"Formerly known as Jack Swagger," Jake Hager said he's learned a lot during his time on the independent wrestling scene.
Hager talked to Fightful about his run on the independent scene and said he has had a far better experience dealing with fellow wrestlers and promoters than he initially thought. The former World Heavyweight Champion said he enjoyed working with a variety of different styles and has learned a lot in his time since leaving WWE.
"It's very uncharted territory. I got so much help and got a great response from the locker rooms that I have been a part of, promotions that I have worked for. It's been unbelievable. I've been really surprised by it, not that I've been expecting something awful. It's just so helpful and everyone bent over backwards for me and answer any questions I had. I see that the biggest thing on the indie scene, you still need that fan momentum, something that you need to create, whether it is charisma, character, how you wrestle. You need to make people talk about you. It's been exciting and I've been learning and hopefully getting better. It's been really cool to see all these different styles and see what everyone brings. I feel like it's about creating moments," Hager said.
When talking about his asking price for independent bookings, Hager admitted that he also had to learn more about the finances and negotiations that has come with being an independent wrestler. Hager said he had to understand what his value is and how he needs to promote himself.
"Sometimes, we negotiate. Some go off of a previous relationship that we had. It makes it a little easier. Normally, I'm willing to do many things. I use my price as a jumping off point and go from there. That's another thing you learn and that is to accurately price yourself, what your value is and make sure you do the proper promotion and bring in the numbers for that price," Hager said.
Hager was released by WWE earlier this year and has since been wrestling on the indies. The interview can be seen on Fightful's "The List & Ya Boy" podcast in the video above.
