As previously reported, Jack Swagger joined The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast for episode #272. In this excerpt, Swagger shows his great surprise at Jinder Mahal’s shocking WWE Championship victory as well as give the reason behind why Cesaro was removed from the “Real Americans” and why they did not feud following their split.
On Jinder Mahal’s WWE World Tittle Victory:
“Jinder is an amazing performer. He is a very tall guy, great look and he is a business person. So I could definitely see him achieving this for sure and he has all tools. I was just as surprised as anyone though which is one of the good things about pro wrestling that you literally never know what is going to happen. I can definitely understand and I think I know why they did it. Kinder is amazing but India is also a very big market so it is like two birds with one stone.”
Was he surprised Jinder moved up the ladder so quickly:
“No, I’m not. Maybe I’m jaded but I really don’t get surprised by much these days when it comes to WWE or professional wrestling because that is the beauty of it. Overnight you can become someone so the trick is to stay consistent, stay performing well and stay ready because it could happen at any second.”
Where does he stand in the Randy Orton- “dive” debate:
“Randy and I were always good friends. Some people don’t like Randy but I personally love him. I’ll take a guy that tells me how he feels 100% than someone who is going to sugarcoat it. What people don’t get about Randy (which I can understand) is that Randy is his father’s son. He understands this business more than a lot of people think he does. He looks at a lot more through his father’s eyes in the way he does things and thinks about things. He is definitely an old soul but he grew up in this business so he has that perspective and he doesn’t want 99 super-kicks in a match, which I get but at the same time you have to do what the market dictates. Social media is a fun thing where you can say how you really feel and it is going to cause a stir about somethings and point a light on things and we all have a voice and that is what it is for. He just has a special touch for getting on people’s skin and I’m sorry but it is hilarious.”
The breakup of “The Real Americans”:
“They were very clear from the beginning of it and I don’t get it. They didn’t want to keep us together so they wanted to break us apart but they wanted to break us apart but they didn’t want us to feud. Only in the WWE does this happen. It was very weird and of course Cesaro at that point he was so hot. The swing was coming out and everything he did was just amazing. He had a thirty minute match with Cena around that time and just tore it down so you can blame Cesaro for tearing the Real Americans apart because he got too good (laughing). But they were very clear when they were separating us that they didn’t want us to feud.”
Was the WWE surprised by the crowd reaction he received when he challenged Rusev:
“I knew it was going to be good but I didn’t know it was going to be that good. It is funny because we kind of got wind of what was going to happen about a month ahead of time and Dutch and I were talking about it and thought that it could be good and we expected to have a very good reaction from it and that it would be very natural but I don’t think anyone expected it to turn out the way it did. It was just so electric and it immediately grabbed everybody. It was very polarizing and I am very honored to have been part of that storyline because it is one of the greatest of my career. But I do not think they expected it to be that big.”
The electricity of the pairing against Rusev:
“Rusev and Lana are great heels. Rusev is a tough guy and you just want to stare at Lana and punch him at the same time (laughing). But it was so natural. USA versus Russia and maybe I should tag with Trump and Rusev should tag with Putin and if we put them in the ring maybe we can figure this thing out. But it was very cool and I don’t know many baby faces that can be as lucky as me and I’m not tooting my own horn. It was so electric and it just grabbed people by the heart and for me to turn baby face overnight and stay that way without much help from the company after that. “We The People” just became a good thing all of a sudden and I wish we could have done more. We were begging them to do a third pay per view but when it happened it was way down the line and under different circumstances.”
For this and every other episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling please subscribe to us on iTunes, Podomatic, Player FM, Tune In Radio and The IRW Network. As well as follow us on Twitter @TwoManPowerTrip.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
