10 WWE Star Making Moments That Changed Nothing
3. Jack Swagger Cashes In (2010)
Another cash-in and yet another missed opportunity.
Back in 2010, Jack Swagger had ticked all the necessary boxes to be considered as WWE's next big thing. He'd already enjoyed a world title run - albeit with the ECW Championship - and even managed to seal that all-important Money in the Bank briefcase win at WrestleMania XXVI.
He would cash in this opportunity on Chris Jericho on the SmackDown after 'Mania, winning the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time and it looked as though WWE had found their newest top star.
Swagger adopted the fashionable over-serious persona which the likes of Jericho had made cool and managed to retain his title against the aforementioned Y2J, Edge, Randy Orton and Big Show.
So far, so good.
Then, the wheels fell off his push when Rey Mysterio stole his title away at the *shudder* Fatal 4-Way PPV, and he then failed in trying to recapture the gold at Money in the Bank.
Swagger fell back down the card and - similarly to Dolph Ziggler - it seemed as though the Swagger experiment had failed, leaving WWE with no intention of taking another chance on the former champ.
Despite finding a bit of success as part of The Real American group - getting 'We the People' over to a substantial degree - Swagger left the company in 2017 and took up a new career as a legit MMA badass, before eventually joining AEW.