The current ECW heavyweight wrestling champion is ........ [Archive]

badger

2/19/2009, 01:20 PM

I watch wrestling.

:eek:

No really, I do, and we've been very much cheering for this kid. Jim Ross (whom you should all know by now as the wrestling commentator that patrols OU football sidelines with a big ol' black cowboy hat) knew this kid back when he was at OU (and roommates with Dusty Dvoracek, mind you) and has been very supportive of his WWE career.

It is quite likely that Jack Swagger/Hager is getting the push he is right now because of JR's support!

However, I'm sorry to say that even with JR's support, Swagger is not getting the fans behind him, either as a loathsome enemy, or as a second-coming-of-a-legend hero.

Swagger has a bit of a lisp (possibly due to wrestling injuries?) and still looks like a big goofy kid in the ring.

However, ECW is not the old extremist show it used to be. Now, it's largely a developmental show for younger talent and older mentors (plus a few older stragglers that WWE is giving a final chance to find their groove). Thus, it is the best spot for Swagger/Hager. Boomer Swagger!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Jack_Swagger_Chicago_IL_011909.jpg/480px-Jack_Swagger_Chicago_IL_011909.jpg

NormanPride

2/19/2009, 01:48 PM

Other than the lisp, the kid's pretty good at his bit. I didn't follow his career at OU, but it's nice to see the university represented well! Good luck, man.

Spanish Sooner

2/19/2009, 02:06 PM

Swagger/Hager has got a big future. He is the top heel/bad guy on ECW, and won the title 4 months after his debut.

bri

2/19/2009, 02:17 PM

Plus, he's likely gonna carry the ECW title into the biggest show of the year and put on one hell of a show with Captain Charisma himself, Christian.

And I will mark out like a little girl.

swardboy

2/19/2009, 03:01 PM

Is this the same guy that Canadian fans were giving a hassle to a few weeks ago....confronting him as he was trying to leave in his vehicle?

I don't know my rasslin' characters.

bri

2/19/2009, 03:15 PM

No, that was Chris Irvine, better known as Chris Jericho. He's hands-down the best "bad guy" in the business right now, as evidenced by the angry mob. That's the kind of sh*t that went down back in the old-school county fair days. :D

NormanPride

2/19/2009, 03:22 PM

You think he's better than the Edge/Vicky team? Maybe he is in pure vitriol, but I like the the theatrics that those two create.

Back on subject, Swagger just needs a memorable moment that the fans can relate to. Pairing him with a big name's return is a good idea, IMO, and could lead to big things. I just hope they continue the rivalry so that Swagger/Hager's name sticks.

bri

2/19/2009, 03:34 PM

Edge/Vicky are more cringe-worthy than anything else. What makes Jericho such a great heel is that he's pretty much telling the crowd the truth, and nothing p*sses the unwashed masses off like the truth.

I think if Swagger and Christian get enough time, they can tear the place down at Wrestlemania. That should be enough to get him over.

RADsooner

2/20/2009, 11:44 PM

personally i think orton is more of a believable nut case and a better heel, more on like hhh when he was a heel.

the_ouskull

2/21/2009, 01:08 AM

I quit watching a few years back. Is Triple HGH still squashing every up-and-comer to try to keep his own fading star on top?

And Grice's website is www.mattgricemma.com. Some of his videos on there are pretty nice. He's got a MySpace account too, but I don't know if he has a separate one for his MMA profile or not...

the_ouskull

Spanish Sooner

2/21/2009, 01:09 AM

the thing is, Edge, Jericho, Orton, are all three different kind of heels, so its really hard to judge who is the best, can lately they have all been on fire. Edge is your classic manipulative heel, doing anything to get what he wants, Orton the calculating psycho heel, and Jericho the self righteous one with his current save me gimmick, and all three are doing great at it. Swagger/Hager though is doing pretty good with the cocky heel persona, especially with that smile of his, he has really portrayed himself well, but time will tell, if he could reach the level of the other 3

badger

2/21/2009, 10:24 AM

I quit watching a few years back. Is Triple HGH still squashing every up-and-comer to try to keep his own fading star on top?

Yes - he just broke the record for holding the WWE Championship the most.. eight times, I think? I think that makes him either a 13 or 14-time world champion.

His star only fades when he's injured, but his wife will make sure that his return is the biggest and best ever once he's back (and I've seen this happen twice in only about a year and a half, mind you because of all the pedigree-related knee injuries).

It is annoying to see everyone have to job to Trips... but not nearly as annoying as seeing John Cena win the main event at each and every PPV for about a year (07-08, methinks)

Spanish Sooner

2/22/2009, 01:36 PM

the only comfort i have is that since christian will likely beat swagger/hager for the ecw championship (he'll win it back folks...i hope), and Orton will likely beat HHH for the WWE Championship, that hopefully means that Cena wont win the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge....I hope

Cause frankly, I'm tired of Cena holding the title

TopDawg

2/22/2009, 07:05 PM

I've always known we have a good theater program here at OU.

OUmillenium

2/23/2009, 09:33 AM

By the way, Cowboy Bill Watts will be one of the inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

bri

2/24/2009, 09:00 PM

Swagger/Christian are main-eventing tonight's ECW, btw.

bri

2/24/2009, 09:59 PM

And SWAGGA retains.

Finally, OU wins a big game! ;)

badger

2/25/2009, 11:20 AM

Confession: It's been shown in Europe already, so I was spoiled and didn't watch but let the guys play GTA4 instead :(

However, I did record it so I can catch it later :)

If Triple H ever gives up his monopoly on the color crimson, I would rather he go with his college look than the light purple:
http://www.kocosports.com/mmatn/Jake%20Hagger%20.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/bdthys.jpg

See? He looked the part even before he got the role! Wait... what's that ring on his finger for???

badger

2/25/2009, 11:33 AM

Ok, so just found a few pictures of interest:

http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/j/jakehager/02.jpg
http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/j/jakehager/01.jpg

As we (should!) know, OU doesn't wrestle with ropes around the side of the ring. Does this mean Swagger used to use his old OU gear when he first tried out to be a pro wrestler? If so, that's pretty cool :)

:mad: For those of you that don't know the back story to HHH and crimson, as storylines revealed to the painfully ignorant out there, Triple H is real-life (this time, haha) married to the daughter of the owner of WWE. Thus, Triple H not only gets the coolest intro (ever here of the band Motorhead?) and the most microphone time, and all of the best t-shirts, he also gets certain color schemes reserved for him and occasionally his best friend and fellow wrestler Shawn Michaels, like D Generation X's green, and the deep shade of red we all love, crimson.

UberSooner

2/27/2009, 03:31 PM

Nobody and I mean nobody will ever measure up to a lump of hor****e on Cowboy Bill Watts boots. Wahoo McDaniel a close second.

soonerborn45

3/3/2009, 11:20 PM

See? He looked the part even before he got the role! Wait... what's that ring on his finger for???

It is his All-American ring. Hager was a two time AA.

badger

3/4/2009, 10:04 AM

Nobody and I mean nobody will ever measure up to a lump of hor****e on Cowboy Bill Watts boots.

Dude's going to enter the Hall of Fame this year, inducted by fellow Oklahoman (and fellow HoF'er) Jim Ross. For those of you that do not follow wrestling, he's the OU fan with the black cowboy hat gracing the sidelines most football games. They just announced Cowboy this week.

If the WWE video games recently didn't suck so much, I'd do that legend run thing (similar to NCAA Football's thing where you take a crap team, recruit and coach until they're a powerhouse like OU) with Swagger - let him beat up on Triple H, John Cena and the like :D

RedstickSooner

3/5/2009, 06:17 AM

This thread is so surreal. There's this weird disconnect dance with fans, where y'all seem to have this duality of realizing that it's all a scripted soap opera, but you still root for it like you would a more traditional sport. I don't get it at all, but you dig it -- so, hell, have at it.

badger

3/5/2009, 09:05 AM

It might be scripted, but it's also real life to some degree.

The WWE is in the midst of huge spending cuts, resulting in many wrestlers, both young, old and everything inbetween, losing their jobs. These guys had dreams of being every kid's hero (or most hated villian), performing in front of thousands in attendance and millions at home, etc. Getting cut from the WWE means living Mickey Rourke's movie "The Wrestler," which is not a dream at all.

I think we're happy for Jack Swagger because he's living every pro wrestler's dreams and ambitions... one that he might have lived as an OU football player, but probably not an All-American OU wrestler... performing in front of thousands in attendance, millions watching on TV at home.

Sure it's scripted... but so far it's scripted in his favor. That must mean he's doing a good job :)

OUmillenium

3/5/2009, 09:19 AM

I think Dr. Death needs a run as Jake's manager, with lots of interference of course! A stampede here or there wouldn't hurt anyone except the one being stampeded.

badger

4/14/2009, 11:19 AM

Watch the match here. (http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/vms/raw/2009/april8-14/9882080?cid=2009EP-00)

OU's own ALL-AMERICAN (American, heh) Jack Swagger showed Cena how much he sucks last night on Raw. I loved how he incorporated (real, heh) wrestling takedowns into the match early-on.

Cena wins of course (gotta sell the kiddos t-shirts somehow!) but the Atlanta crowd (which they said over and over was a sellout of 16,000+) had multiple loud "Let's go Swagger" chants going.

Tune in now, because it's only a matter of time before he's a top star and forced to job to the boss' son-in-law like the other main eventers! :rolleyes:

Gandalf_The_Grey

4/14/2009, 01:27 PM

Jack Swagger is really talented, I could see him main eventing in a couple of years. He is kind of a Brock Lesnar/Shelton Benjamin Hybrid. Not as athletic as Shelton but not as strong as Brock. That was a big match last night for Swagger because they did not bury him and make him look like Cena's fool. He needs to work on his ring stamina, he always seems to slow down in the middle with longer matches with Cena, Christian, and Finlay. Working with Finlay, Christian, and Tommy Dreamer has really helped his development. Cena really pisses me off, as Edge said "I hate you" His STF(U) sucks ALOT worse than William Regal's yet somehow he makes people submit. His FU (re-dubbed Attitude Adjuster for the kiddies) couldn't hold Dreamer's or Al Snow's Death Valley Driver's jocks.

badger

4/14/2009, 01:33 PM

Gandalf, I think you are not the only one who hates the ever livin' crap outta Cena. It seems crowds everywhere will cheer for his opponent, regardless of who it is. Put him up against Vickie "Excuse Me" Guerrero and I bet even she gets cheering :D

(wouldn't it be awesome to hear 16k chant "Excuse me!" if that were to happen?)

In addition to the crowd hatred, look at the box office returns of his movie that doesn't really suck - $10-$11 million. The budget was $20 mil. People are sick of Cena getting shoved down their throats and he really, really, needs a heel turn.