AEW talent Jack Perry has done a lot to separate himself from the “Jungle Boy” persona he originally debuted in the promotion with. Eventually, he began sporting a beard, adopted a meaner attitude, and established his “Scapegoat” gimmick in NJPW after the controversial exit of CM Punk following their altercation at AEW All In 2023. 

During an interview on “Talk Is Jericho,” Perry looked back at originally establishing his “Jungle Boy” gimmick on the independent circuit and what he initially wanted his character to be like. Recalling his first-ever indie event, Perry claimed he asked to go by the name Nate Coy, and that the announcer added on what would later become his moniker in AEW. 

“He’s like: ‘I have a nickname for you,’ while I’m in the ring, and I was like alright, and he goes: ‘Jungle Boy, Nate Coy!'” Perry explained. “Then he said it, I was like, ‘What a moron!’ Then, of course, that was the only part that stuck.”

Perry then opened up about what he loved about just being Jungle Boy, while admitting that it might have stunted his growth as a professional wrestler. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to talk. You’re trying to get me to say all this bulls**t that I don’t want to say that’s really against who I’m trying to be,'” he recalled. “I was like, ‘I don’t talk, I’m from the jungle, I’m a monkey. You have to watch me wrestle, and that’s it!'” 

Later in AEW, he quickly found out that he had to learn how to cut promos and had to start with Chris Jericho during their rivalry. He further admitted that his earlier promos were awful and felt that he did horrible at first, but added that he eventually felt more natural at it as he practiced more.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Talk Is Jericho,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.