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Chris Jericho recently spoke about the initial thoughts that went into the Inner Circle, revealing surprising details about Vince McMahon's perspective on Jake Hager (FKA Jack Swagger) in WWE.
The Wizard's first stable in AEW consisted of a large array of young wrestlers. Stars like Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager were the most prominent, with MJF and Wardlow also joining in briefly.
Reminiscing about the stable and speaking about Anthony Ogogo on Talk Is Jericho, the veteran revealed that Vince McMahon did not like Jake Hager during the latter's time in WWE.
"He [Tony Khan] had suggested Anthony, Gogo, Ogogo as the heater and I had been training at a kickboxing gym where Jake Hager also trained ... [WWE] didn't use him up to his potential. They just never found a thing for him. Vince didn't like him because he has a lisp ... Vince doesn't like Cesaro because he is from Switzerland." (H/T: WrestlingInc)
Jake Hager is currently a part of Jericho's new stable, the JAS. Meanwhile, Cesaro (now known as Claudio Castagnoli) is the reigning ROH World Champion.
The former WWE Champion was apparently too scary for Road Dogg to fight him as well
While Jake Hager may not have been liked by Vince McMahon, another WWE veteran was not keen on facing him either, for different reasons.
Speaking about a particular encounter between him and Jake Hager on his Oh...You Didn't Know podcast, Road Dogg described how he had backed off from the former "All American-American".
"With Jake Hager a.k.a Jack Swagger, he is a big huge, raw-boned, athletic son of a gun, like, a shooter, for real. I didn't want any part of him. There is a funny part where I came back in the Rumble, where I did my stuff with Miz and Cody, and I'm thankful for those guys for letting me do my stuff. Bing, bang, boom, I turn around, and there is Jack Swagger," revealed Road Dogg. "And I just go, 'No, no, no, and I just back off and put my head under the ropes.' Like, [I] hid from him!" [21:30 - 22:02]
With Road Dogg now out of in-ring action, the chances of seeing the two again in the same ring are quite slim. Fans will have to be content with enjoying Jake Hager's exploits for now.
Do you want to see more of Jake Hager in AEW? Sound off in the comments below!
