Jack Swagger: Why His Return on SmackDown Was an Epic Fail

Last night on SmackDown, former World Heavyweight champion Jack Swagger made his return to WWE TV, but it would hardly be considered a success.

When Booker T was discussing the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Swagger’s music hit as the All-American American felt as though he should be considered for the match.

Unfortunately, Swagger’s return was lackluster for a number of reasons.

No Face Turn

One possible change that Swagger could have made was returning as a babyface instead of keeping his heel persona.

Swagger has been a heel for his entire career and a face turn could have turned his entire career around for the better. With Antonio Cesaro claiming that no American can defeat him for the U.S. title, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Swagger to challenge and beat Cesaro while turning face.

Swagger could have also sought revenge on Dolph Ziggler and A.J. Lee. When Swagger left, not only was A.J. Raw GM, but he had also been dumped by Vickie Guerrero.

Return on TV Rather Than on PPV

Swagger returning on SmackDown rather than Royal Rumble, WrestleMania or another pay-per-view was certainly a letdown.

SmackDown is taped on Tuesdays and aired on Fridays, so anyone who reads the spoilers knew of the return days ago.

Although I did not read the spoilers this particular week, I was still disappointed in the choice of having Swagger return on SmackDown.

Swagger could have been a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble or been a surprise challenger to Cesaro at WrestleMania.

Another situation could have Antonio Cesaro challenging any American at WrestleMania 29 where Swagger’s music would hit and the crowd would go wild.

The direction of WWE has not changed

When Swagger returned on SmackDown, he said he left because he was unhappy with the direction of WWE. Sorry Jack, but the direction hasn’t changed.

In order for this to make any sense, Swagger should have been the leader of the Shield.

The Shield fight for injustice in WWE and try to force change on WWE. It’s similar to what CM Punk was trying to do in June 2011 with his pipebomb promo.

In any case, Swagger could still be the leader of The Shield, but WWE is heading in that direction in a strange way.

Conclusion

Perhaps, this is a bit of gun jumping here since Swagger just made his return this past week, but his reappearance could have been in a much better way.

Swagger is a former U.S. champion, Mr. Money in the Bank and World Heavyweight champion. His disappearance led to many questions regarding his future in the company.

WWE had the opportunity to completely change his character and gimmick and give him a solid push back to the main event.

There is still time to fix this situation, but WWE has Jack Swagger’s return off to a very rough start.

Sincerely,

Seth

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