Jack Swagger

Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist.

He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jake Hager.

He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Jack Swagger.

As a mixed martial artist, he was signed to Bellator MMA and competed in the heavyweight division.

Hager attended the University of Oklahoma as a two-sport athlete, participating in both football and wrestling.

At the 2005 NCAA Division I championships, he lost to University of Pennsylvania's Matt Feast in the second round, and did not place.

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 where he performed as Jack Swagger.

During his time with WWE, he became a two-time world champion, having held the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW Championship once each and a one-time United States Champion.

As a senior in 2006, Hager had a seventh-place finish in the NCAA championships and also defeated the future national champion, Dustin Fox from Northwestern University.

Hager was named an All-American at season's end while setting the Oklahoma record for most pins in a single season with 30.

In 2006, Hager graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor's degree in finance.

Following his graduation, he was going to work with a firm in Dallas, Texas, but signed with WWE after they offered a contract the day he was scheduled to start.

In 2006, Hager had a WWE tryout in Deep South Wrestling (DSW), and in September 2006, under his real name, he made his in-ring debut for DSW, defeating Antonio Mestre in a dark match.

He competed mainly in dark matches before being moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in January 2007.

He debuted for the promotion by defeating Atlas DaBone, and in the following months began a feud with K.C. James.

Hager began teaming with a multitude of opponents to feud with James and his tag team partner Cassidy James.

During his time in the developmental territories he appeared as a security guard during a brawl between John Cena and Umaga on Raw.

In August 2007, Hager was reassigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he began a feud with T.J. Wilson.

On February 15, 2008, at the Florida State Fair in Tampa, Florida, Hager and Dibiase-jr">Ted Dibiase Jr.. were the final two men remaining in a 23-man battle royal to determine the two contenders for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.

Hager then defeated Dibiase to become champion.

On March 22, 2008, Hager went against the FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion Heath Miller in New Port Richey, Florida to determine the true Heavyweight Champion.

Both championships were on the line, and Hager defeated Miller to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in FCW.

He later defended the championship against Miller, T.J. Wilson, James Curtis, and Gabe Tuft.

During this time, Hager had a gimmick of having an undefeated streak in FCW.

His first loss came in the form of a Raw dark match, at the TV taping on August 18, 2008, when he lost to William Regal.

He left the company in 2017 after he decided to pursue a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

In 2017, Hager signed with Bellator MMA.

He had his first professional fight on January 26, 2019, against J.W. Kiser at Bellator 214, where he won via arm-triangle choke in the first round.

In his second fight with the promotion, he faced T.J. Jones on May 11, 2019, at Bellator 221, where he again won via arm-triangle choke in the first round.

Hager announced his retirement from MMA in September 2023.

He was undefeated with a record of 3–0 (1).

As a wrestler, he kept working with various promotions before signing with AEW in 2019, including in Lucha Underground as Jake Strong, where he was the final Lucha Underground Champion.

Hager started wrestling at the age of five.

He wrestled in high school with Danny Hodge's grandson and remained good friends with Hodge as he grew up living two blocks away from him in Perry, Oklahoma.

The University of Oklahoma recruited Hager as a two-sport athlete in football and wrestling.

He was the second-string defensive tackle behind eventual National Football League players Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek.

He stopped playing football and concentrated fully on wrestling his sophomore year.

During his junior year, he was introduced to Jim Ross, who was World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Head of Talent Relations at the time, through former OU defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek, Hager's close friend and college roommate.

Ross encouraged Hager to contact him after graduating to see about a career in professional wrestling.