The very first episode of “AEW Dynamite” in October 2019 ended with the formation of the Inner Circle, a faction led by Chris Jericho that also featured LAX (Santana and Ortiz), Sammy Guevara, and former WWE star Jake Hager. Hager, who wrestled as Jack Swagger in WWE, was one of the most unexpected additions to the AEW roster, though he quickly found his niche within the company, working as Jericho’s muscle for almost five years. 

However, in 2024, Hager’s AEW contract expired, and the wrestler later made some outrageous claims about his former boss. In a series of X posts, Hager called Khan a communist and stated the promoter had threatened his job because of social media posts made in support of Donald Trump.

Khan never publicly responded to Hager’s claims, but it certainly seems as though that bridge has been burned. On top of that, Hager revealed last year that he considered himself retired from pro wrestling, and he now runs his own trucking company.