Former WWE Star Jack Swagger Makes Surprise Appearance On AEW Dynamite

Jake Hager causes havoc following maiden show's main event.

Jake Hager
AEW/Fite

A fittingly explosive inaugural edition of AEW Dynamite came to a close with the shocking arrival of former WWE star Jake 'Jack Swagger' Hager.

The recent MMA convert emerged from the crowd during a wild brawl between Chris Jericho's assembled gang of heels and The Elite, Cody and Dustin Rhodes. Hager was the impact player in the segment, linking arms with the 'Painmaker', Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz to beat down the top babyface crew in a powerful closing angle.

Resisting the urge to do his former Stamford signature, Hager was nonetheless showered with "We The People" chants from a white hot crowd clearly elated with his arrival.

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Ahead of the show, predictions had been made in select circles about his impending debut after he inadvertently noted how both himself and Jon Moxley had been in talks with the group before the latter's Double Or Nothing pay-per-view debut in May. Held off from then, his name gradually disappeared from discussion, particularly when Jericho ended any speculation about his main event tag partners with a reveal earlier this week.

The show went off the air before the shock of the scene evaporated, so expect Hager - possibly alongside Jericho's crew - to explain his actions next week.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett