Jake Hager likes hats.
During his time in AEW, fans associated Jake Hager with a purple bucket hat, which he routinely wore during his matches, in backstage segments, and across social media. According to Hager, he once envisioned his hat gimmick evolving into something similar to one of the characters of Guardians of the Galaxy.
“I feel like the hat could have been way bigger, but [AEW CEO Tony Khan] didn’t like me,” Hager told Insight With Chris Van Vliet. “I pitched an idea. I’m thinking this is great. I wanted to turn into Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, where I would say ‘I like this hat’ and everybody in JAS would know what I’m saying. I’m not saying ‘I like this hat.’ I’m not saying ‘I am Groot.’ They would just like play off of it.”
Groot, a tree-like alien creature, is famous for his limited vocabulary. That solely includes the phrase “I am Groot,” which can be interpreted many ways, depending on his inflections. However, he is fully understood by the Guardians, which includes Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord. The character was voiced by Vin Diesel in the MCU series of films.
Furthermore, Groot managed to hold full conversations with other characters in Guardians of the Galaxy, just with his signature phrase. In Hager’s mind, he imagined himself doing the same with his Jericho Appreciation Society stablemates, though the idea never materialized onto AEW television.
Following his departure from AEW in late 2024, Hager confirmed his retirement from in-ring competition. Nowadays, he runs a trucking company called Haulin’ Oats, with routes running all throughout the state of Florida.
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