"He's just bitter" - Former World Heavyweight Champion is unhappy about not being pushed in AEW, says Bill Apter (Exclusive)

Wrestling journalist Bill Apter has given his take on why a former World Heavyweight Champion was unhappy with his time in AEW. He claimed that this may stem from bitterness about not being pushed enough during his time with the company.

Jake Hager recently discussed his run in the Jacksonville-based promotion, and he still had a lot of ill will towards Tony Khan. After his time with the company ended, he went on a rant on social media and made several accusations against the All Elite President.

During the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, Bill Apter, along with Mac Davis and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long, dived into the Hager situation. Apter mentioned that his upset might be related to how he was never pushed during his time in AEW. He claimed that if he asked others about how they were being treated, Hager might come off as being bitter about it.

"I'm not backstage there a lot, so I don't know what really went on, but I do know that both in AEW and WWE, he never really got a major push at either company. So he's probably upset about that, of course, and he's spewing out words that were not very complimentary, and that's his view. I'm sure if I got to talk to some of the people who were still working at AEW, they'll say, 'Well, he's just bitter,' so we let him have his say, and that's what he is, he's unhappy."

The veteran disagreed with him on one point: his claim that Tony Khan treated the company like his toy box, since no one would invest that much money in just a toy box.

"He said that Tony Khan makes all the decisions, and he probably makes the final decision. I would think so if a writer is not sure of an angle or something. But a toy box? It's a hell of an expensive toy box, isn't it?" [2:08-3:08]

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Hall of Famer Teddy Long talked about why the former AEW star did not get over in WWE

Teddy Long recently got to speak about Jake Hager's time in WWE and his pairing with Dutch Mantell (FKA Zeb Colter). Despite having a run as the World Heavyweight Champion, he did not generally get over within the company.

Long mentioned that this was just a case of their pairing not working out, rather than Mantell being lackluster. They just could not complement each other.

"Well, sometimes, you know, you may be with the wrong people, you know what I mean? So, of course managing, you know, nothing's wrong with Dutch. Don't get me wrong, but sometimes, you know, two guys they don't fit. You know, so you need to be with the right person that you know, you can bounce off each other, you know what I mean? So, but Jack, he worked his butt off. He did everything, as far as I know, that he was asked to do, so you just never know," Long said.

Ace Humphreys 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🦢

@Ace109610

Jake Hager angry on Tony Khan and not being happy with his AEW booking. Still crashing out in 2025

Hager spent roughly five years with AEW, but it can only be described as a heavily underwhelming experience. With his time in the industry coming to an end, unfortunately, he might not have left as big a legacy as he would have wanted.

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