There was another person originally considered to be part of The Inner Circle group, according to Chris Jericho.
The former AEW World Heavyweight Champion had the entire Inner Circle on Talk Is Jericho with Santana, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager.
It turns out that AEW President Tony Khan had pitched boxer Anthony Ogogo, who was signed in late October, as a member of the group.
However, due to his size, Jericho wanted someone bigger for the role due to the person being his bodyguard. Thus, he pitched Hager.
“The thing about Tony is he is beyond a fan. He’s really smart. As we all know, he’s almost bullish. He knows what he wants, and he also knows his guys.
“I said, ‘what do you think about Swagger?’ And he’s like, ‘I’ve always loved Jack Swagger. I always thought he was great.’ I said, ‘I think I can get him. He’s the guy. He’s the guy,’ and lo and behold, you guys worked it out. You can still fight in Bellator, and when the COVID is done, you will still fight in Bellator again, but in the meantime, your career has completely skyrocketed as a result too. So it was a win-win for everybody.”
Of course, Hager joined the group when he made his promotional debut on the October 2, 2019 episode of AEW Dynamite from Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena on TNT.
On this show, Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz beat The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in a six-man tag team match. After the contest, Hager walked out and helped the heels beatdown the babyfaces.
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