Not sure I agree on your assertion that Perl 6 is not the least bit Perl like. I think PHP is so successful because it fully embraces "Worse Is Better", which is kind of what you're alluding to. Perl 5, to some extent, does too, but it's attempted to move towards a more "correct" design, while still being genuinely better (and Perlish). I think a good example of this is the strict pragma.

Perl 6 (at least as it seems from where I'm standing) is an attempt to re-design Perl with a "Better is Better" approach. Hopefully it won't sacrifice too much of it's ability to get the job done, or it's Perlish-ness.

People say Perl 6 is going to be obsolete once it's released because it's taking so long. I actually think the real challenge for Perl 6 is if the whole "Better is Better" approach can actually work. Many have tried before, many have failed. See: Lisp