Former World Champion explains what held Jake Hager back in WWE and AEW (Exclusive)

Former WWE and AEW star Jake Hager recently announced his retirement from the professional wrestling business after 19 long years in the industry. The 43-year-old spent 11 years with WWE and five with AEW, but didn't quite become the top guy in either of the promotions.

Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion EC3 recently explained what held the 43-year-old back in his career. Hager dealt with a lot of stop-start pushes during his time in both promotions, which resulted in him never getting completely over with the crowd.

During a recent episode of The Wrestling Outlaws on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, EC3 explained that uncertainty is a part of this business, and sometimes it can weigh on someone, no matter how good they are. He added that even though he didn't get many opportunities to showcase himself as best as he could, Hager still had a very successful career.

"I think you wonder if, like the creative process in WWE or in AEW, like opened him up or allowed him to be himself more or something more confident. Because when you get those starts and stops, no matter how talented you are, and how physically gifted you are, and how bada** you are, the confidence it takes to like, never feel like anything's really behind you, can kind of weigh in on you and lull. And, you know, that's the way the creative business of wrestling is sometimes, where it's just unfortunately, very inconsistent," EC3 said.

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He continued:

"And instead of like finding what you should be, it's finding out, and this is what I try to do, and I think this is what works the best, allowing you to be who you are, the best that you can be. And I don't think he, maybe, had that opportunity as much. [The] stuff with Dutch, you know, the all-American American. So I think he had a very good run and a very successful career, and I wish him the best."

While he didn't win any titles in AEW, Jake Hager won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW World Championship during his WWE run. He even became Mr. Money in the Bank once and won the United States Championship as well.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed