Ex-World Champion Left WWE After Being “Disrespected”

A former WWE star has lifted the lid on why they decided to leave the company.

After a strong collegiate wrestling career, Jake Hager signed with WWE in 2006 and quickly became a regular for the company’s developmental territories. Two years later, Hager arrived in ECW before finding his way onto Monday Night Raw in mid-2009.

Although he initially enjoyed a strong run in the main event scene, by the time he left WWE in 2017, he’d slid well down the card.

At the time of his departure, Hager was a former ECW and World Heavyweight Champion.

During an appearance on the Rulebreakers with Saraya podcast, Hager looked back on his time with WWE and broke down why he decided to leave the company.

I was in contract negotiations, and I just felt really disrespected. I felt disrespected in the contract negotiations, just by what they offered, and I made a counter, and then they made a counter that really pissed me off. So I was like, ‘Alright, let’s go. Let’s let’s go elsewhere.’”

Hager added that he saw the likes of Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes thriving on the independent circuit, and it confirmed in his mind that he had options outside of WWE.

“Drew McIntyre were still on the Indies, and like, he was just killing it. And like, Cody had just left, so he was out there. So like, you knew, like, there was an indie market out there… so I said, I’ll leave.”

Former WWE World Champion Jake Hager Confirms Retirement

After leaving WWE in 2017, Hager headed out onto the independent scene while launching an MMA career with Bellator. Between January 2019 and October 2020, the star notched up a record of three wins and a No Contest from four fights.

Hager went on to sign with AEW in October 2019, and he made his debut as part of The Inner Circle on the first-ever episode of Dynamite. Throughout his AEW career, Hager would remain connected to Chris Jericho, eventually leaving the company in May 2024.

After keeping a low profile since his AEW exit, during his conversation with Saraya, Jake Hager confirmed that he’s no retired.

H/t to WrestlingNews.Co