Jack Swagger was one of WWE's more forgettable World Heavyweight Champions. 

But he did hold the belt for 79 days in 2010 after cashing-in his Money in the Bank briefcase against Chris Jericho on SmackDown. 

While he ended up with gold around his waist, it seems the original plan wasn't to have 'The All-American American' beat Jericho. 

Instead, it was to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship. But according to Swagger (who now wrestles as Jake Hager in AEW) the 16-time world champ refused to put him over. 

Speaking on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Hager opened up about how his cash-in on Y2J - not Cena - came about.

"I had a little inclination, but I had no idea what was going to happen. The night before, I teased it on RAW," he said.

"I hit Cena with the briefcase, I snuck up on him when he had one of his brilliant promo segments. Later, come to find out, he refused to do the job for me for the WWE Championship. 

Swagger could have gone over Cena

"We won't talk about that. Ugh. 'The most unselfish top man in the business'," the AEW star added sarcastically. 

While he wasn't able to cash-in on Cena, Hager did go over Jericho and spoke about that moment and how he knew he could trust the veteran.  

"That was in Phoenix. I got a call that night to come to Vegas. We get to the building, I get there 30 minutes early so I'm waiting," he continued.

Swagger cashed-in on Jericho instead

"I see [John Laurinaitis] go into the office, here you [Jericho] come, here Edge comes, I was going to come in behind you guys, then the door shuts.

"It was about five minutes, then I go in there. When we were in there and it was laid out, you turned to me and were like, 'You better not f*** this up,' and you were dead serious and very sincere.

"It always reminded me of my best wrestling coach. Once you said that, I looked up to you and knew I could trust you." 

Hager and Jericho are now in AEW. Photo credit: AEW

While going over Cena may have been the original plan, Swagger's cash-in on Jericho might have been the better option. It may not have been memorable, but at least it was successful!