“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry is one of the brightest young stars in AEW, but did you know he debuted in WWE when he was just 12-years-old?
The FTW Champion has starred in AEW since his heel turn at Forbidden Door, embracing the Hollywood-side of his personality to become a top star in the company.
While Jack Perry and Anna Jay would be perfect on-screen together, Tony Khan has not yet made them the power couple fans want to see in AEW.
Perry still has a long way to go in his journey to become a main event player in the company, but he has been involved in the wrestling business since he was 12-years-old!
Jungle Boy’s Wrestling Debut
Jack Perry appeared at WWE Summerslam 2009, marking his television debut in professional wrestling.
The young star went to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California to watch the show, which was main evented by an incredible ladder match between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy.
Jack Perry attended the show with his father, the late Hollywood actor Luke Perry. Both were known as big wrestling fans, and were honored guests at Summerslam 2009.
Both of them were shown on screen in the crowd, although obviously the focus was on 90210’s Luke Perry.
However, by his side was a child with a familiar looking mane of hair, that would later go on to become Jungle Boy in AEW.
That same year, a young Jack Perry would actually make his wrestling debut, at the age of 12.
According to Cagematch, Jack Perry wrestled in his first match on the 30th June 2009, when he was just 12-years-old.
The young star wrestled under the name Johnny Drake, wrestling at an event called ASW Bart’s Birthday Bash #8.
Little is known, and no footage found online, of this event. What we do know is that a young Jungle Boy teamed with Nikki (a former female wrestler who retired in 2014) to face off against a duo named Angel and Amanda.
It is known that Jack Perry’s side lost the bout, but he surely holds the record as one of the youngest wrestlers in the history of the business.