What’s the story?
As reported yesterday, Jack Swagger informed Chael Sonnen on his Beyond The Fight podcast that he had requested a release from the WWE. While he mentioned it was an on-going process, the WWE may have come to a conclusion on the matter as the Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion has been advertised for his first non-WWE event since his departure.
Swagger will be wrestling for WAW British Wrestling next weekend. Here is a tweet from the promotion:
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In case you didn’t know...
Jack Swagger will go down as one of the most underutilised talents in WWE history. Swagger had cashed in the Money In The Bank contract on the fall-out SmackDown episode of WrestleMania 26 to win his first WWE World Championship.
However, due to a reported marijuana dependency and an incident when he was arrested for DUI, WWE decided to scrap his World title push and effectively shove him into the mid-card. His first major title was the ECW World Championship that he won in 2009.
Although his Real Americans act with Cesaro and Zeb Colter got him over recently, the company had nothing substantial for him after the Brand Split and even he realised his career was going nowhere.
He summed up his WWE career perfectly on Sonnen’s podcast:
As of yesterday, Chael, I asked for my release from WWE. It’s still kind of an ongoing process right now. Basically it came down to contract negotiations and we were way off. They didn’t value me at what I thought I was valued at so... this was a business decision. They weren’t giving me the opportunity to make the full amount of income I could for my family so, when you put it like that, it’s time to go.
The heart of the matter
World Association of Wrestling (WAW) is a British wrestling promotion based in Norwich. It has been active since 1994 and is considered to be one of the biggest in the country. Paige wrestled for the company before her WWE stint apart from many other known names. Alberto Del Rio also wrestled his first match after his WWE departure for WAW.
Having Jack Swagger wrestle his first match since his WWE exit is a lucrative deal, one that is certainly going to bear fruit in terms of viewership and sales.
What’s next?
While WWE hasn’t officially announced his release or removed him from the WWE roster, the announcement of his indie appearance confirms that he has been granted his wish. Swagger mentioned that he wanted to explore his options on the independent scene and also try his hand at MMA.
For now, he’s content on taking bookings from indie promotions and as time goes by, he could even sign up with a major promotion such as ROH, NJPW or Impact Wrestling.
Sportskeeda’s take
Jack Swagger may not be a main event talent, but he’s is talented nonetheless. Going to the indies – where his will be treated with respect – is the best thing for the former All-American from the Univesity of Oklahoma.
Swagger is a former World Champion and that itself warrants a barrage of offers from top bookers in the indie scene. Only time will tell how successful he will be in his new journey, but looking at Cody Rhodes killing it all around the world, we feel Swagger too will be fine.
