Invest the time to check the list of things humans are willing to do for the sake of entertaining others and you’ll very quickly find the answer is pretty much anything. Even so, the emerging sport of Power Slap beggars belief in the minds of its critics.
Combat sports have been around forever and a day and they’ve pretty much always had their detractors – that is to say those not turned on by athletes trying to do more harm to their opposite competitor than is done unto them.
It took the Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) years to help get mixed martial arts (MMA) acknowledged and accepted within the arena of mainstream sports. There remain people who tar it with the brush of mindless violence, though all in all these days it’s doing exceptionally well for itself where popularity among the masses is concerned.
The concept, at its most rudimentary core, is for two martial artists to step into a cage and fight until the time runs out or one of them is incapable of continuing. Both, naturally, are permitted (and expected) to defend themselves.
In the sport of Power Slap, that specific benefit is removed. Competitors take turns slapping each other as hard as they can, and may not move to avoid or soften any incoming below.
The result, as one might expect, is a brutal show that often results in one or the other individual lying incapacitated.
It can also lead to some pretty gruesome injuries, as was the recent case with WWE champion Jake Hager, who suffered a grisly eye injury during his latest Power Slap match that prompted fans to look away in horror.
Hager was one of several competing in a Power Slap event in Texas on September 17, facing Johnny Magna in a match early on the card. In one of the exchanges, Haper was on the receiving end of a slap that left blood leaking from his left eye.
The injury, sustained in the second round, was enough for doctors to stop the match. In the immediate aftermath of the blow, Hager began to wince and hold his eye.
“He hit me right in the eye,” Hager said. As the cameras zoomed in, the audience caught a glimpse of blood leaking from the former WWE champ’s eye, leaving some of them visibly shocked.
Prior to his exit from the WWE in 2017, Hager – who competed under the name Jack Swagger – featured in a Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 26 in 2010. He cashed that in five days later, defeating Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Earlier in 2026, he made a surprise career move by signing a deal with Power Slap. He began his tenure with the company with a third-round knockout win over Devin Jenkins at Power Slap 19 in April, only to be knocked out himself by Amanpreet Singh at Power Slap 21 in July.
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