I had the pleasure of having former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger recently as a guest on the Pancakes & Powerslams Show. Swagger discussed whether he would go to the WWE, if he would have an MMA fight with Brock Lesnar, thoughts on Global Force Wrestling, and more.
Here are the highlights.
On returning to the WWE:
“For me, right now, me being on my exit very freshly, it’s not something that I’m thinking about. I want to focus on wrestling in other markets and learning other styles and other crowds. And, growing as a pro wrestler. I was fortunate of going right to [WWE], so that’s the only style I know. There’s a lot of pro wrestling out there, and I want to be a part of it and adapt to it… Towards the end of my run at WWE, I stopped trying to learn, and I got frustrated with other things that I shouldn’t have been focusing on. Now, it’s very exciting, and I definitely have a chip on my shoulder, so I’m ready to prove.”
On if he would compete in an MMA fight against Brock Lesnar:
“As the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight proved, combat sports is at an all-time high in popularity. So, it would make sense for me to accept that fight. Not something to go into lightly, not something to take away from any MMA fighters, because that is the combination of all mixed martial arts. And, a lot of disciplines in there. I’m just a good amateur wrestler, but there’s Jiu Jitsu, there’s kickboxing, there’s Muay Thai. There’s so many aspects that you have to be good at to step in that Octagon. So, it wouldn’t be something that I would take lightly, but, at this point in time, yeah, I’d definitely would [fight Lesnar].”
On his thoughts of Global Force Wrestling:
“I’m a big fan of ‘Dirty’ Dutch Mantel, and I’m a big fan of Jeff Jarrett. I know those two guys work together well. So, I think with the company that bought TNA, or whatever you want to call them, they understand TV, and I think those two guys understand pro wrestling. So, I think if you give them time, they’re gonna have a very good product, and it’s gonna be different than anything you’ve seen from them in the past. Hopefully you can stop associating it with that past product.”
Swagger also talked about Bobby Heenan, talks with Lucha Underground, Jimmy Golden, and more. You can hear the full interview below.
