[stevenash]

Before Jack Swagger battles Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania, he is apparently going to have to learn how to better carry himself outside of the ring.

According to a report by TMZ, the Elimination Chamber winner was arrested Tuesday night after being pulled over in Mississippi:

WWE star Jack Swagger was arrested last night in Mississippi, TMZ has learned -- after allegedly driving under the influence ... with pot in his car.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ, Swagger -- real name Jacob Hager -- was leaving a "Smackdown" taping at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi when he was pulled over for speeding.

According to law enforcement, the officer who pulled him over determined Swagger was driving under the influence -- and a search revealed Swagger was in possession of marijuana.

He was later released "on his own recognizance," but not before being charged with DUI, marijuana possession and speeding.

Nevertheless, the WWE doesn't seem to be too concerned with the incident.
According to the report, the company told TMZ, "Mr. Swagger is responsible for his own personal actions."

Swagger, of course, returned to the WWE earlier this month after a lengthy hiatus, and has quickly skyrocketed to the top of the company.

Fresh with a xenophobic gimmick and a kayfabe uncle—Zeb Colter—who is dynamite on the mic, Swagger defeated Zack Ryder for a spot in the Elimination Chamber and proceeded to roll up Randy Orton for a title shot at the biggest PPV of the year.

Still, even with the recent momentum that Swagger has gained as a heel, this isn't how he should be carrying himself "off stage."

The WWE may have played it fairly nonchalant with its statement, but Vince McMahon doesn't need his biggest stars representing the company by getting arrested in their off-time.

For now, don't expect anything major to come of this, but if Swagger finds himself in any more trouble in the near future, his time as a title contender could quickly come to end after WrestleMania.

[stevenash]

[Chi_archie]

went to a bar in milwaukee during the all star game. they had 10 hugh tvs tuned into the wrasslin thing and one lile tv far away from our booth on hoops.

the patrons were really into this wrasslin shit, and I was suprised how many people I knew since I hadn't watched really since college in 99 or so.

I'd never seen this swagger guy, and was really confused why he'd even be in a big promotion like WWE let alone in a big match

[daneblazer]

Before Jack Swagger battles Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania,

Never heard of either of those dudes

[tony_come]

Not surprise

[NunyaBidness]

Where can I bet on this?

[ttwarrior1]

this sucks because the angle with dutch mantell was working great.

[Imsmarterthanu]

maybe he got charged with DUI for being Stoned while driving not drunk

which is a whole different story

[Coach Potato]

who gives a fuk about wrestling?

[stevenash]

who gives a fuk about wrestling?

You dropped by thread just for that?

[Thor4140]

You dropped by thread just for that?

[DirtyX]

Is this still the UFC betting forum?

[NunyaBidness]

Is this still the UFC betting forum?

Nope, it's the talk about dudes sitting on other dudes faces forum now.

[konck]

Jack Swagger the true american

[Kermit]

Jack Swagger sounds like a gay porn star name.

[Sacrelicious]

Already posted it.

[JMobile]

"Weed the People"

[orisbumplut]

Jack hates Mexicans cuz the weed they sold him was low grade.

[stevenash]

New details have emerged aboutJack Swagger's future in the WWE, and it doesn't look good for the Real American.

According to a report in Wrestling Observer's subscriber newsletter (via wrestlinginc.com), Creative was "working late on Wednesday night to come up with ideas, which doesn't sound good for Swagger and Zeb Colter."

As was reported at TMZ, Swagger was recently arrested for driving under the influence and being in possession of marijuana.

Very interestingly, it's noted that the original plan was for Swagger to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania XXIX.

It's said that "if WWE officials saw fit to change the direction of the match, then Dolph Ziggler would most likely get the WrestleMania match with Del Rio."

[Sacrelicious]

Man, sucks to be Dutch Mantell.

What a goddamn idiot, he gets a monster push for what, 2 weeks before he totally penetrates it up?

Complete moron.

[stevenash]

^
yeah, gets the break of a lifetime, flushes right down the toilet.
Maybe TNA will take him back as a writer.

[Pabinator]

DUI & a little weed?

With all the other crap wrestlers do, this dude is a saint

[stevenash]

DUI & a little weed?

With all the other crap wrestlers do, this dude is a saint

I hear you, Orton has done a lot worse, seems to me the company wants to make an example out of Swagger.

[Sacrelicious]

I hear you, Orton has done a lot worse, seems to me the company wants to make an example out of Swagger.

The big issue isnt weed, its the fact that he was driving while stoned.

[JMobile]

The big issue isnt weed, its the fact that he was driving while stoned.

Yup, and if he would of killed anybody.........lawsuit.

[hugh_morris]

The whole angle of why Dutch Mantell was even with Swagger in the first place were because his mic skills sucked, the fukkin guy has that shitty, irritating lisp....Lex Luger had better skills on the mic and his were fukked at best, Dutch is an ace on the mic.....Swagger's just a big goof.....peace..

[stevenash]

14. DISCIPLINE FOR VIOLATION OF LAW

Any WWE Talent, who is arrested, convicted or who admits to a violation of law relating to use, possession, purchase, sale or distribution of drugs will be in material breach of his/her contract with WWE and subject to immediate dismissal.

[hugh_morris]

14. DISCIPLINE FOR VIOLATION OF LAW

Any WWE Talent, who is arrested, convicted or who admits to a violation of law relating to use, possession, purchase, sale or distribution of drugs will be in material breach of his/her contract with WWE and subject to immediate dismissal.

With the volume of powder, pills and syringes that flow thru the wrestling industry period would keep Mexico and Columbia afloat for awhile...Its pretty shitty to punish the guy over a mis-demeaner in most states, its a fukked up situation for Shwagger....Hey Steve, i hope we dont get anymore of that crappy snow this weekend, i hope it stays all rain...i'm sick of it already....peace

[Mr KLC]

They need to keep Dutch on TV, and suspend Swagger for a month. Make the arrest part of the story line, and get Dutch to gain some heat from it.

[Sacrelicious]

With the volume of powder, pills and syringes that flow thru the wrestling industry period would keep Mexico and Columbia afloat for awhile...Its pretty shitty to punish the guy over a mis-demeaner in most states, its a fukked up situation for Shwagger....Hey Steve, i hope we dont get anymore of that crappy snow this weekend, i hope it stays all rain...i'm sick of it already....peace

Truthfully, this has very little to do with the marijuana use. I do not even believe that marijuana use directly is tested and goes against thier wellness policy. Its more of a "dont get caught, and we will not check" approach.

The issue here is him driving while doing it, because that takes it beyond a minor mis demeanor, and the fact that it coincides with this major push. Its a huge pain in the ass for them to have to scrap an angle leading into mania, and they demand a lot from the guys they decide to push. He was coming off a two year streak of being a job guy, this kind of thing does not go over well with the WWE brass.

[hugh_morris]

Truthfully, this has very little to do with the marijuana use. I do not even believe that marijuana use directly is tested and goes against thier wellness policy. Its more of a "dont get caught, and we will not check" approach.

The issue here is him driving while doing it, because that takes it beyond a minor mis demeanor, and the fact that it coincides with this major push. Its a huge pain in the ass for them to have to scrap an angle leading into mania, and they demand a lot from the guys they decide to push. He was coming off a two year streak of being a job guy, this kind of thing does not go over well with the WWE brass.

Well i guess the only thing i can add to that would be birds of a feather flock together and that starts from the top on down....98% of these guys should never throw a rock because they all live in a glass house...I would have to believe that this will be a forgotten matter in a few weeks....slap on the wrist at best....peace

[stealthyburrito]

Hope he doesn't lose his push for this, the racy storyline they got going on is one of their more intriguing developments and is garnering mainstream attention. I read reports he was supposed to defeat del rio at WM29. I hope they still have the match, but just have del rio retain the title as punishment.

[stevenash]

Many wrestling fans were taken by surprise when Jack Swagger won at Elimination Chamber to become the No. 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Even more surprising, however, was the subsequent DUI and marijuana possession arrest that put his standing in question. Despite his legal issues, I expect Swagger to go unpunished for the time being.

According to TMZ.com, Swagger was pulled over on Tuesday night in Biloxi, Miss. following last week's SmackDown taping. Swagger was reportedly driving erratically and was found to be under the influence of an unidentified substance as well as in possession of pot. He was arrested and later released, and there is no question that it complicates matters for the WWE.

Vince McMahon and the WWE could take a hard-line approach by acting quickly, suspending Swagger and giving away his WrestleMania title shot, but I don't believe that the WWE should do that nor do I think that it will. There is no doubt that Swagger screwed up in a major way and I certainly wouldn't blame the WWE if it decided to end his push. However, there are other factors to take into account.

If there is one thing that McMahon loves, it's his product drawing mainstream attention. He has that to some degree with The Rock, but Swagger and his new manager Zeb Colter have taken things to a new level. Swagger is now a self-professed "real American" who is disillusioned by the current state of his country. Swagger and Colter have been particularly outspoken when it comes to immigrants who they claim are sneaking across our borders and stealing our jobs.

This is obviously a hot-button issue as many Americans are against immigration at the moment. Particularly, that includes illegal immigrants, which is the group that Swagger and Colter have targeted specifically. Not surprisingly, many conservatives and Tea Party members have spoken out against Swagger and Colter as they believe that the characters are meant to make anti-immigration supporters appear racist.

The most notable criticisms came from political talk show host Glenn Beck. The former FOX News personality had plenty to say about Swagger and Colter on his show onTheBlaze TV last week. Beck referred to the WWE as "stupid wrestling people" and proceeded to rip the entire storyline. Beck claimed that it stereotyped the Tea Party members and he also accused the WWE of alienating the majority of its fanbase.
In response to Beck's inflammatory comments, the WWE invited him to appear on this week's episode of Raw.

The WWE even went so far as to have Swagger and Colter cut a promo before revealing their true identities and explaining to Beck that they play characters on WWE programming. It is incredibly rare for the WWE to break kayfabe and then acknowledge it, but that is precisely what the company did in an effort to lure in Beck.

Beck ultimately declined, so it looks like the WWE won't be able to capitalize on the mini feud it has going with him. Even so, Swagger and Colter have a ton of momentum right now, and suspending Swagger wouldn't be the right move from a business perspective. Taking away his WrestleMania title shot may be the right thing for the WWE to do if it wants to send a message that reckless behavior won't be tolerated, but it would be robbing fans of one of the most compelling angles in recent memory.

Because of the outside attention that Swagger and Colter have generated as well as the fact that Alberto Del Rio is the perfect opponent for Swagger's new character, I highly doubt that the push will be derailed. The WWE didn't ignore Swagger's existence after the arrest. In fact, he was featured prominently on the WWE's website and his name was quite present when it came to the WWE inviting Beck to appear on Raw.
Swagger and Colter promos have continued to be developed and shown on YouTube, including the aforementioned promo that featured both men getting out of character. Normally when a superstar breaks company policy, they are written off television quickly without much explanation. Swagger is already so entrenched that the WWE is essentially past the point of no return.

With WrestleMania six weeks away, the WWE needs to move forward and pretend like nothing ever happened. The World Heavyweight Championship scene is more relevant now than it has been in ages, and that isn't something that the WWE should ruin. Also, Del Rio has been gaining a ton of momentum as a top face, and a victory over Swagger would only further that. After retaining his title against Swagger at 'Mania, the WWE can move forward with whatever punishment it feels is fit.

There is no question that an arrest is a serious offense, so I'm not suggesting that Swagger should get off scot-free. At the same time, this is his first offense, so anything more than a suspension would be a bit unfair. Some of those who take the WWE's policies seriously will probably call the company hypocritical if it allows Swagger's storyline to play out before punishing him, but this is a special circumstance and I have no issue with delaying things for a few weeks.

Although there has been a lot of hearsay circulating about Swagger being booked to beat Del Rio for the world title at WrestleMania, I highly doubt that was ever in the cards. Swagger is obviously gaining a ton of heat, but Del Rio forced Big Show to tap out at Elimination Chamber and has been built as a dominant force. The ultimate goal with this storyline is for Del Rio to come away looking like a hero, and vanquishing Swagger at WrestleMania would accomplish that.

When Swagger inevitably loses, I'm sure many fans will blame the arrest, but Del Rio has logically always been pegged as the winner. Whatever the case, it looks like the WWE is moving forward with Swagger until WrestleMania at the very least. If that is true, then Swagger is a very lucky man, as his mistake could have cost both him and Colter.

Swagger won't escape discipline of some kind, but ideally the WWE will wait until this angle plays itself out. Punishing Swagger at this point would be a punishment to the fans as well, and that is the last thing McMahon wants to do.

[stevenash]

[JMobile]

Money talks...