5 lesser-known cross-promotion wrestling friendships

#3. WWE Superstar R-Truth - All Elite Wrestling star Jake Hager

Before joining All Elite Wrestling in 2019, Jake Hager competed for more than a decade in WWE. During that time, he made some friends. One of Hager's friends in Vince McMahon's company is R-Truth.

Hager spoke about his friendship with the former 24/7 Champion on the WINCLY podcast in 2019. He disclosed that they became close after years of riding together.

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"We were both on the same shows and got to know each other. We have similar friends and similar experiences over the last 12 years that really solidified each other in each other’s lives and our kids’ lives. He’s Uncle Ronnie to my kids," Hager said.

The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion also revealed that R-Truth was one of the first people he told about his plans to leave the promotion Hager left WWE in March 2017.

After his departure, Hager started wrestling on the independent circuit. He also kicked off his career in MMA before signing with AEW.

Meanwhile, R-Truth is still wrestling in WWE. He has been chasing after the 24/7 Championship since 2019. He is now a 53-time 24/7 Champion.

About the author

Ahmed Hamdy is an Egyptian journalist with a decade of experience in sports journalism, specializing in pro wrestling and football.

Hamdy kicked off his career as a sports reporter for Al-Ahram Weekly. He then became a producer/reporter for Mal Masr TV program on the Egyptian channel ON TV. In the following years, Hamdy worked as a reporter for several international news outlets, including Deutsche Welle (Germany), As-Safir (Lebanon), and Al-Monitor (U.S.A).

In 2014, Hamdy joined leading Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, where he is now a Senior Sports Editor. In addition to all that, the Egyptian also worked as a sports editor for Sport360 and feature writer for Manshoor.com.

Hamdy has covered several sports events throughout the past few years, including WWE's tour in Egypt and the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

The experienced journalist joined Sportskeeda's pro wrestling feature writers team in early 2021. Since then, his work has managed to get millions of reads.

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Edited by Ryan K Boman