Jake Hager Gives His Candid Thoughts On Dan Lambert And Junior Dos Santos
AEW star Jake Hager joined Throwing Down w/ Renee and Miesha recently to talk about how he balances his career in AEW with his MMA career in Bellator. Hager gave AEW President Tony Khan and how he runs AEW a bunch of credit, as the schedule allows Jake Hager to put equal focus on both wrestling and MMA.
"I think it really is a testament to AEW, to how Tony runs things," Hager said. "He told me from the beginning that he wanted to make my MMA career, he wanted to help that out as much as possible. He saw the value in it like I did when I joined the company. It's one of the main reasons Jericho wanted me, it's one of the main reasons Tony wanted me. Because I could do both, and he saw the value in both industries exploding and the ability to cross-promote.
"So really, I'm on the road for like three days, and then I have Thursday through Tuesday to train. So I kind of just moved my rest days to my travel days and then the TV day. And as soon as I get home, I've got to get good sleep Wednesday night. I can't be up partying, which is a great thing. It helps me live better."
Recently, Jake Hager's two worlds collided when his AEW stable, the Inner Circle, feuded with Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, and members of the American Top Team MMA camp. Hager had nothing but praise for the angle and specifically gave praise to American Top Team's Dan Lambert and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos for their work.
"How fun was that angle?" Hager asked rhetorically. "Oh my gosh, man, that guy (Junior dos Santos) is crazy. He's insanely good at pro wrestling, so you guys better watch out for him because he's probably going to be back. Lambert is just amazing on the mic. I hate that guy, but what he says is just so funny. It did take me a while to get in the shirt because of my big ass head, but what are you going to do?
"That whole angle just really took off, and it's a testament to Chris Jericho, Ethan Page, and Scorpio Sky. It's a testament to how those big names, JDS, Andrei Arlovski, Paige VanZant, Vanderford, Dalton. It really is cool how it came together, and it was a lot like you hadn't really seen that before. It was fun to get out there and pull it off, and have the climax with the Minneapolis Street Fight."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription