Jake Hager Suffers Eye Injury, Near-Confrontation After Power Slap Loss

Jake Hager’s latest venture into competitive slap fighting ended in disaster on Thursday, September 17, when he dropped a TKO loss to Johnny Magna in a Power Slap bout and suffered a serious eye injury in the process. Magna’s slap opened a cut near Hager’s left eye that caused heavy bleeding and forced the stoppage.

The injury turned out to be more severe than it initially appeared. Hager’s partner, Patricia Blackburn, told Slap News that he underwent emergency eye surgery following the fight. In the aftermath of the loss, Hager reportedly came close to a physical confrontation with members of a college basketball team who were also at the event.

Hager, best known to wrestling fans as a mainstay of AEW’s Jericho Appreciation Society and for his earlier run in WWE as Jack Swagger, has kept one foot in combat sports throughout his pro wrestling career, previously competing in Bellator MMA before signing on with Power Slap, the slap-fighting promotion backed by Dana White and the UFC machine. The sport has drawn plenty of scrutiny for its brutal, no-defense format, and this latest incident is likely to reignite those safety concerns given the severity of Hager’s eye injury.

For now, there’s no word on how the injury might affect Hager’s AEW schedule or his standing in the Jericho Appreciation Society storyline, which has been a steady presence on AEW programming. Eye injuries requiring surgery can carry unpredictable recovery timelines, and any extended absence would be a notable subtraction for a stable that has leaned on Hager’s size and toughness as a physical enforcer.

It’s also fair to wonder how AEW brass views its talent moonlighting in a promotion known for producing injuries like this one. Wrestlers crossing over into combat sports isn’t new, but a surgery-necessitating injury sustained outside the ring tends to draw extra attention from a wrestling promotion trying to protect its roster and its storylines.

Expect updates on Hager’s recovery and his AEW status as more information becomes available.