Chris Jericho offhandedly mentioned on an episode of AEW Dynamite back in April 2021 that Jake Hager had saved his life in Abu Dhabi back in 2012. Up until recently, the former AEW Champion hadn’t explained what he meant by that comment. But in a new episode of Talk Is Jericho that featured the members of the Jericho Appreciation Society, he finally spilled the beans.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Back in 2012, both Jericho and Hager (then going by Jack Swagger) were wrestling for the WWE when the company traveled to Abu Dhabi for a week of shows. He recalled the wrestlers going out one night to clubs when a rude man started bothering people. Jericho eventually responded by giving him a hip check, which resulted in the man confronting the wrestlers with his own group of guys, focussing his frustration on Jericho.
“He goes ‘My dad owns 27% of this company,” Jericho said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). “And I’m putting a bounty on your head. In the next 24 hours, you are going to be killed and I’m gonna pay them $7 million.’”
Jericho considered fighting back by slipping his room key in-between his fingers and throwing punches. But Hager talked him out of it, knowing how easily it could escalate.
“I remember Jake going, ‘Don’t do it man. This is the wild west. They will kill you here. They’ll f—ing string you up, they’ll hang you.’ The only reason I didn’t take a wild swing with my stupid key was because Jake told me not to … If had not told me not to fight this guy, I would have [fought] him, and who knows what would have happened, so therefore, in pro wrestling logic, Jake Hager saved my life!” Jericho said.
Hager arrived on the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite and immediately aligned himself with Jericho as a member of The Inner Circle. When the group split following Jericho’s heel turn, Hager followed suit. The JAS wound up beating the Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz in a wild Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing when Hager and Jericho both caused Danielson to pass out in the ring.
