Jack Swagger Asks For His WWE Release

Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger has asked for his release from WWE. He made the announcement today on Chael Sonnen’s “Beyond the Fight” podcast.

Swagger mentioned that he was in contract negotiations with WWE but they “didn’t value me at what I thought I was valued at” and he has decided to leave. He then mentioned that he’s excited about wrestling all over the world in the future.

Swagger originally was drafted to Raw in the recent brand split, but moved to SmackDown in September. He had a very brief feud with Baron Corbin in October, then was only on a couple of episodes of WWE Main Event after that. He’s been wrestling live shows but hasn’t been on TV since November.

You can listen to the interview below. Starts at pretty much the beginning.

Transcript:

Swagger: As of yesterday, I asked for my release from WWE. It’s still kind of an ongoing process right now. Basically, it came down to contract negotiations and we were way off. They didn’t value me at what I thought I was valued at. You can’t be angry about it because wrestling is something you get so passionate about. Just a business decision. They weren’t giving me the opportunity to make the full amount of income I could make for my family, so when you put it like that, it’s time to go.

Chael: Didn’t they push you a little bit and pull you back at times that was head-scratching?

Swagger: It’s very frustrating, is what it is. When you’re given an opportunity and you think you knock it out of the park… And nothing happens with it, it’s very frustrating. We’re out there every night putting ourselves through car wrecks to entertain these fans and we wanna know that we’re working for something. The start and stop… it happens all the time. I’m not the only one. It’s frustrating. You and I come from a background where the best players play. That’s not how it works here. You really have two guys in a room saying these are the best players.

Chael: Where do you go from here?

Swagger: I’m young. I’ll be 35 next month. I left because I wasn’t getting opportunities. The world of wrestling is thriving every second. It’s a great time to be a wrestler, no matter what discipline you’re in. I’m very excited about going to Mexico, UK, Japan. I’m gonna keep on wrestling. If somebody wants to pay me to get in a cage, I’m down.

I want to prove to myself that I’m worth the money I was asking for. I feel hungry for the first time in years. It’s sad, but at the same time, it’s exciting. If you’re a Jack Swagger fan, be happy because it’s a good thing and I’m not going anywhere. You’re gonna hear “We the People” just as loud all over the world all the time.