Ryan Rider of Main Event Radio passed along a recap of an interview with Jack Swagger where he talks about his departure from WWE, if other talents leaving helped influence his decision and his future plans in the wrestling industry.
On his departure from WWE:
“I had been with the company for 10 years. I’m very fortunate for the career that I had. What it really was is a business decision. I valued myself at a certain price, they valued it at another. I’ve gotta move forward. It was just time for a change; time for Jack Hager/Jack Swagger to go out and see other opportunities. I’m kind of green all over again on this side. It’s so exciting. It’s the best time to be a wrestler. Transcending countries, languages. It’s really cool to be a part of that movement. I’m grateful for the brand that we created together. Independent wrestling is so big and with social media now and the internet we could brand ourselves. I really don’t like the term indies, because it’s not indies anymore. I’ll go anywhere. Japan would work perfectly the way I wrestle. It’s a new movement of territories coming up again. People are working together to put on good shows and put on good wrestling.”
If other talents leaving WWE influenced his decision:
“When you see your co-workers leave and guys like Cody [Rhodes], Drew Galloway, he’s amazing. Seeing them leave and go at it definitely makes it easier for someone like me. Do it your way, and work on marketing that.”
If Impact Wrestling is a possibility given his history with Dutch Mantell:
“I have no idea at this moment. It’s very exciting what they’re doing over there. Also very exciting what ROH and Lucha Underground are doing. After the non-compete is up, I’d definitely like to figure that out. It’s scary but you could literally go work everywhere. I don’t want to limit myself. Find a way to use pro wrestling to make what you want to do work. I’m a superhuman freak athlete I just turned 35 and I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. Wrestling is so powerful and it’s so cool.”