What's the story? Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger (now Jake Hager) has won his 2nd Bellator MMA fight. Swagger submitted TJ Jones in a quick victory, with the bout lasting less than three minutes. In case you didn't know... Jack Swagger was a WWE mainstay for more than a decade, having won the WWE's top title in 2010 after cashing in his Money In The Bank contract on Chris Jericho. Swagger didn't achieve this feat again during his WWE stint, but came close to winning the World Title when he fought Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 29 at MetLife Stadium. Swagger went on to form a tag team with Cesaro, dubbed as The Real Americans. The duo split up after Cesaro's win in the first-ever Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30. Swagger requested his WWE release in 2017, and was subsequently granted the same by WWE. He recently opened up on why many WWE Superstars are unhappy with their standing. Also read: WWE Superstar takes hilarious shot at his booking The heart of the matter Jack Swagger had won his first MMA fight earlier this year, and appeared in his 2nd match tonight, against TJ Jones at Bellator 221. Swagger made quick work of his opponent, and the match ended in just under three minutes. It's worth noting here that Swagger kept the submission hold on for a few seconds after his opponent tapped and gave up. Jake Hager now stands at 2-0 in MMA, and seems ready to face off against a more seasoned and experienced opponent. What's next? Swagger dangled in the mid-card for the majority of his WWE run, and has finally gotten the spotlight that he deserved after shedding his blood and sweat for the entirety of his youth. Here's hoping he goes on to secure a bunch of victories and manages to make a name for himself in Bellator, and eventually, in UFC. What are your thoughts on Swagger's victory? Sound off!<doc-sep>Former World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) received a phone call from the most recognizable WWE Hall of Famer in the world earlier today – President Donald J. Trump. Trump called Swagger to wish him luck in his second MMA fight that takes place this weekend at the Bellator 221 event. Swagger wrote, “What an incredible honor. Just got off the ph. With @realDonaldTrump . He said good luck and said I was the second best Donald J in America but I have better Hair! !” Swagger, who has not been shy about his support of the 45th President of the United States of America, is scheduled to fight TJ Jones at Bellator 221 at the Allstate Arena near Chicago on Saturday night. Swagger has a 1-0 record going into the heavyweight fight while Jones has a record of 1-1. Swagger made his MMA debut back on January 26 with a win over JW Kiser at the Bellator 214 event. Swagger won the fight by submission in the first round at 2:09. Swagger spoke with The New York Post earlier this year about supporting Trump and his personal views. “I’m a conservative,” said Swagger, who left WWE in 2017. “I voted for Donald Trump and back in 2016 everybody was talking about, “Oh my God, here’s another TV character trying to run for the presidency.” They didn’t really take him seriously. He made some outrageous claims like, “Make America Great Again” and build this wall and stuff like that. I was somewhat on the fence then but two years later going into his third year, I am so happy about the progress that he has made and I really don’t understand why so much of the media and everybody wants to portray him as such a negative president when it’s unprecedented what he’s done.” Swagger also told Ring Rust Radio in 2017 that he once pitched a Trump storyline to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon a few years ago after Swagger had worked with Zeb Colter for the “We The People” gimmick. Swagger still shouts the line when making MMA-related appearances. “Yeah actually it’s funny because I pitched an angle to Vince,” Swagger revealed. “Zeb was away, and I said let’s bring him back and let’s do a Donald Trump angle where we mimic everything he does, says and whatever he tweets. It’s essentially a storyline that would write itself and he wanted to stay away from it. I went to him and said, ‘Hey Vince, how would you like to put Donald Trump in the White House?’ So, maybe that wasn’t the best pitch. “I thought it was really something special. I wrote it up and I showed Zeb and he added his little stuff to it and it could’ve really been explosive right now. There’s so much anger towards his tweets, towards him, his behavior, and that would’ve been like electric heat. I can’t even imagine it. It would’ve been good and just for the record, I pitched that in 2015. So as soon as he announced he was running I was like, ‘oh gosh, please let me get on this.’ That’s a great idea like, I got all the moves, I got all the good moves, that’s sad. I’m going to pause and start tweeting and make the whole audience have to read my tweets in order to see what I’m saying while I’m wrestling. You guys are going to have to give up royalties.” You can see Swagger’s full tweet on the phone call from Trump below:<doc-sep>
Earlier this year, Jack Swagger became the latest former WWE superstar to try his hand in the world of MMA. Swagger was a rising star in the sports entertainment world when he debuted on the ECW roster in 2008, and was a world champion on the brand just four months after his first appearance. Being a collegiate wrestler made Swagger very attractive in the eyes of WWE, and you know the company rate you when they strap the World Heavyweight Championship on you. That's exactly what happened to Swagger in 2010, but in reality this is where his sports entertainment career peaked. Several years later of mediocrity and mid-card purgatory followed, before it became too much in 2017 and Swagger requested to leave for pastures new. Having left WWE over two years ago now, Swagger is still a wrestler for Lucha Underground, but announced his intentions to compete in MMA and was signed by Bellator in late 2017. His first match, under his real name Jake Hager, was at Bellator 214 back in January, where he defeated J.W. Kiser in just over two minutes, and to be fair it wasn't much of a challenge. And the nay-sayers were back out in force again earlier this week when pictures were unveiled of the face-off between Hager and his opponent this weekend - T.J. Jones. That's exactly what it proved to be, as Swagger decisively ran out victorious in two minutes and 36 seconds, with the same arm-triangle choke used that he finished Kiser with. But there was controversy amidst the finish - Jones had submitted to the choke and Hager refused to let go - something the crowd in Chicago weren't impressed with. Hager then partook in a very strange post-fight interview which was littered with boos, and he stated that he was 'rock hard right now with emotion'. Speaking about the choke that he kept locked in far after Jones had submitted, Hager said: “I meant no disrespect, but you’re going to have to make me stop. "I thought the referee was him. You all can boo me all you want, but you’re not in here right now... I knew once I got on top, he’s not getting up.” Hager/Swagger isn't going to win many fans with his actions and attitude, but any publicity is good publicity, right? The end goal may be to return to the WWE with a freshened up, enhanced reputation, and these are the kind of reactions that will probably get Vince McMahon's attention. News Now - Sport News