Every Former WWE Superstar And Their Grades Since Joining AEW

5. Jake Hager (Jack Swagger)

Dustin Rhodes
AEW

Grade: C

Before he arrived in AEW, during the inaugural episode of Dynamite, it had been three years since we had last seen Hager set foot in a WWE ring. During his time away from WWE, Hager spent time wrestling on the indies, winning numerous titles. He has also been establishing a name for himself in the MMA world, with a 2-0 (1) record with the Bellator promotion. Given he's been a world champion in WWE and has a background in MMA, expectations were reasonably high for Hager when he showed up in AEW.

Hager provided Jericho with a credible heavy, during the latter's title run, and has also demonstrated some comedic chops during many of The Inner Circle's segments and video packages. While there have been bright spots, since his in the ring debut at AEW Revolution, he has not been a convincing main event wrestler. He won his match with Dustin Rhodes at the Pay-Per-View, but didn't come across as the unstoppable force AEW were hoping he would.

Aside from his debut match, Hager has squashed jobbers, won a tag match, and was rushed into an AEW Championship program against Jon Moxley, who he was defeated by in an empty arena, No Holds Barred match. Hager is a believable monster, but with wrestlers such as Lance Archer and Wardlow now on the roster, he's going to have to do more to stand out. Given his WWE history, fans are still waiting for Hager to fulfill his potential.

Contributor
Contributor

Brady Coyle is a board game enthusiast, an outdoor enthusiast, a crossword enthusiast and doesn't understand the concept of synonyms. He saw a button that said "Contribute" and, presented with the opportunity to share his opinion, he will never say no. He lives in Toronto, Canada, a place where nothing ever gets done because everyone is too busy saying "sorry" to each other.