WWE Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger Interviewed (Q&A with Jack Swagger)

I conducted a phone interview earlier this week with new world heavyweight champion Jack Swagger, who will defend his title at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view Sunday at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore.
We know that you wrestled at the University of Oklahoma and earned a degree in business finance. Tell me about how you got into pro wrestling and the role that Jim Ross played.
I met Jim halfway through my college career and he told me to get my degree, and then if I wanted the opportunity, to come talk to him. My whole last semester I was doing the graduation/job interview thing, which was very mentally draining. I had a job lined up with a finance firm in Dallas, and the day I was supposed to sign up and go to work for them fulltime was the same day I got the WWE contract in the mail. I had to call [the finance firm] and tell them that I was going to wear spandex and baby oil for a living.

Were you a pro wrestling fan growing up?
Oh yeah, a huge fan. I started wrestling when I was like 5 years old, so any form of it, I ate it up. Of course in the ’90s it was so exciting with the competition [between WWE and WCW] and everything. Like I said, I’ve been wrestling since I was 5, so any form of wrestling that I see, I automatically love. I think it’s the greatest sport on the planet.
How much did your amateur wrestling background help prepare you for WWE?
I felt like when I came in, even though I was about as raw as you could be to professional wrestling, because of the background, I still was light years ahead of most people. As far as the work in the ring, it’s so much technique and spacing and timing, and that’s what amateur wrestling is, too. So I felt like I learned very fast and a lot of things came naturally for me.
What was the toughest aspect of learning to be a pro wrestler?
Like I said, the physical part came very naturally to me. The toughest part was the character development and in-ring psychology. Everybody in this business learns something new every day, especially when it comes to those two. … I still remember when I first signed, it was very overwhelming to get on a microphone and just talk and have it come across as real and believable. I’m not going to lie: It was a big mountain for me, I would say.
So how much of Jake Hager [Swagger’s real name] is in Jack Swagger?
I’d say a lot. It’s who I am, it’s just amplified. I feel the most comfortable out there when I’m just being Jake Hager. Maybe that makes me a jerk to a certain extent, but you just have to go on your own personality, your own value of what’s entertaining and what feels good for you. It’s your instincts, and when you rely on that, nine times out of 10 it’s the right thing to do.
Your push in WWE has been accelerated over the past three weeks since winning the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI. Prior to that, it seemed as if you were stuck in neutral. Were you surprised when you were told that you were going to get this opportunity?
It definitely was a whirlwind turn of events and I’ve been riding high ever since. In certain aspects it was surprising, but I felt like I had the tools and the skills to carry that championship and be a face for this company. To me personally, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. It was just a matter of time, I felt. If you go back and look at WWE Magazine, they asked me when I was going to win my first world championship and I told them WrestleMania XXVI, so I was only a couple days off.
Since winning the title your character has undergone a change. The guy with the disingenuous grin doing the push-ups and beating his chest is gone. You’re much more of a serious character now. What are your thoughts about it?
I think the character is still the same. I’m still Jack Swagger, the All-American American, and all that cockiness and chest-beating is still there, it’s still inside, and I believe that translates in my matches. The change in what you see I think just reflects how important that world title is. It’s a game-changer and you have to treat it like so if you want to be successful. That’s just my respect for this business and respect for that championship, and the fact that I’m going to do everything I can to hang onto it as long as I can.
A lot of guys in the business wrestle well into their 40s and way beyond. How long do you see yourself doing this?
Good Lord willing I’d like to do it until I’m financially comfortable and I can venture off and find something else that I’m just as passionate about. But I love this industry, I love working for this company. It would take a lot for me to just hang it up, but it’s not going to last forever and you have to prepare yourself for it. Anything can change at any minute. It’s kind of one of the exciting things about it, but at the same time one of the downsides about it. I see Jack Swagger wrestling for at least another 10 years.
How do you feel about your lisp being brought up in a mocking way on the show? Have you ever been self conscious about it?
Oh sure, as a kid I was self conscious about it, but a lot of people tell me they don’t even notice it. I’m sure it comes out here and there. First of all, it’s a real disease. It’s my cross to bear or what not. I’m joking around here, but at times I’m like, “Come on, this is a little childish.” But at the same time, it’s true so why not use it?
With WWE having its own film division, a lot of the guys are breaking into acting and doing movies. Is that something that you’re interested in?
Definitely. I’ve always been a big fan of Hollywood. If the opportunity presents itself, I would jump at it. I think I still have a ways to go before I’m ready for that transition, but it’s definitely a possibility. I look like a winner, I smell like a winner, so why not put it on the big screen?
Photo courtesy of World Wrestling Entertainment