No one on the corner got Swagger like us
- Sean Covington
- Jan 21, 2019
- 2 min read
Last week I sat in the Bellator MMA conference call Bellator 214 afterward, I had the pleasure and absolute honor to chat with Jake Hager aka Jake Strong aka Jack Swagger ahead of his MMA debut but you know we had to talk some wrestling!
World Heavyweight Champion, ECW Champion, United States Champion, current Lucha Underground Champion, money in the bank briefcase winner, the only title that has eluded this man and his legacy are the WWE tag team titles. Capturing the tag team titles would make Jake part of a very elite group as a grandslam champion (original format).
I know I would have loved to see the All Americans win tag team gold, Jake said that he also missed teaming with Cesaro as well, almost nothing got people going like belting out “WE THE PEOPLE!” when those two came out. Apparently Big Show was a fan as well (check out the full interview for that story).
Jake Hager pointed out that MMA will make him a better wrestler and a good pro wrestler will make him a good fighter; I for one can not wait to see how it impacts his in-ring ability. Bellator MMA let Jake keep his Indy dates and wrestle while training which is an incredible amount of trust and a great show of commitment by the MMA promotion.
When asked about the newly formed All Elite Wrestling, Jake was looking forward to see how they would change the game. I also asked him about Jim Ross being rumored to be with the promotion would influence whether or not he would accept a contract offer from AEW, he had this to say:
“Yes . Jim Ross def makes me want to tune in and with AEW. But if he wasn’t there I would still want to wrestle for them because of what they’re doing in this business. They are changing the landscape of pro wrestling for the better. They are creating opportunities to compete and I have no doubt they will succeed.
Of course when talking with a legend such as Jack Swagger you have to ask about his favorite Championship title. Jake, being the current Lucha Underground Champion, was partial to the Gift of the Gods 7 plated title belt.
Madden may have been the game of choice on Xavier Woods’ UP UP DOWN DOWN but who would have know that Jake Hager, Roman reigns and the Usos are into chess?!
It hurt my feelings a bit when he told me he wasn’t a Dragonball Super guy but I regrouped and didn’t let it ruin the interview. Jake is humbled by his first WWE run, grateful for the opportunities and growth he experienced in the company. Jake is a big guy and an even bigger personality; I think Jay Z said it best:
“…But I can’t teach you my swag You can pay for school but you can’t buy class”
Be sure to check out my full interview with Jake Hager on MMATORCH.com
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