Jake Hager spent a few years in AEW but he is more well known for his lengthy run in WWE, where he saw tremendous success as Jack Swagger. In fact, Hager has now revealed how the Jack Swagger name even came about.
While speaking to News4JAX The Local Station, Jake Hager shared the story behind his Jack Swagger name in WWE. He explained that it all started when he smiled at Vince McMahon, and Vince McMahon reacted by saying he hated the smile.
Hager noted that he quickly wiped it off, but Vince McMahon told him to keep doing it because it would annoy people. At the time, Hager also had wild hair and a bit of a reputation with the ladies. The next day, Vince McMahon personally told him that his new name would be Jack Swagger and that remained his name for the rest of his WWE tenure.
“Jack Swagger came about because I smiled at Vince, and he said, ‘Man, I hate that smile.’ So, I immediately wiped it off my face, and he was like, ‘No, no, keep doing it. It’s going to piss everyone off.’
At the time, I kind of had some wild hair and, you know, a bit of a reputation with the ladies. The next day, Vince himself told me, ‘You’re Jack Swagger.'”
Jake Hager also previously made it clear he had no regrets about his WWE release in 2017. Nonetheless, Hager certainly had a stellar run in WWE, winning several titles during his tenure, so he will always be grateful for his time working under Vince McMahon no matter what.
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