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#2 AEW has big plans for him
AEW has big plans for Jake Hager. According to a report by Wade Keller of PWTorch, AEW see him as a top star and not a supporting act. He explained:
"People in AEW are telling me he is super-motivated, he’s regained his confidence that he lost in WWE and there’s some powerful people in that company, influential people, who think he is going to be not a support player, a guy standing behind a star, but be a star,” Keller explained. “And if that’s what they think and he can deliver deliver on that, then that will show itself in the next couple months.”
It makes sense in a way. Hager wouldn't have signed with AEW to be another mid-level guy. They believe he can be a force to reckon with and was underutilized by WWE. Hager was always a fantastic athlete and perhaps, didn't get the right creative when he was with the company.
With the Bellator appearances, AEW knows they have a legit MMA fighter in their ranks. It was no different from how Lesnar was used when he came back to WWE. The only difference was that Lesnar was pushed straight away into the main-event scene and his comeback as a legit bada** cemented his aura in professional wrestling. AEW will be hoping to do the same with Jake Hager.
