wrestling / News

Josh Barnett On Jake Hager Working With Power Slap: ‘Dumbest Thing You Could Do’

November 9, 2026 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
AEW Dynamite Jake Hager retired wrestling, WWE Royal Rumble Image Credit: AEW

Josh Barnett is not a fan of Power Slap to say the least, and had some hard words for Jake Hager over his involvement. Hager has made a couple of appearances for the Dana White-run slap competition league, the most recent of which left him needing to surgeries after he suffered a serious eye injury.

Barnett was asked about Hager’s involvement in his appearance on the Ariel Helwani Show. He said that it bothered him to watch Hager do it and said it’s “just not worth it.” You can see highlights below (per Fightful):

On Hager’s Involvement In Power Slap:

“We’ve had our differences in the past, but watching Jake Hager go out there, it’s just, what are you doing? What are you thinking? This is the dumbest thing you could ever do. If you needed money or you needed this, look man — it kills me to see an Oklahoma wrestler out there, a collegiate D1 wrestler, I think he was an All American. Pro wrestled in WWE and AEW, fought a few times in Bellator. It’s just like, what are you doing, man? There’s so much more you can do with your life and career. You’d be better off doing MMA than you would be ever doing slap fighting. It’s just not worth it.”

On If There’s Anything About Power Slap That’s Worth It:

“For what? No, I’m sorry, there’s nothing. I can’t say anything good about slap fighting, that’s it.”