LionDen
09-13-2014, 12:26 PM
Jack Swagger was interviewed by The Clarion Ledger to promote Saturday’s house show and Tuesday’s Smackdown taping in Mississippi.
WWE puts American Swagger in the ring
[i]WWE Superstar Jack Swagger vs. Rusev is among the highlights for Saturday's WWE Live at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.[/i
WWE Superstar Jack Swagger's persona has long been ringed in the red, white and blue.
Resume to rant to Real American tagline, it's right up there with the kind of knock-about drama that's got a lock on sports entertainment's appeal.
"American pride is a very special resource," Swagger says by phone. "I'm sure it is in every country. Every citizen loves and stands up for where they live. But here in America it takes on a whole different meaning."
Notwithstanding that, standing up for a 6-foot-7-inch, 260-pound mound of muscle such as himself, it takes on a whole different ... swagger. Not to be redundant or anything.
"There's something about real Americans wanting to stand up and chant, 'USA!' You can knock us down, but you cannot keep us from getting back up, because we are American and we have that pride and we're going to tell you about it, whether you like it or not."
Hear it in person at Saturday's WWE Live event at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson and at Tuesday's WWE Smackdown at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
In Jackson, Jack Swagger takes on Rusev in a rematch. Also on the card: Roman Reigns vs. "The Viper" Randy Orton in a Street Fight, the Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match with Dolph Ziggler, the Miz and Bo Dallas, WWE Divas and more.
A two-year absence of WWE events in Jackson, because of routing issues and coliseum availability, comes to a close this weekend, with its return cause for real excitement among fans, said Drake Elder, coliseum box office manager. "We're going to have a big crowd Saturday night," he says, with fast sales, but good seats still available and big walk-up traffic expected. Previous WWE events here have either sold out or gotten close.
Clay Edwards of Jackson, a lifelong wrestling fan, will be ringside with a co-worker plus their respective kids; he's been traveling to Memphis or New Orleans events in the meantime. The draw? "Admittedly, the drama," he says. "The soap opera."
Swagger was an All-American football player and wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, and went by "The All-American American" when he first debuted — "just amplified," he says, chuckling. Last year, with a new manager, he picked up the tag, "Real American."
He comes out with an American flag or "Don't Tread on Me" flag. "It's a lot of fun to go out in front of that crowd and wave that flag and every time, the people just hop to their feet.
"There's something about looking at Old Glory waving in the middle of a WWE ring that just still gives me goosebumps, and I really love to do it."
This weekend, the feud continues with the "Russian" wrestler Rusev. Swagger's the underdog. "He has the upper hand on me. I've been injured ('cheap-shotted' with a flag pole). But I don't stop fighting. I don't give up. That's what America does. We grow together. We unite. We get stronger."
Every time he comes through the curtain, that's top of mind. "I promise, I won't ever give up."
He's healthy, ready to fight, ready to win, he says.
Swagger's signature move is the Patriot Lock, a real MMA (mixed martial arts) hold. In the ankle lock, he applies pressure on the toes and ankle joint "to where it literally rips your tendon apart from your bone," Swagger says, "unless you tap out.
"It's very painful to be in it, and sometimes my competitors have stinky feet, so it's painful for me as well. So, you know, I'm suffering, too, when I do it. But I'm doing it for America."
He's wrestled since age 5 and has loved it just as long, in any form — amateur, MMA or sports entertainment. "I look back and I still can't believe I get to do this for a living." His goal is to be a Hall of Famer, with a name that transcends generations.
Swagger got the bug early, growing up in a small town that breeds wrestling. "Perry, Oklahoma, is actually known as the wrestling capital of the world," he says, with the most individual high school state championships and team state championships in the nation. "I truly believe that wrestling is one of the greatest sports on the planet. It would have been a tragedy if the Olympics would have cut out wrestling from its programming."
Plus, "it's just a pure competition of one person against another, and lining up face to face and saying, 'I'm better than you.' "
On that note, here's his message for Rusev: "Rusev, if you're reading this, or if you can even read at all, know that I'm coming to Jackson, Mississippi, and I have the weight of a nation upon my back. But this time, I have the good people of Jackson behind me and we're going to be on top of you ... and America is going to stick Vladimir Putin right up your butt."
Original article can be found by clicking here (http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/09/11/wwe-puts-american-swagger-ring/15485763/).]
WWE puts American Swagger in the ring
[i]WWE Superstar Jack Swagger vs. Rusev is among the highlights for Saturday's WWE Live at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.[/i
WWE Superstar Jack Swagger's persona has long been ringed in the red, white and blue.
Resume to rant to Real American tagline, it's right up there with the kind of knock-about drama that's got a lock on sports entertainment's appeal.
"American pride is a very special resource," Swagger says by phone. "I'm sure it is in every country. Every citizen loves and stands up for where they live. But here in America it takes on a whole different meaning."
Notwithstanding that, standing up for a 6-foot-7-inch, 260-pound mound of muscle such as himself, it takes on a whole different ... swagger. Not to be redundant or anything.
"There's something about real Americans wanting to stand up and chant, 'USA!' You can knock us down, but you cannot keep us from getting back up, because we are American and we have that pride and we're going to tell you about it, whether you like it or not."
Hear it in person at Saturday's WWE Live event at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson and at Tuesday's WWE Smackdown at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
In Jackson, Jack Swagger takes on Rusev in a rematch. Also on the card: Roman Reigns vs. "The Viper" Randy Orton in a Street Fight, the Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match with Dolph Ziggler, the Miz and Bo Dallas, WWE Divas and more.
A two-year absence of WWE events in Jackson, because of routing issues and coliseum availability, comes to a close this weekend, with its return cause for real excitement among fans, said Drake Elder, coliseum box office manager. "We're going to have a big crowd Saturday night," he says, with fast sales, but good seats still available and big walk-up traffic expected. Previous WWE events here have either sold out or gotten close.
Clay Edwards of Jackson, a lifelong wrestling fan, will be ringside with a co-worker plus their respective kids; he's been traveling to Memphis or New Orleans events in the meantime. The draw? "Admittedly, the drama," he says. "The soap opera."
Swagger was an All-American football player and wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, and went by "The All-American American" when he first debuted — "just amplified," he says, chuckling. Last year, with a new manager, he picked up the tag, "Real American."
He comes out with an American flag or "Don't Tread on Me" flag. "It's a lot of fun to go out in front of that crowd and wave that flag and every time, the people just hop to their feet.
"There's something about looking at Old Glory waving in the middle of a WWE ring that just still gives me goosebumps, and I really love to do it."
This weekend, the feud continues with the "Russian" wrestler Rusev. Swagger's the underdog. "He has the upper hand on me. I've been injured ('cheap-shotted' with a flag pole). But I don't stop fighting. I don't give up. That's what America does. We grow together. We unite. We get stronger."
Every time he comes through the curtain, that's top of mind. "I promise, I won't ever give up."
He's healthy, ready to fight, ready to win, he says.
Swagger's signature move is the Patriot Lock, a real MMA (mixed martial arts) hold. In the ankle lock, he applies pressure on the toes and ankle joint "to where it literally rips your tendon apart from your bone," Swagger says, "unless you tap out.
"It's very painful to be in it, and sometimes my competitors have stinky feet, so it's painful for me as well. So, you know, I'm suffering, too, when I do it. But I'm doing it for America."
He's wrestled since age 5 and has loved it just as long, in any form — amateur, MMA or sports entertainment. "I look back and I still can't believe I get to do this for a living." His goal is to be a Hall of Famer, with a name that transcends generations.
Swagger got the bug early, growing up in a small town that breeds wrestling. "Perry, Oklahoma, is actually known as the wrestling capital of the world," he says, with the most individual high school state championships and team state championships in the nation. "I truly believe that wrestling is one of the greatest sports on the planet. It would have been a tragedy if the Olympics would have cut out wrestling from its programming."
Plus, "it's just a pure competition of one person against another, and lining up face to face and saying, 'I'm better than you.' "
On that note, here's his message for Rusev: "Rusev, if you're reading this, or if you can even read at all, know that I'm coming to Jackson, Mississippi, and I have the weight of a nation upon my back. But this time, I have the good people of Jackson behind me and we're going to be on top of you ... and America is going to stick Vladimir Putin right up your butt."
Original article can be found by clicking here (http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/09/11/wwe-puts-american-swagger-ring/15485763/).]