10 Wrestlers Who Suffered From The Curse Of Comparison

When Jack Swagger debuted on the ill-fated WWE ECW, his gimmick heavily relied on his real-life success as an amateur wrestler. This evoked immediate parallels to beloved pro-wrestling Olympian Kurt Angle, putting Swagger in a steep shadow. The younger athlete had seven inches and 35 pounds on the ‘Olympic Hero’, however, Angle’s charisma and personality eclipsed the newcomer.

Even the heel’s singlet often looked like a drab version of Angle’s, drawing comparison to another hero, Luke Skywalker, whose darkened Return of the Jedi costume reflected his inner battle with the dark side (a reference in Britt Baker’s honour).

WWE attempted to make Swagger an ‘American Hero’ heel à la Angle. Creative’s attempts to mask his lack of Kurt’s charisma resulted in left-field ideas, such as pairing him with a Soaring Eagle mascot, and later a xenophobic Zeb Colter.

Swagger won the 2010 Money in the Bank contract, and successfully cashed it in for an 82-day run with the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite this he never truly clicked in his WWE role, the Angle comparison being a major factor.

Fortunately, as Jake Hager, he has become his own man on AEW with a better-fitting enforcer gimmick.