michael dworkis gives his opinions on the Jack Swagger arrest…
So Jack Swagger got arrested. That sucks.
No words of sophistication here. That just sucks.
Sadly, this is not the first time a mid-card resident gets a call to the main event and screws it up. Rob Van Dam was both WWE and ECW Champion until he got arrested. His punishment? Lost both titles in a week and was suspended shortly therafter. Jeff Hardy, I lost count of how many times he botched his opportunities, and got fired.
Jack Swagger was once a champion, and then got demoted to mid-card hell. After some time off and character tweaking, he came back with a manager, something very key to those lacking in the mic-skill department, and immediately made an impact by winning the Elimination Chamber match to challenge Alberto del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.
His “patriotic antics” with Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantell) earned Swagger mainstream media attention. It looked as if Swagger was going to be the next big star. His tagline now “We The People.”
Then, he got caught drunk driving and police found weed in his car. News of his arrest spread like a wildfire, and prompted the hastag of #weedthepeople. Oh boy. Swagger went and messed up big time.
Or did he?
Swagger, already earing notoriety with his crazy stance on America, now earns more because he got busted. This time, it is negative media attention. Then again, in the entertainment business, any attention is good attention.
The question is, what does WWE do with Swagger? Suspend him? Fire him? Do nothing? If you read the dirtsheets, speculation runs wild. Reports on one website state that he was going to win the title, but now that he was arrested, he is not. Really? You know that for sure? I could have said the same thing, because that is what happens when you piss off your boss. We do not know if Jack Swagger was going to win the title at WrestleMania, but we can say, that IF that was going to happen, now it seems it may not be likely.
I think, and I know very few will agree with me, but WWE should DO NOTHING. Yes, do nothing. Do not change a damn thing. If Swagger is scheduled to win the belt, then keep it that way. He has a hot gimmick right now, and it would be silly and foolish to make it vanish. With even Glenn Beck chiming in (and backing off when he got called out), WWE has a good thing going, so why stop? Sure, Swagger needs to get punished, because unlike Randy Orton, he is not one of the chosen few who are immune to punishment for a violation. Sorry, I do need to point out the obvious. In any event, I would be upset if Swagger did not make it to WrestleMania, and so would a lot of people.
Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter vs. Alberto del Rio is the current-day version of the JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero gimmick from nearly a decade ago. I am not a dirt-sheet, and I am not an insider, so I will not tell you if Swagger is going to get canned or punished. What I will tell you, is that WWE generally punishes those who do something stupid like getting arrested. Swagger might win the World Championship at WrestleMania, or he might not. No dirt-sheet s will tell you otherwise. Maybe he will get suspended and not challenge for the title, or he will anyway. No one really knows.
I know is the Jack Swagger just took a short fall from grace. If he is smart, Swagger will not pull a Jeff Hardy and make the same mistake again.
Good read. I am one of the many that would have to respectively disagree. I’m all for atoning for your mistakes (ala Hardy time and time again) but coming out of nowhere into one of the Mania Main events with a legend working the Mic and practically your whole gimmick for you isn’t fair to those who have been there all year. (the Kofi’s , etc.)
As a ticket holder for the NJ/NY wrestlemania I was glad to find out of Swagger’s DUI because I thought for sure there would be repercussions (which there seemed to be none, and we know there is a wellness policy violation here)
I ‘ll admit I’m not a Swagger fan, but I feel regardless of storylines he should be dealt with (such as Hardy not winning or going to MOney in the bank years ago) like any other superstar regardless of storyline.