Not terribly surprising, considering he hasn’t been on television for quite some time, but former WWE World Heavyweight champion Jack Swagger called in to Chael Sonnen’s Beyond the Fight podcast today (Mar. 1) and said that he’s formally requested his release from WWE.
As of yesterday, Chael, 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 so... this was a business decision. They weren’t giving me the opportunity to make the full amount of income I could for my family so, when you put it like that, it’s time to go.
The 34 year old Swagger (real name Jake Hager) said he’ll pursue other wrestling opportunities and look into mixed martial arts. Swagger was an All-American wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, where he also played football.
More on this story as it develops, Cagesiders.