AEW: Five possible opponents for Jake Hager’s first match

2. MJF

Having Hager work an angle with MJF–which could easily be triggered by Jake attacking Cody during his match with Jericho at ‘Full Gear’–could do wonders for both men and for the ‘MJF turns on Cody’ storyline they are clearly trying to build.

MJF’s mouth sells this match by itself, on top of the recent confrontations Cody has had with Jericho and the ‘Inner Circle’.

Hager has been a man of

few

no words since joining AEW, which is understandable because you want him to do his talking in the ring. We can let MJF handle the microphone and set both of them up to look good in the process.

1. Cody Rhodes

With Cody facing off against Hager’s ‘Inner Circle’ compatriot Chris Jericho at ‘Full Gear’, an interference by Jake–effectively costing Cody the precious ‘World Title’ that has eluded him–would be the catalyst for a very interesting angle.

It would also keep Cody in a feud with the ‘Inner Circle’ and in the title picture.

I’m envisioning Jericho being so confident in Hager’s ability that he gives Cody a rematch if The American Nightmare can beat Hager one on one in a cage match.

After a series of attacks by Hager leading up to the match, a bruised and battered Cody wins by submission in the cage and gets another title shot in 2020.

Again, we’re not looking to predict these matches–or even looking to put Hager over. We’re simply saying these any one of these individuals could spearhead Jake Hager’s welcome committee.

Some matches would be a part of bigger angles, other matches would simply showcase Hager’s talent in the ring while cementing his place as one of the most dangerous athletes on the roster.

Whichever way you slice it, AEW’s margin of error is very small with this one. They’ll want to protect the investment they’ve made without affecting the progression of other big names on their roster.

We’ve only seen one squash match on AEW TV so far, maybe that’s a route the All Elite brass is considering for Hager’s first few matches.

What about you, who do you think faces off with Hager in his debut? Comment below.