The Inner Circle: Getting to know AEW's newest Heel Stable 

#2 Jake Hager aka Jack Swagger

Toughest MMA fighter around (Credit: AEW/Bruno Silveira)

Jake Hager is his real name, but he was a WWE Superstar for over 9 years under the name Jack Swagger. He's a former ECW Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a United States Champion.

His gimmick as the "All American" was based on his collegiate accomplishments. Similar to Brock Lesnar, Hager achieved the coveted All American status in the NCAA while competing for the University of Oklahoma. He debuted in WWE in 2008 and spent most of his run on the mid-card. Like Cody Rhodes, Hager had only wrestled for WWE before departing in 2017.

He ended up signing with Bellator and appeared for other wrestling promotions including Lucha Underground. So far, he is undefeated in Bellator and scheduled to fight Anthony Garrett at Bellator 231 on October 25th. It's safe to say that he won't be competing in the ring until after that date.

It was recently reported that Chris Jericho wanted Hager to be in a different role when he was in WWE. With Hager being part of The Inner Circle, it's quite clear that Hager is the muscle of the group, whose role is to stay silent and dominate on command. For lack of a better term, he is the enforcer.

It'll be interesting how things pan out in the weeks to come.