As noted, Swagger made a major impression on the WWE Universe with his arrival on ECW in late 2008. He quickly captured the ECW Championship and reigned as champion for three months before dropping the strap to Christian at Backlash. The remainder of his run in the Land of Extreme was nothing noteworthy, but it was evident he was ready for Raw. On the June 29, 2009 edition of Raw, it was announced that three top prospects from ECW would make the move to the flagship show and face then-WWE champion Randy Orton in a gauntlet match in the main event. After Orton knocked off Evan Bourne in an impressive outing, his next opponent was revealed to be the All-American American. Granted, he didn't actually go one-on-one with The Viper and instead opted to get himself counted-out as a show of respect, but the aftermath was anything but extraordinary. He engaged in a lackluster program with MVP before falling into obscurity. WWE failed to capitalize on the opportunity to push him from the get-go on the flagship show, making his Raw run fairly forgettable as a result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMRdYf6_zfo
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.
