEW has ever held, taking place in front of over 80,000 fans in London’s Wembley Stadium, and it saw classic matches and multiple title changes. However, it is best remembered today for an incident that took place backstage.
During the pre-show, Jack Perry defended the FTW Championship against Hook. During the bout, Hook dropped Perry through the windshield of a car, but before the move, Jungle Boy spoke directly to the camera, saying, “Real glass, go cry me a river.” The line was a reference to a backstage disagreement Perry had with CM Punk in the weeks prior over his plan to use real glass in a segment, something Punk prevented at the time.
This led to Punk confronting Perry backstage and trying to put him in a Guillotine lock before the two were pulled apart. Ultimately, the incident led to CM Punk being fired and Perry being taken off AEW TV for several months.
“I Feel Like I’ve Grown A Lot From It” – Jack Perry On CM Punk Incident
Speaking on Up Close with Renee Paquette, Jack Perry explained that he feels he has grown from the incident, but admitted it “wasn’t the nicest of times” for him.
“I think, I feel like I’ve grown a lot from it, but I feel like the growth came from a lot of it sounds dramatic to say pain, but it wasn’t the nicest of times, for most of that time. I think it really freed me in a lot of ways. It’s kind of like before all that feels like another lifetime at this point, and I think back to how I felt before that, and I think a big thing I had was like, I just really, it sounds silly, I just wanted everyone to like me.”
Perry went on to explain that he had tried to make everything he did “perfect” at that point in his career, and falling short in such a public way was disappointing for him.
“I was new to being on TV. This was my dream job since I was a little kid, and I wanted to do it perfectly, and I wanted everyone to like me, and it’s not something I worry about so much in my real life, but this was different. I kind of wanted to micromanage it and make it perfect.
“So then when I would come up short of that, it was very disappointing, and I think coming up short of anything sucks, but doing it in such a public way, and then there are a million people telling you you’re a piece of shit or whatever, it’s hard.”
However, Perry says the experience made him realise there will always be people who don’t like him, and that helped him get past his anxieties.
“I think, through all that, I finally realised there are some people that are never gonna like me no matter what I do, and in a way that was really freeing because then I was like I don’t have to worry about that anymore, what do I wanna do?”
Jack Perry recently reformed Jurassic Express with Luchasaurus and is currently part of the Continental Classic, having replaced the injured Darby Allin in the annual tournament.
H/T to F4WOnline for the above transcription.
