Konnan Explains How AEW Should Handle Jungle Boy Jack Perry When He Returns

Konnan doesn’t feel that “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry would be a problem when he returns to AEW television after serving his suspension. 

Perry, who was suspended indefinitely by the promotion following the backstage fracas with CM Punk, hasn’t featured since his match at All In. In a recent edition of “K100,” Konnan was asked by a fan about the Jack Perry situation and how he would handle him when he returns. The veteran star believes that Perry is a nice guy and wouldn’t cause any issues, while he also added what he would like Perry to do when he returns to AEW.  

“I don’t think he would be a problem — ’caused the guy [fan] asked if he would be a problem coming back — I don’t think he’d be a problem ’cause I met him, he’s a nice laidback guy,” said Konnan. “But, you know, you’re not gonna get punked out of the dressing room, and he pushed back when he was pressed. Punk punked him out and he was like, ‘Fuck you,’ and did that on TV. I would keep him as a heel, he showed some personality and I would definitely put that hot butter on a breakfast toast Anna Jay with him as the new power couple and I would just say, ‘I’ve got the baddest bitch and she acts like she knows that she’s the baddest bitch.’ That’s heat.”

The CM Punk-Perry backstage altercation led to Punk getting fired from AEW, while Perry was suspended by AEW President Tony Khan. Perry’s last match came at All In, where he lost the FTW Championship to Hook, who currently holds the title. There’s been no news about Perry’s current status or when he will return from the promotion.

AEW’s Anna Jay Says WWE Stars Inspired Her To Get Into Wrestling, Talks Early Training

During a recent appearance on “Busted Open,” AEW star Anna Jay revealed how she got her start in pro wrestling.

“So I grew up watching it like most people who get into wrestling,” Jay said. “My dad was a huge wrestling fan so he would be watching it every week, tuning in, and my brothers — it was kind of a joke — neither of them would sit down and watch it with him, but I would and I loved it. I kept telling my parents every week, ‘This is something I really want to do,’ and surprisingly, they were like, ‘Okay, if you really want to, then you should go for it.'”

Jay attended college for one year while trying to figure out what her path into wrestling would look like.

“I met a family friend named Glacier from WCW and he told me he was opening up a school with QT Marshall in Atlanta called The Nightmare Factory, but it was called the Power Factory then. He invited me to come check it out and see if it was something I really wanted to do. So I went to a camp and I loved it. I never even stepped foot in the ring, but I watched everything and loved it and the environment. I was like, ‘You know what, this is something I really want to do.’ So I finished the semester of school, moved to Atlanta, and started training.”

When asked if she had a favorite wrestler growing up, Anna Jay named The Bella Twins as her inspiration.

“Yes, The Bella Twins,” Jay said. “I know that’s pretty cliche, and I’ve said it every time, but they are really what got me into it and made me think, ‘Okay, if they can do it, I can do it.'”

Julia Hart Paid Painful Price For No Holds Barred Match Win In AEW

Julia Hart’s recent victory against Anna Jay AS is arguably the biggest win of her career to this point, but as she revealed to “Wilde On,” that did come with a price. The encounter on the May 10 “AEW Dynamite” was a No Disqualification match, and that is something that both women took full advantage of. With chairs, trash cans, and kendo sticks all being featured, the two women pushed themselves to their limits, both physically and mentally.

However, Hart was able to call back to previous moments in her life to grit through and finish the encounter. “I had a match with Anna and I was literally like dying,” Hart admitted. “I landed on some chairs in our match and they were facing the wrong way, so I landed on the hard side and it hurt so freaking bad. I could barely move. I was picturing myself with one arm in cheerleading and I was like, ‘I can do it.'”

Hart has yet to compete again since that encounter last month, but she has been a vital part of the overall presentation for the House Of Black and their recent rise as AEW World Trios Champions. Alongside them, Hart has enjoyed her greatest spell in AEW, and that has led to an increased number of opportunities both inside the ring and in terms of promos and video packages.

Anna Jay Credits Chris Jericho And BJ Whitmer With Helping Her Every Week

It’s easy to forget that, despite being a mainstay on AEW TV since signing with the promotion in 2020, Anna Jay is still relatively new to wrestling, with only four years of experience. As a wrestler who is still learning, while also developing a reputation for working hardcore matches, she still looks for guidance from the veterans in the AEW locker room.

In an appearance on the “Under the Ring” podcast, Jay revealed that one of the people she constantly seeks feedback from is the leader of the JAS stable, Chris Jericho. She also looks for help from one of AEW’s most respected producers and a man best known for his years in Ring of Honor, BJ Whitmer.

“The obvious one I would say is Chris Jericho,” Jay said. “I get to go to him every week and get feedback from him, whether it’s promos or wrestling. Another person is BJ Whitmer. He has been incredible with the women in AEW. Everyone, I think, would say the same things that I’m going to say. 

“He’s been incredible, and someone who has helped us a ton. I really appreciate him. There’s obviously tons of people that give feedback, week to week, it just depends. But Chris and BJ are the two big ones that I can think of right now, that have really helped me every week.”

This isn’t the first time Whitmer has received praise for his involvement in the AEW Women’s division. He was credited for his work producing Jamie Hayter’s Women’s World Championship victory over Toni Storm at Full Gear last November, and again for producing Hayter’s acclaimed title defense against Hikaru Shida one month later.

Anna Jay Is Hoping That Jamie Hayter Has A Match At AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door

While a lot of AEW buzz is currently focused on the announcement of its new Saturday show, “Collision,” a potential new TV deal with Warner Brothers Discovery, and several other possibilities, it won’t be much longer now until AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door is set to go next month in Toronto, Canada. AEW’s Anna Jay is certainly looking forward to the event, even if she isn’t necessarily expecting herself to be on the card. There is one person, however, that Jay would like to see wrestle Forbidden Door, which she revealed during an appearance on “Under the Ring.”

“I do hope our champion, Jamie Hayter, has some sort of match there,” Jay said. “There’s obviously a lot of great talents on the other side. I think there obviously are a few obvious ones that some people want to see. There’s been a huge fuss about seeing certain people be at the PPV. But I don’t know. I guess I think, for me personally, I just want to see Jamie Hayter have a match, and have a killer match with someone.”

The Jericho Appreciation Society member will likely get her wish, as last year’s Forbidden Door event did feature an AEW Women’s World Championship match, with Thunder Rosa defending against Toni Storm. Like both Storm and Rosa, current champion Hayter has strong ties to Japan, having worked for New Japan’s sister promotion, World Wonder Ring Stardom, prior to signing with AEW in July 2021. New Japan has also begun to focus more on women’s wrestling since last year, creating the IWGP Women’s Championship and bringing in talent like Mercedes Mone.

Anna Jay Doesn’t See MJF Losing AEW Title To Boyfriend Jungle Boy

Anna Jay materialized out of thin air to become one of AEW’s home-grown stars, a Nightmare Factory student who earned a contract on the back of being shockingly competent for a wrestler with less than t0 matches when she first did extra work for the company early in the COVID-19 pandemic. During her time there, she hit it off with fellow home-grown star “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, with Perry and Jay going public as a couple in June 2021, though they’ve rarely been linked on TV in AEW canon. On Monday, though, she appeared on USA Today’s “Under the Ring” podcast, where she chimed in with her prediction for her boyfriend’s shot at MJF’s AEW World Championship in the “four pillars four-way” a week from this Sunday at Double or Nothing.

“Well, this is hard to say, because I’m in [the Jericho Appreciation Society and] we’ve got Sammy Guevara, [an] incredible talent,” she explained. “Then we’ve got Jungle Boy, who, obviously, I am rooting for behind the scenes a little bit. But then you have the obvious [winner], MJF. I don’t really see him losing this, but you never know. I’m pulling for someone else, but it’ll be a great match regardless.”

Jay mentioned later that she’s always been a Chris Jericho fan, which made her experience being added to the JAS particularly surreal. “I just never thought I would meet him, let alone get to work with him and be in a faction with him, so it’s been really cool,” she noted, also adding that Matt Menard is to the JAS as John Silver was to her in the Dark Order, the one who always makes her laugh.

Double or Nothing takes place on May 28 in Las Vegas; it airs on traditional pay-per-view and Bleacher Report Live in the U.S. and is available in most of the world on FITE TV.

Konnan says female AEW star is “ridiculously hot,” compares her to WWE legend Trish Stratus

Anna Jay has been garnering a lot of attention in AEW. She is currently affiliated with the Jericho Appreciation Society and has featured in a high-intensity feud with Julia Hart of the House of Black.

She has also drawn comparisons to a multi-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus but not for the reasons one would expect. In the latest Keepin’ It 100 podcast, Konnan talked about the JAS member’s recent No Holds Barred match on AEW Dynamite against Julia Hart.

The former WCW wrestler gave out a little criticism of Jay’s performance in recent matches. He then compared her to WWE legend Trish Startus, but in the sense that both superstars were not believable as heels.

“Anna is ridiculously hot, but sometimes her selling is bad. She doesn’t know how to work the crowd, she has zero heel mannerisms, she’s like a what’s a girl in WWE, Trish? She’s like Trish, she’s not believable.” 

Anna Jay Remembers Working With Brodie Lee, Dark Order: ‘Still Like Family To Me’

Anna Jay’s early AEW days are largely remembered for her ties to one of the company’s longest-lasting factions, the Dark Order. “The Queen Slayer” joined the group in the summer of 2020 before exiting in July 2022 as she adopted a more aggressive attitude. She may now be referred to as Anna Jay AS, indicative of her recent allegiance to the Jericho Appreciation Society, but Jay will never forget the valuable time she spent with the Dark Order, and their former leader, Brodie Lee.

Speaking with PWMania, Jay opened up about her long tenure with the Dark Order. “Those guys are still like family to me, and we’ll always have that bond,” she said. “Working with Brodie Lee was incredible, and looking back at that I thought it was such an honor, but now even more so. I’m so happy I had that. Working with him, and the rest of the guys, was just incredible. It was also some of the most fun I think I’ve had working in AEW to this day.”

Unfortunately, Lee’s leadership reign came to a tragic end in December 2020 as he passed away at the age of 41. In the years following his death, several performers have paid tribute to “The Exalted One,” including the remaining, and former, members of the Dark Order. Jay too is extremely grateful for the brief time she spent under his guidance. “I was so lucky to be able to come into the company and work with that group. I’m forever thankful for those guys and obviously Brodie Lee. I’m super lucky that happened. Those guys are all idiots, but like brothers to me,” she said.

Though she has since shifted loyalties, Jay hasn’t ruled out a Dark Order reunion. 

AEW’s Anna Jay Talks Learning From Chris Jericho, Being Part Of JAS

After turning on Ruby Soho and joining the Jericho Appreciation Society last summer, AEW fans have seen a different side of Anna Jay. Now firmly seated under the learning tree of the legendary Chris Jericho, the former Dark Order member is learning a lot about her craft.

In an interview with PWMania, Anna Jay A.S. discussed her transition from fan favorite to reviled villain and the various challenges that come with playing each character.

“I like playing the role I’m in right now, it’s a lot of fun. I definitely get a lot of hate. Whether it’s real or not, whatever it is. It’s good and bad. It’s good to be able to try these different roles out. My experience level is not the greatest, so I know it’s challenging in a good way. It’s been a lot of fun and obviously working with Chris is just crazy and an honor as well. I’m definitely appreciating working with him.”

Regarding her work with Jericho so far, Jay said that he was always accessible to herself and the entire locker room for advice. But being in his faction, she and the rest of the JAS gets more unrestricted access to his guidance every week.

“Meeting him and working with him in AEW was a crazy experience for me, [but] I never thought I’d be in a faction with him. I always was able to go to him for advice, but now being able to work right underneath him is cool because I literally get to talk to him every week [since] he produces a lot of promos and backstage stuff. It’s been such an honor to be able to go to him every week. I cannot say enough good things about him.”

Anna Jay Confirms She Suffered Dislocated Ribs After AEW Rampage Street Fight

When recalling the January 13 Street Fight on “AEW Rampage,” many might envision the startling image of a bloodied Ruby Soho, but as it turns out, Soho wasn’t the only one feeling some nasty aftereffects. Teaming with Tay Melo, Anna Jay battled Soho and Willow Nightingale in the violent, and rather unforgiving, no-rules match. Each team took advantage of weapons, including garbage cans, thumbtacks, and chairs. For Anna Jay, the most brutal moment came when Nightingale set her up for a powerbomb through a table. Nightingale ended up absorbing the brunt of the bump though the table, as Jay’s body nearly missed completely, landing on the concrete floor beside the stage instead.

Though reported to be “alright” following the table spot, Jay recently revealed she did suffer some dislocated ribs as a result. “Not fun,” she tweeted. Following the Street Fight, Jay has been inactive from in-ring competition. Alluding to her subsequent injury as the reason for her absence, Jay wrote “Silence is just another word for pain.” The exact timetable for Jay’s in-ring AEW return remains unknown at this time. 

In the months before her injury, Jay unleashed a more edgy attitude, turning herself heel last summer as she reunited with Melo and aligned with the Jericho Appreciation Society. Jay’s recent Street Fight also marked only the second of her career. At New Year’s Smash 2021, Jay, again, teamed with Melo, but that time, the two emerged victorious, defeating Penelope Ford and The Bunny to a largely positive reception.