101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
97. Jake Hager As Groot
Yes, as in the character from Guardians Of The Galaxy, albeit with a purple hat.
Ex-Jericho Appreciation Society heavy Jake Hager hasn't exactly been quiet about his dislike for Tony Khan and the AEW chief's methods since leaving the company. In fact, ol' Jack Swagger has been dismissive of Khan's booking prowess, management skills and practically everything else about him.
According to Swags, Tony just couldn't comprehend the money that'd be rolling through All Elite tills if he let him become AEW's very own walking, talking, living and breathing version of Groot. If you've seen the movies, then you'll know that the creature says: "I am Groot" a lot. Hager wanted to riff on that by changing it to, "I like this hat".
Thrilling, we're sure you'll agree. Khan didn't see the upside to it. Jake did get to sport his purple bucket lid on TV a whole bunch, but it was never going to be a long-term character worth investing in. He didn't understand the apathy, and likened it to a Marvel story for the ages. Ahem. What was it Jericho said about a "stupid idea from bad creative?".
Yeah, well WWE never had Swagger wearing a Scotty 2 Hotty knock off hat whilst talking about it but literally nothing else. Ask Hager today and he'll swear blind that Khan's an idiot for overlooking this gimmick. This, dear readers, is why most pro wrestlers don't get to be in charge of their own creative.
We get it, you really like that hat. Where was the payoff?