Jake Hager, formerly known as Jack Swagger in WWE, has confirmed a long-standing rumor regarding John Cena. During an appearance on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Hager claimed that Cena refused to lose to him during their time together in the company.
When asked directly if Cena had declined to put him over, Hager stated, “Oh yeah, he absolutely refused to do it.”
Hager clarified that while Cena did not tell him this personally, he was informed by others that it was the case. The original plan, according to Hager, was for him to defeat Cena on an episode of Monday Night Raw. “I’m a young guy. I’ve been there for a cup of coffee, so what are you gonna do?” Hager commented on the situation.
He also suggested this was part of a larger pattern, adding that he wasn’t the only superstar Cena had done that to over the years.
However, a different view on Cena’s interactions with talent was recently offered by Baron Corbin. On the Busted Open podcast, Corbin described Cena’s infamous method of verbally “murdering” opponents on the microphone as a deliberate test to help them improve. He pointed to a promo exchange with Roman Reigns as a prime example, stating, “We watched him murder Roman on live television… he cut Roman’s seeds off in that promo.” Corbin framed it as a trial by fire, not as bullying.
This renewed scrutiny of Cena’s backstage reputation comes during a controversial year for his on-screen character. After turning heel at Elimination Chamber, Cena captured his record-breaking 17th world title from Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 in a contentious finish. Although he vowed to “ruin wrestling” and retire with the championship, the villainous storyline was reportedly dropped following SummerSlam, where Cena appeared to revert to his classic babyface persona.