| Jake Hager | |
|---|---|
 Hager in 2014 | |
| Birth name | Donald Jacob Hager Jr. |
| Born | March 24, 1982[1] Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.[2] |
| Alma mater | University of Oklahoma |
| Spouse(s) |
Catalina White (m. 2010)
|
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jack Swagger Jake Hager[3] Jake Strong |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Perry, Oklahoma[4] |
| Trained by | Deep South Wrestling[3] |
| Debut | September 7, 2006[3] |
| Mixed martial arts career | |
| Nickname | Rock Hard[5] |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[6] |
| Weight | 254 lb (115 kg; 18 st 2 lb)[6] |
| Division | Heavyweight (206–265 lbs)[7] |
| Reach | 81 in (206 cm) |
| Style | Wrestling |
| Fighting out of | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division I All-American[8] |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 4 |
| Wins | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 0 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his tenures in WWE as Jack Swagger and in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as Jake Hager. 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. 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. 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.
- ^ "#92 Jacob Hager". Sooners Illustrated. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ "Jack Hager Interview". KRFF. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
1:00 onwards, Swagger says, "I was born in 82 at Fargo Hospital..."
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
OWOWwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Jack Swagger bio". WWE. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ "Jake Hager's Bellator MMA bio". Bellator MMA. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ a b "Jake".
- ^ Raimondi, Marc (November 13, 2017). "Bellator signs former WWE champion, college wrestling standout Jake Hager". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ^ "Oklahoma All-American Signs With Bellator". intermatwrestle.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2018.