Former WWE and AEW wrestler Jake Hager is getting back into the combat sports game.
On TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Hager revealed that he will be debuting for Dana White’s Power Slap promotion next month. He’s signed a six-appearance contract with the slap fighting company and will be making his debut during a show that’s taking place during WrestleMania week. The event will be broadcast on YouTube.
“I’m so excited to announce that I’ve signed with UFC Power Slap, and they are doing a show April 17 in Vegas live. That’s the Friday before Mania. I’ll be competing in that show in the heavyweight division,” the former Jack Swagger announced. “I’ve been told that I have a very slappable face, so I’m sure the line will be around the corner.”
Recruiting indie wrestlers into Power Slap has been a goal for the organization. Hager told Inside the Ring that Sinn Bodhi (former WWE wrestler Kizarny) works for Power Slap and was the person who reached out to him about joining the group.
Though slap fighting has drawn a lot of controversy for its risk of head injuries, Hager isn’t worried about that possibility.
“I mean, you know what you signed up for. You’re signing up to get slapped and trying to slap someone back as hard as you can,” he said. “So I expect injuries to happen. I know UFC does a great job of covering all expenses related to the injuries. I’m not worried about it, to be honest.”
Hager had a few fights for Bellator MMA from 2019-2020 but told Inside the Ring that he doesn’t think an MMA comeback is in store given that he’s about to turn 44 years old. A pro wrestling return could happen, though, despite Hager previously calling himself retired. Hager said he would like to get back into the ring now that his body is feeling better after some time off.
If a pro wrestling return does happen for Hager, it likely will not be in AEW. Hager has been very critical of AEW’s Tony Khan in other interviews, though Hager did have fun while with the promotion and appreciates that he got to be part of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle faction.
Hager said he does not keep up with the WWE or AEW product at the moment, telling Inside the Ring that he’s busy being a father and managing the trucking company he owns.
“I definitely don’t watch AEW,” he responded when asked if he still watches WWE or AEW programming. “Like you said, I was a founding member of that company. I don’t watch a lot of pro wrestling or MMA right now. I’m pretty busy with the company and keeping the wheels turning. When I do have some downtime, I’m playing video games with my kids or playing soccer with my daughter.”
Jake Hager — who had stints with both AEW and WWE during his pro wrestling career — is stepping away from the ring.
Appearing on a new episode of Saraya’s Rulebreakers podcast, the former Jack Swagger said he’s pretty much retired from wrestling. He’s now focused on a trucking company he’s started called “Haulin’ Oats” that’s operating in Florida.
“I’m getting out of wrestling. I’m pretty much, I can say I’m retired from it,” the 43-year-old Hager said. “I started a trucking company. And so, running routes through Tampa and Florida. I’m not driving, not me. I got people driving. I’m excited. Something to stick my teeth into, you know, hard work always pays off.”
Hager said his kids are now 13 and 10 years old, and he’s enjoying being a father and being home with them. He also sells insurance in addition to his new trucking venture.
In 2024, Hager departed AEW when his contract with the promotion expired. He had been with AEW since 2019.
He previously spent almost a decade with WWE, where he had one World Heavyweight Championship reign as Jack Swagger. Saraya questioned if he would return to WWE if they called, but Hager said that he probably wouldn’t.
Hager, who has a background in amateur wrestling, fought for Bellator MMA four times between 2019-2020.
Former WWE Champion Jack Swagger (aka Jake Hager) will return to action this October for Bellator MMA.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported Wednesday night that the heavyweight will compete in his third pro fight at Bellator 231 against Anthony Garrett, set for October 25th at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena.
The 37-year-old Hager is 2-0 in his young MMA career with two first round submission victories, both coming this year. The 29-year-old Garrett is 4-2 and his six fights have all come in St. Louis’ Shamrock FC promotion. His last outing was a TKO loss in June.*
The two men actually have a common opponent in J.W. Kiser as Garrett defeated him by TKO in his final amateur fight.
The show will also feature the promotional debut of former UFC fighter and current Bare Knuckle FC Champion Bec Rawlings in addition to a main event of Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson 2, a rematch from their UFC days.
*An earlier version of this post incorrectly said Garrett hadn’t competed in two years.
Jake Hager, the former WWE star known as Jack Swagger, made it look easy Saturday night in Chicago, picking up his second MMA win at Bellator 221 and even getting to play a heel in doing so.
Hager (2-0) submitted T.J. Jones (1-) with a head and arm choke in the first round, continuing his slow progression up the heavyweight food chain.
Hager took Jones down early and went to work on an Americana armbar submission, but Jones was able to fend him off. That only lasted a few seconds as Hager transitioned to lock on a head and arm choke for the relatively quick submission win, keeping the hold on a few seconds too long for referee Mike Beltran’s taste.
The fans took umbrage and booed Hager during his post-fight promo which he played up big time, inviting the fans to boo more which they did in kind.
The 37-year-old Hager began his MMA career in January, picking up a first round submission win in his pro debut for Bellator.
With a UFC pay-per-view as opposition, Saturday’s Bellator 221 show from the Rosemont Horizon outside Chicago is flying under the radar despite featuring a main card that includes a champion vs. champion grudge match, the return of former WWE Champion Jack Swagger, and the semifinals of the Welterweight Grand Prix.
In the main event, lightweight champion Michael Chandler will look for the first defense of his gold in his third reign against featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Chandler faced Freire’s brother, Patricky, twice and defeated him both times. The last was a 2016 knockout that earned him his second 155-pound title and saw him call out Patricio after the fight.
In the co-main event, Douglas Lima will fight the undefeated Michael “Venom” Page in the Welterweight Grand Prix semifinals. Lima is coming off a fifth round submission win over Andrey Koreshkov while Page is coming off a lackluster decision win against rival Paul Daley.
Also on the main card, Jake Hager (aka Jack Swagger) looks for the second win in his young MMA career against T.J. Jones while Pat Curran returns to take on featherweight contender A.J. McKee. Tywan Claxton vs. Michael Bennett rounds out the main card.
Our live coverage of this DAZN event kicks off at 9 PM Eastern.
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Mauro Ranallo and John McCarthy are on the call.
Tywan Claxton (5-0) def. James Bennett (4-2) via third round TKO (ref stoppage) (2:09) Featherweights
Despite these two having virtually identical records, there was a clear advantage in Claxton’s favor from the starting bell that gave him an easy victory.
Claxton dominated Bennett upon taking him to the mat in the first round, landing heavy ground and pound shots that kept Bennett on the defensive for a 10-8 mark on my scorecard. That continued in the second round as Claxton landed a big flying knee to start the round and kept the pressure on with more ground and pound for another 10-8.
Bennett showed a little more fight in the third round with a submission attempt from the bottom but lost the advantage within seconds. This was a case of two fighters on completely different levels. Claxton laid in heavy ground and pound punches and elbows to which Bennett had no answer for, causing referee Kevin McDonald to stop the fight.
Post-fight, Claxton praised Bennett for his toughness and didn’t have a mark on him while Bennett’s face was all swollen up.
Jake Hager (2-0) def. T.J. Jones (1-2) by first round submission (2:36) Heavyweights
Ranallo said when Jones got the opportunity for the fight, he was at 320 pounds. Yikes. Jones, a meat plant worker, has fought sparingly to be kind and seemed happy to just be there during this whole process. Hager, the former Jack Swagger, still did his whole “We The People” catchphrase and has a new ‘Swag’ t-shirt he sported to the cage.
As expected, this was a squash.
Hager took him down within ten seconds and started laying in heavy right hands. Hager was continutously working for an Americana armlock submission, but Jones was able to hold him off. Hager kept working and locked on a head/arm choke for the tap but held it on a few seconds longer which didn’t endear himself to referee Mike Beltran or the crowd.
Post-fight, Hager said he meant no disrespect by holding on the submission but the crowd wasn’t having it. Hager said he was “rock hard with emotion” and had a boner. Alright then. He was encouraging the fans to keep booing, completely going into WWE mode.
A.J. McKee (14-0) def. Pat Curran (23-8) by unanimous decision Featherweights
McKee remained undefeated, but did so in a safe and rather lackuster fashion, taking two judges’ scorecards 30-27 and another by a 30-26 tally.
Curran is a former two-time Bellator champion and a long-time promotional fixture while McKee is a longtime Bellator prospect finally moving up to some name value competition. However, Curran has been off for nearly two years and showed his ring rust.
McKee won a rather slow first round 10-9 that elicited some crowd boos, hitting some leg kicks and a takedown. Curran hit a takedown in the second, breaking out of an offensive funk, but didn’t do much else with it other than defend against Mckee who opened up a cut from the bottom, giving the undefeated prospect another 10-9.
Post-fight, McKee brushed off the fans’ boos and didn’t call for a title shot, also quite lackluster.
Between rounds, Matt Hughes was shown as cageside, an interesting choice to me considering his recent public issues.
Welterweight Grand Prix Semifinal: Douglas Lima (31-7) defeated Michael “Venom” Page (14-1) by second round knockout (:35)
Mamma Mia, indeed.
The unheralded Lima flatted the outspoken Page in the second round of their Grand Prix semifinal clash.
Page had hurt Lima with a glancing right hand and was looking to land some more offense, but Lima hit a right leg kick to Page’s leg as he lunged that swept him down. As Page rose back up, Lima hit a right hand right on Page’s chin that knocked him out cold. Two more hammer fists and it was a wrap.
The first round was a bit of a slower pace as Lima tried to figure out Page’s unique offense. He eventually hit a takedown to which Page really didn’t have an answer for, harkening back to his fight against Paul Daley two months ago.
Lima advances to the the finals and will face either welterweight champion Rory MacDonald or Nieman Gracie who fight in June at Madison Square Garden.
Patricio “Pitbull” Friere (29-4) defeated Michael Chandler (19-5) by first round KO to win the Bellator lightweight title (1:01)
Friere is now Bellator’s second-ever “champ-champ” (Ryan Bader) as he also holds the company’s featherweight title. Yet, this was a completely unsatisfying win.
Friere clipped Chandler with a right behind the ear that dropped him. Pitbull then swarmed and hit several left hands to which Chandler which he really didn’t eally defend, but he didn’t appear hurt. The referee stopped the fight and that was that. Fans hated the stoppage which seemed quick.
Friere didn’t commit to dropping the lightweight title as he previously said he would. Chandler said he wanted to do it again.
Former WWE World Champion Jake Hager (aka Jack Swagger) was successful in his Bellator MMA debut, and already has a date and opponent for his follow-up.
Hager (1-0) will face T.J. Jones (1-1) at Bellator 221 in Rosemont, IL, on Saturday, May 11, as part of the undercard for lightweight champion Michael Chandler vs. featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Frieire.
The 36-year-old Hager submitted J.W. Kiser in the first round of his pro debut in late-January, using his wrestling to take minimal damage for the easy submission win. Jones is younger than Hager (29), but has not fought since October 2017 when he picked up a submission win in less than a minute. Before that, he competed in 2015 and was defeated in just 46 seconds.
Airing exclusively on DAZN, Bellator 221 will also feature the next round of the welterweight Grand Prix with Douglas Lima taking on Michael “Venom” Page.
Jake Hager, the former WWE champion known as Jack Swagger, won his professional MMA debut Saturday at Bellator 214, submitting J.W. Kiser in the first round.
Hager (1-0) took a Kiser punch early and immediately worked for a takedown, using his amateur wrestling background to control him on the ground. After working for a kimura, he broke Kiser’s defensive position and landed some big elbows that hurt him.
Hager worked into position for a head and arm choke and tapped Kiser (1-2) fairly quickly at 2:09 of the first round without even having proper positioning with his legs.
Former WWE co-worker R-Truth rapped during Hager’s entrance and used his old “We The People” WWE catchphrase in his video and in his post-fight promo.
In his post-fight promo, Hager didn’t say a lot of note other than he wanted to make Bellator his home and fight a lot over the next decade. When John McCarthy asked Hager about advice he got from his “old boss” Vince McMahon, Hager said, “Sometimes to convince Vince, you have to con Vince” which McCarthy really didn’t know how to follow up on.
After a year and six fights, the finals of the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix are finally here. Chael Sonnen, Frank Mir, Matt Mitrione, King Mo, Roy Nelson, and Rampage Jackson all fell by the wayside and now, Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader remain.
Luke Thomas pointed out on this week’s MMA Beat that while the sports world is buzzing about the length of time between Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl and this year’s big game, Fedor has been in the game for an incredible 19 years, most of which has been at a high level.
Bader is the company’s light heavyweight champion, but the fight is lacking that champ-champ feel. Perhaps that’s because the vacant heavyweight title has been pushed far into the background throughout this whole tournament in favor of the Grand Prix name. Bader has looked great in this new weight class and his signing several years ago continues to pay off dividends for all parties involved.
Did you know they haven’t had a heavyweight champion in nearly three years? Very odd.
Anyway, Aaron Pico is also on the show and could earn a title shot with a big win, but the bigger news for our audience is the MMA debut of Jake Hager, the former WWE champion Jack Swagger. He has a great pedigree as a college wrestler, but at 36 years old, this is a big shift. He faces a relatively inexperienced fighter in J.W. Kiser on the main card.
Paul Fontaine kicks us off with results from the main event, the Pico fight and the Hager fight later tonight.
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Earlier in the show:
Adel Altamimi (8-5) submitted Brandon Macmahan (5-7) with an armbar in the first round. Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt was in the corner of Altamimi and celebrated with him in the cage afterward.
Juan Archuleta (22-1) won an unanimous decision (29-28 x 3) over Ricky Bandejas (11-2). Archuleta was cornered by UFC champion TJ Dillashaw. This was a good fight and worth checking out if you have DAZN.
Bellator announced 2 title fights for April 27 in San Jose with Rory McDonald defending his welterweight title against Jon Fitch, which is also a first round match in the welterweight Grand Prix. Ilema-Lei MacFarlane and Veta Artega meet up for MacFarlane’s flyweight belt.
Leading up to the Hager fight, analyst Frank Mir talked about taking on a former WWE champion himself earlier in his career when he faced Brock Lesnar. The commentators joked that Hager and Lesnar had legit credentials as compared to another former WWE champ, CM Punk, who also tried MMA and didn’t do so well.
Jake Hager vs. J.W. Kiser – heavyweights
Hager reprised his WWE catchphrase of “We The People” to zero reaction from the crowd during his entrance. Ron Killings, aka R-Truth, sang his entrance song. Not making that up.
Hager has a 6 inch height and 12 inch reach advantage over his opponent, who is also 3 years older and giving up about 20 lbs of weight.
Hagger gets a takedown to start. Mick Foley tweeting support. Heger with a Kumura attempt as he eats punches from Kiser. Goldberg mentions Bautista, Lashley, Lesnar and CM Punk as former pro wrestlers who have done MMA. Hager landing punches to the head and sets up an arm triangle and gets the quick tap.
Official result – Jake Hager (1-0) by submission (head and arm choke) at 2:09
Hager said that hard work paid off and gave a shout-out to Parry, OK and, not surprisingly, he got no reaction from the LA crowd. They clearly have no idea who he is or just don’t care because he’s not getting any more reaction than any other 1-0 fighter. He promised to be in the Bellator cage alot and says he’ll be fighting for the next decade.
He addressed Vince McMahon telling him not to lose by saying “Sometimes to convince Vince, you have to con Vince”. Again, zero reaction and he again tried the “We The People” gimmick to no reaction.
Aaron Pico vs. Henry Corrales
Corrales is a real fighter who has only 3 losses, all to former Bellator champions, in his career. Pico has the crowd chanting for him from the start of the fight.
Pico stunned Corrales with an uppercut 45 seconds in. Corrales recovers and lands a combo that knocks Pico out cold.
Official result – Henry Corrales (17-3) by knockout (punches) at 1:07
While Corrales was giving his post-fight promo, the camera was showing Pico walking back to the cage. There is a reason why fighters are brought up slowly and why prospects are generally protected early in their careers and this is it. Corrales is a world title contender and Pico was not even close to being ready for him. Corrales asked for a rematch with Patricio Pitbull, who beat him in a fight he took on short notice first time out. His promo was expletive-ridden and I watched on DAZN so not sure how much of it would’ve made air on Paramount.
Andrew Whitworth of the LA Rams was interviewed in the crowd and got a lot of boos in advance of next week’s Super Bowl. Must be Chargers fans at the Forum tonight. He was asked for a prediction in the main event and took Bader, which drew a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix/Vacant Championship Finals: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader
Both national anthems were played in their entirely. A ton of down-time on this show with all the early finishes and a 3 hour broadcast window to fill for 5 fights, only 3 of which anyone cares about.
Still kind of unreal that Fedor is fighting for a major world title in 2019. Bader looks like he’s giving up some size,
Bader knocks out Fedor with the first punch of the fight, a left hook. Frank Mir had called that earlier in the night as being what Fedor would need to look out for.
Official result – Ryan Bader (27-5) by KO (punch) at 35 seconds
Bader got two more belts with the heavyweight title as well as a belt for winning the Grand Prix. Bader said it was an honor just to be in “the ring” with Fedor.
Bader said he would talk to his team and see what he would do but that he would like to defend both belts if at all possible. He also said he loved the idea of the tournament and put over Bellator for making it happen. He got a nice reaction from the crowd, who seemed pro-Fedor before the fight.
Former WWE champion Jack Swagger (aka Jake Hager) will make his MMA debut this January on the same night Bellator will crown a new heavyweight champion.
On Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Hager announced he will be facing JW Kiser on January 26th on the undercard of Bellator 214 from the Forum in Los Angeles, CA. It’s not clear if the fight will be on the televised portion or the prelims.
The 36-year-old was a two-sport athlete in football and wrestling at Oklahoma, the latter of which he was an All-American in. After graduating, he signed a deal with WWE in 2006 and spent several years in developmental before being called up to the big show. He made his debut for ECW in 2008 before moving to Raw in 2009. While in WWE, he won the WWE World title, the ECW title, and the U.S. title. He left the company in 2017 after asking for his release.
He has worked indie shows since then, but announced his intent in November 2017 to fight professionally. He has one more indie appearance remaining before going into his fight camp full time.
During his conversation with Helwani, Hager alluded to the fact he might not fight under his real name if some “legal filings” are done in time.
Kiser is 1-1, making his pro debut earlier this year in a Kansas City-based promotion.
Fedor Emelianenko will face Ryan Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix finals in the main event with middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi defending against Rafael Lovato Jr. in the co-main event. Aaron Pico will also be on the event.
As part of their convention in Winston-Salem, North Carolina this weekend, WrestleCade presented a show opposite WWE’s Starrcade event last night. Here are the results:
– The Extreme Horsemen defeated The Squad, The Heatseekers, and The Boys
The Extreme Horsemen won with a slingshot superkick on one of the Squad members.
– Billy Gunn defeated Carlito
Gunn sold for most of the match after being posted by Carlito on the outside. For the finish, he hit the Famouser when Carlito accidentally spit the apple in the referee’s face and they were arguing about it.
– Zane Dawson defeated Tommy Dreamer and Luke Hawx
Hawx had a bandage on his head, with Kevin Kelly saying on commentary that he was doing stunt work for a movie and was injured. Dreamer wore Dusty Rhodes yellow and black tights with the House of Hardcore logo on them.
Dawson pinned Dreamer with a lariat after Dreamer gave a Death Valley Driver to Hawx.
After the match, Dreamer got on the mic to say he wears Dusty Rhodes’ colors so nobody will forget Rhodes’ brilliance. He talked about Rhodes making Starrcade an event, saying he knows WWE’s Starrcade was just down the road and thanking the fans for selling WrestleCade out. He said this was where real wrestling and fans were.
– Jerry Lawler defeated George South
The highlight was South’s mic work before the match. He insulted the crowd and said he waited a long time to get Lawler in the ring. He said he was going to dedicate the match to his “good friend” Andy Kaufman and use the piledriver to beat Lawler. Lawler then got on the mic and said he’d use a move from his good friend Steve Austin. He hit a weak stunner on South and the match began.
Lawler won by using his feet on the ropes for the pin. The referee saw it, but he let it slide because South kept pushing him during the match.
– The Veterans of War (Wilcox & Mayweather) defeated Bobby Lashley & King Mo
VOW hit a double team cutter on Mo for the pin as Lashley was tossed to the outside.
– Caleb Konley, Juventud Guerrera & Super Crazy defeated Willie Mack, PJ Black & Jason Kincaid
Konley, Guerrera, and Super Crazy won in a wild finish. Mack went crazy and hit stunners on everyone, including his own team. He tried to hit one on the referee, but the ref blocked it and hit Mack with one of his own. Guerrera was able to hit a big splash and there was a pile on for the pin.
– Jungle Grrrl defeated Amber O’Neal by DQ in a WOW match
This was an overbooked mess. The ref was bumped, then Lana Star tried to help O’Neal but accidentally hit her with some sort of glass object. The ref was knocked down and couldn’t make the count. O’Neal hit an X-Factor, but a second ref was pulled out of the ring.
The Beast ran in and chokeslammed Jungle Grrrl, gave O’Neal a DDT, and gave Star a chokeslam when Star tried to suck up to her. It was announced that Jungle Grrrl won by DQ because The Beast touched her first.
– Dan Severn (w/ Jim Cornette) defeated Josh Woods
Severn pinned Woods suddenly as Woods was trying to lock in an armbar. Cornette and Severn shook Woods’ hand after the match and put him over on the mic.
Cornette then thanked the fans and mentioned this was his last match as a manager after 35 years. He said he didn’t want to keep coming out and risk hurting himself and being laughed at. He noted that he’s been around the world and could have chosen anywhere to end his managerial run, but the Carolinas are what started his career.
He thanked Dusty Rhodes, Jim Crockett Promotions, and The Midnight Express for allowing him to work with them and making his career.
– Hurricane Helms won a battle royal to win the Top Rope Belts title
Other wrestlers in this included Mr. Hughes, Tracy Smothers, Bobby Fulton, Kevin Thorne, Crazzy Steve, D’Lo Brown, Swoggle, and several local names.
– Ryback defeated Joey Mercury
Ryback won with the Shell Shock, which came when he popped right up after Mercury hit a Pedigree.
– The announcers said WrestleCade expected over 4,000 people this weekend.
– Helms received his title for winning the battle royal, which came off like a sponsored segment for Top Rope Belts.
– Ivelisse defeated Taya Valkyrie in a no DQ match
Ivelisse submitted Valkyrie with a choke while using a big steel chain after Valkyrie missed an elbow drop and crashed into a table. A chair, ladder, kendo stick, trash can, table, metal sheet, and chains were used in the match.
This was the only match to feature brawling in the crowd. Ivelisse bled a bit after a shot to the head from the metal sheet.
– Impact Global Champion Eli Drake defeated Johnny Impact and Jack Swagger to retain his title
Swagger was introduced by Dutch Mantell. He came out with his wife Catalina Swagger and they did a fun Dancing with the Stars bit.
Drake got the pin on Impact by using his feet on the ropes following Impact hitting Starship Pain on Swagger.
Catalina Swagger got involved during the match a lot, including Jack making the save when Drake picked her up and pressed her over his head. She slapped Impact, with Valkyrie coming out and carrying her to the back.
Drake got on the mic to brag after his win. Valkyrie and Catalina then came out as friends with kendo sticks and forced him back into the ring. Swagger and Impact held Drake so Valkyrie could chop him, then both women hit him with the kendo sticks. Impact and Swagger put Drake in a double ankle lock before letting him escape the ring.
Another pro wrestler is trying their hand at mixed martial arts.
While appearing on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani this afternoon, Jack Swagger (real name Jake Hager) announced that he’s signed with Bellator MMA and will be debuting as a heavyweight in 2018. Swagger said he’s wanted to do MMA for a long time and had been negotiating with Bellator since the summer, finalizing terms with them over the weekend.
When asked how the news would affect his pro wrestling schedule, Swagger said he wants to continue wrestling in addition to his new career in MMA. Swagger has been working on the independent scene since departing WWE earlier this year.
Swagger noted on an episode of Chael Sonnen’s Beyond the Fight podcast in March that he had requested his release from WWE due to a lack of opportunities and being far apart in contract negotiations. He told Sonnen that it would be difficult to decline a good offer to try out MMA if he got one.
Before starting with WWE in 2006, Swagger was a standout amateur wrestler at the University of Oklahoma.
After a couple of weeks where his status was up in the air, WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Swagger had been released by the company.
Their statement: “WWE has come to terms on the release of Jack Swagger as of today, March 13, 2017. WWE wishes Swagger the best in all his future endeavors”
Swagger initially appeared on the “Beyond the Fight” podcast with Chael Sonnen at the beginning of this month to reveal that he had requested to leave WWE. But the company clarified that Swagger had not yet been released when he started to take outside bookings, including a match against Alberto Del Rio for WAW in the United Kingdom.
When noting that Swagger hadn’t yet been granted his release then, WWE said that Swagger would have a 90-day non-compete clause once he officially left the company where he would get his downside guarantee and wouldn’t be able to wrestle for other promotions during that period.
The WWE officially announced today that Jacob Hager, aka Jack Swagger, has not been released, even though he said that he was leaving the company on Wednesday.
Where this gets interesting is that Swagger has been announced for several shows next weekend in the U.K., the first being a singles match on March 10th against Alberto El Patron in Norwich, England for the WAW promotion.
WWE claims he can not do that match, noting that when he is officially released, at that point he would have a 90-day non-compete period where WWE will pay him based on his downside guarantee, but during that period he can’t wrestle anywhere else, whether that be promotions they consider rivals, television promotions, or anywhere else.
“He’s currently under contract to WWE,” said a WWE company source. “When he is released, he would have a 90 day non-compete.”
Swagger appeared on Chael Sonnen’s “Beyond the Fight” podcast earlier this week to announce that he had requested his release from WWE and to explain why he made the decision.
In an appearance on “Beyond the Fight” with Chael Sonnen on Wednesday, Swagger announced the news and said that his decision to leave the company was made because of a lack of opportunities in WWE and the sides being so far apart in contract negotiations.
“As of yesterday, Chael, I asked for my release from WWE,” Swagger said. “It’s still kind of an ongoing process right now. Basically, it came down to contract negotiations and we were way off. They didn’t value me at what I thought I was valued at. So, you can be angry about it because wrestling is something that you get so passionate about, but this was a business decision. They weren’t giving me the opportunity to make the full amount of income I could for my family, so when you put it like that it’s time to go.”
Swagger said that the start-and-stop nature of his booking was frustrating, but noted that it’s something that happens all of the time and that there are two people in a room in WWE who determine who the best wrestlers are even though the crowd may like others more.
When asked what his plans are going forward, Swagger noted that he’s young and is leaving because he wasn’t getting opportunities. He said that he intends to keep wrestling and wants to go to Mexico, the UK, and Japan, but it would be hard to turn down a good offer to try out mixed martial arts.
Prior to requesting his release, Swagger had been relegated to only making appearances on house shows. He switched brands and joined the SmackDown roster after being drafted to Raw in last July’s WWE draft, but hasn’t appeared on TV in months following a brief feud with Baron Corbin.
Swagger’s appearance on Sonnen’s podcast is available to listen to below:
The Superstars intro brings us to the ramp, where Jack Swagger comes down. Jinder Mahal makes his entrance to no reaction. They show a recap of Mahal defeating Heath Slater to gain his contract. Corey Graves says that Mahal spent his time away from WWE to better himself in every way.
Jack Swagger defeated Jinder Mahal
“We the People” chant breaks out as Swagger takes Mahal down to the mat. Mahal lands a series of forearms after a back elbow and kicks away in the corner. Mahal doesn’t appear to be in his best shape.
Mahal clips the knee and hits the Yakuza Kick for two. Mahal chokes Swagger on the ropes until a four count, and then knees away at the face. Swagger hits a big belly-to-belly suplex, then the Swagger Bomb, and gets two.
Mahal avoids the gutwrench powerbomb and lands a nice-looking running knee to the side of the head for two. Mahal misses an enzuigiri, and Swagger gets the win with the Patriot Lock. Mahal looked reasonably good here with his strikes — the running knee would make for a nice finish for him.
The Lana and Rusev wedding reception from Raw is re-aired in full. Lana took one of the best bumps ever into a cake, it was great. The Orton vs. Lesnar sitdown video package is aired. And a Cruiserweight Classic hype video leads to the main event of Sami Zayn vs. Curtis Axel. Zayn is out first, followed by Axel.
Sami Zayn defeated Curtis Axel
Zayn and Axel tie-up and Axel dominates him into the corner. Graves talks about how Zayn is no longer tied to Owens. He’s now a man without an island. Zayn lands an armdrag and sends Axel (and his growing skullet) to the floor.
Zayn teases a dive but flips back into the ring, leading to Axel pulling him to the floor. Zayn moonsaults off the apron to gain an edge. Zayn’s shoulder gets posted and they talk about his shoulder injuries. Axel stun guns the arm and we go to a break.
Zayn uses his good arm to fight back with forearms after the break. Axel sets him up on the second rope and clotheslines the back of the head for two. Axel punches away at the left shoulder and runs to the ropes, but eats a lariat and an exploder.
Zayn goes for the Blue Thunder Bomb with the left arm, but can’t lift him. Zayn avoids the Perfect Plex and hits a tornado DDT, and then the Helluva kick ends it. Both matches tonight were pretty fun — Superstars is a great way to see mid-card guys shine in ways they usually wouldn’t be given time to on Raw.
The show ends with a Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins hype video and the Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke match from Raw.
