Sheamus shocked the wrestling world by capturing the WWE Championship in late 2009, but the Celtic Warrior wasn’t the promotion’s only option for Raw’s top spot. Speaking on the Insightpodcast, Sheamus revealed the surprising name who could have taken his place.
“I went with John, and we had a couple of matches on a European tour… There was a throw up between me or [Jack] Swagger to go with.”
Sheamus’ meteoric rise culminated in winning the WWE Championship in a Tables Match against John Cena at WWE TLC, just 166 days after his televised debut. This rapid ascent marked the third-shortest time a wrestler had gone from debut to World Champion, trailing only Ric Flair in 1992 and Brock Lesnar in 2002.
Jack Swagger, meanwhile, would not capture a world title until 2010, when he won the World Heavyweight Championship by cashing in Money in the Bank. Swagger’s reign was brief, and he never regained the same level of success in WWE before his release in 2017.
Today, Sheamus remains a dominant force in the ring, focused on winning the Intercontinental Championship—the only title he needs to achieve Grand Slam status. Stay tuned to SEScoops for updates on Sheamus, who continues to show no signs of slowing down.
As seen at Saturday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view event in Chicago, IL, Hager beat Rhodes in this contest that marked his in-ring debut with All Elite Wrestling.
In order to build up to this match, AEW had to lay some back story between Rhodes and Hager, formerly known as Jack Swagger from his time in WWE.
During the build-up for the AEW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho-Cody Rhodes match last year heading into Full Gear, Rhodes took a beat down from Hager.
AEW did an angle where Rhodes’ arm was broken after Hager smashed it in a car door.
It was revealed that Hager had signed with the promotion when he made his 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.
He’s been aligned with the heel group, named The Inner Circle, on television since then.
Jake Hager Feels “Cloud Of Doom” When Looking At Misused WWE Talent
It appears that WWE star turned MMA fighter Jack Swagger was
not happy with Goldberg’s short match against Dolph Ziggler at the SummerSlam
PPV.
Goldberg made his surprise return on WWE Programming last
week and it was revealed that Dolph Ziggler will be facing him instead of the
Miz at Sundays’ PPV.
The match took place in the first half of the show and while
Dolph tried to gain the upper hand by attacking the former WCW Star early in
the bout, Goldberg defeated him easily after delivering a spear and a jackhammer.
Swagger took on his Twitter account after the match was over and he commented on Goldberg’s performance saying that if you have a place on the SummerSlam card, you should be able to work a match.
Goldberg replied to the former World Champion with a tweet saying ‘easy kid’ and Swagger then went on a rant against him while replying to a number of fan tweets:
Maybe if u have a match on #summerfest, u should actually be able to work a match. @Goldberg . I’m tired of this shit…
Too bad that philosophy isn’t applied to guys like @HEELZiggler , where’s his investment? I much rather watch him for 3 mins especially if he’s at a #rockbar
It’s unknown whether Goldberg will be sticking around after
his SummerSlam match though it’s likely that he is not done with the company and
he will return sooner or later.
Latest report suggested that Paul Heyman intends to use him as a special attraction and so it’s very much possible that the company will bring him in again for more big shows in the future.
While former World Champion Jack Swagger has found a new career path in MMA since leaving WWE, a wrestling return never really seems to be out of question.
Considering the fact that he is good friends with the likes of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, a lot of people wonder if he could show up at AEW at any point.
During a recent interview with WrestlingInc, the former Champion was asked if he has had any talks with the company.
Answering it, Swagger said that while he has maintained communication with his friends there, they haven’t really had any talks in a professional capacity:
“I’m very good friends with a lot of those guys: Chris [Jericho] and Cody and I’ve met the Bucks, It’s crazy – Kenny Omega was at Deep South Wrestling in 2006 with me unsigned by WWE. I talk to them sporadically. We haven’t brought [me working with AEW] up so far. It’s just been congratulations, patting each other on the back type deal.”
These comments from the former WWE Star confirm that the newly founded company has no immediate interest in bringing Jack Swagger in for a show.
However, this also means that the doors are open and it shouldn’t be a surprise if Swagger is presented with an offer by the company Officials somewhere down the line.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger recently did an interview with Wrestling Inc. to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the controversial “We The People” gimmick he sported alongside his former manager Zeb Colter in WWE.
2013’s Real Americans rhetoric was very anti-immigration and garnered a solid mixture of support and hate while trying to portray a heel persona. After attracting some negative feedback from mainstream news outlets, the gimmick was toned down a bit.
Swagger explained why the gimmick was so short-lived and how it tackled real-life political and controversial issues:
“It was definitely cut short but it’s one of things where it is not my company. I think ‘We the People’ is an example of why pro wrestling is so cool because it was a storyline that started out very political and very controversial and very nasty,” Hager said.
“It really evolved into a movement of the people, not just American people, but people everywhere. Our fans around the world still say it and they have taken it to make it their own. It is more of that universe than it is mine.
“I am just happy to be part of it. It’s just cool because you can do something in pro wrestling and have it evolve and just watch it transgress it’s pretty cool.”
You can read Swagger’s full interview with Wrestling Inc. by clicking this link here.
5 Star Wrestling has announced the main event for their next live show on the UK’s FreeSports channel this Thursday. 5 Star Wrestling Champion John Morrison will be facing former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger for the belt inside Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.
The company sent out the following press release hyping the match:
‘The All-American American’ Jake Hager will challenge John Morrison for the 5 Star Championship next Thursday night (February 8) at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle. This main event match was confirmed on Thursday night’s historic 5 Star Wrestling:LIVE on FreeSports broadcast as Hager defeated ‘English Lion’ Eddie Ryan then Morrison retained his belt against Rob Van Dam. Hager has vowed that he is in 5 Star Wrestling to become champion ever since he was unveiled as the company’s big money signing at a press conference in Sheffield in January. And the big Oklahoman reiterated this statement before he narrowly defeated his nemesis Ryan in an exciting bout at Liverpool Echo Arena. Meanwhile Morrison recorded his sixth successful defence in what is turning out to be an epic reign. Rob Van Dam joins AJ Styles, PJ Black, Carlito, Moose, Drew Galloway and Rey Mysterio as a who’s who of names that ‘The Shaman of Sexy’ has beaten in 5 Star Championship matches.
BREAKING NEWS from the 5 Star Wrestling website: John Morrison vs Jack Swagger 5 Star Championship match… https://t.co/UADQVQSnnP
UK promotion 5 Star Wrestling has announced the full card for their first taping on the FreeSports channel. The company has issued the following press release for the event emanating from Liverpool’s Echo Arena on February 1st:
When we created the 5 Star Wrestling brand, we set ourselves some extremely ambitious targets. We wanted to work with the biggest and best stars from around the world, to put on huge events in front of the largest possible audiences and above all else, we wanted to finally bring LIVE wrestling to prime-time UK television.
It is with great pride that we announce a MULTI-YEAR DEAL to broadcast all future 5 Star Wrestling events LIVE on British TV, 7pm-10pm every Thursday night, starting February 1st LIVE from the Liverpool Echo Arena.
This is set to be a truly historic night featuring the 5 Star debut of the iconic Rob Van Dam!
FreeSports is a brand new channel here in the UK that can be found for FREE on FreeView, Sky, FreeSat, BT, TalkTalk TV and very soon on Virgin Media, making 5 Star Wrestling programming available in over 22 million homes across the country.
For those who aren’t in on Thursday nights, every episode of 5 Star Wrestling will repeat multiple times per week on FreeSports and we’ll be making them available via various catchup services as well as right here on our Facebook page and over on our YouTube channel.
The full announced card is as follows:
5 Star Championship Match – Rob Van Dam vs John Morrison (c)
Tap or Snap Championship Match: Submission Elimination Match – Mark Haskins vs BT Gunn vs Nathan Cruz vs Joey Axl vs Flash Morgan Webster
The Legendary Rey Mysterio vs Liverpool’s No.1 Zack Gibson
Eddie Ryan vs Jake Hager (WWE’s Jack Swagger)
5 STAR TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT – SEMI FINAL
Carlito & Chris Masters vs Adam Maxted & Charlie Sterling
5 STAR TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT – SEMI FINAL
El Ligero & Jody Fleisch vs Big Grizzly & Dave Mastiff
Moose vs Rampage Brown
Jack Jester vs ‘The Primate’ Jason Prime
Brian Cage vs The Darewolf PJ Black
***FULL MATCH CARD ANNOUNCED***
CO-MAIN EVENT For The 5 Star Championship Rob Van Dam vs John Morrison… https://t.co/U23gweHkxH
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger/Jake Hager has been unveiled as the latest signee to UK promotion 5 Star Wrestling. The company held a press conference recently in Sheffield, England and Swagger was involved in a brawl with one of the UK’s top rising stars Eddie Ryan, you can see the footage below.
5 Star Wrestling will be available to watch in the UK as of February 1st via the following channels:
Former WWE Superstar Jack Swagger recently did an interview with The Huffington Post to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Swagger discussed what was special about working for WWE, what he failed to accomplish during his time with the promotion, and Cody Rhodes’ exit from the company. You can check out the highlights here:
What was special about working for WWE:
“I was very lucky to go to the biggest company in the world and wrestle. You definitely see the bigger arenas, the bigger crowds, hear the bigger pops, work with he bigger names. You can’t put a monetary value on that, because it’s so special.”
What he failed to accomplish while with the company:
“Anything I did not accomplish there, it wasn’t because there was a thumb over my head, pushing me down. It’s because I didn’t accomplish it. That’s the way I choose to go through life and look at things and move on.”
Cody Rhodes’ exit from the promotion:
“He has a very good brain for this business – he always has – and he really knew his game plan and what he wanted to do. He executed it very well.”
You can read Swagger’s full interview with The Huffington Post by clicking here.
Former WWE World Champion Jack Swagger recently appeared on Arm Drag Takedown Podcast with Pollo Del Mar where he talked about his WWE departure and more. Below are some of the highlights from his interview:
Working for WWE:
“I was very lucky to go to the biggest company in the world and wrestle, You definitely see the bigger arenas, the bigger crowds, hear the bigger pops, work with the bigger names. You can’t put a monetary value on that, because it’s so special.”
Not accomplishing things there:
“Anything I did not accomplish there, it wasn’t because there was a thumb over my head, pushing me down. It’s because I didn’t accomplish it, That’s the way I choose to go through life and look at things and move on.”
Why Cody Rhodes was the chief inspiration behind his WWE Departure:
“He has a very good brain for this business – he always has – and he really knew his game plan and what he wanted to do, He executed it very well.”
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger recently took to social media to post a video in which he calls out WWE for running shows in conjunction with other indie shows in the area. Check it out:
“I am not here to talk sh*t but I’m sorry I am taking this personally. To me this is a slap in the face. Typical WWE saying they are a bigger company and they can come into your market and push you around and run a show whenever they like. You want to compete? Fine.
“Real wrestling fans, indie fans, it is time to stand up for independent wrestling. On November 28th come to The Wrestling Revolver and help us outdraw the NXT show. Help Revolver and all the other promotions in the same situation. Stand up for the indies!”
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights.
Why Cesaro should be WWE Champion:
“Cesaro should be world champ,” said Swagger. “I’m not afraid to say it, Cesaro is my favorite wrestler. It used to be Kurt Angle, but it’s now Antonio Cesaro. He’s the strongest guy there, he can go with anybody, and he is a guy that a company can invest in. In addition to being gifted athletically and being the strongest guy in the room, Cesaro is very smart upstairs,” said Swagger, whose new website offers some not-safe-for-work t-shirts. “He can go in the back and wrestle a match out in his head, then he’ll add his Cesaro-isms in the ring to really make the match special. “He knows exactly where to put things and make a match explosive. ‘Sell, sell, sell, then holy sh–, explosion!’ He’s so flexible, and he’s made all his tag team partners better. He made Tyson Kidd better, and he was the driving force for me in the Real Americans tag team. His big swing is gold. He’s very hungry, and coming from the indies, he has a chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove. He uses that as fuel to keep getting better and not get complacent, and he would be the perfect guy to be world champ.”
His future in pro wrestling:
“I want to wrestle everywhere. I’m open to wrestling for Global Force, Lucha Underground, even if I’m under a mask, and Ring of Honor. I want to work them all. Everyone is talking about how hot the wrestling scene is in Japan, but the U.K. market, promotion across promotion, is very consistent and growing. I just did WAW (World Association of Wrestling) in Norwich, England, and their television production value was amazing. I wrestled Cody Hall, who had [his father] Razor Ramon in his corner, and that was really cool. I want to grow my brand and help wrestling continue to grow, too.”
Former WWE superstar Jack Swagger will be challenging for the WCPW Title at the Pro Wrestling World Cup finals on August 26th.
Swagger will go one on one with the current Champion and leader of ‘The Prestige’ Joe Hendry. Tickets for the event in Newcastle are available to purchase via Eventbrite now.
UK based Women’s promotion Pro Wrestling EVE has released a documentary entitled ‘Piledrive a Facist.’ The company describe themselves as “feminist-punk-rock wrestling” and have seen the likes of WWE’s Paige, Nixon Newell and Toni Storm through their doors. They’re are gaining traction as one of the hottest underground movements in UK wrestling and certainly a promotion to keep an eye on. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.
Former WWE superstar Jack Swagger has been announced for Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Portsmouth Guildhall event on August 27th, he will be facing Dave Mastiff, a man that previously appeared on TNA’s British Bootcamp show and a regular for ICW and PROGRESS.
Braun Strowman reportedly said “f*** your son” to Karen Jarrett
Karen Jarrett was a part of a media conference call earlier this week and said that the incident between her and Braun Strowman at a Nashville bar wasn’t a big deal.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, obtained another eye witness account who stated that Karen Jarrett approached Strowman and asked for an autograph for her son. Strowman replied with “f*** your son”. Strowman then begged Jarrett to not tell Kurt Angle once he realized who she was.
Here is what Karen Jarrett said about the incident during a conference call with the media this week:
“Oh my goodness, I can clear the air. It was a silly incident where you have two people in the wrestling business playing their characters, being silly and it got blown way out of proportion. And the fact that the two of us are still in the news and it’s still being talked about, that’s a question that you took the time to ask I think is hysterical, to be honest with you. It’s silliness. It’s the wrestling business, we had fun with it and somebody took it and turned it into something more than it was.”
Dutch Mantell interested in bringing Jack Swagger to Global Force Wrestling
During a recent media conference call, Dutch Mantell was asked if Global Force Wrestling was interested in signing for WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger. Swagger was released by WWE in March of this year and has been working on the independent circuit. Here Mantell’s response when asked about Jack Swagger:
“I talk to Jack every couple of weeks. Since he left WWE, he has expressed some interest and we have some interest in him, He was on the road for 10 years, and I think right now he is enjoying his time off. But, I am interested in bringing him in. I think you could possibly see him in GFW soon.”
As we previously noted, former WWE Superstar and World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger was a guest on the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk about his time with the company and his recent release. During the interview, Swagger also commented on his longtime friend Jinder Mahal’s recent main event push and WWE Title win. Here are the highlights:
Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title Win:
“Jinder is an amazing performer. He is a very tall guy, great look and he is a business person. So I could definitely see him achieving this for sure and he has all tools. I was just as surprised as anyone though which is one of the good things about pro wrestling that you literally never know what is going to happen. I can definitely understand and I think I know why they did it. Jinder is amazing but India is also a very big market so it is like two birds with one stone.”
If he was surprised Mahal moved up the ladder so fast:
“No, I’m not. Maybe I’m jaded but I really don’t get surprised by much these days when it comes to WWE or professional wrestling because that is the beauty of it. Overnight you can become someone so the trick is to stay consistent, stay performing well and stay ready because it could happen at any second.”
His stance on the Randy Orton “dive” debate:
“Randy and I were always good friends. Some people don’t like Randy but I personally love him. I’ll take a guy that tells me how he feels 100% than someone who is going to sugarcoat it. What people don’t get about Randy (which I can understand) is that Randy is his father’s son. He understands this business more than a lot of people think he does. He looks at a lot more through his father’s eyes in the way he does things and thinks about things. He is definitely an old soul but he grew up in this business so he has that perspective and he doesn’t want 99 super-kicks in a match, which I get but at the same time you have to do what the market dictates. Social media is a fun thing where you can say how you really feel and it is going to cause a stir about somethings and point a light on things and we all have a voice and that is what it is for. He just has a special touch for getting on people’s skin and I’m sorry but it is hilarious.”
Former WWE Superstar Jack Swagger was the latest guest on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. In this hour-long interview, the “All American American” opened up about the start-and-stop pushes he received over his ten years with WWE, being paired with Zeb Colter (“Dirty” Dutch Mantell) and much more. Here are the highlights of what Swagger said about:
His WWE Departure:
“The main thing was my contract wasn’t up until January ’18 and they picked up an option (which they only had the option for) I didn’t have any control over it and they picked it up and extended it for another year. The timing of when they did that was when they took Dutch (Zeb Colter) away from me and put him with Alberto, so it was kind of like a two-fold punch in the face. About six months after that I felt like I needed to renegotiate and it was now the brand split again and moving me back to Smackdown, so I was thinking maybe we are going to do something and for whatever reason they didn’t like me over there so I said lets push the contract negotiations.
Pretty much they told me that I deserved a raise and they wanted to sign me for another five years and into my 40s. What they were offering and what I had averaged over the decade that I had worked for them was way off. So after ten years with the company, I needed a change and like I said earlier I need to journey out and become the best professional wrestler I can but also I needed a change to make them miss me and want me back. I need to make them want me and the main thing is they were not growing my brand anymore. Bottom line. It happens and you can get angry about it but it is all business and it is all dollars. I was angry for a long time but once this all came down and I looked at it as a business decision so I understood their side, understood my side and we left on good terms and it is just something we had to do. I look forward to getting out there and showing everyone ALL of the Jack Swagger brand not just what they wanted to show you guys.”
Was taking Zeb Colter away from him the key point in knowing they were losing faith in the character:
“It wasn’t the tipping point, it was just another thing added on to the long list of the same thing of where it is very hard to get momentum going and it is even harder to be natural like “We The People” had become. “We The People” was transforming into a whole different climate and it was no longer a political movement it was simply a movement for the people and it was not more evident than when I went out of the country and went to Mexico and these were the very people we spoke of so harshly and they would stand up and say “We The People”. It was such a cool movement and it transformed so naturally and they tried to cut it off on so many levels but it kept coming back. They took Cesaro away from The Real Americans and tried to cut off “We The People”, we turned baby face, we wrestle a Russian, we have one of the biggest match ups of the year and one of the biggest matches of my career against Rusev and I turned baby face instantly over night. That is “We The People”. After that, nothing and they cut the legs out from it again. I am not complaining because I am very grateful for the ten year career I had and that is way above average but it is just another thing because it is not my company and I don’t make the business decisions but one thing that Dutch always said about these types of things that I always took to heart was; “You can either do it or you can go start your own wrestling promotion.” So when you put it like that it puts it in perspective.”
His relationship and pairing with Dutch Mantell:
“It was one of the biggest honors of my career for me to drive him for two years and to listen to him complain about my driving (laughing) for two years. But it was such a blessing and such an honor to listen to this guy. The first show we did together and if you know Dutch you are going to believe this. We wrestled our match right before intermission and Taker had come by and we were talking with him and I was watching the rest of the matches and Dutch was ready to go and get on the road. I said that they kind of want us to stay here and watch all of the matches out of respect and Dutch said: “Respect? Well don’t you want to learn? You can learn more from me riding in the car in thirty minuets than you will in two hours watching matches, I promise you.” After that we got done wrestling and we got in the car and that is just the way it was. Dutch isn’t a cocky person but he knows what he is talking about and after that I laughed and I never doubted him.”
What was the best advice Dutch gave him:
“That is a great question. There is so much he gives without even most people picking up on it. One of the biggest things with me was if you watched my career I’m 6’4” and 270 pounds but I move very well and I like to wrestle almost like a smaller guy than I am so when he came aboard he saw that right away and he always worked with me on protecting my size and protecting myself. You can do so much more when you can work the size that you are and he really helped me on that side of things but also on a personal level and just as a friend I would almost say that his advice was even more valuable on that side of things. He is so endearing and he is so caring and has been through so much that he just knows and understands so many situations. Having him as a friend was just as good as having him as a teacher.”
Who came up with “We the People”:
“I came up with the t-shirt and was trying to sell it to WWE for the longest time and I just had it made myself and I wore it on the Money In The Bank pay per view and literally as soon as I came back through the curtain the entire merchandise department was there waiting for me and headquarters had called them and they wanted the shirt made. That is how that came about and it is good advice for anyone listening that is still in there. Go ahead and make the shirt you want made and wear it on TV and they will want it.”
The “We The People” is such a cool story. We just so happened to be in Nashville where Dutch lives a couple of weeks after the Elimination Chamber where I beat Randy to go on to WrestleMania with Alberto. They were looking for a mouthpiece for me and they say I can’t talk (but I think I am doing just fine) so being in Nashville and I think it was Hunter’s idea to bring him in and they had Dutch do a couple of promos on video and would play it for Vince later in the day. He did one or two and on the third one he added in “We The People” at the end and everybody when he said that to close it were like; “WOW”. When he said it, it was just one of those moments where you get goosebumps and it was just something that Dutch and his brilliant mind had just thrown in there and event though he didn’t say it in the first two promos he said it in that third one and when Vince watched it he said that’s my guy. So you can add “We The People” to the long list of brilliant things that Dutch has come up with.”
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Former WWE Superstar Jack Swagger was a recent guest on Main Event Radio to discuss his departure from WWE and his future in the wrestling business.
His WWE Departure
After a 10 years run with the company, Swagger was released from WWE back in March. As much as Swagger enjoyed his time in WWE, his decision to leave came down to WWE not recognizing his perceived value.
“I’m very fortunate for the career that I had,” he said. “What it really was is a business decision. I valued myself at a certain price, they valued it at another. I’ve gotta move forward. It was just time for a change; time for Jack Hager/Jack Swagger to go out and see other opportunities. I’m kind of green all over again on this side. It’s so exciting. It’s the best time to be a wrestler. Transcending countries, languages. It’s really cool to be a part of that movement.”
Working Independents & Japan:
Swagger has two young children and loves the family life. Packing lunches, taking his kids to school, he’s thrilled to have the opportunity to finally put his family first. Now that he’s working on the independent scene, he has more control over his schedule and his booking.
“200 days a year out there in a car every night it’s really gotta be in your heart. Now that I’m on the outside of it I could see where I was making mistakes and how I could’ve handled things differently. I’m excited to put my nose to the concrete and grind. Independent wrestling is so big and with social media now and the internet we could brand ourselves. I really don’t like the term indies, because it’s not indies anymore.”
“I’ll go anywhere,” he continued. “Japan would work perfectly the way I wrestle. It’s a new movement of territories coming up again. People are working together to put on good shows and put on good wrestling.”
If He Wants to Reunite With Dutch Mantell in Impact Wrestling
I have no idea at this moment. It’s very exciting what they’re doing over there. Also very exciting what ROH and Lucha Underground are doing. After the non-compete is up, I’d definitely like to figure that out. It’s scary but you could literally go work everywhere. I don’t want to limit myself. Find a way to use pro wrestling to make what you want to do work. I’m a superhuman freak athlete I just turned 35 and I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. Wrestling is so powerful and it’s so cool.
Former WWE heavyweight champion, Jack Swagger, has announced on Twitter he will be joining Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion. Swagger will be touring Australia with the promotion this June.
The 35 year-old Donald Jacob Hager Jr. singed with WWE in 2006, making his main roster debut on the ECW brand in 2008. Jack Swagger won the world heavyweight championship in 2009, but would fall down the card in later years.
He appears to still be using the Jack Swagger name outside of WWE, which is interesting. Swagger was signed out of college where he was a wrestling and football standout from Oklahoma. He never wrestled on the independents or any non WWE event prior to signing with the company.
Swagger asked for and received his release from WWE in March of 2017.
Former WWE Superstar Jack Swagger has made his first tweet since he was granted release from the company. A fan sent him a tribute video and Swagger thanked the fan and stated that his “reign has just begun”.
John Cena Interrupts Awkward Moment Between Nikki Bella & Tyler Breeze
Last night on Smackdown, John Cena had a match against Fandango. Tyler Breeze accompanied Fandango to the ring and was dressed as Nikki Bella. Cena and Bella wound up being up both Breeze and Fandango. Nikki Bella thought she was looking into a mirror when she bumped into Tyler Breeze backstage. John Cena then appeared and thought Breeze was Nikki Bella and walked away with him.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger has been officially released from the company. WWE.com announced on Monday afternoon:
“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.”
The All-American collegiate wrestler appeared on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome! podcast last week and revealed that he requested his release. WWE sent us a statement clarifying that Swagger was still under contract (as of last week) and has a 90-day ‘no compete’ clause, effective immediately. He was advertised to wrestle Alberto El Patron in the UK this weekend, but was pulled from that show shortly after the match was booked.
Chris Harrington of Wrestlenomics notes that WWE does not own the trademark on the name “Jack Swagger.”
Swagger has been released https://t.co/rsbO92MUkc Also the trademark for "Jack Swagger" is a musician in MN – WWE has no TMs for the name.
Swagger had been with WWE since 2006. He’s a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and held the ECW championship in WWE’s short-lived reboot of the extreme brand.
It has been quite a week for the World Association of Wrestling (WAW) promotion based out of Norwich, England. Having originally booked WWE superstar Jack Swagger for their TV tapings this weekend it emerged that Swagger was still in fact under contract to WWE and subsequently he was pulled from the shows. Swagger’s replacement Chris Masters went on to win the promotion’s World Heavyweight Championship during the tapings.
The biggest fallout from our afternoon show is that @ChrisMasters310 is our new Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion! #wawtv6
— World Association of Wrestling (@WAW_UK) March 11, 2017
Alberto also made the announcement that WWE/WCW legend Rey Mysterio would be making his way to the WAW TV Tapings that are taking place in May, the same month and venue that WWE will be taping their WWE UK Championship Live shows.
It was previously announced by UK Independent promotion World Association of Wrestling (WAW) that Jack Swagger would be making his first post-WWE appearance this Saturday as part of their WAW TV tapings in Norwich, UK against Alberto Del Rio/El Patron.
WWE recently released a statement confirming that Swagger was in fact still contracted to the company and had not been granted his release.
In a final twist Swagger has now been pulled from this weekend’s tapings and has been replaced by former WWE star Chris Masters.
UPDATE: After 3 days of discussions @RealJackSwagger will not be appearing this weekend but will appear later in the year. 1/2 #WATV6
— World Association of Wrestling (@WAW_UK) March 6, 2017
WWE has issued an official statement regarding Jack Swagger’s status with the company.
Earlier this week, the All-American collegiate wrestler appeared on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome! podcast and announced he requested his release.
Swagger is advertised to wrestle Alberto El Patron next weekend. However, WWE says not only is he still under contract, but he’ll remain under exclusive contract to WWE for 90 days after his release is granted.
WWE sent us the following statement this afternoon:
“Jack Swagger has not been granted a release from his WWE contract. When he is granted his release, Jack Swagger will remain under exclusive contract to WWE for 90 days and will be compensated accordingly during that period.”
Swagger has been with WWE since 2006. He’s a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and held the ECW championship in WWE’s short-lived reboot of the extreme brand. He’s had limited television time over the past several years, jumping to SmackDown in the fall after his RAW contract ‘expired.’
– Jack Swagger’s first opponent post-WWE will be his WrestleMania 29 opponent, Alberto El Patron. The match will take place in Norwich, England on March 11th for the UK-based World Association of Wrestling (WAW). The WAW promotion is owned by Ricky Knight, father of WWE Superstar Paige.
– Speaking of Jack Swagger, his former tag team partner Cesaro thanked him on Twitter. The duo teamed together as part of the “We The People” storyline back in 2014.
– Former WWE, TNA and ROH writer and producer Dave Lagana did an hour-long interview on the Solomonster Sounds Off podcast discussing why Vince McMahon hates sickness, the ridiculous pitch for the funeral of Al Wilson that never happened and has never been told before, the origin of the Tim White Lunchtime Suicide skits, why Beth Phoenix belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame, his resignation from TNA and thoughts on Dixie Carter, the genesis of the Broken Matt Hardy character and his friendship with Billy Corgan.
This was a fun interview we did last night. Thank you @solomonster. We talk at a high level above the normal "who should get pushed" talk. https://t.co/9kIIDZHU8E