Jack Perry gave an emotional press conference after winning the AEW National Championship at Revolution on Sunday night, reflecting on his late father, questioning whether he made the right career choice, and calling the moment in Los Angeles a full circle experience that reaffirmed his path.
Perry, who was accompanied by Luchasaurus, said it was his first time in the Crypto.com Arena in over a decade. The last time he was in the building, he was a kid watching professional wrestling (WWE) with his father, actor Luke Perry, who died in March 2019.
“The only time I’d ever been here was walking around with my dad, and at that point I was so young, I was probably still holding his hand,” Perry said. “It was really cool for me to now be here in this way. But it was also sad, because I was thinking the person who I wish could be here the most isn’t here.”
Perry said his mother and sister were in attendance, and Luchasaurus, who he called his best friend, was by his side after nearly dying from an illness approximately a year ago.
“To be here with my best friend who almost died a year ago, he had his illness, it just puts it all in perspective,” Perry said. “Real life happens, and it happens in ways that you wouldn’t expect all the time.”
“Did I Give My Life to the Wrong Thing?”
Perry opened up about periods of doubt he has experienced during his career. “There have been a lot of highs, but there have been some really low lows that I kind of never really anticipated having, because I guess you don’t,” he said. “There were times when I have wondered, did I give my life to the wrong thing? Am I not doing well enough? Did I make a mistake? Because you only get one go around. This is my life. Did I make the right choice with it? And I’ve questioned that at times, which hurts.”
Perry said winning the title at Revolution in the building where he once sat as a fan answered that question. “To be here now and succeed in such an overwhelming way, with my family, with my friends, in a company that I’ve been a part of since day one, that just really kind of reaffirmed to me that I made the right choice,” he said.
He paused before adding: “Who knows how it all works, but I just thought, I hope that somewhere you can see this.”
Full Circle From California Indie Scene
Perry reflected on his journey from the California independent wrestling scene to AEW champion. A reporter in attendance told Perry that the first match he ever saw him in was at a high school gym for a promotion called All Pro Wrestling against Vinnie Massaro, and that nobody in the crowd knew who Perry was at the time.
“It feels really cool to me to be in some of the same places that I cut my teeth and now do it at this level and see some of the same fans,” Perry said. “I run into people who were in those high school gymnasiums and were some of my first supporters. So it’s always cool to get back home and be able to do it again and sort of share it with these same people.”
Perry noted that much of his training took place in San Jose, where AEW held Dynamite and Collision earlier in the week. “That’s where I met Vinny and started working in the Northern California scene,” he said.
The Bus Entrance
Perry debuted a custom bus for his entrance at Revolution, complete with train horns built by an AEW crew member named Ellis who handles stunts and special builds. “He put the horns for a train on the bus,” Perry said. “He was telling me, ‘If someone stands in front of this, it will bust your eardrum out.’ So filming our entrance, some people were pretty unhappy, because he’s f**king blasting it all the way down.”
Perry joked about the expense. “I just got the bill for it, and I’m floored,” he said. “So it was nice to get to use the bus. My neighbors are gonna love that.”
Perry has been with AEW since the company’s founding and competed on the first Double or Nothing pay-per-view in 2019.
AEW Dynamite airs Wednesday on TBS.
