"I didn't want any part of him" - Legendary star admits that he did not want to face Jake Hager in WWE
WWE legend 'Road Dogg' Brian James has revealed that he wasn't too keen on facing Jake Hager and taking bumps from the former world champion.
Swagger, now known as Jake Hager in AEW, was an active competitor for WWE when the New Age Outlaws returned for their final active stint in the company in 2013.
While Road Dogg just had a couple of house show matches against Swagger and Cesaro, the Hall of Famer revealed how he intentionally hid from The All-American American during the Royal Rumble 2012 match.
Road Dogg entered the match at the 23rd spot and lasted for nearly five minutes before Wade Barrett eliminated him. He recalled a hilarious moment from the bout where he backed off from Swagger, as you can view below on his Oh...You Didn't Know podcast:
"With Jake Hager aka Jack Swagger, he is a big huge, raw-boned, athletic son of a gun, like, a shooter, for real. I didn't want any part of him. There is a funny part where I came back in the Rumble, where I did my stuff with Miz and Cody, and I'm thankful for those guys for letting me do my stuff. Bing, bang, boom, I turn around, and there is Jack Swagger," revealed Road Dogg. "And I just go, 'No, no, no, and I just back off and put my head under the ropes.' Like, [I] hid from him!" [21:30 - 22:02]
Road Dogg says Jake Hager was a great asset to WWE
The former D-Generation X member joined WWE's backstage team in 2014 and contributed as a producer and head writer in the following years.
Road Dogg worked closely with Jake Hager and felt he was an exceptional talent who played a significant role in turning Rusev into a credible anti-American heel. James was specifically a fan of the flag match Hager had with his fellow AEW star Miro from SummerSlam 2014:
"I thought he was great. I thought he had some great flag matches and stuff like that with Rusev when we were building up Rusev. I thought he played a major part in building up Rusev as a huge heel that year." [22:03 - 22:19]
Hager is currently a part of the Jericho Appreciation Society alongside fellow former WWE star Chris Jericho. The faction has been embroiled in a heated feud with Blackpool Combat Club over the last few months.
Do you think Jack Swagger was able to reach his full potential in WWE? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Oh...You Didn't Know podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.