Former WWE Champion declares he's officially retired now

Not every pro wrestler wants to stay in the business forever. A three-time WWE champion has quietly moved on from wrestling at 43 years of age.

Jake Hager, who many fans remember as Jack Swagger from his time in the Stamford-based promotion, has closed his wrestling chapter. He recently explained why he has decided to call it quits on his career.

The All-American American started his in-ring career with WWE back in 2006 and went on to have an 11-year stint with the company before his release. His big breakthrough came in 2010 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Chris Jericho to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his career.

Although it wasn't the most memorable reign, he amassed an impressive championship resume, winning the ECW and United States titles. After leaving his old stomping ground, he joined AEW, where he spent most of his time working under Chris Jericho as part of his Inner Circle and Jericho Appreciation Society factions.

He last donned his wrestling boots in 2024 and has since been vocal about getting out of the business. Speaking on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Jake Hager confirmed that he's retired from in-ring competition.

“Retired baby, Hall of Fame. I used to say before I would go through the curtain in gorilla, ‘You want me in the Hall of Fame?’ Right before the music would hit. That would just be my mentality.”

He added that he has done everything he could in the business and has wanted to leave wrestling behind for quite a long time.

"I had done it since 2006, dedicated a lot of my best parts of my life to the sport, roughly 17-18 years, very grateful. Had a good gig for most of that and blessed to have done it. Because pro wrestling is very tough to get into, and there’s literally hundreds of thousands of people who want to become pro wrestlers, and it’s grown every day. Like I said, I don’t watch it anymore. So I think for me, I had accomplished everything that I really cared about and wanted to move on for the longest time." [H/T - CVV]

You can check out the full interview below:

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WWE veteran Dutch Mantell addresses Jake Hager's retirement

Dutch Mantell, who briefly managed Jake Hager in 2013, recently shared his thoughts on his retirement.

Speaking on the Story Time podcast, he revealed that Swagger was already getting sick of the business when he was with him. He also slammed AEW for misusing him.

"I think he was getting sick of the business even when I was with him, and then he went to AEW, and they did absolutely zip with him. They did nothing with him."

Jake Hager now runs a trucking company and is devoting his time to his family. Will he ever step back inside the squared circle in WWE? Only time will tell.