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Jack Swagger
Swagger at the WWE Tribute to the Troops show in December 2010.
Born (1982-03-24) March 24, 1982 (age 42)[1]
Perry, Oklahoma[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Jack Swagger[2]
Jake Hager[2]
Billed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[3]
Billed weight263 lb (119 kg)[3]
Billed fromPerry, Oklahoma[3]
Trained byDeep South Wrestling[2]
DebutSeptember 7, 2006[2]

Jacob "Jake" Hager[4] (born March 24, 1982)[1] is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works under the ring name Jack Swagger on the Raw brand.[3]

Hager attended the University of Oklahoma as a two-sport athlete, participating in both football and wrestling. He switched to wrestling full-time in his sophomore year, and in 2006, set the record for most pins in a season with 30 as an All-American. Following a try-out, Hager signed a WWE contract in mid-2006. He made his debut for the WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling in September, and was moved to the Ohio Valley Wrestling territory in January 2007. A few months later, Hager debuted for Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he was the final FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion and the inaugural FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.

In late 2008, he debuted for the ECW brand under the name Jack Swagger, and in January 2009, he won his first world championship, the ECW Championship. In 2010, while a member of the Raw brand, he won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, and two days later at the April 2 SmackDown taping, he cashed in that opportunity and defeated Chris Jericho to become the World Heavyweight Champion. He held the championship until June 2010.He was the All American American Superstar

Amateur wrestling career

The University of Oklahoma recruited Hager as a two-sport athlete. He played football and was the junior varsity defensive tackle behind National Football League players Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek.[4][5] Due to his high-school wrestling background, he was asked to join the wrestling team as a heavyweight in his sophomore year, and switched over full-time.[2][4][5] During his junior year, he met Jim Ross, who was then World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Head of Talent Relations, and Ross encouraged Hager to contact him after graduating.[6] In 2006, as an All-American wrestler, he made 30 pins, setting the record for most pins in a single season.[5][6]

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2006–present)

Developmental territories (2006–2008)

In 2006, Hager had a WWE tryout in Deep South Wrestling (DSW), and in September 2006, under his real name, he made his in ring debut for DSW, defeating Antonio Mestre in a dark match.[2][6] He competed mainly in dark matches, before being moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in January 2007.[7] He debuted for the promotion by defeating Atlas DaBone, and in the following months began a feud with K.C. James.[8][9][10] Hager began teaming with a multitude of opponents to feud with James and his tag team partner Cassidy James.[11][12] During his time in the developmental territories, he appeared as a security guard during a brawl between John Cena and Umaga on Raw.[5]

In August 2007, Hager was reassigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he began a feud with TJ Wilson.[5][13][14] On February 15, 2008, at the Florida State Fair in Tampa, Florida, Hager and Ted DiBiase, Jr. were the final two men remaining in a 23-man battle royal to determine the two contenders for the inaugural FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion. Hager then defeated DiBiase to become champion.[2][5] On March 22, 2008, Hager went against the FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion Heath Miller in New Port Richey, Florida to determine the true Heavyweight Champion.[15] Both championships were on the line, and Hager defeated Miller to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in FCW.[15][16] He later defended the championship against Miller, TJ Wilson, James Curtis, and Gabe Tuft.[17][18][19][20]

During this time, Hager had a gimmick of having an undefeated streak in FCW.[2] His first loss came in the form of a Raw dark match, at the TV taping on August 18, 2008, when he lost to William Regal.[21] He also lost to D'Lo Brown in a dark match, before defeating Jamie Noble in a dark match prior to a SmackDown taping on August 29. He then lost the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus O'Shaunessy on September 18, after debuting for the ECW brand.[16]

ECW and ECW World Champion (2008–2009)

Swagger as ECW Champion in January 2009.

On September 9, 2008, Hager made his debut on the ECW brand under the ring name Jack Swagger, winning a match against a jobber.[22] He immediately established himself as a heel by starting a feud with Tommy Dreamer. He attacked Dreamer on the September 23 episode of ECW, when Dreamer attempted to stop Swagger from attacking jobber Chase Stevens.[23] He later defeated Dreamer in a wrestling match and an "Amateur Wrestling Challenge" competition.[24][25] After weeks of feuding, their rivalry ended in November in an Extreme Rules match, which Swagger won to extend his undefeated streak in ECW.[26]

He then sought to challenge Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship and was named the number one contender on the December 30 episode of ECW. In 2009, on the January 13 episode of ECW, Swagger defeated Hardy to win his first title in WWE, the ECW Championship.[27][28] His undefeated streak in singles competition ended on the February 3 episode of ECW when he lost to Finlay in a non-title match.[29] After successfully defending his title against Hardy at the Royal Rumble and Finlay at No Way Out, Swagger began a feud with the returning Christian, to whom he lost the ECW Championship at Backlash, which ended his 104 day reign as champion.[4][30] He attempted to regain the championship title in a triple threat hardcore match at Extreme Rules, but was unsuccessful.[31] His attempt to win the ECW Championship at The Bash in a ECW Championship Scramble also failed.[32]

Swagger (standing) during a match against Christian.

Raw (2009–2010)

On June 29, 2009, Swagger was traded to the Raw brand, making his debut as part of a three-on-one gauntlet match against WWE Champion Randy Orton, in which he got himself purposely counted out in order to make an impression on Orton.[33] On the July 13 episode of Raw, he won his first match on the brand by defeating Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP).[34] He then feuded with MVP for several weeks, culminating at SummerSlam, in a match that MVP won.[35] After his short feud with MVP ended, Swagger began pursuing the WWE United States Championship. He had his first singles match for the championship on September 21 against Kofi Kingston, but lost the match by countout after stealing the championship and leaving the arena with it, although Kingston later took it back while Swagger was in a physical confrontation with The Miz.[36][37] Swagger made another unsuccessful attempt at the championship at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.[38]

On the March 1, 2010 episode of Raw, Swagger defeated Santino Marella to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI,[39] where he won, earning a contract for any WWE world championship over the following year.[40] On the first episode of Raw following WrestleMania, Swagger tried to cash in his Money in the Bank contract against the WWE Champion John Cena, but changed his mind when he realized that Cena was not incapacitated enough to be defeated easily. As the match had never started, Swagger retained the contract for use at a future date.[41]

SmackDown and World Heavyweight Champion (2010–2011)

Swagger cashed in the contract during the SmackDown taping on March 30, 2010, after the World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho had been speared by Edge.[42] Swagger went on to defeat Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[42][43] Following his championship win, Swagger began to develop a more serious persona: previously he had been known for doing pushups and beating his chest during his ring entrance.[5] He successfully defended his championship against Edge and Jericho in a triple threat match on the April 16 episode of SmackDown, and against Randy Orton in an Extreme Rules match at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.[44] At Over the Limit, Swagger retained the title against The Big Show by intentionally disqualifying himself.[45]

At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view on June 20, he lost the championship to Rey Mysterio in a fatal four-way match, also involving CM Punk and The Big Show.[46] In a rematch at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July, he failed to regain the championship.[47] In late 2010, Swagger began being accompanied to the ring by his mascot, the Swagger Soaring Eagle, who was portrayed by Chavo Guerrero.[48] At the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV, Swagger competed in a triple threat ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, in which the latter went on to win the match.[49] In January 2011, at Royal Rumble, Swagger was eliminated by Rey Mysterio.

On the February 28, 2011, episode of Raw Swagger was announced as Michael Cole's trainer for his match at WrestleMania XXVII against Jerry Lawler.[50] On the March 28 episode of Raw, Swagger faced Lawler in a singles match, which he won by disqualification after Lawler attacked him with a steel chair.[51] At WrestleMania, Swagger received a 'Stone Cold Stunner' from the guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin when attempting to withdraw Cole from the match. Cole went on to win the match via disqualification.[52]

Return to Raw (2011–present)

On April 26, Swagger was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft.[53] On May 1 at Extreme Rules, Swagger teamed with Cole to defeat Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross in a Country Whipping match. On the May 16 episode of Raw, Swagger would end his partnership with Cole, after Cole insulted Swagger during the contract signing for his match against Jerry Lawler at Over The Limit. Later in the night, he fought and lost to John Cena.

From May 23, Swagger would feud with Evan Bourne, with both men trading victories in several episodes of Raw.[54][55] At WWE Capitol Punishment, Bourne defeated Swagger, ending the feud.[56]

It was announced that Swagger would compete in Raw's Money In The Bank Ladder Match at the 2011 Money In The Bank PPV. He competed in that match, which was won by Alberto Del Rio.

Personal life

In 2006, Hager graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor's degree in finance.[6] Following his graduation, he had a job with a firm in Dallas, but was offered a contract with WWE the day he was scheduled to start.[5] Hager is good friends with former wrestler Danny Hodge, and grew up living two blocks away from Hodge in Perry, Oklahoma.[5] Hager has been wrestling since the age of five, and wrestled in high school with Hodge's grandson.[5]

Hager is now currently married to model Catalina White in December 2010.[57]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Swagger after winning the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI.

References

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