– Jack Swagger spoke with The Carroll County Times this week to promote Sunday’s RAW live event in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Here are some highlights:
Q: Who came up with the name Jack Swagger?
A: It was a combination of me and WWE Creative. Honestly, they just came to me one day and based on my personality said ‘You’re Jack Swagger.’ And at the time, it was just 2008 before all the hit pop songs and rap songs came out with Swagger in them. I thought it was really cool and really exciting. To this day I still say when you hear swagger, that’s about Jack Swagger, the All-American American.
Q: So how much the guy you see on TV is the real Jake Hager [Swagger’s real name]?
A: What you see on TV is, of course, a television character, the All-American American. It’s a definitely a large part of Jake Hager, but not the whole part. What we do, what we try to do, in order to make our characters believable and entertaining, is you’ve got to make them part of you. So 90 percent of my personality you see on TV with that remaining 10 percent that added TV character.
Q: You’ve developed quite a rivalry with Evan Bourne as of late. Can you talk about working with him a little bit?
A: Definitely. I know July 24 we’ll be coming to Upper Marlboro and it’s always an exciting match, whether I want it to be or not. (Laughs.) I always have to ground and pound with him because if you get him roaring and let him fly around a little bit, he can really do some damage to any competitor. We have a rivalry going, I don’t fell like it’s really started or taken off to where it could go. I know I need to teach him a couple lessons as far as respect goes. I don’t think he’ll ever learn that from me, but every time we’re in the ring together, it’s gonna be magic.
Q: Any other Legends you’d want the opportunity to work with?
A: You know, just ’cause I find his tweets very funny, that’s the Iron Sheik. He’s a former amateur wrestler, I’m a amateur wrestler, let’s lock horns and see who comes out on top, you know what I’m saying.
Q: I’ve read some people compare you to Kurt Angle, and I think Angle himself did an interview where he addressed that. What do you think of those comparisons?
A: I mean, honestly, I’m a big fan of Kurt. He’s one of the reasons I wanted to wrestle, I admired him as an amateur wrestler and admired him even more as a professional wrestler. To be compared to him, it’s an honor, but at the same time, I think both of us are different people and different wrestlers. It might be apples to oranges, but at the same time it’s nice to be in that category.
