Two weeks ago, Jack Swagger requested his release from WWE, but it wasn’t granted to him. As such, it appeared the company was going to try to keep him on the roster at least until his contract truly expired, if not longer. Earlier today, however, WWE decided to simply cut the cord and be done with him, officially announcing his release.
The initial shock was over and by now, nobody should be surprised that this happened. However, it’s interesting that for the past few months, WWE didn’t seem to even try to utilise Jack Swagger in any way that could have saved his career from the downward spiral it became.
At first, one might think this is just because there were bigger fish to fry—which admittedly was true, for the most part—but there are actually several ways he could have been of use that wouldn’t have taken much effort at all or even still, could have potentially yielded positive results.
Here is a breakdown of just a few of those options WWE had on the table but decided not to invest in.
#1 Give him actual feuds on SmackDown
When the brand split was reinstituted, the rosters for Raw and SmackDown were decided and the only people left out of the mix were Heath Slater and several injured wrestlers. Everybody else was accounted for and we all hoped that the WWE had thought everything out to create a truly balanced set of shows.
Rather soon afterwards, this was proven false, as Jack Swagger was moved from Raw to SmackDown. For a good week, it seemed like this could be the start of a relatively big push as Shelton Benjamin had been injured.
All things looked well and good as a feud with Baron Corbin started heating up. Then, out of nowhere, it just ceased to be a thing without any real resolution or payoff. Corbin didn’t look any better than before, Swagger stopped making appearances, and it was just a waste of time.
The most basic, simplest thing WWE could have done to get something out of Jack Swagger would have been to just flat out use him!
Swagger’s feud with Corbin might not have lit the world aflame, but why didn’t we get to see a series against Apollo Crews? Why not a match against AJ Styles? He could have put The Miz over again or even lost to Mojo Rawley. He’d have been decent fodder for The Wyatt Family at some point.
Hell, if WWE had a problem with Swagger and didn’t value his credibility, he could have even lost to James Ellsworth and it would have been better than sitting at home for half a year.
The only thing worse than being a loser is being someone who isn’t even considered worth the effort to put on the card to lose and WWE could have had at least a handful of months of Swagger as a legitimate midcarder before even reaching that desperation point.
For a former world Heavyweight Champion to just sit on the sidelines, instead of wrestling in any capacity is just a waste and it’s surprising WWE didn’t look at things that way.
#2 Put him in a tag team
When in doubt, put someone in a tag team. It’s a rule that doesn’t work at a 100% success rate, but it rejuvenates a wrestler’s career is more often than not. In the past, Jack Swagger had a decent tag team going with Dolph Ziggler and another one with Cesaro, so it would have been worth a shot to try it again.
For that matter, Dolph Ziggler’s current character could use a buddy to tag up with to go against Apollo Crews and Kalisto. The two of them could have reunited as former allies who agreed that they were too good in the ring to be passed over as much as they were.
There were rumours during the early onset of the brand split that a stable was going to form with some combination of Swagger, Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin and American Alpha, but nothing of the sort happened. While Benjamin was out of the running, the other four men were still available and could have possibly become a great stable.
Would there have been comparisons to Team Angle if Swagger was leading up a team with Jason Jordan and Chad Gable? Of course. Is that necessarily a bad thing? It only becomes problematic if the faction doesn’t gel well together and the only way to know that is to at least try.
If Heath Slater and Rhyno could form a decent tag team on SmackDown out of nowhere, Swagger could have had a multitude of different partners that he might have had success with.
#3 Give him a manager
It’s no secret that Jack Swagger’s biggest hurdle has always been a lack of mic skills. His in-ring work is fine, but he’s never been able to connect with the audience as a character unless he’s had a manager backing him up. If it worked well before with Vickie Guerrero and it worked well with Zeb Colter, why not try it again?
Now that we know Kurt Angle is back in the fold with the WWE, he could have been a perfect choice to be paired up with Swagger to help give him what he’s missing.
Not only is Angle immensely popular, he’s also someone who has been linked to Swagger for the entirety of the latter’s career despite their paths never crossing, just due to a few obvious parallels.
Angle could have been used as a mentor to get Swagger back on track, similar to the Darren Young and Bob Backlund duo, but without the comedic element. He could teach him a few new tricks on how to torque the ankle lock and how to incorporate an amateur wrestling style that leads to multiple world titles instead of just one.
#4 Repackage his character
Several years ago, Swagger had a resurgence of popularity when he and Zeb Colter started playing up characters that were very politically-charged, which put him at odds against the then-babyface Alberto Del Rio.
The Real Americans worked very well for a bit even despite Swagger messing things up by running into legal trouble at the worst possible time.
Eventually, this went from being a heel role to a babyface one and this has been the incarnation of Swagger from that point forward, but without any of the promos, the manager, or anything that made it interesting.
He was left with just the pose, the “we the people” chant and the entrance music—three things that were good, but not great enough on their own to really do much for the audience several years removed from when it was hot.
Right now, we’re in an even crazier political climate and yet, WWE hasn’t tapped into it at all. Why is that? This is the same company that had American hero Sgt Slaughter renounce the United States and become an Iraqi sympathiser!
Swagger could have very easily started to portray a Donald Trump supporting character that got under the skin of the people who disagree with those ideals and garnered tonnes of support from those who are pro-Trump.
If WWE is okay with John Cena and Roman Reigns getting a mixture of boos and cheers “so long as they get a reaction” then there’s no reason the same edict shouldn't apply to everybody else, including Swagger.
He could have been one of the hottest heels and hottest babyfaces depending on the areas they were wrestling that week, which could have been a really fun dynamic to see change up from time to time.
#5 Ship him down to NXT
In the past, nearly everybody has had success in NXT, whether they were a young newcomer or an older star looking for something to do. This was applicable to Cesaro who had a great feud with Sami Zayn, Tyson Kidd who turned his career around and even Titus O’Neil who was quickly heading to the unemployment line.
Jack Swagger could have been an amazing asset for the yellow brand as a big enough star to be in the main event while also being someone who could put over the younger stars.
He would have been a big fish in a small pond, so that would placate his ego, ensuring that he didn’t feel like he was being overshadowed, but it also would have given back to the developmental talent since working with him would teach them more than working with other rookies.
There would be plenty of feuds for him to work without running into repetition, too. Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe when he was still there, Bobby Roode, Tye Dillinger, and Roderick Strong are just a few names that come to mind that would have been a lot of fun to see, at least when it comes to the in-ring product.
The only downside in this scenario is that he would have taken up a spot from another developmental star, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, particularly if all that meant was someone like Steve Cutler waiting a little longer to make regular appearances.
This more than anything else on this list could have been the best way to give Swagger an important role in the company, where he could have illustrated his own value while also being used to build for the future and not wasting his talent on investments that would fall through, much like his whole career seems to be at this point.
How do you think WWE should have used Jack Swagger? Make sure to drop your thoughts in the comments section below!
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