Line #48 Wrestling/JackSwagger


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jake_hager.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:He is not here for "the People" any more...]]
3	->''"I want every real American to please rise, put your hand over your heart and in a loud clear voice say along with us..."''
4	-->--'''Zeb Colter'''
5
6	Donald Jacob "Jake" Hager, Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] and [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts mixed martial artist]] from Perry, Oklahoma currently signed to Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling. He is best known for his tenure in Wrestling/{{WWE}} under the ring name '''Jack Swagger'''.
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8	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 [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/fl/fcw/fcw-s-h.html FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion]] and the inaugural [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/fl/fcw/fcw-fl-h.html FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion]].
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10	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 [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html ECW Heavyweight Championship]] defeating Matt Hardy. In March 2010, while a member of the Raw brand, he won the Money in the Bank ladder match at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XXVI'', and cashed it in later that week on ''[=SmackDown=]'', defeating Wrestling/ChrisJericho to become the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-h.html World Heavyweight Champion]]. In January 2012, he won the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html United States Championship]], defeating Wrestling/ZackRyder. He was released from the company in 2016.
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12	He debuted in Season 4 of Wrestling/LuchaUnderground under the name Jake Strong as a member of the stable Infamous Incorporated, but quickly split from that stable after a disastrous challenge for the Trios championship. He was later revealed to be affiliated with The Order and won the Lucha Underground championship at the close of the Season.
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14	In 2019, he began an MMA career, fighting for UsefulNotes/{{Bellator}}. Although many wrestlers who transition to the octagon tend to fall short on their careers[[note]]For every Wrestling/BrockLesnar there's one or more Wrestling/{{CM Punk}}s.[[/note]], he made a good impression on his first fight, where he submitted J. W. Kiser on January 27. Hager followed that up by submitting TJ Jones on May 11. His third MMA fight, against Anthony Gordon on October 25, was ruled a no contest when Gordon was rendered unable to continue by unintentional groin strikes from Hager. His next MMA fight did not come until more than a year later, thanks to his pro wrestling commitments and [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19]]. Hager defeated Brandon Colton on a split decision at Bellator 250 on October 29, 2020.
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16	Earlier in October 2019, Hager signed with Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling and made his first AEW appearance on the debut episode of ''Dynamite'', attacking [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Dustin Rhodes]], Wrestling/{{Cody\|Rhodes}}, and Wrestling/TheElite and siding with Wrestling/ChrisJericho as a heel, subsequently becoming a founding member of the Wrestling/InnerCircle. Hager remained affiliated with Jericho after the Inner Circle was retooled into the Wrestling/JerichoAppreciationSociety.
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18	----
19	!! "All-American American Tropes":
20	* AllAmericanFace: Inverted, as he was an all American ''heel''. However, he headed temporarily into this direction after his confrontation with Rusev on the 6/30/2014 edition of RAW.
21	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Swagger seems as of late to have fallen a step or two behind his "Real American" partner [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]]. When Swagger failed to qualify for the 2014 Elimination Chamber, Cesaro succeeded. And even when Swagger made Colter proud by winning #1 contendership for the IC Title on ''[=SmackDown=]'', it paled in comparison to Colter's pride for Cesaro, who shockingly beat the WWE World Champion Wrestling/RandyOrton later that night. Jack can't seem to catch a break.
22	* ArchEnemy:
23	** When tagging with Wrestling/DolphZiggler, [[Wrestling/EvanBourne Air]] [[Wrestling/KofiKingston Boom]].
24	** Singles, Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio and Wrestling/{{Christian}}.
25	** As an AllAmericanFace, Wrestling/{{Rusev\|AndLana}}.
26	** As part of the Inner Circle, The Elite (Wrestling/CodyRhodes, Wrestling/TheYoungBucks, Wrestling/KennyOmega, Hangman Page), plus [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Dustin Rhodes]] by proxy, and later [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose Jon Moxley]]. During the Inner Circle's feud with Wrestling/ThePinnacle, Hager zeroed in on their enforcer Wardlow, who he'd had beef with even during the period that MJF and Wardlow had been members of the Circle.
27	* BadassBoast: Told Randy he should be worried about him because he was "Bigger, Stronger and Younger".
28	* BeardOfEvil: When he returned from his six months of absent he sported one.
29	* BoisterousBruiser: He spends a lot of time in his matches yelling, beating his chest and running around with his arms outstretched.
30	* BrainWashed: The commentators and Jim Ross in particular believe this is the case as Swagger never showed any traces of his "Real American" gimmick before associating himself with Zeb Colter.
31	* TheBrute: As part of the Wrestling/InnerCircle.
32	* TheBully: Can come off as this very often. Most of his feuds tend to be with wrestlers significantly smaller, older, and/or weaker than he is. He once tried to call out '''Hornswoggle''' for a match in ECW. Of course, that was before WWE-ECW's time when a [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} certain someone]] [[HesBack came out in the middle of Swagger's promo]] to stop the madness.
33	* TheChewToy: While it's pretty much been because of his own doing, Swagger just hasn't caught a break in his pursuit of the World Title since returning. Original penned to win it at WM 29? Changed due to his marijuana bust. Originally scheduled for a triple threat World Title match at Extreme Rules? Changed to a #1 Contender's "I Quit" match against Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio, which he lost, because he legitimately concussed World Champion Wrestling/DolphZiggler the week before. Haven't seen bad juju like this surrounding the World Title since late 2005-2007.
34	* DarkerAndEdgier: His 2013 return, featuring a borderline racist manager, a more aggressive in-ring style, the utter removal of the comedy goofball side of his gimmick, a scruffier hairstyle and beard, and the renaming of his ankle lock submission finisher to the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem Patriot Act]]. (This was eventually downplayed, with the "Patriot Act" being called the "Patriot Lock", for example.)
35	* DemonicPossession: In Lucha Underground, he was possessed by a god, causing him to speak in the RoyalWe.
36	* DemotedToExtra: And it's reportedly a consequence of his having been caught smoking marijuana several times, as well as attitude/behavior issues.
37	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: PlayedForLaughs as a way to underline his 'All-American American' persona's dim-witted bigotry.
38	* DirtyCoward
39	** Sometimes actually getting him in the ring can be a problem. He's usually not so bad once he gets in but once refused to get in and wrestle Randy Orton, the excuse being he always liked Randy. This was immediately mocked by Wrestling/MarkHenry who said he also always liked Randy, then went in the ring and destroyed him.
40	** Ray Gonzalez was not pleased to see the big burly enforcer Dutch Mantel promised him bailing from the ring. Mantel had to actively coach Swagger and Gonzalez to get Swagger back in the match. It didn't help that Wrestling/{{Carl\|itoColon}}y could go hold for hold with Jack, making his usual tactics fail.
41	* DisproportionateRetribution: When cost the Trios titles by Famous B's ill-timed interference in Lucha Underground, Strong responded by audibly snapping his ankle with an ankle lock.
42	** MisplacedRetribution: It wasn't really B's fault that the EasilyDistractedReferee got so caught up trying to keep him out of the ring that he completely missed Strong forcing Killshot to tap out, despite B frantically pointing over the ref's shoulder to try and draw his attention to it. Oddly, this is normally something that happens to ''tecnicos,'' not rudos.
43	* DumbMuscle: Zigzagged. Even though his RealLife persona errs much closer to that of a GeniusBruiser (he was a two-sport athlete at Oklahoma, where he also earned a degree in finance and was set to start a career in that field before WWE called him), he almost invariably comes off as this in storyline if he's aligned with someone else. It may be the [[SpeechImpediment lisp]] that has something to do with it, or his more-than-passing resemblance to [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasimodo]].
44	* {{Eagleland}}: Type 2 during his time with Zeb Colter and the Real Americans PowerStable, given that they were created as a satire of obnoxious, foreigner-hating American exceptionalists.
45	* {{Expy}}:
46	** An [[JerkJock arrogant but talented athlete]] who brags about his accomplishments in amateur wrestling while wearing the traditional wrestling singlet and using an ''ankle lock'' as a finisher? How about making him an American Patriot, complete with the [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead Stars and Stripes motif]]? [[Wrestling/KurtAngle Never seen that before in WWE.]]
47	** They ''have'' been playing it up more in 2014, during his feud with Rusev, that he can cinch in the Patriot Lock from anywhere; much like Angle could pretty much be flat on his back one second, then wrenching your ankle off the next.
48	** In 2013 he became "[[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain A Real American]]" which turned out to make him an {{Expy}} of Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield, in his feud against Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, in particular.
49	* EyeTake: In AEW, his eyes began to bug out when the audience started chanting "We the people!" at him, as if to say "OhCrap [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten That gimmick will haunt me forever!]]" But Chris Jericho [[RunningGagged quickly put a stop to that]].
50	* FinishingMove:
51	** His first finisher was a gutwrench powerbomb (initially named the Swagger Bomb, although it never caught; the name was later applied to his corner slingshot splash). He later added the ankle lock, renamed as Patriot Act and then as Patriot Lock post 2013.
52	** Before using the gutwrench powerbomb, he had a spin-out powerbomb named Red, White and Blue Thunder Bomb (a pun with the popular name of the move, Blue Thunder Bomb).
53	** Back when he wrestled in developmental territories under his true name Jake Hager, he also had the Hager-Meister, which was a tilt-a-whirl slam in FCW and a swinging cradle suplex in OVW.
54	** In AEW, he started using an arm triangle choke, a hold which earned him his first 2 victories in Bellator.
55	* ForeignWrestlingHeel: Inverted with the Real American thing. Sure, it was a textbook [[{{Eagleland}} obnoxious jingoistic American]] gimmick designed to [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain invoke heel heat by drawing attention to an ugly side of American politics]], but since it was an American company hosting it, [[CulturalCringe it was reminding American viewers of a thing they didn't like about their own country]].
56	* HeelFaceTurn: On the June 30th 2014 episode of RAW, when he and Zeb came out and stood up to [[Wrestling/AlexanderRusev Rusev]].
57	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Jack Swagger lost the ECW Championship to Wrestling/{{Christian}} when he ran into an exposed turnbuckle pad. A turnbuckle that had been exposed by Swagger himself.
58	* {{Homage}}: The Swagger Bomb (a corner slingshot splash) is one of these to Wrestling/{{Vader}}.
59	* {{Irony}}: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag The Gadsden flag]] that flies in the background of Swagger's entrance video and Website/YouTube vids symbolizes the American spirit ("Don't Tread On Me") and unity of the original thirteen colonies. Swagger's first major victory coming back to WWE? Defeating "The '''Viper'''" Wrestling/RandyOrton in the Elimination Chamber to face the World Champion at Wrestlemania.
60	* {{Jerkass}}: See TheBully above.
61	* JerkJock: {{Downplayed\| trope}}. Yes he wears a wrestling singlet where it really just gives people more material to grab onto, brags about his amateur record and disrespectfully slaps the heads of those not as good on the mat as him but he is also proud of the fact he was an academic all American.
62	* LargeHam: As is a prerequisite of most wrestlers nowadays.
63	* LightningBruiser: Weighs north of 260, but doesn't seem to give up a lot of speed to smaller opponents. And scarily enough, after his recent return (aside from his style being much more stiff) he seems to have gotten ''faster.''
64	* MessyHair: In stark contrast to his conservative hairstyle of old, when he came back in early 2013, his hair seemed to be all over the place.
65	* MythologyGag: His manager for much of his WWE run, Zeb Colter, is played by Dutch Mantel. Mantel had earlier been in WWE as Uncle Zebekiah in the 90s, managing the Blu Brothers[[note]]Jacob and Eli, better known as [[TagTeamTwins Ron and Don Harris]][[/note]] and [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw]].
66	* NormalFishInATinyPond: Jack Swagger did not look especially physically imposing in WWE, aka the "Land of the Giants"; but in AEW, whose roster skews shorter and lighter, Jake Hager looks like a behemoth. He had a similar advantage in Lucha Underground, with Vampiro and Matt Striker spending a large amount of his debut talking about how big he was in comparison to most of the roster.
67	* NightmareFace: In Lucha Underground. The demonic look on his face as he told Antonio Cueto that it was "His (Strong's) Temple". Coupled with the eerie tone of his voice, it was enough to leave Antonio shaking. He later did it again during Ultima Lucha Cuatro.
68	* OutOfCharacterMoment: During one vignette, he and Zeb were letting out some "Real American" rhetoric...and then break character completely, address the camera with their real names, and then explain to Radio/GlennBeck (who had criticized the product ''very'' publicly) what ProfessionalWrestling by the WWE is supposed to be. They then segued right back into character.
69	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Swagger's new "Real American" gimmick in 2013, standing against immigration.
70	* PutOnABus: After an long losing streak in 2012, he took an extended leave of absence.
71	** TheBusCameBack: He came back six months later, on the February 1st edition of ''[=SmackDown=]''.
72	* RedBaron: "The All-American American". In Lucha Underground, "The Savage".
73	* SmallNameBigEgo: WHO AM I?
74	* [[SpeechImpediment Thpeech Impediment]]: Hith notitheable lithp ith mocked by hith opponenth.
75	* SoreLoser: Practically threw a temper-tantrum after losing his debut match in Lucha Underground, taking his anger out on his own teammates and manager.
76	* TheStoner: It could be argued very strongly that Swagger hasn't quite reached his potential in WWE in no small part because of his fixation with the cannabis plant. He's been caught with marijuana as recently as February 2013. The timing could not have ''possibly'' been worse, as Swagger was in the middle of the biggest push of his career. It ended up costing him winning the World Heavyweight Title at Wrestling/WrestleMania.
77	* ThrowTheDogABone: After over a year of trying and failing, finally won one over Rusev at Tribute To The Troops 2015, making him tap out to the Patriot Lock, no less.
78	* TookALevelInBadass: Jack Swagger . . . [[QuestionableCasting World Heavyweight Champion]]?!
79	** Also seems to have gotten back that level ''and then some'' upon his early 2013 return.
80	** His run in AEW as Jake Hager has successfully gotten him over as the kind of brutal WrestlingMonster a man of his size and skill should be off the back of his successful MMA career. When the AEW crowd [[NeverLiveItDown began to chant "WE THE PEOPLE!"]] at him during Wrestling/ChrisJericho's promo introducing the Wrestling/InnerCircle, Jericho [[RunningGagged successfully shut that down]] by declaring "'We the people' sucks and it's dead and buried", and ever since then Hager has been taken very seriously in AEW.
81	* UndyingLoyalty: An apparent legitimate example for Swagger, during a WWE tour across the seas, him and Chris Jericho were in a club and Jericho decides to knock an unpleasant individual down. Said individual claimed he was an extremely powerful person and claimed to put a hit on Jericho on the same of 7 million dollars, claiming he would be dead by the next day. Understandably worried, Swagger took it upon himself to protect Jericho for the day. Whether the hit was legitimate or not is up for debate, Jericho was deeply appreciated by Swagger's commitment in protecting him, making their constant team up in factions in AEW all the more special.
82	* VillainTeamUp: In WWC Dutch Mantel insisted Swagger team up with Ray Gonzalez against Carlito and Eddie Colon. This made a ''bit'' of sense, as Dutch Mantel claimed to have nothing against Gonzalez and claimed he was unhappy with the way his previous client, El Patron Alberto, had treated Gonzalez's son. However, the whole premise of it all, including Mantel and Alberto's brief partnership in WWE, all but flew in the face of decades where Mantel made his [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain disdain of Puerto Ricans, presumably-illegal Mexican immigrants, and the Spanish language]] clear to anyone who would listen.
83	* WellDoneSonGuy: Several of his promos during his World Heavyweight Champion reign made it clear that his dad held him to extremely high standards and always expected him to become a champion.
84	* WrestlingMonster: As Jake Hager in AEW, he's a near-silent, incredibly tough and brutally strong enforcer for the Inner Circle.
85	----
86	->[[Wrestling/ChrisJericho Hey! Hey, calm down for one second!]] [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling Calm down for one second!]] [[RunningGagged 'We the People' sucks and it's dead and buried!]] [[TakeThat It was a stupid idea from bad creative]] and all that's gone!

Context Wrestling / JackSwagger