Jack Swagger attended the University of Oklahoma as a two sport athlete, participating in both football and wrestling. He switched to wrestling full-time in his sophomore year, and in 2006, set the record for most pins in a season with 30 as an All-American. Following a try-out, Hager signed a WWE contract in mid-2006. He made his debut for the WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling in September, and was moved to the Ohio Valley Wrestling territory in January 2007. A few months later, Hager debuted for Florida Championship Wrestling, where he was the final FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion and the inaugural FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.In late 2008, he debuted for the ECW brand under the name Jack Swagger, and in January 2009, he won his first world championship, the ECW Championship after defeating Matt Hardy. In March 2010, while a member of the Raw brand, he won the Money in the Bank Ladder match atWrestleMania XXVI and cashed it in later that week on SmackDown, where he defeated Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship. In January 2012, he won the United States Championship after defeating Zack Ryder. In 2013, at the Elimination Chamber PPV, He defeated Randy Orton & Four other Superstar to earn a World Heavyweight Championship Match at WrestleMania 29. In 2014, He began a feud with Rusev turning face as a result.
World Heavyweight Champion (2010–2011)
On the March 1, 2010 episode of Raw, Swagger defeated Santino Marella to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, where he won, earning a contract for any WWE world championship over the following year. On the first episode of Raw following WrestleMania, Swagger tried to cash in his Money in the Bank contract against the WWE champion John Cena, but changed his mind when he realized that
ugh to be defeated easily. As the match had never started, Swagger retained the contract for use at a future date. Swagger cashed in the contract during the SmackDown taping on March 30, 2010, after the World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho had been speared by Edge. Swagger went on to defeat Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Following his championship win, Swagger began to develop a more serious persona: previously he had been known for doing pushups and beating his chest during his ring entrance. He successfully defended his championship against Edge and Jericho in a triple threat match on the April 16 episode of SmackDown, and against Randy Orton in an Extreme Rules match at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. At Over the Limit, Swagger retained the title against The Big Show by intentionally disqualifying himself. At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view on June 20, Swagger lost the championship to Rey Mysterio in a fatal four-way match, also involving CM Punk and The Big Show. Following the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, Swagger began attacking Mysterio in the lead up to his rematch at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July, however he failed to regain the championships.
United States Champion (2011–2012)
In late 2010, Swagger began being accompanied to the ring by his mascot, the Swagger Soaring Eagle, who was portrayed by Chavo Guerrero. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Swagger competed in a triple threat ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, in which the latter went on to win the match. On the February 28 episode of Raw, Swagger was announced as Michael Cole's trainer for his match at WrestleMania XXVII against Jerry Lawler. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Swagger faced Lawler in a singles match, which he won by disqualification after Lawler attacked him with a steel chair. At WrestleMania, Swagger receive a Stone Cold Stunner from the guest referee, Stone Cold Steve Austin when attempting to withdraw Cole from the match. Cole went on to win the match via disqualification. On April 26, Swagger was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft. On May 1 at Extreme Rules, Swagger teamed with Cole to defeat Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross in a Country Whipping match. Swagger ended his partnership with Cole on the May 16 episode of Raw, after Cole insulted him.
Beginning on May 23, Swagger feuded with Evan Bourne, with both men trading victories on several episodes of Raw. At WWE Capitol Punishment, Bourne defeated Swagger to end the feud. Swagger competed in his second Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, however he was unsuccessful as the match was won by Alberto Del Rio.
On the August 15 episode of Raw, after defeating Alex Riley, Swagger suggested to Vickie Guerrero that she should manage multiple clients, in the vein of managers like Bobby Heenan and Freddie Blassie. The following week, Swagger had a "tryout" match, but was distracted by Guerrero arguing with Dolph Ziggler at ringside, and lost the match. Swagger and Ziggler continued to fight over Guerrero for the next few weeks, which led to a match being for Ziggler's United States Championship at Night of Champions, also involving Riley and John Morrison. At the pay-per-view, Swagger was unsuccessful in winning the title as Ziggler retained. On the September 19 episode of Raw, Guerrero agreed to manage Swagger. As a result, Swagger and Ziggler formed an alliance, with Swagger helping Ziggler retain his championship.[ At both the Hell in a Cell and Vengeance pay-per-views, Swagger and Ziggler unsuccessfully challenged Air Boom (Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston) for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
On the January 16, 2012, episode of Raw, Swagger won the WWE United States Championship for the first time by defeating Zack Ryder. Later that same night, Swagger was scheduled to face John Cena, but was attacked before the match, due to Cena being angry at Swagger by defeating Cena's friend, Zack Ryder to win the US Title. At Elimination Chamber, Swagger successfully defended his title against Justin Gabriel. On the February 27 edition of Raw, Swagger and Ziggler unsuccessfully challenged Primo and Epico for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat tag team match, also involving Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. On the March 5 episode of Raw, Swagger lost the United States Championship to Santino Marella. On the following edition of SmackDown, Swagger failed to regain the United States Championship in a steel cage match, after Marella escaped through the cage door. On the March 19 edition of Raw, Swagger was announced as a member of Team Johnny at Wrestlemania XXVIII. On the April 2 edition of Raw, Swagger and Ziggler unsuccessfully challenged Marella for the United States Championship in a triple threat match. In May, Swagger and Ziggler unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for WWE Tag Team Championship, first at Over the Limit and second on the May 28 episode of Raw. On the June 11 episode of Raw, Swagger and Ziggler competed in a fatal four way elimination match for a number one contenders spot to the World Heavyweight Championship, however he was eliminated after Ziggler pinned him. The following week, Guerrero, finally tired of the bickering between Swagger and Ziggler, arranged for a match between them; Ziggler won the match, thus ending their partnership. On the June 25 episode of Raw, Swagger unsuccessfully challenged Santino Marella for the United States Championship. Following this loss, Swagger went on a three-month losing streak against the likes of Tyson Kidd, Sheamus, Brodus Clay, and Ryback. After again losing to Sheamus on the September 3 episode of Raw, Swagger told Raw Manager AJ Lee he would take "time off."
The Real Americans (2013–2014)
After his return in 2013, Swagger used the Real American gimmick, using Zeb Colter as his manager. On the February 1, 2013 episode of SmackDown, Swagger returned, and demanded that SmackDown General Manager Booker T put him in the Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber. Later on that night, Swagger made his in-ring return by defeating Kofi Kingston. On the February 11 edition of Raw, Swagger debuted a new manager, Zeb Colter, a self-proclaimed great American hero who strongly advocated anti-illegal immigration beliefs; Swagger's character was influenced by Colter to display similar traits. That same episode, Swagger defeated Zack Ryder to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, which he won after last eliminating Randy Orton.
On February 19, Fox News and various right-wing commentators including Glenn Beck claimed that Swagger and Colter's characters were a mockery of the Tea Party movement meant to "demonize" the Tea Party. WWE responded to the criticism by stating that they were incorporating "current events into [their] storylines" to "create compelling and relevant content for [their] audience" and that "this storyline in no way represents WWE’s political point of view". WWE followed by having Swagger and Colter break character during a video to invite Beck to appear on Raw while justifying that the storyline was designed to elicit a crowd response for the protagonist, Alberto Del Rio, and the antagonists, Swagger and Colter, while remaining within a PG rating, unlike several high-rated scripted dramas that use murder and rape in their storylines. Beck rejected the invitation. On the March 18 episode of Raw, Swagger broke the ankle of Del Rio's ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez after Rodriguez tried to save Del Rio from Swagger's vicious assault.
On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Swagger unsuccessfully challenged Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. The following night on Raw, Swagger and Zeb Colter were defeated by Del Rio in a Two-on-one handicap match after forcing Swagger to submit to the Cross Armbreaker. Immediately following, Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Del Rio to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. Swagger would then feud with both Del Rio and Ziggler over the World Heavyweight Championship, with Swagger defeating Ziggler in a non-title match the following week and Del Rio attacking him afterwards. Swagger was originally booked to face Ziggler and Del Rio in three-way ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules, however, Ziggler would suffer a legitimate concussion at a SmackDown taping due to a kick from Swagger, thus removing their match from the card. As a result of Ziggler's injury, Swagger instead would be booked to face Del Rio in a number one contender I Quit match at the pay-per-view on May 19, which Del Rio won. In June, Swagger took a leave absence to undergo surgery on his hand, which sidelined him for the remainder of the month.
Swagger returned on the July 1 episode of Raw, accompanying Zeb Colter's new client Antonio Cesaro to his match with Cody Rhodes. At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Swagger and Cesaro competed in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, but were both unsuccessful as the match was won by Damien Sandow. The following night on Raw, Swagger and Cesaro, now billed as The Real Americans, teamed together for the first time, but ended up being defeated by The Usos. During the Night of Champions pre-show, the Real Americans competed in a number one contender Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, in which they were the last team eliminated by The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil). Simultaneously, the Real Americans began a feud with the returning Santino Marella after he defeated both of them in singles competition. On October 6 at WWE Battleground, the Real Americans defeated Marella and The Great Khali in a tag team match. The Real Americans moved onto feuding with Los Matadores, culminating in a tag team match on October 27 at Hell in a Cell, which Los Matadores won. The following night on Raw, The Real Americans defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non-title match. At Survivor Series, Swagger teamed with Cesaro, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a 5 on 5 traditional Survivor Series tag team match in which their team was victorious over Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, Goldust and The Usos' team. At TLC they also challenged for the WWE Tag Team Championship again in a losing effort in a fatal four way match also involving RybAxel and the team of Big Show and Rey Mysterio. Swagger would enter the 2014 Royal Rumble match at entrant #7 but was eliminated by Kevin Nash. On the February 14th episode of SmackDown, Swagger became the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship after winning a Fatal 4-Way match, defeating Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry. However, Swagger would advance to Elimination Chamber, where he would face the current Intercontinental Champion, Big E, and would lose the match.
Cesaro slamming Swagger
During the pre-show of WrestleMania XXX, the Real Americans were the final team eliminated during a fatal-four-way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Swagger blamed Cesaro for the loss and put Cesaro in the Patriot Lock before Colter demanded that the duo shake hands. Cesaro instead retaliated with a Cesaro Swing on Swagger.
Later during the pay-per-view, Cesaro was a surprise entrant in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which he won by last eliminating Big Show by body slamming him out of the ring, which mirrored Hulk Hogan's momentous body slam of Andre.
Singles Run and face turn (2014-Present)
During the pre-show of WrestleMania XXX, the Real Americans were the final team eliminated during a fatal-four-way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Swagger blamed Cesaro for the loss and put Cesaro in the Patriot Lock before Colter demanded that the duo shake hands. Cesaro instead retaliated with a Cesaro Swing on Swagger. Later during the pay-per-view, Cesaro was a surprise entrant in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which he won by last eliminating Big Show by body slamming him out of the ring, which mirrored Hulk Hogan's momentous body slam of Andre the Giant. Swagger retaliated by attacking Cesaro on the following RAW and then destroying the trophy, thus ending the stable. Swagger would feud with Cesaro, which also involved Rob Van Dam, resulting in the three men competing in a triple threat elimination match at Extreme Rules, which Cesaro won.
The next night after Raw, Colter and Swagger would rant about foreign superstars in the WWE, when Adam Rose would make his WWE debut and interrupted the two men. The next night on Main Event, Swagger would lose to Dolph Ziggler with the distraction by Rose. Six days later on Raw, Swagger would lose to Rob Van Dam with another distraction by Rose. Six days later on Raw, Swagger would lose to Rob Van Dam with another distraction by Rose. Their feud would culminate on the June 2nd episode of RAW where Rose defeated Swagger.
On the June 23 episode of Raw Swagger would be named to compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank (2014). Swagger would not win the match, but would lose it to Seth Rollins. On the June 30 episode of Raw, Swagger would turn Face for the first time since debuting in the WWE after he and Zeb Colter confronted Rusev and Lana stating their actions of taking advantage of America's freedom which led to Swagger attacking Rusev. On the December 1 edition of Raw, Jack Swagger found his mentor, Zeb Colter, beaten up in a corridor. United States Champion Rusev admitted to have attacked Colter, which resulted in Swagger attacking Rusev.