Tag: Jack Perry

Why the pro wrestling world is buzzing about CM Punk backstage AEW footage, explained

Not even everyone in AEW knows what kind of footage from All In is being shown or what it will reveal.

CM Punk hasn’t been part of AEW for a while, having been fired last fall and made his return to WWE a few months later. But his time there is still very much lingering in ways that will come to a head on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

While the attention of pretty much every pro wrestling fan was on WrestleMania 40 this weekend, AEW announced during AEW Collision — which aired after the men’s college basketball tournament games Saturday, and thus was broadcast late at night — that it would air backstage footage from last year’s All In pay-per-view, and the Young Bucks (who are also AEW EVPs) would discuss it for the first time.

It’s a move that has both fascinated and divided the pro wrestling world, and if you’re wondering how we got here and why this is happening, here’s an overview.

What exactly happened at All In?

All In London was the biggest event in AEW history, in front of one of the largest crowds ever to watch a wrestling show. It was held in London’s Wembley Stadium and should have been the kind of victory lap that few No. 2 wrestling promotions have ever been able to take.

And while it was a success by many measures, it was somewhat marred by an altercation between Punk and Jack Perry. The causes behind it would take too long to go through here, but the short version is that Perry said something live on the PPV that was a shot at Punk, who confronted him about it backstage. Their argument turned physical and both men were suspended.

A few days later, Punk was fired, with AEW CEO, GM and head of creative Tony Khan claiming that he feared for his safety and the safety of other AEW employees.

Why is an incident from August 2023 relevant again now?

It’s mostly because Punk made it that way. On the Monday of WrestleMania week, Punk appeared as a guest on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani and talked extensively about his side of the All In situation for the first time.

He claims he did indeed confront Perry, who challenged him to do something about it. Punk says he did put Perry in a chokehold but didn’t threaten or endanger Khan. In addition, he claimed he told Khan he was quitting AEW and had to be convinced by Jerry Lynn and Samoa Joe to come out of his dressing room to wrestle Joe, which he did end up doing.

What kind of footage does AEW have from All In?

That’s uncertain, and it’s possible only a limited number of people know (including Khan and the Bucks). It could be security camera footage, other performers might have captured the fracas with cellphones, or some combination of the two.

AEW announcer and senior producer Tony Schiavone has stated even he doesn’t know what kind of footage it is, saying “I have no idea where we’re going.”

Is there a chance that this is all part of an angle?

This is a logical question any time something like this happens in pro wrestling, but every indication is that it’s legit. Well-connected wrestling news outlets like Fightful have reported that the footage will be real, and Khan and the Bucks have insisted the same. The expectation is that viewers will see behind the curtain at All In during Dynamite tonight.

An even better question is whether the video will be turned into part of an angle, and while that remains to be seen, it feels very possible. A popular theory is that it will be used to help Perry return as a high profile villain; he hasn’t appeared on AEW TV since All In and has been appearing most recently in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The Bucks are also heels right now and their involvement in this, as opposed to Khan just presenting the footage himself, has raised some eyebrows.

What is AEW hoping to gain from showing the CM Punk-Jack Perry footage?

In the short term, it’s hoping that this will pump up the ratings for Dynamite, which have been soft, and promote interest in its upcoming Dynasty pay-per-view on April 21. Khan spoke with SI’s Justin Barrasso this week and was very transparent on that front.

The longer term benefit is harder to parse. It’s possible that the footage will make Punk look like he lied on Helwani’s show, especially if it appears he was the instigator and/or did threaten Khan or others.

Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t seem like it would really hurt Punk or WWE. Wrestling fans in general are mostly settled into pro- or anti-Punk camps by this point, and it’s unclear how many hearts and minds could be changed even if Punk comes off looking like a raving assailant. WWE is also so hot at the moment that dinging the image of one of its stars (and Punk has been out with injury for months now anyway) isn’t going to slow it down.

There’s certainly a benefit in the sphere of public opinion if AEW is proven that its side of events was what really went down, a matter of trust that could potentially pay off even if it doesn’t have a large effect on the bottom line. And maybe some people who are curious about the footage enjoy the rest of Dynamite and decide to watch more AEW going forward.

Expect to see a lot of discussion and debate about what was shown and whether AEW was smart to show it after tonight’s Dynamite, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on TBS.

Sakura Genesis 2024 results: Tetsuya Naito holds off Yota Tsuji in Tokyo

Yota Tsuji wanted to usher in a new era of NJPW, but Tetsuya Naito wasn’t ready to let go of the current one yet.

Established star vs. rising talent. Old guard vs. new wave. Teammate vs. teammate. Any way you want to look at it, the main event of NJPW Sakura Genesis 2024 is dripping with intrigue.

Tetsuya Naito always planned to be in this position, defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the spring. It’s the culmination of a journey that took him through last year’s G1 Climax to Wrestle Kingdom, where he fulfilled a long-held dream of winning New Japan’s top prize in the main event.

It’s very likely he didn’t expect he’d be facing his LIJ-mate Yota Tsuji in this spot. While a little intramural competition is always acceptable among Los Ingobernables de Japon, Naito has gone on record saying he thought it would be Shingo Takagi, not Tsuji.

Interestingly, the young-ish Yota has already declared something of a throwback title reign if he wins, complete with restoring and then retiring the Intercontinental Championship and then bringing back the old IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt. But it’s also clear a victory for him would mark a true turning of the page for New Japan.

Another title match has a past vs. present vibe when it comes to LIJ, as Takagi will try to claim the NEVER Openweight title from EVIL. For AEW fans who don’t mind staying up late on the busiest wrestling weekend of the year, there’s also a tag team match pitting Jon Moxley and Shota Umino against Ren Narita and Jack Perry.

We’re looking forward to hearing Chris Charlton and special guest Jeff Cobb on the English call, so let’s get into it.

Sakura Genesis 2024 results from Tokyo:

(please scroll down for more details on any match in bold)

  • Kickoff match: Frontier Zone – Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii def. 2AW (Ayato Yoshida, Takuro Niki and Chicharito Shoki) by pinfall
  • TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita) def. El Desperado and Ryusuke Taguchi  by pinfall as Fujita pins Taguchi
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi) def. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay and Gedo) by submission as Bushi taps out Gedo
  • Just Five Guys (Douki, Sanada and Yuya Uemura) def. United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman) by pinfall as Uemura pins Great-O-Khan; after the match, Uemura suplexes Khan and admires the KOPW belt, holding it high above its owner
  • Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors) def. Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kushida and Kevin Knight) and Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  • Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) def. Bullet Club (Kenta and Chase Owens) to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions
  • The field is announced for Best of the Super Juniors 2024, which kicks off May 11, including talent from CMLL, ROH and Pro Wrestling Noah
  • Sho def. Yoh by injury stoppage to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but Kosei Fujita and Douki arrive to declare their interest in challenging Sho, and Douki ends up leaving with the title belt
  • Jon Moxley and Shota Umino def. Jack Perry and Ren Narita by pinfall as Moxley pins Narita after Umino takes a shot from the push-up bar that was intended for Mox
  • Shingo Takagi def. EVIL by pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion in a wildly overbooked match
  • Shingo gets some brief mic time after his victory, but he and his LIJ teammates are quickly jumped by Gabe Kidd and other War Dogs; Kidd gets on the mic himself and calls the title a joke and Tanahashi an embarrassment, ending by saying “f–k New Japan Pro Wrestling” while vowing to take the title from Shingo
  • Tetsuya Naito def. Yota Tsuji by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

Yoh vs. Sho comes to an unfortunate quick end, but new challengers for Yoh quickly emerge

Sho is in hot pursuit of his former partner even before the bell rings, desperate to get physical custody of his belt back. But unfortunately, Yoh’s left shoulder looks like it’s dislocated from the first bump he takes, and the match is called to a quick stop.

While the medical team looks at Yoh, Kosei Fujita climbs into the ring. After Yoh is led to the back, Fujita grabs a mic to call Sho the worst champion in history and challenges him for his title. They’re soon joined by Douki, who gets in Fujita’s face and says he’s the one with the buzz right now and deserves a shot first.

Sho gloats about Yoh’s injury and says it shows how tough he is, making it clear he doesn’t want to wrestle either one of them. Fujita hears enough and hits him with a springboard dropkick, holding the title belt up in Douki’s face before laying it back down on the mat.

Fujita heads for the back and Douki decides to leave with the belt, basically taking over for what Yoh had done.

Shota Umino sacrifices himself so Mox can get them a victory

Can’t imagine there will be too much subtlety here, and all four men eagerly pair off and start brawling as soon as the bell rings. Chris Charlton mentions how Perry has “been in the news all week,” an oblique reference to CM Punk giving his side of the story for their altercation at All In London last year.

Umino and Narita end up getting paired off before too long, turning this into something like a proper tag match. The crowd comes to life for Moxley tagging in and running wild on Narita, who is able to escape a bulldog choke with a rope break.

Some fun bumps are taken out on the floor right in front of President Tanahashi. Perry jumps a long way to deliver a top rope elbow, punctuating it with two middle fingers to the crowd before he leaps.

Mox gets to work Narita again, delivering a superplex for a near fall. With the ref distracted, Narita gets the push-up bar into the mix, and Umino takes a shot from it that was intended for Moxley.

That pays off, as Mox is able to hit the Death Rider on Narita to win it for his side.

Shingo Takagi survives the full House of Torture nonsense platter, claims NEVER Openweight title

Chris Charlton and Jeff Cobb frame this as a battle for the soul of the NEVER title after it was painted black by EVIL. House of Torture is up to its usual tricks before the bell even rings, with Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a referee shirt and trying to make himself the official of record.

(Note: It doesn’t work.)

It doesn’t take long for the real ref to take a bump, leading to a chair-swinging battle on the floor that goes in EVIL’s favor. The King of Darkness sneaks more foreign objects into the ring, causing Charlton to grudgingly admire his creativity in cheating.

Shingo eventually gets rolling on offense, foiling all of EVIL’s efforts to avoid more punishment. Takagi’s big superplex is on target but only gets him two.

A rally by EVIL leads up to Darkness Falls, which nearly wins it. We then enter the battle of wills phase, but Yujiro Takahashi sneaks in a chair shot from the floor. Bushi runs down to assist his teammate, though his help is questionable … because it’s Dick Togo under the mask.

The real Bushi arrives but accidentally hits the ref with his mist. That means a House of Torture group beating for Shingo, including “dick to dick contact” as Togo hits Takagi in the crotch.

Shingo takes a Magic Killer and Kanemaru makes a super fast three count. Hiromu runs down in his own referee shirt, so perhaps this match is continuing on. Takagi takes a low blow but hits EVIL with his own finisher, and now Kanemaru is back to fight with Hiromu.

It’s tough to even keep track of the hinjinks now, but Yujiro nails his teammate in the face with powder, and a real referee arrives to count the three after Last of the Dragon. New champ! But wow that was some insanity.

Yota Tsuji shows out but can’t dethrone Tetsuya Naito

No one currently in New Japan gets a reaction during his entrance like Naito, but the fans are definitely divided and might even be slightly favoring Tsuji once the bell finally rings. Charlton and Cobb note that Naito has wrestled more often than anyone else on the NJPW roster so far in 2024, pondering whether he can or should keep up that kind of pace.

Tsuji won’t let Naito do the Tranquilo pose, finally getting himself a smattering of boos. He controls the next few minutes of action, with Cobb suggesting that Naito has rubbed off some on Tsuji.

Yota taunts and spits on the champ, but that brings a rapid response that includes a knee to the back of Tsuji’s neck. A neckbreaker off the apron to the floor won’t make that feel any better.

A headscissors flings Naito half in and half out of the ring, causing the challenger to bail on his plan for a dive. They battle on the apron instead, where Tsuji hits part of a curb stomp that sends Naito to the floor.

A swinging DDT helps Naito fight back and leaves both men on the mat. The announcers tout Naito’s experience in lengthy singles matches, whereas this is still a relatively new experience for Tsuji as we pass the 20-minute mark.

There’s the Frankensteiner from Naito, but his Destino is countered by a knee to the face. Both men are back on the canvas, but Tsuji is back up first for a sitout powerbomb and a near fall.

Is Tsuji thinking Gene Blast? A rolling kick prevents it, and is followed by a running Destino. Naito tries the normal version but gets hit by the Gene Blast instead. Tsuji can’t follow up with a pin, selling accumulated damage to his neck.

Naito elbows Tsuji repeatedly until he’s back on the mat. The challenger fights back with a curb stomp and once again can’t capitalize on it. What he can do after a moment is use a Boston Crab to set up another curb stomp. To the corner they go, and whatever Tsuji has planned goes for naught as Naito shoves him down. Tsuji tries again, this time delivering a superplex and covering for two.

Back to the Boston Crab goes Tsuji, turning it into a Lion Tamer that looks painful. Red Shoes is checking carefully on Naito, but Tsuji eventually releases the hold. He springs off the buckles for another stomp, coming ever so close with that and his next move to the three count.

Tsuji calls for Gene Blast, but Naito rolls back and catapults Tsuji into the corner. Naito hits his own Gene Blast, but Tsuji kicks out at one.

Naito hits Valentia, and after a series of counters, Destino. Another one follows, and he hooks the leg to retain his title.

CM Punk details backstage incident with Jack Perry at AEW All In

CM Punk revealed details of his backstage altercation with Jack Perry at AEW All In.

In what became his final act with the company, AEW fired CM Punk following a backstage incident with Jack Perry at All In. It triggered an eventual return to WWE for the 45-year-old, while AEW suspended Perry, who eventually went to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and has not appeared on AEW programming since (though he’s widely believed to still be under contract to AEW).

The altercation faded from the spotlight upon Punk’s return to WWE, but he revived the discourse on Monday with juicy details regarding that and the controversies that have defined his career.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Punk was asked about the incident with Perry at All In, and he did not hold back on details.

Jack came back from his match. I was the next match. I’m sitting there. I got people with me. I’m not going to say who they are because I got a lot of friends who work there. I wish them all well, and I don’t want them to be punished because they’re friends with me. I walk up to him and I’m just like, Jack, why do you insist on doing this dumb internet s–t on TV, you know? He’s just like, ‘If you got a problem about it, do something about it.’ I was just like, ‘Come on, man. I could f–king kill you. What are we doing?’

Punk also revealed that he told Tony Khan “I quit” after the incident, before his match with Samoa Joe happened.

Sometimes, it’s like, can’t let you get close. You know? I thought I was doing the responsible thing. I didn’t punch anybody. I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, told me to stop, and then I quit. I turned to Tony, and I said, ‘This place is a f–king joke, man. You’re a clown, I quit.’ I went to my room, and then Joe and Jerry Lynn came and got me, and they’re like, ‘Let’s just go out there and kill it.’ I was just too fired up, and I’m fired up now, and I’m probably gonna regret talking about all this s–t, but that’s what happened.

This suggests that Punk knowingly competed at All In, fully aware that it would be his final match, yet was still allowed to step into the ring and wrestle.

This detail adds another layer to Punk’s tumultuous tenure, and given everything he disclosed to Helwani, there’s still plenty to unpack.

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Jack Perry is now a member of NJPW’s House of Torture

Jack Perry got some assistance, then a t-shirt, from New Japan’s most notorious heel stable.

Jack Perry defeated Shota Umino to advance on night 1 of the New Japan Cup. But that wasn’t the most newsworthy part of his evening on New Japan’s 52nd anniversary show.

Late in the match, with momentum in favor of Umino, Perry received assistance from both Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Ren Narita. After pinning Umino, he accepted one more thing: a House of Torture t-shirt from EVIL.

Perry is best known to U.S. wrestling fans for his work in AEW, which came to an abrupt halt last August after his backstage altercation with CM Punk at All In London. That incident ultimately cost Punk his job, but while he returned to WWE last fall, Perry earned an indefinite suspension.

That suspension was said to be over by December, but Perry remained away from a wrestling ring until mid-January, when he appeared at a NJPW Strong show, attacking Umino and (storyline) tearing up his AEW contract.

Originally a fan favorite as part of Jurassic Express, Perry had already been a heel for several months prior to his AEW suspension. Joining NJPW’s most dastardly villainous stable, then, seems like a logical outgrowth of his character.

For his part, Perry said during his backstage interview after his match that it was simply a matter of linking up with like-minded individuals (h/t Wrestling Observer for transcription).

There’s a very select, handful of people in the world who still have my back. But tonight, well I think I found a few more.

Perry’s next New Japan Cup match will take place March 11 against Toru Yano, who advanced past Yujiro Takahashi on Wednesday. Should Perry win that bout, there’s a very intriguing potential matchup waiting in the round of eight: against former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada, who had a first-round bye but now faces Yoshi-Hashi in the round of 16.

Sanada is no stranger to House of Torture’s hijinks, but he’ll have to keep his head on a swivel even more now that Perry is in the fold.

Jack Perry tears up AEW contract in shock return at NJPW Battle in the Valley

This is probably not the way you expected AEW wrestler Jack Perry to return to wrestling.

Although All In London featured standout matches and was AEW’s largest event ever, it was overshadowed by a backstage incident between CM Punk and Jack Perry. This conflict resulted in Punk’s termination days later from the company and an indefinite suspension for Perry from AEW.

Punk has since made his unforgettable WWE return, appearing at the end of Survivor Series while joining the build to WrestleMania season. However, Perry has been quiet, not making an appearance since his loss to Hook at All In, and there has been no hint of his comeback to AEW.

On Saturday night at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Battle in the Valley, that all changed when Perry made a shocking return under a mask. He attacked Shota Umino, tore up an AEW contract, and put an armband on that said “scapegoat.”

AEW and NJPW have had a talent exchange the last few years, which included Bryan Danielson competing at Wrestle Kingdom 18 earlier this month and Eddie Kingston becoming the NJPW Strong Champion. Therefore, this could simply be a continuation of that, with Perry finally bringing his highly publicized real-life situation to the ring.

The NJPW World tweet, which is directly associated with NJPW, also labels him as “AEW’s Jack Perry.” This gives us enough of a hint that he’s still an AEW talent.

As he officially returns to pro wrestling, all eyes are on his eventual appearance on AEW programming. This may be delayed if he enters a storyline with New Japan, but when he does eventually come back at Dynamite, Rampage, Collision or a pay-per-view, it will undoubtedly make waves to see how AEW uses him post-suspension.

Perry is certainly incorporating what happened last year with the armband used at Battle in the Valley, so let’s see how much he will integrate real life into the ring.

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AEW Devil update: Probably not Jack Perry, at least for now

Even if Jack Perry is eventually unmasked as the AEW Devil, it doesn’t look like he’s been under the mask so far.

Another one bites the dust. Maybe.

While Samoa Joe was busy saying the clues behind the identity of the AEW Devil led to Hangman Adam Page this week on Dynamite, that all went out the window when Page himself was attacked by the Devil and his black-garbed goons.

(Also, let’s be real, it was never going to be Hangman anyway because he hasn’t been involved with this storyline until recently, and doing the mysterious puppet master thing isn’t his style at all. Ahem.)

That assault led to a flare-up of the fan theory that Jack Perry is the Devil, mostly because Page got slammed onto a car windshield. You might remember that Perry’s backstage dust-up with CM Punk at All In London started after a similar spot in his match with Sammy Guevara, after which he uttered a now famous line about the legitimacy of the glass and another that doubles as the title of a Justin Timberlake song.

It was an inside baseball reference to be sure, but Punk took offense, hands were supposedly thrown, and Punk eventually was fired. Perry has been suspended since then.

Or perhaps not. Fightful Select (subscription required) suggested this week that “technically Perry’s suspension has long been up” but he hasn’t returned to AEW shows yet. Unless … he’s the Devil?

Fightful doesn’t think so.

Fightful received a message from one high level source immediately after the segment specifying that they don’t believe Jack Perry is involved in the angle.

Of course the beauty of doing a subplot with a mystery person who never speaks is that it could literally be anyone under the Devil mask, and then when the reveal actually happens, someone could be under there who wasn’t playing the role the whole time.

Which is to say that while the Devil likely hasn’t been Perry, it could still be Perry when it’s all said and done. Honestly, though, we’re hoping for someone else when the Scooby Doo-style unmasking finally takes place.

Jack Perry seems like he’s not done with the Jungle Boy name just yet

He’s currently suspended by AEW and didn’t go by the name as a heel, but Jack Perry is keeping the Jungle Boy option open.

Before he was a detestable villain and well before he got suspended by AEW, Jack Perry won the hearts of wrestling fans as Jungle Boy. While his heel persona doesn’t use that moniker, it seems Perry wants to make sure no one else can either.

Wrestling Observer reported today that Perry had filed trademark applications for both “Jack Perry” and “Jungle Boy” with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The Jungle Boy application can be viewed online and covers its use in the usual manners associated with pro wrestling:

Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, televised appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; Providing online interviews featuring a professional wrestling and sports entertainment personality in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment for entertainment purposes

Perry has been suspended since August for his role in the backstage altercation at All In London that eventually cost CM Punk his job with the company. It’s not known exactly when the suspension will end or when he might appear again on AEW programming.

One fan theory that has gained some traction is that Perry is already working again and could be the masked Devil that has plagued MJF for weeks. That reveal would pass the logic test, at least by wrestling standards, as Perry and MJF have some prior history that includes them facing off in a four-way AEW World Championship match earlier this year at Double or Nothing.

Even if he’s not the Devil, it seems unlikely that Perry would return as a babyface, so the Jungle Boy name is probably for later and not for now. But it’s interesting that he wants to hold onto it, giving him more options for his presentation for the rest of his career.

Who is in the Devil mask in AEW? Updated guesses after Dynamite

The person in the Devil mask has been spooking AEW. But just who is it under there? We make some updated guesses.

As AEW World Champion MJF is fond of saying, “nobody is on the level of the Devil.”

The idea of MJF as the Devil of the promotion began when he first started making his move toward becoming its top champ. He wore a stylized Devil mask to enter the Casino Ladder match at All Out 2022, winning a shot at the championship (with plenty of help) that he later made good on by defeating Jon Moxley at Full Gear later that year.

Like many of the trappings of his heel persona, MJF has kept the Devil catchphrase even as he’s transitioned to becoming a full-on babyface. But things have been a bit more complicated since he started a program with Jay White, his opponent for this year’s edition of Full Gear.

On the Sept. 27 episode of Dynamite, White was attacked by a group of assailants dressed all in black, one of whom was wearing the Devil mask. He accused MJF, or perhaps best buddy Adam Cole, of launching the attack to derail his championship ambitions.

Since then, the Devil has appeared on screen several more times, but he (or she) hit MJF a little closer to home on the Nov. 8 episode of Dynamite, orchestrating a vicious backstage attack on The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass — some of the few people MJF can count as friends at the moment.

That latest attack ruled out some of the earlier candidates to be under the Devil mask. It can’t be MJF, since he was in the ring, nor can it be one of White’s own Bullet Club Gold running buddies. Samoa Joe is also out since he arrived just as MJF headed backstage to see if he could get some payback.

With that in mind, we’ve updated our guesses as to who will finally be revealed as the Devil in AEW. Let’s dive in.

The heartbreaking choice: It’s Adam Cole (bay bay)

It would definitely be a bummer for MJF if it turns out to be Cole’s (now much more bearded face) staring back at him once the Devil mask comes off. Their friendship has been key to MJF discovering his current babyface persona, which means it would hurt that much more if he discovers his “brochacho 4 life” has been plotting against him behind the scenes.

Cole has a long background as a ringleader in groups like Bullet Club and Undisputed Era, so it’s not a stretch to think he could gather the manpower to supply the other figures in black who have been carrying out the Devil’s attacks. But there’s one thing that makes it less likely to be Cole: He’s currently recovering from serious ankle surgery, so the time table for this angle to pay off in a match would be months out.

So let’s get a bonus guess in here. What if it’s Britt Baker? Cole’s IRL girlfriend hasn’t been seen on AEW programming in a bit, and could easily be messing with MJF on Adam’s behalf, whether he knows about it or not. Britt as the Devil would certainly make the already complicated MJF-Cole relationship even more complex (and fun, really).

The entertaining choice: It’s Roderick Strong

With his seemingly eternal neck injury and ongoing guilt trip from hell toward Cole, Roderick Strong is doing some of the finest character work of his career. He’s always been a plotter, but he’s taken things up a notch to become a master manipulator who isn’t at all above trading on past friendships to get exactly what he wants.

And what he wants right now is the full attention of Cole, essentially stealing him back from MJF. Strong even recently admitted that he might have to be nice to “that scumbag,” but what if he’s already been doing his version of that?

Roddy also said on the Nov. 8 Dynamite that he was going to remind everyone who he really was. Then he didn’t appear again for the rest of the episode … unless he did as the Devil and we didn’t even know it. Strong certainly has no love for White, and it suits his purposes just fine to have people like The Acclaimed out of the way so that MJF has no one to turn to but him and The Kingdom.

He’s even doing the “doth protest too much” thing by continually accusing MJF of being the Devil, even though it’s pretty clear by now he’s not. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see #NeckStrong evolve to an even higher level of villainy.

The internet-backed choice: It’s Jack Perry

The former Jungle Boy hasn’t been on AEW TV since the summer, when he was suspended for his role in the backstage incident at All In that ultimately cost CM Punk his job. AEW fans on social media have definitely zeroed in on the idea that being the Devil would be a surefire way for him to make an impact upon return, and there’s some definite merit to that idea.

For starters, Perry has motive. He’s had a shot at the AEW World Championship in the four-way “Pillars” match at Double or Nothing, but so far no chance to take on MJF one-on-one. Perry is also definitely a villain now, so taking another step toward the dark side would be logical.

On top of that, Perry’s weakness during his AEW career has been a perceived lack of charisma. Unmasking as the Devil could help a lot in that regard, giving crowds a chance to greet him with some instant heat. Not all internet theories are worth careful consideration, but this is one that certainly does.

The “surprise” choice: It’s Dolph Ziggler or someone else preparing to make their AEW debut

Because of the way Khan continues to bring in talent from elsewhere, the Devil mask mystery can’t be ruled out as a way to introduce someone else into the fold. A popular guess is that it’s Dolph Ziggler, who was released this year by WWE and might simply need some time before his non-compete runs out before turning up in AEW. The Devil mask subplot could buy him that time.

The first victim of the devil, White, also has his share of enemies in Bullet Club from his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, as he was essentially booted from the group on his way out the door. The current leader of the faction in NJPW, David Finlay, hasn’t seem too happy about White using the Bullet Club Gold name.

It wouldn’t be inconceivable to think that Finlay has sent someone to mess with White — and then MJF as well — especially with the close working relationship between AEW and NJPW. This would run the risk of not having a huge payoff for all but the most hardcore wrestling fans, but it also wouldn’t be the first time Khan did something like that.

The point of all this speculation is that except for Danhausen, who has already pleaded innocent, just about anyone could be under the Devil mask at this point. It feels like we might get a resolution to this particular plot thread by Full Gear, but if it runs all the way to World End toward the end of 2023, that will only make the mystery that much more engrossing.

Here’s how close the AEW All In match order came to changing after CM Punk-Jack Perry incident

Several different tag teams and wrestlers were asked to potentially open AEW All In before CM Punk and Samoa Joe went off as planned.

CM Punk and Samoa Joe opened the historic AEW All In card last week at London’s Wembley Stadium, competing for Punk’s “Real” World Championship. But thanks to Punk’s backstage altercation with Jack Perry, which resulted in both men being suspended while AEW investigates exactly what went down, it was almost someone else who came through the curtain first.

Tony Khan and his crew even asked several other performers if they could be ready to go if needed, which is one of the fascinating tidbits on the Punk-Perry incident in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required). According to Dave Meltzer, “the announcers and production people were told to stall because at this point nobody knew if Punk vs. Joe would happen.”

Meltzer said that Khan asked FTR and the Young Bucks if they could go on first instead, but that the teams weren’t quite ready yet since they assumed they’d be on later. Others were asked as well.

Kenny Omega then offered to have his six-man tag go first, since they were scheduled for second anyway and were pretty much ready, and the Bucks vs. FTR would start early as well. They asked others, including Chris Jericho and Will Ospreay, to go out earlier but they also weren’t ready since Jericho’s match also included his singing his entrance. At least some of those involved, if not all, were not told at the time what the reason was when asked although the word traveled very quickly.

Samoa Joe was reportedly the one who was able to calm down Punk enough to go through with their match, preserving the planned order of the show. But it’s interesting to see just how close Khan came to needing to improvise on the spot during the biggest event in AEW’s history.

As of Friday afternoon, there still hadn’t been an update on Punk’s status for All Out, which is set for the United Center in his hometown of Chicago this Sunday. It’s fair to wonder if the near reshuffling of All In will have any bearing on his fate once Khan considers everything that went down.

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Why Ricky Starks might be the big loser from the CM Punk-Jack Perry All In altercation

The AEW All In backstage drama may have cost Ricky Starks a big match.

The backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at AEW All In was obviously suboptimal for a company in the middle of its biggest show ever. It’s also less than ideal for Punk to be suspended for All Out this weekend in Chicago (assuming his suspension lasts that long), where he’s the biggest draw. Yet there’s also collateral damage in situations like this in the form of opportunity costs to other talent.

In this case, that sounds like it applies to Ricky Starks. While he’s been serving a storyline suspension, it conveniently was timed so that he could have a match at All Out on Sunday, though he’s nowhere to be found on the card.

According to Fightful Select (subscription required), there’s a reason for that: He was being considered for a match with Punk.

One of the matches on the table was CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks for the AEW Real Worlds Championship, which would have followed up their series of matches that went down this summer. From what we’ve heard it likely would have been the main event. There’s no word on the status of the match now that CM Punk was suspended after his physical altercation with Jack Perry.

AEW has certainly pushed Starks as a bigger star and given him more of a spotlight since Collision launched this summer, but his most recent plot twist that has kept him out of the ring has robbed him of some momentum (for what it’s worth, Fightful also says he isn’t injured).

A main event spot with Punk in Chicago obviously would have made up for that in a big way, but it’s possible that opportunity has fallen by the wayside if Punk is out of the picture for All Out.

That looks like the case, since Tony Khan has promoted a different potential match for Starks based on this Saturday’s episode of Collision:

 

A match against a legend like Ricky Steamboat isn’t nothing, and it makes sense in the context of Starks beating him down with a belt earlier this month. It’s just not the same as competing against the biggest name in the company in that person’s hometown.

Hopefully AEW finds a way to do right by Starks in the near future, but his predicament is a good example of how the kind of backstage drama that popped up again at All In can affect more than just the people involved.