Nyla Rose and ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry talk AEW, Luke Perry, Riho match

Rising stars Nyla Rose and ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry spoke to FanSided about the surreal surge of AEW in less than a year, the spark that led them to wrestling, the Dynamite Riho match and Luke Perry’s legacy.

FanSided talked to AEW‘s Nyla Rose and “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry at New York Comic Con 2019 about being placed into a surreal spotlight, red velvet curtains unraveled after working so hard to make it for so long. Nyla Rose commented on her AEW Dynamite premiere match with Riho through an ominous statement, “It’s not over, as long as she has a title, she’s going to be my prey!” Using chairs again isn’t out of the question either. The two rising talents spoke about being on the other side, and how supportive AEW has been to both of them.

“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry elaborated on how he once lost his passion for wrestling but circled back to it. That having his work constantly diminished for something out of his control took its toll, as if all his in-ring progress didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Yet, no one in AEW has ever told him to get bigger or look differently than he does. Wrestling is becoming a welcoming place for everybody, an opportunity for all to stand out and be unique in their own ways.

Perry told everyone at school he wanted to be a pro wrestler growing up, and now he’s living the dream. Being called “Mr. Perry” at a hotel for the first time earlier the day of the interview stood out to him, as prior only his father had been referred to in that way. Perry mentioned how he was proud of his father, Luke Perry, for always being kind and humble to those who he interacted with. That he was “just a cool dude.”

Nyla Rose was similarly reminiscent about watching WCW Starrcade ’97 from the nosebleed seats once upon a time, and now being in the ring on TNT. How she gets to give those memories to someone else in the crowd. Rose, by the way, was more than a bit happy Natalya Neidhart followed her on social media recently, going full fangirl mode. She spoke of the supportive messages from friends Ember Moon and Mia Yim following her match with Riho on AEW Dynamite‘s premiere episode on TNT.

Watch our video interview with AEW’s Nyla Rose and ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry or read the transcript below:

FanSided.com [Nir Regev]: Hi Jack, I interviewed your father Luke Perry about Riverdale at New York Comic Con last year.

‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry: Oh yeah, (smiles) that’s cool man! He was always doing Comic Con every year.

Just wanted to say he was a very nice person.

Yeah, he was … That’s kind of what I tell people about him, he was just a really cool dude. Obviously, I haven’t seen every interview he did but always when I’ve seen him interact with people, he was really nice and humble. I’m proud of that.

I was just thinking today … I was in a hotel that I used to go with my dad where they’d always call him Mr. Perry, this and that. Someone at the hotel today called me Mr. Perry and nobody had ever called me that before. I was like, “Are you talking to me?”

When did you know you wanted to be a pro wrestler originally? Was there a spark where you knew you wanted to do this?

‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry: I can’t really remember the exact moment, but the first time I’d seen it (wrestling), it was unlike anything else I’d seen before. It was just so big and over the top, I just remember I wanted to be part of it. It was the first thing I really wanted to be part of … And you know, I kind of lost my passion for it for a bit and did other things but I circled back to it. I told everyone growing up that’s what I wanted to do, so it’s cool to be doing it now.

I think being in the indies you spend so much time thinking about when you get there, one day I’m going to be a pro. Then with this (AEW) it was just overnight. I’m kind of blown away at how fast it’s happened. I mean it’s all taken off so quickly, it’s really been less than a year.

For me personally, I think coming up, the thing that people were always telling me is you look good and all this but you’re too small. And it was always just such a bummer because I’d been putting all this work and then for it to just be about that. It’s a bummer. It feels kind of diminishing. So, to be able to be here and they’ve never said that to me here (at AEW). There’s ever been any pressure to get bigger or look a way I don’t look.

I think that’s a big area where I see wrestling changing. Not everyone is 6-foot-5, 300 pounds and jacked, there’s different stuff. And that’s awesome, guys who are like that, you guys are lucky. We all have something different to bring. I think wrestling really is becoming more for everybody. There are more areas for people to be unique and different. I think AEW really makes a point to allow wrestlers to thrive on that.

Nyla Rose: My wrestling history growing up as a fan … Like every wrestling event that came to town, that’s where I went to see it! There was definitely a moment last week (AEW Dynamite) where if you rewind it you can probably see it, where I’m like “Holy crap, I’m on the other side now!” Just earlier that day, the last major wrestling moment I’d been at was Starrcade ’97. I’d been sitting way up there in the nosebleeds wearing my DDP shirt. That shift, in being able to look up and give that moment to somebody else is just insane.

Ember Moon and me go back a bit, she let me know, she’s really proud of me, which is really cool because we go back to the indies. Mia Yim reached out to me and said “Hey!” I got Mia started when she first came to training school, showed her a few things her first couple of weeks there. It was pretty cool to see everyone that I’ve been working with succeed and do things and have them reach back out and show mutual admiration and support. If I could just have a fangirl moment, Nattie followed me on Twitter and Instagram! I was kind of talking about that for a few days.

How did you feel about your in-ring chemistry with Riho for that match on AEW Dynamite’s premiere?

Nyla Rose: I’m sorry Russell Brand, what?

Thanks for the compliment! (laughs)

You still doing comedy? I love you man! Riho is a really great competitor. Absolutely great competitor! I’m proud of her, she brought it you know. I kind of underestimated her a little bit. I mean, I went in a little cocky you know, I don’t like to use that word, confident. But it’s not over, as long as she has a title, she’s going to be my prey!

Are the chairs going to be back?

(smiles) They might be …

Catch rising stars Nyla Rose and ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry every Wednesday on TNT’s AEW Dynamite at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. Central.