When I was leaving college, getting ready to graduate with a degree in finance, I had job interviews for months and months - and nothing really was moving like a real opportunity. Meanwhile, a lot of my wrestling teammates at Oklahoma had started getting into MMA training.

Jake Hager

Any time you can get Glenn Beck crying it's a good thing.

Jake Hager

Entertainment is a big part of MMA and it is unique.

Jake Hager

Going through life is always scary doing something new, at the same time it is very exciting.

Jake Hager

That's one thing I found out about myself when I left WWE: I'm that guy that needs to be pushed full throttle. That's when you're gonna get the best out of me.

Jake Hager

Chris Jericho is on the Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling.

Jake Hager

The level of difficulty in most areas of MMA is very high. It's a high learning curve. The footwork in boxing alone takes years to master. I will rely heavily on my amateur wrestling to get out of bad situations and take me from defense to offense. I'll try to dictate the fight on my terms.

Jake Hager

The more you boo me the better I'm going to wrestle. You don't like me? So what. It's a lot of fun to work like that and wrestle with that mindset.

Jake Hager

I'm making MMA great again for pro wrestlers.

Jake Hager

I think Bellator is the place for me to hone my craft and they have a great selection of heavyweights here. They put on a great card every time so it's really exciting to be a part of that.

Jake Hager

For me, the wins and losses in pro wrestling never mattered. The thing that matters is the time on television to tell that story. If you have a two-segment match on television, whether you win or lose, both people's brands win with a great match.

Jake Hager

Kofi Kingston has always been one of my favorite opponents to wrestle. He and I started back in McDonough, Georgia in 2006 in developmental at Deep South together. So, our careers have come along at the same time. He's incredible.

Jake Hager

The nerves with WWE performance is more the live television angles because we have time limits and have storylines we want to get through in that time. You're going to forget a lot about the spots.

Jake Hager

Luckily, I feel like I was a late bloomer as far as my body developing. I really didn't start developing until I was like 18, 19, 20 years old.

Jake Hager

Whether you speak English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, everybody can speak wrestling and it's really cool to go to different cultures and societies and see how the littlest things we do as performers influence the biggest things.

Jake Hager

I'm a conservative. I voted for Donald Trump and back in 2016 everybody was talking about, 'Oh my God, here's another TV character trying to run for the presidency.' They didn't really take him seriously.

Jake Hager

Before I signed with WWE, I thought my athletic career was done. I was going into the finance industry and I just thought I couldn't compete any more. But the mind is a really powerful thing and you can unlock your potential if you choose to ignore what your mind is telling you.

Jake Hager

When you get to go out and perform on a great pro wrestling show, it's awesome. It's hard not to enjoy it.

Jake Hager

As cool as Jack Swagger was, he felt choreographed.

Jake Hager

A long time ago I learned how to shut my mouth, listen to my coaches and put trust in my coaches.

Jake Hager

Your natural instinct when people are throwing punches at you is to back up. That just makes it more dangerous for you. You'll get hurt that way. You've got to teach yourself to go forward, move your feet and move your head. I'm not going to lie, that was tough for me to learn.

Jake Hager