Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins is back in the WWE environment this week, working as a Guest Coach at the WWE Performance Center. PWInsider first reported the news. This marks the first time Perkins has been in a WWE setting since his release from the company in February 2019. In addition to Perkins, former ECW and WWE Women’s Champion Jazz was also recently at the Performance Center last week, fulfilling the same Guest Coach role, and Ace Steel has been in lately.
Perkins’ current in-ring career is focused on NJPW, where he is a member of the United Empire stable and currently holds gold. Perkins and his partner, Templario, are the reigning NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions. They are in their first reign as a team, having defeated the World Class Wrecking Crew for the titles on May 9, 2025, in Ontario, California. He is also a three-time former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion.
Career Highlights Before NJPW
Perkins’ wrestling career began when he started training at the age of 13 and debuted in 1998. Before his run in WWE, he trained at the NJPW dojo in Los Angeles and wrestled for the promotion in the early 2000s under the masked name of Puma.
His first tenure with WWE began in 2016 when he was a participant in the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic tournament. Competing under the name T.J. Perkins, he won the 32-man tournament by defeating Gran Metalik in the finals. This victory also meant he became the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion for the 205 Live brand.
TNA Tenure
Before his WWE run, Perkins spent time in TNA, where he wrestled as the masked persona of Manik, a character based on the popular Suicide gimmick. During his time with TNA, he was a two-time TNA X Division Champion. Throughout his career, Perkins has also wrestled for promotions around the world, including MLW, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Evolve, and ROH.
