The Crowd Was Hot for Jack Swagger
The crowd was hot for Jack Swagger.
That was the inescapable thought. It was a thought that said it all.
His given name is Donald Jacob Hager. He goes by Jake now. He is almost the prototype -- tall, young (by modern pro wrestling standards), athletic, attractive. He is a former WWE Champion.
His WWE title reign lasted fourteen weeks, then the ripcord was pulled. His run was ten years ago. He's had several wrestling reincarnations, and he's 2-0 in Bellator.
Why go nuts for Jake Hager?
The fundamental reason is the same reason AEW exists: wrestling fans hate WWE. As they see it, fifteen years of their fandom was stolen by Vince McMahon. Vince offered an ambitiously produced product whose meat was overcooked. It has been the ultimate frustration: loyally watching a show in the hopes it gets better, and it never does.
The appearance of Hager, like the appearance of fellow former WWE midcarder Dean Ambrose before him, was the crowd's chance to give a middle finger to Vince. Who cares if you were Vince's archetype; if you were pushed because of your height, body, and looks? You hated WWE and you quit and now you're on our side.
That the crowd was hot for Jake Hager is why the debut of AEW Dynamite cannot be evaluated in normal wrestling terms.
Were the matches good? Did the angles make sense? Was the production top grade? How satisfying were the surprises? Who cares? The audience was hoping for something that it got, and they rewarded the promotion in kind.
AEW Dynamite was the anti. No "WWE Universe", no invisible cameras, no scatological humor, no authority figures, no foreverlong promos, no Internet favorites being misused.
A wrestling promotion cannot thrive long term as the anti. That's fine. AEW can use the anti as a launching pad while it shores things up.
There are things to shore up. The production was professional, but dated; as if in a time warp to 1996. Its main event didn't have a logic hole, it had a crater. (The ref allowing Moxley's interference.) Matt Riddle was on the other channel. Nobody on TNT had what he has.
Problems will have to be fixed, and they can be. The coming months will reveal if they will be. For now, AEW can ride the crowd that was hot for Jack Swagger.
That was the inescapable thought. It was a thought that said it all.
His given name is Donald Jacob Hager. He goes by Jake now. He is almost the prototype -- tall, young (by modern pro wrestling standards), athletic, attractive. He is a former WWE Champion.
His WWE title reign lasted fourteen weeks, then the ripcord was pulled. His run was ten years ago. He's had several wrestling reincarnations, and he's 2-0 in Bellator.
Why go nuts for Jake Hager?
The fundamental reason is the same reason AEW exists: wrestling fans hate WWE. As they see it, fifteen years of their fandom was stolen by Vince McMahon. Vince offered an ambitiously produced product whose meat was overcooked. It has been the ultimate frustration: loyally watching a show in the hopes it gets better, and it never does.
The appearance of Hager, like the appearance of fellow former WWE midcarder Dean Ambrose before him, was the crowd's chance to give a middle finger to Vince. Who cares if you were Vince's archetype; if you were pushed because of your height, body, and looks? You hated WWE and you quit and now you're on our side.
That the crowd was hot for Jake Hager is why the debut of AEW Dynamite cannot be evaluated in normal wrestling terms.
Were the matches good? Did the angles make sense? Was the production top grade? How satisfying were the surprises? Who cares? The audience was hoping for something that it got, and they rewarded the promotion in kind.
AEW Dynamite was the anti. No "WWE Universe", no invisible cameras, no scatological humor, no authority figures, no foreverlong promos, no Internet favorites being misused.
A wrestling promotion cannot thrive long term as the anti. That's fine. AEW can use the anti as a launching pad while it shores things up.
There are things to shore up. The production was professional, but dated; as if in a time warp to 1996. Its main event didn't have a logic hole, it had a crater. (The ref allowing Moxley's interference.) Matt Riddle was on the other channel. Nobody on TNT had what he has.
Problems will have to be fixed, and they can be. The coming months will reveal if they will be. For now, AEW can ride the crowd that was hot for Jack Swagger.
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