Donald Jacob Hager Jr. is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist signed with AEW and Bellator MMA. He is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. He is best known for his work as Jack Swagger in WWE. He is a former World Heavyweight and United States Champion.
In 2006, he had a tryout at DSW. Later, they signed him with the company and assigned him to FCW. He is a former FCW World Champion and had a small run before moving to the main roster. In 2008, Hage moved to the main roster as Jack Swagger.
Swagger's first rivalry on ECW was against Tommy Dreamer and won. In 2009, he defeated Matt Hardy to win the ECW Championship. After 103 days, he lost the title to Christian. Later, he moved to RAW and began chasing for the United States Championship and lost.
At WrestleMania XXVI, Swagger won the Money in the Bank ladder match and won. In April, he cashed his contract on Chris Jericho and won the World Heavyweight Championship. However, he lost the title in less than 80 days to Rey Mysterio. He spent the rest of the year chasing the Intercontinental Championship and lost.
In 2011, he assisted and trained Michael Cole during his rivalry with Jerry Lawler. Later, he spent the rest of the year teaming up with Dolph Ziggler. In 2012, Swagger defeated Zack Ryder to win the United States Championship. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Swagger joined Team Johnny and won. After Mania, Ziggler and Swagger ended their partnership. Swagger went on a losing streak and ended up taking some time off. In 2013, Swagger came back with a new gimmick called Real Americans. At WrestleMania XXIX, Alberto Del Rio defeated Swagger.
Swagger formed a team called Real Americans with Cesaro. The team spent a year chasing the tag team titles but failed on numerous occasions. In 2014, the team disbanded when Cesaro won the André the Giant Battle Royale and hired Paul Heyman. Swagger spent the remaining year facing Cesaro, RVD, and Alberto Del Rio. Swagger spent the remaining years in the mid-card and tag team division before leaving in 2017.
After leaving WWE, Hager made several appearances on the independent circuit. In 2019, Hager made his AEW debut on Dynamite and joined The Inner Circle. In 2020, Hager faced AEW World and TNT Champion but failed to win. At Double or Nothing, The Inner Circle lost to The Elite.
In 2021, Hager and the stable feuded with The Pinnacle. In June, Hager defeated Wardlow in an MMA Cage fight. At Double or Nothing, The Inner Circle defeated The Pinnacle. In 2022, Hager attacked Santana and Ortiz and joined the Jericho Appreciation Society.
