Jack Swagger just signed to fight in Bellator
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Adebisi_Said
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Adebisi_Said
Truth is Power
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Jake Hager says he pitched shoot fight to WWE: I felt I was ‘the toughest guy in the locker room’
Jake Hager had an idea for his pro-wrestling character Jack Swagger a few years ago. Hager, a former All-American amateur wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, pitched to WWE that he should be booked in a legitimate fight.
“For the longest time there, I felt like I was literally the toughest guy in the locker room,” Hager told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “Yet, I would go out there and have two-minute matches with guys that couldn't hold my jock. It even got to the point where I pitched to them, I was like, ‘Look, I got something to prove. You guys are a great platform. Let me prove it. Pick the fighter — I’ll fight anybody. Put them on your show and I’ll fight them.’ They didn’t really want to go down that route.”
WWE dabbled in real fighting — a shoot, in pro-wrestling parlance — in 1998. It was called Brawl for All, a boxing-wrestling hybrid with no grappling or strikes on the ground. It was also a disaster, with fans booing the tournament matches and multiple wrestlers getting injured in the matches. The man who was supposed to win to set up a storyline feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was Steve Williams and he was knocked out in the second round after sustaining an injury.
Hager, though, was sure with his decorated wrestling background that he could elevate himself and his character by winning a real fight. But WWE ultimately balked. Now, Hager is out of the promotion and pursuing a crossover career in MMA with Bellator, it was announced Monday.
“Let’s do something different, along those lines,” Hager said of his shoot fight pitch to WWE. “I don’t know if they just didn’t believe in my abilities, but now we’re here to show it. It’s crazy. Stuff like that always happens and it just got pushed to the side and I was like, Alright, well I’m still here. I'm gonna do do it. It’s a great opportunity that I’m gonna take advantage of.”
Hager, 35, said he and his manager Daniel Rubenstein, a fellow Oklahoma graduate, reached out to the UFC, but they felt all along that Bellator would make the most sense.
“We reached out to the UFC, but in our heads the whole time Bellator was the end run,” Hager said. “That’s where we wanted to go. Like I said, they just seem like a company that values its talents and its assets. I think it’s on the rise. You see what Bellator is doing, with the roster that they bring in. Not only at heavyweight, at all weights. It’s really becoming great and tough all the way through. It’s very exciting to be a part of that.”
Hager asked for and was granted his WWE release earlier this year. He has since been performing in pro wrestling on the independent circuit, which he said he will continue to do while fighting for Bellator. Hager said he has been training for eight months in MMA and plans on fighting twice a year, while taking pro-wrestling bookings on most weekends.
Bellator is no stranger to such arrangements. Bobby Lashley, a heavyweight and former WWE star like Hager, competes for the MMA promotion and is also a headlining pro wrestling for the Impact promotion.
“I think it’s cool right now that there’s a huge opportunity here to do both at the same time,” Hager said. “Very fortunate that I have a little bit of a name and a following, so I kind of want to do both. I want to pro wrestle and I want to be a fighter, to help each other. It’s 2017, about to be 2018. Combat sports is the most popular in the world right now.
“It’s a special thing and it’s gonna be difficult. But it sounds like a lot of fun.”
Hager said he signed a three-year, six-fight deal with Bellator and the plan is for him to debut in April or May. Currently, he’s training at the Ybor City Jiu Jitsu Club in Tampa and doing his strength and conditioning with former Ultimate Fighter castmate Josh Rafferty. Hager is 6-foot-5 and weighs north of 270 pounds, so he said he plans on bulking up and cutting down to the 265-pound heavyweight maximum for MMA.
The Perry, Okla., native spent more than 10 years in WWE and had a run with its World Heavyweight Championship belt. For a bit, Hager said he wondered why he wanted to leave. And now he’s feeling more and more like this — MMA — was his purpose.
“For the longest time, it was like, ‘Why did I leave?’” he said. “And I think it’s become very obvious. This is why I left the WWE. I wasn’t allowed to really compete up there, even though I felt like I can take anyone in the locker room. And now it’s such a popular time to be a pro wrestler, to be in combat sports, to be an MMA fighter, where you can really take your opportunity and put it in your own hands, your own hard work. That’s really why I left.
“I think there’s certain types of guys that just need to be punched in the face, want to taste blood. And I think I’m definitely like that. Maybe I got away from that for too long. Always been a fan of MMA. I’ve been wrestling since I was 5 years old. Some form of that always transcends to me.”
Multiple times in the interview Hager stressed that he’ll now be able to make due on his own merits, a possible reference to WWE’s creative team. From the implications, it seems like Hager’s shoot fight idea being turned down was not his only grievance with the world leader in pro wrestling.
“It’s not shade, because it’s the truth,” Hager said. “You can just see how certain people get treated up there. It was crazy. Are you serious? So it was just time to move on. Just excited for the first time in a decade, my hard work, my dedication will directly pay off to my results.”
Jake Hager had an idea for his pro-wrestling character Jack Swagger a few years ago. Hager, a former All-American amateur wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, pitched to WWE that he should be booked in a legitimate fight.
“For the longest time there, I felt like I was literally the toughest guy in the locker room,” Hager told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “Yet, I would go out there and have two-minute matches with guys that couldn't hold my jock. It even got to the point where I pitched to them, I was like, ‘Look, I got something to prove. You guys are a great platform. Let me prove it. Pick the fighter — I’ll fight anybody. Put them on your show and I’ll fight them.’ They didn’t really want to go down that route.”
WWE dabbled in real fighting — a shoot, in pro-wrestling parlance — in 1998. It was called Brawl for All, a boxing-wrestling hybrid with no grappling or strikes on the ground. It was also a disaster, with fans booing the tournament matches and multiple wrestlers getting injured in the matches. The man who was supposed to win to set up a storyline feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was Steve Williams and he was knocked out in the second round after sustaining an injury.
Hager, though, was sure with his decorated wrestling background that he could elevate himself and his character by winning a real fight. But WWE ultimately balked. Now, Hager is out of the promotion and pursuing a crossover career in MMA with Bellator, it was announced Monday.
“Let’s do something different, along those lines,” Hager said of his shoot fight pitch to WWE. “I don’t know if they just didn’t believe in my abilities, but now we’re here to show it. It’s crazy. Stuff like that always happens and it just got pushed to the side and I was like, Alright, well I’m still here. I'm gonna do do it. It’s a great opportunity that I’m gonna take advantage of.”
Hager, 35, said he and his manager Daniel Rubenstein, a fellow Oklahoma graduate, reached out to the UFC, but they felt all along that Bellator would make the most sense.
“We reached out to the UFC, but in our heads the whole time Bellator was the end run,” Hager said. “That’s where we wanted to go. Like I said, they just seem like a company that values its talents and its assets. I think it’s on the rise. You see what Bellator is doing, with the roster that they bring in. Not only at heavyweight, at all weights. It’s really becoming great and tough all the way through. It’s very exciting to be a part of that.”
Hager asked for and was granted his WWE release earlier this year. He has since been performing in pro wrestling on the independent circuit, which he said he will continue to do while fighting for Bellator. Hager said he has been training for eight months in MMA and plans on fighting twice a year, while taking pro-wrestling bookings on most weekends.
Bellator is no stranger to such arrangements. Bobby Lashley, a heavyweight and former WWE star like Hager, competes for the MMA promotion and is also a headlining pro wrestling for the Impact promotion.
“I think it’s cool right now that there’s a huge opportunity here to do both at the same time,” Hager said. “Very fortunate that I have a little bit of a name and a following, so I kind of want to do both. I want to pro wrestle and I want to be a fighter, to help each other. It’s 2017, about to be 2018. Combat sports is the most popular in the world right now.
“It’s a special thing and it’s gonna be difficult. But it sounds like a lot of fun.”
Hager said he signed a three-year, six-fight deal with Bellator and the plan is for him to debut in April or May. Currently, he’s training at the Ybor City Jiu Jitsu Club in Tampa and doing his strength and conditioning with former Ultimate Fighter castmate Josh Rafferty. Hager is 6-foot-5 and weighs north of 270 pounds, so he said he plans on bulking up and cutting down to the 265-pound heavyweight maximum for MMA.
The Perry, Okla., native spent more than 10 years in WWE and had a run with its World Heavyweight Championship belt. For a bit, Hager said he wondered why he wanted to leave. And now he’s feeling more and more like this — MMA — was his purpose.
“For the longest time, it was like, ‘Why did I leave?’” he said. “And I think it’s become very obvious. This is why I left the WWE. I wasn’t allowed to really compete up there, even though I felt like I can take anyone in the locker room. And now it’s such a popular time to be a pro wrestler, to be in combat sports, to be an MMA fighter, where you can really take your opportunity and put it in your own hands, your own hard work. That’s really why I left.
“I think there’s certain types of guys that just need to be punched in the face, want to taste blood. And I think I’m definitely like that. Maybe I got away from that for too long. Always been a fan of MMA. I’ve been wrestling since I was 5 years old. Some form of that always transcends to me.”
Multiple times in the interview Hager stressed that he’ll now be able to make due on his own merits, a possible reference to WWE’s creative team. From the implications, it seems like Hager’s shoot fight idea being turned down was not his only grievance with the world leader in pro wrestling.
“It’s not shade, because it’s the truth,” Hager said. “You can just see how certain people get treated up there. It was crazy. Are you serious? So it was just time to move on. Just excited for the first time in a decade, my hard work, my dedication will directly pay off to my results.”
I have no idea what he was thinkin when he suggested that shoot fight nonsense. There is no way WWE would agree to it. It doesn't make sense for them. From the moment they have to market a shoot fight they legit have to shout from the rooftops "hey we're taking a break from all of this fake shyt we normally air here's a REAL fight instead". Everyone knows wrestling is fake the last thing they need is for the company to tell you it's fake by airing something you didn't tune in to see. If people wanted real fights they'd be watching UFC or Bellator. Even if they get past that every scenario that follows doesn't make sense for them.
1. If he fights another WWE guy then WWE are getting into Brawl for All type fukkery where they risk injuries to 2 of their guys as a result of them doing shyt they're not paid to do.
2. If they bring in an outside name and Swagger gets beaten/ injured then pro wrestling has to take an L on its own programming and Vince loses a guy over shyt he's not paid to do.
3. If they bring in an outside name and Swagger wins where do WWE go from there? Do they keep booking him in shoot fights or do they get him back to fake fighting which they'll have to mention all the time so they're effectively burying their own product.
This just sounds like one of those interviews where he wants to come across as tough but he looks silly because he knows WWE would have never went for it.
1. If he fights another WWE guy then WWE are getting into Brawl for All type fukkery where they risk injuries to 2 of their guys as a result of them doing shyt they're not paid to do.
2. If they bring in an outside name and Swagger gets beaten/ injured then pro wrestling has to take an L on its own programming and Vince loses a guy over shyt he's not paid to do.
3. If they bring in an outside name and Swagger wins where do WWE go from there? Do they keep booking him in shoot fights or do they get him back to fake fighting which they'll have to mention all the time so they're effectively burying their own product.
This just sounds like one of those interviews where he wants to come across as tough but he looks silly because he knows WWE would have never went for it.
Art Barr
INVADING SOHH CHAMPION
go for a career in wrasslin and not know what brawl for all was negatively for the company you work for.
art barr
The Rainmaker
Mr. Money in the Bank
His debut fight will be January 26th at Bellator 214 against JW Kiser
This will be the card with Fedor headlining against Ryan Bader too. Swagger's opponent looks like Jericho, if Jericho stayed home, got fat and worked in the coal mines.
The Rainmaker
Mr. Money in the Bank
Are we watching this? 
Are we watching this?
I’m down for it
King P
Legends Never Die
The irony would be that he would succeed in MMA, while good ole Phil threading lightly in the Octagon.
Basically. Punk doesn't have the tools Swagger has, so it was always gonna take him longer because he's starting from the ground up
I'm not gonna disrespect Punk though, he tried his hand at it and it just didn't work. shyt happens
R-Truth is gonna perform his theme song on his way to the octagon
krackdagawd
Inspire.
Another Trump supporter 