'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAFAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQf/2gAIAQEAAAAAnjH/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAECEAAAAE//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAEDEAAAAGf/xAAgEAACAgEDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwEEEQAGIQUHEhMx/9oACAEBAAE/ANrU27432Tr1j0ygTZYwGZsxB5xPzHBeOrHZei17GB1awoTKSgBXwOv/xAAYEQADAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMAEf/aAAgBAgEBPwCc1YdO/8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAyH/2gAIAQMBAT8ArRZXT//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Chris Jericho recently revealed that Wardlow himself pitched the idea for the MMA Cage Fight between him and Jake Hager, which went down on the June 18th edition of AEW Dynamite.
Appearing on Wrestler Observer Radio, Jericho spoke about some interesting details regarding how the match came to fruition. The former AEW Champion disclosed that Wardlow had pitched the MMA Cage Fight a few months ago, but it kept getting delayed for various reasons.
Jericho explained that the match had to be scheduled before AEW gets back on the road since it required creating the cage from scratch. He further stated that they wanted the bout to look as realistic as possible due to Hager's legitimate background in MMA.
“That was a suggestion by Wardlow months ago. We had it scheduled two separate times and things just changed. One time, somebody was hurt or couldn’t make it. The other time, it didn’t fit the angle where we had it slotted. The funny thing is, we had to do that match before we went back on the road because obviously you have to build that cage and we wanted an actual MMA cage and wanted it as close to an MMA fight as possible because Jake is an MMA fighter,” said Jericho. (H/T - Fightful)
While fans were understandably skeptical about the match heading into the show, it's safe to say Jake Hager and Wardlow had a fun back-and-forth contest. The Inner Circle member won after Wardlow passed out in the Arm Triangle.
Jake Hager and Wardlow will share the ring again on the next edition of AEW Dynamite
On the special Road Rager episode of AEW Dynamite, Jake Hager and Wardlow will once again stand across each other in the squared circle, this time in a six-man tag team match. While Hager will team up with Santana and Ortiz, Wardlow will join forces with his Pinnacle stablemates, FTR.
Though the match is part of the ongoing feud between FTR and Santana and Ortiz, Wardlow and Hager could trade some blows to keep their rivalry alive. Since the two are tied in singles competition, a blow-off match could go down sometime later in the year.
Did you enjoy the MMA Cage match between Jake Hager and Wardlow on AEW Dynamite? Do you want to see the two behemoths square off again? Sound off in the comments section below.
