Is It Time To Give Up On Jack Swagger?

[Mitch Henessey]

So, last night on Raw, Swagger lost yet again in his All-American, American over the top rope challenge by Mark Henry. The week before, he was humiliated by Santino in the same challenge. Now I'm not basing this argument on these past two challenges, but I'm basing it on how Swagger has been used ever since he came to Raw. Remember that first night on Raw, when the gauntlet match with Orton was going on? What did Swagger do? Instead of wrestling Orton, he told him he respected him,got counted out, and shook his hand. It made him look so weak.

So with all that in mind, Is time to abandon all hope for a Swagger push or any sort of success? My answer to this question is, yes. I really liked this guy when he was on ECW, but ever since he's came to Raw, creative and the powers that be in the WWE have totally dropped the ball on this guy. His feuds with MVP,Kofi Kingston and The Miz went no where and did nothing for him.

So what are your thoughts? Are you ready to give up on Swagger or is there some hope left for him?

 

[goodlay]

Well his chance to be a main eventer in WWE is gone. Looks like they'll be using him as a midcarder who randomly gains momentum but never does anything. Just the way they have treated Swagger since he came to Raw, he just feels irrelevant. Like you said, WWE really dropped the ball with putting him in any solid feuds. And he doesn't come off as a legit contender because of how he has jobbed to guys like Santino and Henry. Also, what about that "undefeated streak" he cut a promo on back in December? That was over within 2-3 weeks. Yeah, Swagger is pretty lame on the mic, but he's a pretty good wrestler. I don't agree at all with the way he's being used.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I'd say so because it's obvious his push is over and he is being jobbed like no tomorrow. With reports that WWE is not happy with him over "who knows what", then his fate as a Main Eventer appears to be bleak.



But this is very interesting at the same time. Because this is going to be another real test of the Internet and the theory on whether Vince McMahon is successful in telling his fans what to think or not.



The Internet has been overwhelmingly very high on Jack Swagger and his ability. Overall, he has an okay character (I've seen a Hell of a lot better, but it's good by today's standards). He has a speech impediment that he has to deal with, which makes delivering lines more challenging for him. And he is also a very good wrestler.

So the Internet got behind him. And the Internet thought his wrestling ability was great.

However, Vince McMahon is not impressed with his wrestling ability. Because unless you can wrestle what HE defines as 4 or 5 star matches every single night, then you can kiss your career as a Main Eventer goodbye. It doesn't matter how well you entertain. What matters is your wrestling ability to Vince in this day and age.

That is why people laugh when I say that Vince is trying to become the next Ring of Honor, but he proves it true every single time, especially with moves like this, where it is reported that Vince has lost faith in Swagger because he doesn't feel his wrestling ability is up to par.

So this is where the test comes in. Will the Internet hold their ground and defend their comments about Jack Swagger being a great wrestler and person who should be in the Upper Midcard because of his abilities?

Or are they going to let Vince McMahon once again tell them that Swagger is no good, and therefore in the process, they will turn on Swagger and throw him to the curb?

Can't wait to see how this pans out.

 

[Theo Mays]

It irks me that Swagger is being jobbed out every single week. I was hoping they'd let him go over Henry. That would at least give him some credibility back, but Henry took him out without breaking much of a sweat. Swagger lacks mic skills, but for a guy with a speech impediment he isn't that bad. Swagger also possesses good wrestling skills. He is a former amateur wrestler and knows his way around the squared circle. His matches with Cena have been good, he had a good match with Matt Hardy, and good matches with Christian. The guy can wrestle and he is good enough on the stick to warrant a high spot in the mid card.

I'm still not giving up on him. I hold the slightest of hope that Swagger breaks out and finally gets the push he deserves. It is unlikely, but who knows nowadays. An injury or some backstage problems could propel Swagger back into being a credible superstar.

 

[Schizophrenic]

I like Jack and always have. He's very good in the ring. All he needs is someone to speak for him and maybe a revamp. I think it would be a good idea to have him get eliminated in his own All American challenge once more before showing up in the Rumble Eliminating two or three guys then get tossed out. Next night on RAW have him just jump the guardrail in street clothes and destroy two guys. Maybe MVP and Miz. Then just leave without saying a word or showing emotion. The next week do it again but have his new manager come with him. Have it similar to the Lesnar/Heyman debut. Just this guy who comes in and destroys people for no reason. Finally have him tell Vince that he is doing this because of Ruthless Aggression (which we know Vince likes to bring up from time to time) and that he's not going to rest until he is better than the best. That way you have someone who can do his promos while he is in the background lifting weights or training and he can show his wrestling dominance in the ring.

 

[RatedCharisma59]

he has been shit on ever since moving over to raw !! tbh if u ask me it should have been swagger in sheamus's boots right now ! i think the only thing that could save swagger is a good performance in money in the bank and then being drafted over to smackdown! ! ! i think he would be perfect on smackdown, think of the feuds he could have with the likes of mysterio and morrison, i really do think swagger moving to smackdown would save his wwe career ! ! !

 

[MoneyMack]

Im so pissed off about this Swagger stuff! The guy is more then solid in the ring & sure...he has a speech impediment, but he's STILL in the upper half of mic-workers in WWE for sure! Sure- theres people on the mic that he cant touch. Like: Jericho, Punk, Cena, Miz(thats right) etc...etc. But come on...hes not that bad! He's better then alot of the guys out there.

Swagger is the guy, that when he debuted...I was like: THIS is a guy I could actually see breaking The Undertakers WM streak!(if anyone) --A young, up and coming Big Guy- that Undertaker could possibly be willing to "pass the torch to" at WM! Started off good in ECW but then something happend once he got to RAW. I dont know if he shit in Vince's cheerios or what- but something happend! (When did J.Ross leave RAW? Could there be any connection there?) Honestly: IMO- it should be Swagger, not Sheamus as champ- if Vince was going for youth! If VKM didnt wanna do something special with him after the move to RAW, why not let him stay on ECW a bit longer then? He could do more work with Christian at that point.

When he came out for this "over the top rope all-american challenge" I was like: OK- good! They're gonna show how dominate this guy can be & they at least give him a long run in the Rumble- possibly one of the last 5 guys involved. Then as soon as Santinos music hit- I knew it was bad news! Then Mark Henry lastnight, I thought: OK- they can make up for the Santino BS by having him take out Henry! Instead- Herny picks him up as if he was Iron Mike Sharpe & tosses him out like yesterdays trash! Its sickening really!! The guy has alot of potential- no doubt about that!

If your not gonna do anything good with him on RAW- send him over to SD! Maybe he needs a "lifestyle change"? Hmmm....

 

[Alex]

It's bad when you forget about someone, and I forgot about Swagger. I mean seriously this guw was ECW champion and then got moved to Raw and was contending for the US belt, fair enough at least he was in a fued, then Miz won the belt and im thinking 'Swagger vs Miz for the US belt' but no Swagger just disappered. He has great in-ring ability ok mic skills for a guy with a lisp and get he's jobbing why??

Swagger has everything to be in the spotlight, maybe not main event status (yet) but solid mid-card. It seems backstage politics is more important than skill nowadays

 

[RatedRko2480]

i think he should make a jump to smackdown and have some good matches, hes a great superstar and wwe did drop the ball on him. It sucks seeing whats happening to him.

 

[JBK2008]

I've liked Swagger since he debuted in ECW. The guy has all the ability and ring skills in the world and it's always a pleasure to see him in the ring. His mic skills are lacking, and his speech problem isn't helping him, but he can't help that. I don't know what Vince's beef is, but he needs to get over himself. If Swagger can't be a main eventer, then make him a hell of a high mid carder. His ability in the ring would put over anyone and just make him go after the i.c, u.s, and tag titles for a long long time and see how it goes.

 

[ssvegita77]

I'd really love to know what the hell happened w/ Swagger's push. I really like the guy, think he's talented, has a good look and has had a bunch of really good and memorable matches. For God's sake, he got two good mathes out of Cena. His Feuds w/ Christian & Hardy in ECW were both solid and his first feud w/ MVP left him looking stronger. I was really hopeful that him bowing out against Orton would have went somewhere but at this point it just seems like a blown opportunity.

Who did this guy piss off? What went wrong?

Is it just a matter of so many pushes so little time? I hope so.

Here's looking forward to the 2010 draft.

 

[Shazam!]

i'd say yes. i'm very disappointed with the fact that they're not even giving the poor guy a chance...he has such talent and his mic work will improve as time progresses. he doesnt need this.

 

[baldeagle1961]

Jack Swagger is a talented wrestler but he needs to lose that entrance. Beating his chest like he's King Kong just looks so stupid. Make him more serious, a mean ass kicker instead of a braggart and i think he would soar threw the ranks to the main event level. Don't give up on him, change his act a bit .

 

[RawIsRamsey]

I've been saying it for two years now...

Swagger is being saved to end Taker's streak.

He's currently the only newer, home-grown talent going who has the size, skills, and look to be a worthy ender of Taker's streak. The kid eats and sleeps the business and wants to get better (his promo skills are a test to his desire to improve). For some reason, he rubs people the wrong way, or he has detractors (probably named Shawn and Jean-Paul), and his push is absolutely blown.

What he needs is a draft to Smackdown! this year, a dominating run through of the Smackdown! roster to get him to World Title status, have him take the belt at, say, Elimination Chamber 2011, then BEG for the match with Taker (similar to Brock begging Vince to "give him Goldberg" back at WM20). Once Swagger gets the rub from Taker, he's fully solidified as a future, long-running main eventer.

It really isn't that hard...the guy has all the tools AND the look...now he just needs a friend on the writing staff.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

There are guys that he can't touch on the mic, Like: Cena

Cena? In the words of the Miz, "Really?". Cena, IMO is absolutely awful on the mic. He sounds like a preacher in a black baptist church, I mean, c'mon, Cena, really?

Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about Swagger. when he was on ECW, I thought, hell yeah, and when Christian re-debuted, I was like HELL YEAH!, and when they had that match at Backlash, I was like @%&%@$*%#^&$&^*! But for seriously, what in the blue hell happened to him? Hear this stat: Hornswoggle has a better Win-Loss record than Swagger since they both came to Raw. Yes. In fact, I think Hornswoggle is undefeated on Raw. Miz knows what to say here. Swagger needs to either go back to ECW or go to Smackdown, or, hell, go to TNA. Swagger needs to leave Raw ASAP. Swagger is too talented to job to Santino and Mark Henry. He's too good. But Vince thinks he's not good enough. Send him to TNA. He'll do fine there.

 

[friarferguson]

I think Swagger needs to go to Smackdown in the next draft he'll fit in much better over there where the pace is more wrestling-orientated.

It seems if you want a push these days buddy up to Triple H (Sheamus) or HBK (Drew McIntyre). But Swagger should at least have had some kind of title feud by now I thought they were gonna have him feud with Miz but instead MVP got yet another unwarranted push.

 

[Dragonfirez]

I am extremely annoyed about Jack Swagger's current position in WWE, they are pushing John Cena as the top face when he is as good at wrestling as Santino Marella on the other hand, Jack Swagger is worthy of a main event status as he is just an excellent wrestler. 'Nuff said

 

[Dropkicked]

Humor me here but could this be a forshadow to the Rumble or is it simply Raw wasting time? Could this be a work and be a way for Swagger to Win or come close to winning the rumble?

As I See it right now WWE has peoples first thought that HBK wins the rumble so he can face Taker. But like with SHaemus and the whole Battle Royal for people whove never had a shot, this is WWE's opportunity to push another person forward. Swagger could and should be that guy. Its tiem that someone new wins the Rumble.

Just a thought. I honestly can't think of who is GONNA win the rumble. Of course, my initial thoughts are HBK, HHH or Cena like always. But I always hold out for that suprise win. Last good runble was Mysterio winning.

But maybe, just maybe this is a work to lead Swagger as the winner.

 

[Razor]

*Dance*

Character Development

*Dance*

If you didn't realize what I was doing, it's called my "This is obviously character development" dance. I do it very rarely, so count all yourselves lucky that you were here to witness such an occasion.

Tell me, what do heels do? They either win a lot, or they lose a lot before they win a lot. They don't really have much leeway. Of course, I'm speaking of their build. After they're where they need to be in the card their win/loss ratio is much more fluid, and more to what the storyline calls for than anything.

Sheamus? He's your stereotypical heel "Me beat everyone." He fucking took out Cena. So he wins a lot before he finally loses the belt. He's your "Monster Heel" without the 400 pound body weight.

Swagger? He was on par with Sheamus. I mean, he was ECW Champion, and he gave Cena a run for his money on that awesome match they had during the 3-hour Draft show. He was really on the rise. His push was awesome.

However, he lost his push. Be it the WWE lost sight of their mid-carders in favor for DX and Cena/Orton/Legacy, or be it that they just didn't like Swagger very much. But you can't deny that there was a serious lull in the use of upper mid-carders like MVP/Kofi/Swagger for a little while. It was noticeable.

Now, this losing streak is there for something. It's very easy to realize, actually. Swagger is starting the oh so frustrating "Fuck, I'm losing a lot. RAGE RAGE RAGE" heel push. He lost to motherfucking Santino, for fuck's sake. Mark Henry isn't as bad, but it's still a loss that will infuriate Swagger.

Swagger isn't lost to the Gods of Wrestling. He will get his push. Or, he won't. Then people will utter his name in the same sentence as the heretical Shelton Benjamin, and I'll have to choke a bitch.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

For the forseeable future, id say so. It REALLY fucking sucks to see him have been taken to this place, but it is what it is. Ive been saying since day one he really needs to focus on shoring up his phsyique, and it doesnt appear that has been happening. I dont think we should "give up" on him, so much as not expect anything for a while. We have seen this time and time again, the various phases of push people experience. MVP was jobbed to death before he rose again. Morrison was given multiple singles pushes before one stuck. The Miz was fucking AWFULL when he first showed up and improved to were he is now. More seasoning and time, he will be back, as he is so many many times over better than those guys at this point of development.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Humor me here but could this be a forshadow to the Rumble or is it simply Raw wasting time?

I don't think so. Again, I think this is just WWE dropping the ball on Swagger.

Could this be a work and be a way for Swagger to Win or come close to winning the rumble?

No. I don't think WWE would have a potential Rumble winner humiliated two weeks in a row, and then go the distance in the Rumble or win the whole thing.

I've been saying it for two years now...

Swagger is being saved to end Taker's streak.

He's currently the only newer, home-grown talent going who has the size, skills, and look to be a worthy ender of Taker's streak. The kid eats and sleeps the business and wants to get better (his promo skills are a test to his desire to improve). For some reason, he rubs people the wrong way, or he has detractors (probably named Shawn and Jean-Paul), and his push is absolutely blown.

What he needs is a draft to Smackdown! this year, a dominating run through of the Smackdown! roster to get him to World Title status, have him take the belt at, say, Elimination Chamber 2011, then BEG for the match with Taker (similar to Brock begging Vince to "give him Goldberg" back at WM20). Once Swagger gets the rub from Taker, he's fully solidified as a future, long-running main eventer.

It really isn't that hard...the guy has all the tools AND the look...now he just needs a friend on the writing staff.

There's a chance Taker will retire with the streak. I'm not saying there isn't a possibility he will lose it, but still I think it's highly unlikely. Remember, Taker's opponents at Mania have been growing as far as elite status goes over the years. Edge,Batista(I know what you'll probably disagree with me on this), Orton,Kane,Ric Flair,Triple H, and Shawn Michaels. I don't think Vince or Taker, will allow a new guy to break his streak.

I think him being drafted to the blue brand might help him get a re-birth of sorts. Although, even if it does happen, I have this funny feeling he might go down the road of Dolph Ziggler. What I mean by that is, Ziggler was pushed, and put into a bunch of IC title matches, but never really went any where. He had pretty lengthy feuds with Rey Mysterio and John Morrrison, but still he never really went any where, and gained nothing from it.

As far as the Brock thing goes, you have to remember, Lesnar was built up to be a monster. While Swagger also has the amateur thing going for him, Lensnar was made out to be more dominant, and had beat The Rock for the Undisputed title. A HUGE win, that I don't think will ever happen for Swagger.

I won't deny Sheamus being friends with HHH has helped his push. I don't think Shawn and Triple H would hold Swagger down. It just doesn't make sense to me. As you said, this guy has all the tools to be a major force in the WWE.

 

[Mr. Dejan]

I think if he wins the US tittle there will be some hope because having the All American American win the US tittle will give Jack Swagger more mic time and I think he could be a dominant champion but he isn't given any mic time. Also I would like to see a feud between him an MVP because I still think they had one of the feuds of last year. All that using MVP as a stepping stone stuff was absolutely brilliant because that storyline is actually believable.

 

[BooCocky]

I don't know how you can say they're giving up on him? He has TV time every week against other mid carders, and he gets more time than most mid carders. The WWE didn't give up on him they just pushed him back and they're going to slowly build him. He was an ECW champion and a Mid Card champion ( I believe). That's more than some wrestler could ever say. And I honestly don't believe he was humiliated by Santino, he was a second away from eliminating him and he just held on to the rope.

Personally, I have never been a Swagger fan and I do not see the appeal but I don't believe Vince is giving up on him. He was already a champion this early into his career, and the main event is full of performers who are much better than he is. He's just going to have to wait for his time to shine, again.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I feel bad for Swagger. He was doing so great on ECW and got moved up to Raw where he looked like he would get a big push.... and what happened? Something went terribly wrong. I haven't given up on Swagger yet.... but his character shouldn't be humiliated like this. I can understand a loss in his challenge to Henry (doesn't hurt him.... much) but the loss to Santino is going to take him a long time to recover from because Santino is a joke. Is Swagger going to become a joke now too? If he were to lose to Chavo or Hornswoggle.... THAT is when I will give up on him.

Things could be a lot worse. At least he still gets tv time and mic time. The guys who have to rely on superstars to get tv time are still far worse off than Swagger is. I hope get gets a decent push. The feud with Miz over the US title could have been good, but maybe they want to wait until they find a face opponent for Swagger since he is still a heel. I say that we shouldn't give up on Swagger just yet because he can still recover from all this. If he can survive long enough to either get drafted to Smackdown or get a US title push, then he will be able to still succeed.

 

[Tastycles]

I think that his fast track push is over, his overall push isn't at all. When they stop pushing a wrestler, they don't do anything with him. Brian Kendrick went from a WWE Title match to not appearing at all in a matter of weeks. Swagger still gets ring time, and crucially mic time, on most epithodes of Raw. See what I did there? Genius. Anyway, Swagger is obviously losing a lot of the time, which means it is unlikely that he will go anywhere fast, but that isn't in itself a certainty.

Remember, CM Punk was losing to Chavo Guerrero in the months before he won the MITB. I don't expect Swagger to follow that example, but as long as he is being used as often as he is, I still think there is a long term future for a guy that is still in his 20s.