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Jack Swagger, also known by his real name Jake Hager in AEW, spent nearly a decade with WWE before departing in 2017. Despite never reaching his fullest potential in WWE, Jack Swagger won numerous championships, including the World Heavyweight Championship in 2010 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank suitcase on Chris Jericho. However, Jack Swagger's World Heavyweight Championship reign was not only considered a flop, but it also did nothing to elevate his career as a singles star. Though some could argue that Jack Swagger was too green to be put in a position as world champion, his World Heavyweight Championship reign falls on WWE's poor creative booking from the start.
No Build-Up Before Championship Win
Jack Swagger arrived at the ECW brand in 2008 and received a push to win the ECW Championship not too long after his debut. Considering Jack Swagger's legitimate athletic background and the size he possesses, one would believe that at least WWE would protect Jack Swagger regarding his credibility throughout being featured on WWE television.
It wasn't the case, as his ECW Championship was forgettable and, at best, mediocre. Once moving up to the Raw brand in 2009, Jack Swagger became just another superstar on the roster with no proper build-up. Even with Jack Swagger winning the world championship within a year after that, WWE made no effort to build him up for fans to take seriously before his big championship win.
Difficult Beginnings As World Heavyweight Champion
Jack Swagger won the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania 26 in a shocking victory, considering that upcoming superstars like Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler were also in the ladder match. Just two days later, at a taping of Friday Night Smackdown, Jack Swagger successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank suitcase on World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho to win his first world title in WWE. While his sudden rise to the top was unexpected, Jack Swagger had the opportunity to establish himself as a main-event level superstar now that he's obtained the World Heavyweight Champion.
The first match Jack Swagger had as World Heavyweight Champion was a losing effort to Randy Orton on an episode of Monday Night Raw, as this was his last match before moving to the Smackdown. That should've been an indicator that Jack Swagger's world title reign wasn't going to work. Even if the justification for losing to Randy Orton was he's leaving the Raw brand, why use it to risk Jack Swagger's potential to become an established star?
Within one month after winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Jack Swagger cleanly lost many free TV matches. Jack Swagger didn't just get defeated by Randy Orton on free TV but took losses to The Undertaker and even a mid-card talent like John Morrison.
It's worth noting that Jack Swagger did have some success as a world champion. Jack Swagger eventually got a clean victory in his first World Heavyweight Championship defense against Edge and Chris Jericho on Smackdown and a clean victory over Randy Orton at the Extreme Rules 2010 PPV. However, Jack Swagger becoming an established main event was arguably ruined at that point anyway.
Too Late To Save Jack Swagger's Title Reign
One must not forget that one of the reasons why Jack Swagger's title reign was horrible was that WWE made him out to appear like a joke. Whether it'd be wrestlers cutting jokes about the way he talks or anything else about his personality, it was clear that WWE did not take him seriously, even when putting him in a position of holding a world title.
It isn't to say that wrestlers can't crack jokes on each other, but Jack Swagger's title reign was already not working from the start. Jack Swagger getting ridiculed constantly and repeatedly losing is doing nothing but increase the damage to his credibility.
As Jack Swagger continued his World Heavyweight Championship reign, WWE didn't do much to improve his credibility as a world champion. After only two months of holding the belt, Jack Swagger lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Rey Mysterio at the Fatal 4-Way PPV event. Any chance that there was hope for Jack Swagger's horrible title reign, the fact that he dropped the belt so soon after two months was the nail in the coffin. And because his title reign was disappointing, Jack Swagger was removed from the main-event scene not too long after.
WWE Should Learn Their Lesson
Jack Swagger is a talented individual, but WWE did him no favors by booking a ridiculous World Heavyweight Championship reign. Along with former World Heavyweight Champions like The Great Khali and Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger's title reign was awful to where it took him out of the main-event scene for a long time.
Unfortunately, Jack Swagger had one of the worst world title reigns in WWE history for no fault of his own. And although WWE can't change history regarding bad world champions, they can learn from it for future booking preferences. A lesson like this is crucial for WWE to understand that booking must be up to par on their behalf if wanting to create potential stars.