Jim Duggan spoke with Sun Live on pro wrestling changing, how he came up with his nickname, and Andre the Giant. Here are some of the highlights:
Working with Andre the Giant:
“It was a double whammy to be main eventing at the Garden in front of 20,000 people and then to be in there with Andre. The television show went off the air and I was standing over Andre covered in blood with my 2×4. So that moved me up to a main event man, instead of a mid-card guy. From then [on] I worked with Andre 54 nights straight, so I got to know him pretty well, and he could be an irritable giant sometimes too.”
Origin of “Hacksaw” nickname:
“It’s actually from my football days. I used to hack my way through the wedge. So we tried Hacksaw and it kind of stuck. People are like, ‘You’re Hacksaw Duggan and you carry a 2×4.’ I’m like, ‘It’s wrestling, it doesn’t have to make sense.'”
Pro wrestling evolving:
“The business has evolved quite a bit. It used to be in arena, high school gyms and now it’s getting more and more involved with women’s wrestling. It’s been a great business for me, so many folks only hear about the negatives of professional wrestling. And it is a rough business. The high death rate, the high divorce rate and the high drug and alcoholism rate. People all know of Scott Hall and my good friend Jake “The Snake” Roberts. But for me it’s been a great business and for other guys too. I have been with my wife for 30-plus years, I’ve never had to go to rehab for booze or drugs, thought I did a lot of both. It was the 80s, everything was wide open in the 80s.”
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