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 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.
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.
Pre-order the Wwe: WrestleMania 26: Collector’s Edition DVD set
Order the brand-new DVD WWE: Shawn Michaels – My Journey
Order the new Hart family tribute, Hart and Soul: The Hart Family Anthology DVD
Check out discounted WWE DVDs, merchandise, t-shirts, figures, and more from the WWE Shop on Amazon.com