Jungle Boy: the pillar left behind?

[Abdullah]

I’m writing this thread after the relatively muted live reaction to JB vs KOR. Especially in comparison to how fans exploded for Hook and Danhausen literally in the next segment.

MJF? He’s their biggest pet project and, in my opinion, rightly so. Sammy has his fun heel turn. Darby always seems to be over and well-booked. Jack, though? I’ve been saying for a minute that his alliance with Christian, from an on-screen and storyline perspective, has been botched. They have been together for a year—and Christian just like, stands there most of the time? That seems to be finally heating up (yet again), based on the post-match, but we’ll see where it goes.

More broadly, Jack is not good on the mic. He’s gotten better, significantly, but he’s still the guy that wants to hide whenever he’s asked to cut a promo. It still shows. He’s still not great. I’m saying all of this as a fan of him. He’s my second favorite AEW star after MJF, but booking needs to be careful with him. He can go in the ring like nobody’s business and he’s a natural babyface but his tag partner gets better reactions than he does and AEW has yet to book him in the sort of long-term, marquee stories that his counterparts have got. I’m saying that the guy needs something he can sink his teeth into, to allow the crowd to invest in him more. Hopefully, the long-assumed feud with Christian actually happens. Hopefully, it will be what Jack needs to get to the next level.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

No way imo. Dude's still plenty over, they're just tag champs now so until he gets a singles push, he's just getting steady, good pops. Idk why Jungle Boy vs KOR was relatively somber, because Jungle Boy's been getting great pops before this, literally watch Express vs ReDragon from last week

This Christian feud is coming, and I have a strong feeling, the crowds gonna be really f***ing into it when it does.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

I think people ebb and flow in terms of focus and it's hard to judge based on one crowd, but as you've said, it's clear they're going to turn Christian soon and I think that'll be something for him to sink his teeth into. at first I thought the Christian/JE pairing was odd, but I think it's going to end up working out for them.

[Abdullah]

Apr 21, 2022 10:01:14 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

No way imo. Dude’s still plenty over, they’re just tag champs now so until he gets a singles push, he’s just getting steady, good pops. Idk why Jungle Boy vs KOR was relatively somber, because Jungle Boy’s been getting great pops before this, literally watch Express vs ReDragon from last week

This Christian feud is coming, and I have a strong feeling, the crowds gonna be really f***ing into it when it does.

I just don’t understand why this alliance has been going on for a year, and there have been no seeds planted. There is no character evolution or hints of tension. It’s bizarre. It’s a waste of Christian and one instance where I honestly think WWE’s style of heel turns might have built the friendship up more in backstage segments and the like.

And while, yes, JB usually gets good to great reactions, Luchasaurus was more over last week as well. It’s not a big problem yet and it’s hopefully just one somber week, but I kinda think AEW has dropped the ball with this Christian storyline and it’s perhaps why the response to a good match was relatively somber.

[kingoftheindies]

I dont think so. He (and Luchasaurus) are both still treated as big deals. I do think they may have lost a bit of momentum with their title reign Pre Revolution being almost Rampage exclusive but the feud with ReDRagon seems to be getting them back.

MJF is just a heat magnet, Darby has gone to special attraction status, and Sammy is currently getting the single run.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

I think he's a big deal and is just about to take the next step in his character arc. He's over and all but I think the next step is key. He had his first big set back in a while last night. I imagine they lose the tag titles soon and shortly thereafter, his mentor Christian is going to stab him in the back. I imagine that feud (which he will ultimately win) will then springboard him into singles star status.

[Deleted]

He's fine. He got the big win in the tag titles and is now proving he can hang at that level. Once they lose the titles a move to singles would be good, but he's in a great position right now. It doesn't help that he's got the worst mics skills ina group that includes Sammy Guevara.

[pinja]

While I don't like Jungle Boy or Jurassic Express in general (great aesthetic, would have been a better choice as champions much earlier), I think the whole idea of the pillars is detrimental to the chosen guys. They have to fill those shoes and if they end up any less than world champions at some point, they're deemed as underperformers. Plus: There're plenty of other young guys, plenty more will come. If, as a fan, I'm being told to watch out for a specific group of four prospects and I don't like three of'em, I'm not too positive about the future. AEW is not exactly booking itself into a corner, but it's almost announcing booking in advance. Jungle Boy seems to be the one most likely to crumble.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 21, 2022 10:19:09 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

Apr 21, 2022 10:01:14 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

No way imo. Dude’s still plenty over, they’re just tag champs now so until he gets a singles push, he’s just getting steady, good pops. Idk why Jungle Boy vs KOR was relatively somber, because Jungle Boy’s been getting great pops before this, literally watch Express vs ReDragon from last week

This Christian feud is coming, and I have a strong feeling, the crowds gonna be really f***ing into it when it does.

I just don’t understand why this alliance has been going on for a year, and there have been no seeds planted. There is no character evolution or hints of tension. It’s bizarre. It’s a waste of Christian and one instance where I honestly think WWE’s style of heel turns might have built the friendship up more in backstage segments and the like.

And while, yes, JB usually gets good to great reactions, Luchasaurus was more over last week as well. It’s not a big problem yet and it’s hopefully just one somber week, but I kinda think AEW has dropped the ball with this Christian storyline and it’s perhaps why the response to a good match was relatively somber.

There have been seeds planted, but they've been subtle. Christian taking the falls in their trios matches, getting beat down and then in their follow up promo leaving in a rage leaving Express confused, him coming out with Jungle Boy apologizing for "letting him down"

I don't want or need this to be in your face, I think this is going to be a turn that shocks whatever crowd it's in front of, because it might be a brutal one. Christian as a heel many forget, is f***ing ruthless, and I think this is gonna go as far back as when he was eliminated in the Battle Royale by Jungle Boy himself.

I don't think they've dropped the ball at all, once it happens it'll be great, it's a matter of when Express lose the belts, because I think Christian will screw them.

[polarbearpete]

They’re definitely developing him more slowly than the others. But given his age, I don’t mind it. I think a heated Christian blood feud can really elevate him as well, if it leads to a big PPV blowoff.

[robferatu]

I think last night was one of the rare exceptions where he didn’t appear to be as over with the crowd as he is on any other given week.

And while I agree it’s been the slowest of burns in terms of Christian turning on him and Luchasaurus, I’m glad it didn’t happen when they were challenging the Lucha Bros. for the titles and that Jurassic Express have gotten a lengthy reign with the belts.

However, I do think that whomever their challengers are at “Double or Nothing” will benefit from Cage finally turning on the duo, which could easily lead into Captain Charisma taking Jungle Boy out before and restablishing himself by defeating and taking out Luchasaurus before Jungle Boy returns to seek revenge on Christian.

I fully expect after that, Jungle Boy will be solidified as a singles competitor and go straight into the TNT Championship picture and winning it at the beginning of next year.

From there, you could easily have his comrade Luchasaurus turn on him and a resulting feud could follow as well.

However, I still feel that he’s one of the four pillars, it just happens to be he’s the one that had a tag team act of storylines to work through first while Sammy Guevara had a being a faction member of one’s to go through before he broke through as a singles.

I think a lot of establishing these guys is just timing.

[Deleted]

Well, he is chained to a dinosaur.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

He’s 24. Still young. ‘Specially compared to Sammy & Darby (yeahweseeyoudarby).

I fricken loved that match. Really surprised by the crowd reaction, but, eh. It is what it is. The Christian thing has been fine. JB clearly became more comfortable in body language alone when he wasn’t the focus. Dudes shy/introverted/not very outward. That’s fine for now but he will have to open up eventually. I agree that..while his mic skills have “improved”, they’re still largely doodoo. He doesn’t have to be The Rock obviously, but similarly, even Jeff Hardy had to open up throughout the years. So will he. It’s weird, I’ve thought I’d love to have an hour with him using acting techniques to see if more can be brought up out of him. I think he can.

The Christian program will come eventually. The fact he seems comfortable with Christian will probably help. ALSO…(and I think someone else may have brought this up already..) I think his relationship with Anna should be acknowledged. Subtly. The demeanor of those two has me think it’d be the opposite of Sammy-Tay. I think it could actually accentuate both in the fans’ eyes. Just a thought.

Also:

[This Player Hating Mothman]

I don't think JB has been left behind so much as a lot of care's been taken with his push. There's been ebb and flow for all four pillars in terms of prominence; right now MJF is in a story to put a guy over, for instance. But you've got a massive Christian mark as a booker, and Christian is the one who's on-screen with Jurassic Express. That tells me by itself that there's big stuff hoped for and there's work being put in to making that happen.

[Abdullah]

Apr 21, 2022 10:50:50 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

There have been seeds planted, but they’ve been subtle. Christian taking the falls in their trios matches, getting beat down and then in their follow up promo leaving in a rage leaving Express confused, him coming out with Jungle Boy apologizing for “letting him down”

I don’t want or need this to be in your face, I think this is going to be a turn that shocks whatever crowd it’s in front of, because it might be a brutal one. Christian as a heel many forget, is f***ing ruthless, and I think this is gonna go as far back as when he was eliminated in the Battle Royale by Jungle Boy himself.

I don’t think they’ve dropped the ball at all, once it happens it’ll be great, it’s a matter of when Express lose the belts, because I think Christian will screw them.

I’m old enough to remember when it looked, for one week, that it was JB who would betray Christian. He looked at him annoyed and I think the camera lingered on it. That went nowhere. (Of course.)

There have been maybe three or four where it’s looked like something may happen. As you said, it’s usually a glance or a moment of frustration. But it’s essentially nothing. The commentary doesn’t add to it. There’s no follow-up segment to build on that moment. That’s shoddy writing by any metric.

Imagine if Kim Wexler’s turn to the dark side on Better Call Saul was handled this way. She makes a face, it’s forgotten for half a season. Then she makes another face. It’s forgotten again and there’s no reference to it. Then, at the end of the season, Kim’s morals are gone. It would be insane. And the thing is, there are things that AEW has tried to do. There was that one PPV where Jack had facial hair and smashed someone’s head with a chair. But it was dropped and Jack seems more or less back to where he was.

A fan suggested that Christian could have used his influence to force Marko out of Jurassic Express. That would have been neat and actually subtle, shades of grey storytelling. Instead, Christian just stands around and a longtime member of the AEW roster disappeared without a single mention. It’s shoddy.

Hopefully, if they are finally committing to a feud, things will pick up. But that won’t excuse a full year where nothing actually happened in terms of character development.

[Mid-Carder]

Meh. They can't all be on top all the time. For a while there I think JB was more pushed and featured than Sammy, but Sammy now has this heel turn that's freshened him up. These things are cyclical.

[smokinvokoun86]

He’s one half of an extremely popular tag team and one half of the Tag team champions. I don’t think he’s left behind at all. I feel like at some point this year, he and Christian will feud where Jungle Boy finally gets that huge singles win. That’s the only thing he doesn’t have that MJF,Sammy and Darby have.

[Deleted]

I would argue that Jungle Boy is probably THE most protected of the 4 pillars. Not in terms of wins and losses, but in terms of giving him plenty of time to grow and progress. Darby and Sammy got put into the "sink or swim" TNT title picture. Darby Swam, and Sammy is floundering a bit, in my opinion.

MJF got put into a feud that had to deliver with CM Punk, a guy that would have eaten him alive if he hadn't brought his A-game.

Jungle Boy is getting a bit of a slower burn, and he's getting some tutelage (both real life and kayfabe, I'm sure) from Christian, which never hurts.

When the time is right, Christian will make the turn on JE, and when the time is right for that, he will make Jungle Boy an absolute made man.

[nihilismizhawt]

Tag team champion, huge reaction when he comes in, always called a building block of the company, has a legend as his tutor, loses one match, "left behind."

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Honestly I am just glad they let KOR, experienced former world champion, beat Jungle Boy, hot young tag champion, clean. That makes perfect sense. And it would be a waste of a tag champion's time to be in this tournament.