Wrestling veteran explains why former AEW star Jake Hager didn't get over in WWE (Exclusive)

Former AEW wrestler Jake Hager recently announced his retirement from professional wrestling. The 43-year-old had a nearly two-decade-long career in the business, where he wrestled for multiple wrestling promotions such as WWE, AEW, and Lucha Underground.

He's best known for his time in WWE, where he became the World Heavyweight Champion. Former SmackDown General Manager and wrestling veteran Teddy Long recently shed some light on why Hager couldn't get over in the Stamford-based promotion despite having won multiple championships.

While speaking on The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Long stated that pairing Dutch Mantell [Zeb Colter] with the former AEW star might not have been a good move for WWE. He said that sometimes two people just don't fit with each other, and that might've been the case here.

"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.

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Known as Jack Swagger during his time in WWE, he achieved great success in the early part of his run with the company before moving to AEW. Within months of making his debut for ECW, Swagger won the ECW World Championship from Matt Hardy and went on to hold the belt for over 100 days.

He would later win the Money in the Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, becoming the last person to win the briefcase at The Show of Shows. He would cash in the contract on Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship on the SmackDown after WrestleMania, but only held the title for 79 days.

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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