On the “Rulebreakers with Saraya” podcast, former WWE star Jake Hager shared his reaction to the recent, albeit brief, release of his good friend R-Truth. Hager described the news as “shocking” and spoke about the universal love and respect that R-Truth commands in the professional wrestling industry.
“It Was Shocking”
Hager recalled the moment he heard that R-Truth’s contract had not been renewed by WWE. “It was shocking. I was with my kids, and Mike Chioda called me, and it’s like, ‘hey, Swags, they cut Ronnie.’ I was like, ‘what?’” he said. “We were both shocked. We couldn’t believe it, like, why? And we didn’t want to message Ronnie or anything like that… you know, he’s dealing with it.”
Universal Love for R-Truth
He expressed his happiness that the fan and locker room outcry was so strong that it led to R-Truth being quickly brought back to the company. “Obviously [he] dealt with it in the right way. It was so cool to see them bring him back, and just to see the love and the outpour, like, from the boys in the back,” Hager stated. “Kevin Owens wrote something on Twitter that was really cool.”
A Locker Room Leader
Host Saraya noted that R-Truth is one of the most universally loved people in the wrestling business, a sentiment with which Hager strongly agreed. “He’s so good at what he does. Yeah, like, you want to work with him. You want to be around him,” Hager said, reinforcing the idea that R-Truth is a positive presence who helps keep morale high backstage.
A Close Friendship
The two men were travel partners and close friends for years during their time together in WWE. Their friendship was a key reason why the news of R-Truth’s release hit Hager so hard.
R-Truth’s release became a major story, with fans and fellow wrestlers alike flooding social media with messages of support, which ultimately led to WWE reversing their decision and bringing him back with a new, more serious “Ron Killings” persona. The full conversation can be heard on the “Rulebreakers with Saraya” podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Rulebreakers With Saraya with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
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