10 Times WWE Dropped The Ball On Jack Swagger

Although it has yet to be officially announced, Jack Swagger will likely be going up against Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship at next Sunday at WWE's TLC pay-per-view. The feud has failed to excite fans in recent weeks, mainly because the it's been done before and Swagger hasn't been relevant in years. Swagger is far from a rookie on the rise; in fact, he's been with WWE for over nine years, having started out as a top prospect with a ton of potential, and impressing officials in developmental before punching his ticket to the main roster. He had a strong start on the now-defunct ECW brand, but it was all downhill for the All-American American from there. From forgettable title runs to missed managerial opportunities, the powers that be have mishandled Swagger on multiple occasions over the course of his career. As a result, fans can no longer take him seriously whenever the roster is low on star power and WWE attempts to make him meaningful again. In the near-decade he€™s been with WWE, officials have dropped the ball on him countless time, causing his momentum to fizzle out and become the midcard mainstay he is today.

10. Undefeated Streak

WWE's ECW experiment was basically a bust. It was far from what the promotion of the same name was in the mid- to late-'90s, but if nothing else, it served as a platform to introduce new stars (i.e. what NXT has turned into today). CM Punk and Sheamus were among the future world champions to debut in WWE in the Land of Extreme, and Jack Swagger joined that elite club as well in September 2008. After beating local athletes in his first few matches, Swagger set his sights on Tommy Dreamer, whom he beat in three consecutive matches. He then went on to defeat Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship in early January while still undefeated in singles competition in WWE. Swagger was living up to his nickname as the "Prodigy of WWE" before he ran into the roadblock that was Finlay. It was fine to do a feud between the two, but it was completely unnecessary to have the fighting Irishman hand Swagger his first loss in WWE that February. Granted, it was only after Hornswoggle made his presence felt at ringside, but there were more effective ways of getting to the title match at the No Way Out pay-per-view that didn't see Swagger suffer a defeat prematurely.