Jack Perry Talks AEW Return, Dad Luke Perry & What’s Next

The sounds of “Tarzan Boy” played to an excited crowd during All Elite Wrestling’s All Out as Jack Perry returned and reunited with his former tag team partner Luchasaurus. It has been a lot of soul-searching for the 28-year-old, who initially ditched the “Jungle Boy” presentation for the “Scapegoat” persona in recent times. This was a way to lean into the online chatter from fans who saw him as a polarizing figure. 

Now Perry is back in more ways than one, looking to continue on his career alongside an ally. Together the two, collectively known as Jurassic Express, begin their new chapter during AEW Dynamite’s 6th anniversary show on October 1. As one of the company’s original talents, Perry had his fair share of show moments from proving himself against Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho to winning the AEW Tag Team Championship with Luchasaurus against the Lucha Brothers. 

This year also marks a decade since Perry began pursuing his pro wrestling dream. Among the youngster’s biggest fans was his dad Luke Perry. The Beverly Hills 90210 and Riverdale star died in March 2019, just a few months before AEW’s first show. Ahead of the big show, Perry reflects on the last six years and opens up about getting back in the mix. 

AEW

What does it mean for you to come back to AEW?  We haven’t seen you in a while. 

Jack Perry: It has been a lot longer than anybody would know. There is some of that I can’t reveal just because it peels back the curtain a bit too much. First off for me, I’ve been off since I think the last match I’ve wrestled was in January. It’s the longest I’ve gone in my life without wrestling since I was maybe 17, which has been interesting. I’m grateful for the time off, but at the same time I’ve been at home going a little nuts trying to find what to do with myself. On a personal note, it’s good to be back to work.

How did coming back with Luchasaurus come to be? 

It’s something he and I had been talking about for a long time. The plans have gone off the rails a bit and the road has changed a lot, but it was always something that was going to happen. It was as far back as late 2023, maybe 2024. Things just changed a lot. That’s the way it goes. It always kept getting sidelined or changed or substituted for other people. So, we both ended up being off for most of this last year. Mine was a creative thing, but his was a medical thing. 

That’s right. Luchasaurus has certainly been through some serious head struggles on his road back to the ring. 

I remember talking to him on the phone a lot during that time. He said, “I have this cold and can’t seem to get rid of it. I’d say for the past two or three weeks.” He didn’t think much of it. People were saying he was tough. That it was a cold. “You’ll get over this.” It turned out it wasn’t a cold but pneumonia. Thankfully, he went to the hospital when he did. He ended up collapsing and was this whole thing. They said to him, “if you didn’t come in right about now, there is a good chance you could have died.” Hearing that puts things in perspective a little bit. He is one of my best friends, not just in wrestling, but the entire world. He could have just died and that would have been it. I don’t know. It was one of those things that makes you look at your own life and think about it. 

We got to talking when he was better about what we wanted to do. I think the way it lined up we thought it was something we had a lot of fun doing. We felt there was more meat on the bone, and we could do better this time around than we did the first time. It turned out to be hell on earth making it happen. It was the hardest thing in the world to get all the pieces together to finally do it. There were medical things, physical things, people getting in the way trying to make it not happen, but it eventually came together. It felt like it was the perfect moment when it finally did. I’m super grateful to be back and get that sort of reaction and do it with my best friend. I’m happy he is healthy now and seeing it all come together the way it did. 

AEW

You got a great reception. You’ve had this “Scapegoat” persona for so long, were you worried at all how the people would receive you?

It was a bit strange. It was nerve-wracking because so much had happened. There are always things going on, but to have left with the whole kind of “Scapegoat” thing and sort of as a heel, I was curious what this was going to look like when I got back. Sometimes during the “Scapegoat” run of that year people were cheering me and singing the “Cry Me A River Song” and all that. So, I felt there was still a group who dug me no matter what. There had been some teases on BTE (Being The Elite), which I think sort of helped get the steam going a little bit. It was a little nerve-wracking because you don’t want to go out there and have it be silent. Thankfully, it was nothing like that. By the time it was the end, the whole place was rocking and singing and dancing, you couldn’t have asked for a better reaction than that. 

Your reemergence comes ahead of the 6th anniversary of Dynamite. You’ve been there since the beginning. What does this milestone mean to you? 

It’s crazy to think it has been six years because it feels like an entire lifetime. It has been so long and so many iterations of AEW with what it looks like. The fact the pandemic happened not even six months after starting this brand new company and show. Now it was a different world we had to adapt to and it came and we were better than ever. So much happened that it’s crazy when these anniversaries come up and see how different a place can be in one year. I’m very grateful to have been a part of it. 

Luke Perry and kids Jack and Sophie attend an afterparty for the premiere of “Garfield – The Movie” on June 6, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

The timing of AEW’s inception and the first episode of Dynamite also came during a very dark time for you. You also lost your dad. How do you reflect on that time? 

It was the best thing to ever happen to me with the worst thing to ever happen to me. They kind of went hand-in-hand. It was an interesting time. I’m very grateful to have had this in my life and be a part of it with the people who have been there. I’m looking forward to the future. 

Having AEW come around in your life, would you say that helped get you through? 

I felt very lucky I had something I could pour my entire self into. I was already obsessed with wrestling before that happened, but when it happened, it was right at the same time AEW was taking off. It was like my childhood dream was coming true. It just gave me something I could escape into and at all times work towards being better at. Whether that was wrestling or just being in the gym, it gave me a place I could go and occupy my mind with. I felt very grateful for that because not a lot of people have that. It ended up being a very good support system as well. I had some friends already and met some of the best friends I have now. I just feel it was a real positive thing for me, especially during that time of my life. 

 

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You grew up with your dad in the public eye as a celebrity. Now that you’re in a similar place. Now a little older do you have more of an appreciation for how he weathered everything and carried himself in the spotlight? 

I haven’t thought about that much, but maybe. It’s funny my dad was the least famous-seeming person if you knew them. Just from the clothes he wore to the way he acted, it seemed totally not like a celebrity in that regard. That’s all I ever knew of him really. I thought that was cool. He was just a real down-to-earth guy. I’m sure I pulled from that. I think that’s what I saw and thought was normal, but I think now I definitely have an appreciation that I didn’t have before. It’s interesting that there was this whole crop of us at AEW being successful for the first time. It’s interesting to see the different ways people go about that. 

I guess everyone has a different style. I prefer some compared to others. I think I try to keep in mind the things that are important. I’m very fortunate to have this as my job. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds of being frustrated with certain things. But a lot of times I realize, and this could even be at times when I wake up to take a piss, I’m so lucky this is my job, and this is what I have to think about. That I get to do these flips on people and my partner is a dinosaur and it’s professional wrestling. It’s such a lucky thing for me to be able to do and entertain people. I’m super lucky to have that. I’m trying to keep that in mind. 

You’ve had some starts and stops in recent years. Are we going to see you on the regular now? 

I’m back now. At least I think, but that is the plan. I’m back in the rotation. I’m back on the grind. The stop and start has been interesting. It’s easy at the time to be annoyed, but in the grand scheme of things, there are much worse things that could happen to you. 

I’ve loved the vignettes you’ve done including the recent one. What went into putting them together? 

I really enjoy those. I went to this film school for an eight-week program. I’ve always been interested in film and all that stuff. The first time I had almost a year off I wanted to film my own vignettes. I had a lot of ideas I wanted to do. So, I painted part of my garage all black. I filmed this whole thing that was for me to debut for New Japan [Pro-Wrestling]. People really liked it, and it was cool because I felt in control creatively in giving the vibe I wanted to give off. Later, for AEW, I filmed this thing with nine TVs I had to drive all over Los Angeles to find along with all this stuff. It was me and one of my buddies who filmed it. Then someone botched and ruined it by putting a Taco Bell commercial in the middle, but anyways. 

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Now I feel like I’ve established this sort of style that is my thing. We just drove my bus with a coffin tied to the back of it down the street with sparks flying all over it. That’s some of the most fun stuff I ever get to do. It’s cool to me now I’ve carved out this thing where I can do this stuff. Four or five years ago, I don’t think these are the things I could have done character-wise where it would have made sense. That is one thing I’m excited about. I feel we have creative freedom, but also know how to work it a little bit. I’m looking forward to doing the Jurassic Express thing again with this sort of experience and knowledge. And even now knowing who we are, who I am, and what I like to do, and do well. I’m looking to bring all this into the mix now and hopefully bring a whole new experience. 

AEW Dynamite, Wednesdays, 8/7c, TBS