Jake Hager, wrestling as Jack Swagger, won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI. On the following night’s Raw, he looked set to cash in on WWE Champion John Cena but changed his mind at the last minute. He’d then appear on SmackDown and instead would cash-in against World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho. At the time, this all felt as though it was the storyline all along, however speaking on a recent episode of Talk Is Jericho, Hager revealed that Cena had actually refused to lose the title to him.
The reason why Cena refused to put over Hager wasn’t revealed, and possibly not known. There have been rumors of Cena holding wrestlers back over the years, with Mr. Kennedy, Ryback, Tyler Reks, Ken Doane, and Wade Barrett often used as examples. Cena would eventually drop the WWE Championship to Sheamus on June 20, 2010, as part of a fatal four-way match involving Edge and Randy Orton, which saw Sheamus capitalize on an attack by Nexus. On the same night, Hager would lose his World Heavyweight Championship to Rey Mysterio ending his reign at 79 days.
