AEW Star “Drinking Way Too Much” While In WWE
A current AEW star has discussed his mental state towards the end of his time in WWE and admits he was burnt out, drinking every day, and “could not stop.”
Jake Hager surprised everyone when he made his shock AEW debut on the first episode of Dynamite as Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle was formed. Hager spent some time in the world of MMA before joining Tony Khan’s fledgling company. Hager still has an undefeated record in the sport, with three wins and one no contest.
Before that, Hager was best known as Jack Swagger in WWE, winning the World Heavyweight Championship during his time in the company. Hager had his last match in the company in January 2017 and two months later – after he announced he had requested his release – he was let go by WWE.
Speaking to his former on-screen manager on Story Time with Dutch Mantell, Jake Hager talked about his state of mind at the time of leaving WWE and how getting into the world of MMA helped him bounce back:
“It was at a point for me where I was kind of burned out from the road, it was nine years at that time of pretty much non-stop. My son was eight at the time, half of his life I was gone and so I had developed habits, I was drinking way too much, drinking every day and I really could not stop. So MMA was great for me to get back to the hard training and I felt like get back to who I was.”
Hager last competed in AEW on the 18th of January edition of Dynamite where he lost to former FTW Champion, Ricky Starks.