AEW Rumors: Chris Jericho's rejected plan for Jack Swagger in WWE revealed
During their review of AEW Dynamite, Bryan Alvarez and Vinny Gush of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter praised Chris Jericho's promo skills. The segment they drew attention toward was Chris Jericho's introduction of his new Inner Circle stable. Alvarez then revealed that in WWE almost a decade ago, Chris Jericho wanted Jack Swagger by his side, as a bodyguard. Vince McMahon rejected the idea at the time.
Who is Jack Swagger?
Jack Swagger debuted in WWE in 2008 and was with the company for nine years. Swagger was ECW Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, and United States Champion. Swagger's gimmick was that of an All-American and used ''We The People" as his catchphrase. Still, Swagger didn't really rise above the mid-card and eventually left WWE in 2017.
Since then, Swagger signed with Bellator under his real name Jake Hager, and is currently undefeated.
What did Chris Jericho say in his promo when he buried the Jack Swagger gimmick?
During Jericho's AEW Dynamite segment, in which he officially introduced The Inner Circle, the crowd broke into a "We The People" chant during Hager's introduction. Jericho immediately crushed the chant and buried the Jack Swagger gimmick at the same time.
"Hey, calm down for one second. We The People sucked and it's dead and buried. It was a stupid idea from bad creative and all that's gone. Jake Hager is the most feared MMA fighter on the planet today and that's a shoot. That makes him the toughest man in AEW, that makes him the toughest man in the professional wrestling business, baby. He's not afraid to challenge any fighter, wrestler, boxer, MMA guy, former MMA guy, street bum, bare knuckle fighter, you name it, Hager is ready. Look at him, he's a giant."
In a few short minutes, Jericho was able to put over Jake Hager, while simultaneously silencing his failures with WWE. This is in line with reports that AEW believes that Hager will be a top star in the company.
What was Chris Jericho's idea for Jack Swagger in AEW?
Bryan Alvarez further revealed that Jericho originally wanted Swagger as his bodyguard in WWE.
He explained,
"Apparently, like a decade ago, Jericho wanted Jack Swagger to be his bodyguard. And he presented it to Vince and he just said no. And so, 10 years later, he's finally got the opportunity and he doesn't want....this must be the Bellator Jake Hager...this cannot be WWE Jack Swagger. But he apparently feels that he can get this guy over"
Alvarez speculates that with Jericho's penchant for getting gimmicks over, it's not impossible that he could get Hager over with the AEW fans.
Will Jake Hager become a star in AEW?
Considering it has now been revealed that Jericho once wanted Hager as his bodyguard, he obviously saw potential in him. On the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite, Hager accompanied Jericho to the ring as a silent bodyguard-type.
If done correctly, Hager could become the star that many believe he can be. While it's too early to predict how successful Hager will become in AEW, his appearance as a large scary enforcer is certainly indicative of how things may progress in the weeks to come.