"I really could not stop" - Current AEW star explains why he chose to leave WWE

Former world champion Jake Hager (aka Jack Swagger) recently revealed why he chose to step away from WWE and the wrestling business as a whole in 2017.

Six years ago, Hager was released from WWE. Despite winning the World Heavyweight Championship, the Oklahoma native never really found his footing in the company.

During a recent interview with Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the wrestler turned MMA athlete explained how switching from the wrestling ring to the cage helped him fix his mental state.

"It was at a point for me where I was kind of burned out from the road, it was nine years at that time of pretty much non-stop. My son was eight at the time, half of his life I was gone and so I had developed habits, I was drinking way too much, drinking every day and I really could not stop. So MMA was great for me to get back to the hard training and I felt like get back to who I was." (From 0:43 to 1:16)

Hager has been working in both wrestling and mixed martial arts for the past few years now. He can be seen performing every Wednesday night alongside Chris Jericho in All Elite Wrestling.

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WWE veteran on Jake Hager's wrestling ability

While Jake Hager possesses an undeniable athletic range, his ability to verbally and physically tell a story has long been up for debate.

Speaking on his Experience podcast, former WWE manager Jim Cornette slammed Hager's overall journey in All Elite Wrestling. He also questioned the star's credentials to be in the wrestling business.

"What has Jake Hager done to this day? He has not had one good match. He'd never speaks, much less cuts a good promo. He hardly ever wrestles to begin with and even when he's ringside as a stooge for [Chris] Jericho, he looks like he's a lost ball in high weeds screaming ' Find me, find me.' What the f**k? He's awkward and has two left feet. How did this guy even get in the f**king business?" Cornette said. [From 42:38 - 43:04] (H/T Sportskeeda)

Check out the full video below:

While Cornette's words are scathing, Hager is one of a select few in WWE history to have captured the World Heavyweight Championship. Hence, he will always have a place in wrestling's rich history.

What are your thoughts on Jake Hager's wrestling ability? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.