Jeff Jarrett defends controversial AEW star who is "maturing before our very eyes" (Exclusive)

AEW's roster is made up of up-and-coming rookies, rising stars, respected veterans, and experienced legends. Jeff Jarrett is one of those legends, who also works behind the scenes as the Director of Business Development. He has just made interesting remarks in defense of a top All Elite star.

Jack Perry is celebrating his 27th birthday today. The former Jungle Boy was suspended last year for his incident with CM Punk, and that led to a brief run with NJPW. Perry made a full-fledged heel turn as The Scapegoat and then aligned with The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada as The New Elite. The heels have run rampant through All Elite Wrestling ever since, and they are showing no signs of slowing down.

Double J recently spoke to the legendary Bill Apter on Sportskeeda's WrestleBinge and was asked about the new attitude from Perry and his stablemates. Apter said some fans believe Perry has "lost it," but Jarrett disagreed with that being negative.

"It's subjective, you may think he's [Jack Perry] lost it. I think it's a great trait to have. I really believe, that in our industry, you have to pull out a thread of your deep down personality and you've got to amplify it to the umptheenth degree, because we are in the entertainment business, we're also in a very, very competitive business. We're obviously not true sport but it's super competitive," Jeff Jarrett said. [From 7:17 to 7:50]

Jarrett continued and said Perry is maturing in front of us:

"So, if you dig down and really pull out a part of your personality and amplify it, and really lean into it and, just regardless of what anybody says, just cram it down people's throats, you will get engagement. I'm happy to see, I'll call it... Jack Perry is maturing before our very eyes. The Scapegoat, I think it's right up his alley... he will lean into that," Jeff Jarrett said. [From 07:51 to 08:32]

The rest of The Elite will likely be ringside this Wednesday on Dynamite as The Young Bucks face The Acclaimed in an Eliminator match.

Jack Perry to win his first major AEW singles championship?

Jack Perry previously held the FTW Championship and is a one-time former AEW World Tag Team Champion, but there's strong speculation on the former Jungle Boy winning his first major singles title later this month.

The Scapegoat defeated Dustin Rhodes on last week's Dynamite to earn a spot in the Ladder Match for the vacant AEW TNT Championship at Forbidden Door 2024 on June 30.

Perry joins Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Briscoe, and Dante Martin as names that have already qualified for the Ladder Match at Forbidden Door. The final two spots will be determined within the next week, with one major return rumored.

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Perry's win over The Natural on Wednesday's Dynamite was his first AEW singles match since dropping the FTW Championship to HOOK on August 27, 2023, at All In: London.