Ex-WWE Champ Jack Swagger Injury Update Revealed by Dana White After Emergency Eye Surgery

Former WWE and AEW star Jake "Jack Swagger" Hager underwent surgery following his loss to Johnny Magna at Slap Fight 23 last Thursday.

Speaking to reporters after Tuesday night's Dana White's Contender Series MMA event, UFC president and Slap Fighter co-founder Dana White provided an update on Hager and the eye injury he suffered.

"He went into emergency surgery that night, and then we're sending him to a specialist down in Miami," White said.

Hager, 44, is best known for his pro wrestling career, which spanned from 2006 to 2025.

After starring at the University of Oklahoma in wrestling and football, Hager signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2006 and started going by the name Jack Swagger.

He made is main roster debut in 2008 and went on to become a one-time world heavyweight champion, ECW champion and United States champion, as well as a Money in the Bank ladder match winner.

After departing WWE in 2017, he began an MMA career in Bellator and also signed with AEW in 2019.

Hager went 3-0 with one no contest in four Bellator bouts from 2019 to 2020, and during his AEW tenure from 2019 to 2024, he was most notably part of the Chris Jericho-led stables known as The Inner Circle and The Jericho Appreciation Society.

After announcing his retirement from pro wrestling last year, Hager made his Power Slap debut by beating Devin Jenkins at Power Slap 19 in April 2026.

Hager has since lost a pair of Power Slap bouts against Magna and Amanpreet Singh, who goes by the name Mahabali Shera as a pro wrestler.