Jack Swagger is poised to explode onto the independent wrestling scene soon, as his 90-day no-compete clause is almost up following his release from WWE. He’s still working out the finer points like what he’s going to call himself, but he’s been open and honest about the frustration that eventually led to his amicable split from the only pro wrestling company he’s ever called home.
Swagger is making the interview and podcast rounds, and he’s dropping little nuggets of wisdom and advice everywhere he goes. He stopped by the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast to talk about his release, the influence of Zeb Colter on his career, and a whole lot more.
But perhaps the most interesting part of the interview was talking about how WWE Superstars can get that all-important merchandise.
Basically, what you need to do if you want some merch is: make it yourself and get it on television. Odds are, you’ll force the issue. Swagger told the story about how he got his “We The People” shirt made: he did it his damn self, like his name was Tommaso Ciampa.
“I came up with the [‘We The People’] T-shirt and was trying to sell it to WWE for the longest time, and I just had it made myself and I wore it on the [2013] Money In The Bank pay-per-view and literally as soon as I came back through the curtain the entire merchandise department was there waiting for me and headquarters had called them and they wanted the shirt made. That is how that came about and it is good advice for anyone listening that is still in there. Go ahead and make the shirt you want made and wear it on TV and they will want it.”
This is probably good advice for non-wrestlers, too. Make your own shirts and wear them everywhere. You never know when some T-shirt magnate is going to see you walking down the street and offer to make you a millionaire. That probably happens all the time.
