Plenty of Swagger In Former Champ
Posted: May 18th 2009 By: CMBurnham
Decrease the smug factor a bit, lessen the smile just a smidge and Jacob Hager admits in real life, he's not that far off being his WWE character, Jack Swagger.
As Swagger, the 6-foot-5, 260-lb., Hager has made a huge impact in a short amount of time. The All-American American likes the character and he loves the WWE life.
"WWE Creative came up with the name, it's definitely awesome," says 27-year-old Swagger. "My late grandfather's name was Jack. It's funny, when my old college buddies from the (Oklahoma Sooners) football team heard the name, they were like: 'Yep, that's him, that's the perfect name.' What I do, the smiling, that's me. And the cockiness, the sarcasm ... I'm sarcastic (in real life), I like to mess with people.
"And calling myself the All-American American, that just pisses everybody off."
A second-string defensive tackle (he played behind NFLers Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek) on the Sooners, he was asked to join the wrestling team in his sophomore year (he had a stellar high school wrestling background) and decided to switch over full-time.
"I'd been wrestling since I was six and as a kid, I'd watch the Saturday morning wrestling on TV. I was a big Ultimate Warrior fan."
A meeting with Jerry Brisco would steer him on his ultimate path. The two kept in touch and in May of 2006, Swagger got his break. After working in WWE developmental, Swagger got a dark match against William Regal a year ago and lost in convincing fashion.
"That night, I saw (Regal) backstage. I was a little nervous and said to him, 'I think we have a match tonight.' He says, 'Yes,' and then brushes me off and walks right by me.'"
Swagger isn't getting the brushoff these days.
After holding the ECW title for 104 days (he won it from Matt Hardy) before dropping the belt to Christian, he's got his eyes on gold again, with a match against the champ at tomorrow night's Judgment Day pay-per-view. "I think the chemistry is there between me and Christian. He's a great competitor, but not as good looking or good as me."
He still has wonderful memories of being handed the championship belt after his win over Hardy.
"Everything you saw, that was real emotion coming from me," he says. "It was like the first time I won a state championship. It was the biggest moment in my career ... But I'll surpass that (tomorrow) when I win it back."
Sitting in a dressing room with a Who's Who of wrestling has been an incredible experience for Swagger.
"It's such a surreal feeling. When I talk to The Undertaker, I just sit next to him and listen. Jim Ross introduced me to Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania. I was thinking, 'Would you just chug a beer and say "Hell, yeah," for me?
As one of WWE's stable of "The Next Big Thing," Swagger has accelerated his rise to the top.
"It's sure been a fun and wild ride for a kid from small-town Oklahoma."
Supplemental Information
Latest News
Ric Flair Says Pizza Place Threw Him Out, Manager Says Flair Was 'Drunk And Disorderly'
Having not been seen on AEW programming since Sting's retirement bac... Read More
The Scoop
NEWS Footage revealing Carlito as Dragon Lee’s mystery attacker was shown on the April 26th episode of “WWE Friday Night SmackDown”. There had been... Read More
“Make yourself undeniable” – Bodyslam.net speaks with Walker Stewart of NJPW
In the realm of professional wrestling, I wear two hats – one as a wordsmith for Bodys... Read More
- AEW’s Ricky Starks recalls sneak-eating king cakes, washing cars for money ahead of champions’ homecoming show
- Mickie James on Her Next Chapter In Impact Wrestling & ‘Bound for Glory’
- Ric Flair Interview Recap
- AEW ‘Grand Slam’: Sammy Guevara on His Journey from Working at Taco Bell to Facing Chris Jericho
Upcoming Events
- NAW · May 10 6:30pm · Salina
- WAH · May 11 6:00pm · Tulsa
- UWO · May 11 6:00pm · Tuttle
- NAW · May 11 6:30pm · Watts (Chewey)
- MHCW · May 17 7:00pm · Seminole
- UWE · May 18 6:00pm · Tahlequah
- EPW · May 18 6:00pm · Midwest City
- WAH · May 25 6:00pm · Tulsa
- CPW · May 31 7:30pm · Sand Springs
- WFC · Jun 1 7:00pm · Tulsa
- WFC · Jun 2 6:00pm · Tulsa
- CPW · May 31 7:30pm · Sand Springs
- EPW · May 18 6:00pm · Midwest City
- MHCW · May 17 7:00pm · Seminole
- NAW · May 10 6:30pm · Salina
- NAW · May 11 6:30pm · Watts (Chewey)
- UWE · May 18 6:00pm · Tahlequah
- UWO · May 11 6:00pm · Tuttle
- WAH · May 11 6:00pm · Tulsa
- WAH · May 25 6:00pm · Tulsa
- WFC · Jun 1 7:00pm · Tulsa
- WFC · Jun 2 6:00pm · Tulsa
- Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Scott Steiner, Leva Bates, Lex Luger, Matt Hardy, Milo Beasley, and Ron Simmons · May 24 2:00pm · Oklahoma City Convention Center · Oklahoma City
- Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Scott Steiner, Leva Bates, Lex Luger, Matt Hardy, Milo Beasley, and Ron Simmons · May 25 10:00am · Oklahoma City Convention Center · Oklahoma City
- Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Scott Steiner, Leva Bates, Lex Luger, Matt Hardy, Milo Beasley, and Ron Simmons · May 26 10:00am · Oklahoma City Convention Center · Oklahoma City
- Jimmy Hart and Matt Riddle · Aug 10 10:00am · Cox Business Convention Center · Tulsa
- Jimmy Hart and Matt Riddle · Aug 11 11:00am · Cox Business Convention Center · Tulsa
- Jake Hager and Jimmy Hart · Oct 5 10:00am · A. J. Horton Event Center · McAlester
- Jake Hager and Jimmy Hart · Oct 6 10:00am · A. J, Horton Event Center · McAlester
Card Results
- EDW · May 5th 2024 · Tulsa
- UWO · May 4th 2024 · Oklahoma City
- BPW · May 4th 2024 · Sapulpa
- WFC · May 4th 2024 · Broken Arrow
- ASP · May 4th 2024 · Noble
- TexPro · May 4th 2024 · Ardmore
- UWO · May 3rd 2024 · Guthrie
- UWE · May 3rd 2024 · Tahlequah
- UWO · Apr 29th 2024 · Guthrie
- UWE · Apr 27th 2024 · Tahlequah
- 3CW
- 3DW
- 412PE
- AACW
- ACW
- AdCW
- AEW
- AmWF
- ASP
- AWA
- AWE
- AWF
- AWFUL
- BB
- BBOW
- BCW
- BLOW
- BMLL
- BPPW
- BPW
- BSWF
- BTW
- BYEW
- CAPW
- CCW
- ComPro
- CPW
- CWE
- CWF
- CXW
- DEMW
- DI2IW
- ECW
- EDW
- EmpCW
- EMWF
- EPW
- FCW
- FIW
- FTE
- GPCW
- GWF
- GWF2016
- HPB
- ICW
- IMPACT
- IPW
- IWR
- IWW
- IZW
- JCW
- KCW
- LA
- LDU
- LLQ
- LLR
- MajCW
- MAW
- MCW
- MERC
- MMWF
- MPW
- MSPW
- MStW
- MSW
- MSWA
- MVSC
- MWA
- MWF
- MWW
- NAW
- NCW
- NCWO
- NEW
- NMS
- NWA
- NWA-FTA
- NWA-OK
- NWA-TXO
- NWA-U
- NWA-West
- NXT
- NXW
- OCCW
- OCW
- OECW
- OKX
- OPW
- OWA
- OWF
- OWP
- PWR
- PWTV
- PZWA
- RDW
- ROH
- SCW
- SCWF
- SECW
- SLPW
- SoCW
- SPW
- SRPW
- SWCW
- TAP
- TAZW
- TCBW
- TCW
- TexPro
- TIW
- TNA
- TOPW
- TPW
- TSW
- TxPW
- UCW
- USWA
- UWE
- UWF
- UWF06
- UWO
- W4CW
- WAH
- WCCW
- WCP
- WCR
- WCW
- WCW92
- WFA
- WFC
- WIA
- WLW
- WWE
- WWEmp
- WWF
- WWG
- WWW
- XMW