By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

In one of ECW champion Jack Swagger's first public interviews since joining the main WWE roster, Swagger revealed that he has been a pro wrestling fan since he was a kid and only took a took break when he was pursuing his degree and amateur wrestling while in college.

Liking pro wrestling from youth instantly separates him in the inevitable comparison to fellow amateur wrestling star-turned-WWE-wrestler, Brock Lesnar.

"I've done some form of wrestling since I was six," Swagger told The Southern newspaper. "I idolized it as a kid. In college I was really focused on getting a degree. This came up (WWE) and it was like destiny. I jumped at it."

Swagger said he put in two-and-a-half years of hard work in WWE developmental to reach the main roster and become a star on ECW.

"I'm just trying to take the ball and run with it now," he said. "I feel really comfortable in that ring. I've been competing nearly all my life."

The other difference between Lesnar is that Swagger doesn't mind the travel or "living out of a suitcase." It doesn't sound like Swagger will experience the travel burn-out that ultimately led to Lesnar calling it quits in WWE, but he's still very early in his WWE run.

"I'm from a small town in Oklahoma, so actually I love it," Swagger said of the extensive WWE travel. "I love seeing the United States, I love seeing Europe, I love seeing Mexico, so I really enjoy that part of it."

Link: Jack Swagger interview with The Southern.

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