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What's the story?
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger might have left the company recently as his star power waned but he has been rejuvenated in the independent circuit and opened up about just when he might return to the WWE.
The 35-year-old was interviewed on Pancakes & Powerslams and stated that he was frustrated with a few things in the company and also stopped learning in the ring. “The All-American American” also spoke about a career in MMA and how he would like to fight Brock Lesnar.
In case you didn't know...
Swagger does have an impressive resume when it comes to college wrestling and holds a few records at the All-American level.
The former champ got into the WWE after a try-out in 2006 and was part of the company till 2017, where he also picked up the ECW Championship once.
The heart of the matter
Swagger hasn’t given up on wrestling and is doing pretty well in the indie circuit, and WrestlingNewsWorld.com carried the quotes from the 35-year-old when he was asked if he would return to the WWE anytime soon.
“For me, right now, me being on my exit very freshly, it’s not something that I’m thinking about. I want to focus on wrestling in other markets and learning other styles and other crowds. And, growing as a pro wrestler.”
The former champion did mention that he was fortunate to break into the WWE right from the beginning but wants to adapt and learn about the other wrestling styles out there. Swagger also added that he had stopped learning during his decade-long stay in the WWE but now is excited at his current opportunities.
While Swagger’s performances in wrestling are worthy of a mention, he also spoke out about the rise in MMA’s popularity and added that he wouldn’t mind fighting Brock Lesnar, especially after the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor feud.
Swagger further added that even though he is a good wrestler, there are a lot of facets in MMA and he would have to be good in a number of disciplines should he want to jump into the Octagon.
“I’m just a good amateur wrestler, but there’s Jiu Jitsu, there’s kickboxing, there’s Muay Thai. There’s so many aspects that you have to be good at to step in that Octagon. So, it wouldn’t be something that I would take lightly, but, at this point in time, yeah, I’d definitely would [fight Lesnar].”
What's next?
Lesnar has been rumored to be in for an MMA bout fairly recently but him retaining the WWE Universal title does put a spanner in the works as “The Beast” would have to defend his title in the pay-per-view events.
Swagger could still make the jump into the octagon and he should be able to hold his own in the world of mixed martial arts.
Author's take
Swagger leaving the WWE was bound to happen after his act fizzled out during the latter stage of his time in the company. However, it is admirable that the 35-year-old accepted that he had his faults and is now trying to learn new wrestling styles in other promotions.
For the fight against Lesnar, Swagger would need a lot of training however, it is highly debatable that Lesnar would want to fight Swagger and face a bigger name from the world of MMA.
