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In an unexpected WWE twist, Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank at the WWE SmackDown tapings and beat Chris Jericho for the WWE world championship. Jack Swagger became the sixth WWE superstar to cash in his Money in the Bank and win a WWE championship. Swagger becomes the 36th WWE world heavyweight champion.

Jack Swagger’s quick WWE world title win may be the most surprising title switch in years. While Sheamus’ WWE championship win late last year was a surprise, this one is just a shocker. I don’t think anyone expected the former ECW champion to win a WWE title in the near future. Certainly, nobody expected Swagger to dethrone Chris Jericho with his Money in the Bank win. The entire scenario is as big of a surprise as they come in pro wrestling.

Jack Swagger won Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 26. The win guaranteed a Swagger a title shot whenever he wanted. Swagger tried to cash it in on Monday against John Cena on WWE RAW, but the match never officially started. Later in the night, Swagger was squashed by both John Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match. Quite frankly, by the end of the night Jack Swagger looked like a total joke. Apparently it will be Swagger who has the last laugh on everyone.

Jack Swagger is one of the last of a dying breed of amateur wrestlers who were recruited coming out of college by the WWE. Swagger is a real All-American wrestler as an amateur standout at the University of Oklahoma. Swagger began training in the WWE developmental territories in 2006. Swagger defeated Matt Hardy for the ECW world title in 2008. While Swagger may look like a flash in the pan, he has actually been working at this for awhile and has been in the WWE plans for a couple of years now. This was a move expected at some point, but a move that didn’t look like would be happening anytime soon after WWE RAW.

The disappointment here is that we get yet another quick WWE title run by Chris Jericho. Since coming back to the WWE in 2007, Chris Jericho has had several WWE world championship title reigns. Unfortunately they have all been short, transitional title reigns. The quick title switch really doesn’t make any sense on the surface due to events coming out of WrestleMania 26. Jericho defeated Edge at WrestleMania 26, but the door was left wide open for a series of rematches for the title. The switch throws a big monkey wrench into the feud and raises a lot of questions about whether Chris Jericho and Edge continue their feud or go in separate directions with Jericho feuding with Jack Swagger.

The title switch to Swagger whether it be short or lengthy, is a bold move by the WWE. Over the last several months, the WWE has really stepped up the opportunities for elevating some of the younger WWE stars into main-event wrestlers. Swagger and Sheamus especially seem to be benefitting from a changing of the guard in the WWE. Swagger’s background as an amateur along with his charisma could turn him into a surprising success if the WWE lets him ride with the belt for awhile.

With another Money in the Bank match on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if Chris Jericho enters the match and shoots for revenge against the new WWE world heavyweight champion.

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