Are you ready to have your little heart broken?

I've checked them all, and I've yet to find a universe where Jungle Boy doesn't eventually turn on Hook. The seeds are all being subtly planted for a Jack Perry heel turn at some point down the road and I honestly can't wait for it.

After the somewhat lackluster build to the Four Pillars Four Way, it's become clear that Jack needs to spice up his character a little bit. Judging only by the promos in the build to the match, Jack was neck and neck with Sammy Guevara for last place once the wonderful and short-lived Sammy/MJF Friends Forever bit ran its course. There's just something in Jack's delivery that doesn't scream underdog babyface the way you get from a Darby Allin, but his calm and cool demeanor could absolutely lend itself to being a cocky heel.

So, how did we get here – and why?

Last June, Christian was on a somewhat similar story arc as Jungle Boy. As the veteran voice behind Jurassic Express, it became clear that Christian was beginning to now only outgrow the team but to grow weary of them. He continued to volunteer them for matches on the spot, at times to the dismay of the team. If you were paying attention, it was easy to catch Christian lingering behind Jungle Boy at times after a disappointing lost.

The message being sent was clear – either Christian was going to turn on Jungle Boy or this was all a red herring to build tension between the two. Once the duo eventually dropped the AEW Tag Team Titles to the Young Bucks, though, all bets were off. Frustrated with the loss of the titles (and the additional income), Christian quickly made his intentions known by dropping Jack with a Killswitch before smushing his head like a grape between two steel chairs.

Since then, Jack and Christian were locked in a feud which also saw Luchasaurus turn on his former tag team champion partner. After Jack sent Christian to actual Hell in The Final Burial, he set his sights on the AEW World Title. However, it's been another bumpy road for ol Jungle Jack.

Despite promising to win gold again in 2023, Jack has had to sit back and watch Luchasaurus become the TNT Champion by defeating Wardlow on the debut edition of Collision. All the while, Jack has settled back into the comfort of JungleHOOK. As a pair, the team has been embroiled in a feud with LFI including a wild Texas Tornado tag team match on a recent Dynamite that saw Preston Vance bleed buckets.

With Forbidden Door 2 on the horizon, though, Jungle Boy has begun to set his sights a little higher – on Sanada and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. After the freshly minted IWGP champ laid out an open challenge for the joint event, Jungle Boy accepted the challenge in what became a bit of an awkward promo with a little more foreshadowing.

Standing backstage with Hook and Renee, Jack accepted the challenge while asking the demure Hook to be in his corner. Not only that, but he laid it on thick by letting the FTW Champ know that he was, in fact, Jack's best friend – eliciting an audible "aww" from the live crowd.

Now, maybe I'm just cynical (this is probably true). Maybe I've watched too much wrestling (this is definitely true). But Jungle Boy's promise to win at Forbidden Door and then return to normal with The Summer of JungleHOOK rang a little hollow to me. It's not just Hook's stilted reaction to the one-sided promo, but the last ditch efforts of a desperate man trying to save face before 2023 comes to a close.

I'm not spoiling anything when I say that Jungle Boy is not beating Sanada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Forbidden Door. The only question is, does Jungle Boy snap that night and turn on Hook or does he let things stew a little bit before he makes his move? We've already seen a few instances of Jungle Boy lingering behind Hook a little too long with a steel chair in hand lately, mimicking the scenes of Christian doing the same to JB before laying him flat in the center of the ring.

Not only does this mimic the turn of Christian, but it mimics tag team breakups we've seen time and time again in the world of professional wrestling. A bit of jealousy and perceived weakness in his partner caused Rick Martel to turn on Tito Santana and break up my then-favorite tag team, Strike Force. Similar motives saw Shawn Michaels superkick Marty Jannetty and send him through the plate glass window of The Barber Shop.

And, of course, let's not forget Christian's turn on Edge from September of 2001 – just a few months after Edge's success took him to the King of the Ring. Could a similar evil sneak its way into the head of Jungle Boy after he fails to capitalize on his summer opportunities while constantly being reminded that his undefeated partner still holds a title?

All of the turns we've talked about have been fairly obvious. This isn't a bad thing, though, and it's not something AEW shies away from. We've seen in the past that WWF/E will change course on a storyline if fans crack the case early or begin cheering or booing for the "wrong" person. AEW, on the other hand, lays out many of its storylines with clear beginnings and endings and generally sticks to this plan (for better or worse). In these cases, knowing the endings ahead of time hasn't made the endings any less entertaining or rewarding.

AEW also isn't a company who relies on the trope of a tag team breaking up to make a singles star. Teams can split amicably and remain friends while pursuing their own individual goals. A Jungle Boy turn also doesn't mean he'll instantly align with Christian, as we've seen both babyfaces and heels in AEW are allowed to run in their own circles without necessarily getting along with one another just because of a shared alignment.

When Jungle Boy does make the switch, what will the landscape look like? A bitter, frustrated, and entitled Jack Perry with the FTW Title would be an excellent start toward moving him into the next phase of his career. We've yet to see what a heel Jack Perry can do in AEW, and I think his ceiling is way higher as a heel right now than it is as a babyface. Down the road, though, a seasoned Jack changing alignment to the screams and cheers of the crowd could be the eventual final piece of the puzzle to cement him as a main event guy.

So, is there a problem with JungleHOOK? I think there will be soon – just keep your eyes peeled if Hook starts wearing red t-shirts and acid washed jeans while hanging out near big window panes.