"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan Talks Which Current WWE Gimmick Would Have Worked In His Era
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan has over 40 years in the pro wrestling business and is a WWE Hall of Famer. You would imagine that there is a wrestling promotion that could use the wisdom of Hacksaw and he revealed if he has any interest in coaching at the PC when he joined The Wrestling Inc. Daily.
"[Laughs] are you ribbing brother? People ask me, 'Hacksaw, what's your favorite move?' I go, 'I kick and punch, I'm a brawler, I'm not a wrestler!' I'm not even sure if that style would work nowadays. Back in my day you had a lot of kickass guys that wouldn't leave their feet and then the pendulum went to the guys who were flying everywhere. Now I think it's swinging back to the bigger men," said Duggan.
He added that he would not have a chance in today's environment more so due to the scripted nature of promos rather than the in-ring work. He said when he went back to WWE their writers would try to give him promo notes and he can't be told how to be himself.
"You don't write Flair, Macho Man, Junkyard Dog, Hacksaw Duggan. The character is an extension of my personality," revealed Duggan. "That's why most characters that are great are guys that are just an extension. Macho Man that you saw on TV is how Macho Man was. Jake is Jake. It's who we are."
Duggan is now taking part in one-man shows and has an upcoming one with Ted DiBiase. It was also revelaed that DiBiase is just four days younger than Duggan and Hacksaw says DiBiase brings that up often.
"I'm older than Ted so he doesn't rub it in at all [laughs]. I've known Ted for 40 years and he's one of the best wrestlers in the world," stated Duggan. "Those second-generation guys are almost more polished ? Ted DiBiase, Curt Hennig, Jake the Snake, Orton ? guys that grew up in the business are just that much better. I was green as I broke into the business at 25 after football. I was green and didn't know what I was doing. I learned an awful lot from DiBiase.
"Ted DiBiase may be the greatest technical wrestler in the sport but he can't fight a lick. If you're in the ring with Hacksaw then it's a fight, tough guy. Hooooooo!"
In today's wrestling, there's a lot more grey-area characters than the clear-cut good guys and bad guys of Duggan's era. Duggan was asked about his opinion on the current pro wrestling landscape.
"I don't think the wrestlers themselves have a whole lot of say in the matter. I thought that early Bray Wyatt with [the original Wyatt Family] was great. I could see that kind of character back in our day," said Duggan. "I don't know how much creative control the talent has nowadays. But whatever works ? a lot of people are critical of WWE ? but they still have 100,000 at 'Mania so someone's watching."
Duggan's wrestling days are behind him but he talked about what his plans are for 2020 with his one-man shows.
"I enjoy getting out and meeting the fans who made all of this possible. We've been traveling the world ? last year we were in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. After WrestleMania this year, me and my wife are going up to Alaska for two weeks to do shows," Duggan said before mentioning other places he'll be visiting.
"It's a fun night out. It's a positive look at professional wrestling and for folks that are tired of a dinner and a movie. Even folks that aren't wrestling fans always seem intrigued."
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase will be at the Sycamore Taven in LA on Friday February 7th. For more information about this and all of Duggan's upcoming appearances please visit https://hacksawduggan.com/.
Duggan's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our new podcast The Wrestling Inc Daily. Subscribe to get the debut episode as soon as it's released: https://apple.co/2NQnHuC. The full interview can be heard via the embedded audio player below: