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Oklahoma Gets Its Swagger Back

Posted: Sep 26th 2010 By: CMBurnham

When Jacob Hager first started wrestling, there is no way he could have imagined his future. As a fifth grade, it would have been impossible for him to know he would travel the world and perform in front of thousands of fans in sold out arenas.

But that is the life Hager now lives. As a member of Wrestling Entertainment, the former University of Oklahoma grappler is known to the pro wrestling world as Jack Swagger.

?It?s pretty crazy to think about it when you put it like that,? Hager said. ?Most of the guys I wrestle with and compete against today, I was in Perry Middle School watching them. So the fact that I?m here with them now, it?s still very surreal. But it?s very cool. Very exciting.?

Hager?s rise to the top of the pro wrestling is an unlikely one. In 2002, he fulfilled his dream of signing a National Letter of Intent to play college football and wrestle at Oklahoma. As a sophomore he switched to wrestling full-time. As a senior he set the school record for most pins in a season with 30 and earned All-American status.

However, after he graduated, he had to decide what he wanted to do. He had a degree in business finance, so there were opportunities to do other things. But he wasn?t done with his passion just yet.

?In the end it came down the opportunity,? Hager said. ?When I got done with college I was interviewing for all types of jobs. It was back in 2006, when the economy was starting to wind down, but still kind of kicking it. So I had some good opportunities out there. But after sitting down and talking with the WWE, I really felt like, as a business man, as a young professional, it was the best opportunity. With income, travel and the opportunity someday to branch off and be your ownboss. I looked at all those factors. The fact that I get to keep on wrestling is a cherry on top. It?s a great bonus.?

But it was no guarantee Hager would make it. Many athletes have tried their hand at pro wrestling, but they either didn?t have the work ethic needed or didn?t have the charisma to get noticed. Hager seemingly had both.

?With anything you try to make the best choices with the best information you have,? Hager said. ?Of course there is some risk. We really don?t do pro wrestling anymore. We?re sports entertainment. It?s more of a TV show now. So there is some risk that you won?t make it. It?s a career where some people make it, some people don?t. I had a college degree to fall back on, so I never felt very scared about what I?m going to do if this doesn?t work out. I had a great degree from the university, and I felt I could go back to that and use it. Hopefully we wont have to get to that.?

Hager singed his first contract with the WWE in 2006. He started out in the WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling in September, and was moved to the Ohio Valley Wrestling territory in January 2007. He also had stints with the Florida Championship Wrestling.

For some, that would be the biggest moment of their career. But for Hager, signing with the WWE comes in a close second to another signing.

?I think the signing the letter of intent to Oklahoma was the bigger thing,? Hager said. ?It kind of gave me some validation early on. I had a good high school career, but here was Oklahoma just coming off the national championship. It gave me confidence to go on to do this now. It led me to signing with the WWE.?

It wasn?t until 2008 when Jack Swagger made his first appearance. Hager said the character is an over-inflated version of himself.

?It is an extension of my personality,? Hager said. ?The WWE have a great creative team there. An they have a lot of hall of famers working there. They kind of came up with it for me after meeting me and seeing how I am. We always want to amplify our TV characters and make them more entertaining, more marketable. It?s pretty much just Jake Hager, amplified into Jack Swagger.?

With several big matches to his credit, Hager defeated Chris Jericho in April to claim the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time.

He has since lost the title, but Hager is still one of the WWE?s headliners. He will be featured Oct. 1 in the WWE Supershow at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The live event will combine the top wrestlers from Raw and Smackdown. Wrestling fans can expect to see Jericho, Triple H, John Cena, The Nexus, Ray Mysterio, Jr., The Big Show, Priceless Ted Dibiase, Jr. and more.

To be able to entertain his home state at this point in his life is something Hager said he won?t forget.

?You can?t put it into words,? Hager said. ?I am very thankful for some of the matches I?ve had. I always attribute a lot of my success to the sport of wrestling.. I?ve been doing it since I was five years old. It taught me discipline, it taught me hard work. And I feel that you can use those things in any aspect of life. School, business, job and sports entertainment.?

Tags: Jack Swagger, WWE