The first-ever Royal Rumble champion shares his tale and wisdom with this year's competitors in an exclusive interview. Hacksaw Jim Duggan advises, "Try to stay away from people."
The former professional wrestler reveals that "the entire game is about longevity. The longer you stay in the ring, the less time you should spend with others."
Hacksaw, who won the first Royal Rumble in 1988, understands what he's talking about in terms of wrestling.
When you see the Royal Rumble, everyone rushes to the corners. "It's a secure location," he says.
There were 20 competitors in that year's Royal Rumble, but it was only expanded to 30 thereafter. It took him a long time to get to the last two, but once there, the 450-pound, 6'9" One Man Gang fell victim to a gap he had made in the ropes.
'You want to be aggressive, powerful, and fast,' he explains, adding that “luck of the draw has a lot to do with it too.” "It's always preferable to arrive later," he said. When compared to the others, you're a more recent arrival on the scene. That's a lengthy time in the ring for the first five fighters.
It doesn't matter whether you're kicking butts or if someone comes up behind you. "It's extremely different from one-on-one combat. In a traditional match, I like to set the tempo, but in a battle royale or Royal Rumble, that's a moot point.”
"It's like the Wild West out there; nobody's in charge." The Rumble is the best single pay-per-view event in terms of drama, unpredictability, and absolute pandemonium when it comes to single events.
To sum it up, this is the biggest wrestling event of the year and an absolute must-see. However, Pat Patterson, a former WWE wrestler, producer, and consultant, came up with the original idea in 1988.
As a result of his willingness to consider new ideas, Duggan found himself in the position to make a pivotal professional decision. "That's the most significant accomplishment in my wrestling career," he adds.
"After I won, nobody in that whole building was more startled than I was. Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the winner, is one of those names that I often look back at and keep going down the list until I get there."
"I was never a world champion, a tag team champion, or an intercontinental champion; I was just fortunate to win a bout." When it came to the Royal Rumble, Duggan had a lot more guts and drive than he had flair and glamor, which made a big difference.
As he admits, "I wasn't much of a wrestler to begin with. "'Hacksaw, what was your favorite move?' is a common question.'" I'm a brawler who knows how to use his hands and feet to get the better of his opponent.
In the midst of a match, I would work with [Ric] Flair, be beaten 1-2-3, grab a 2x4, strike Flair, hit the referee, and hit the timekeeper. HOOOO! "I didn't win the match, but I'd win in a fight," he said. As a kid, I was known as "the tough one."
As Duggan yells out his catchphrase, you can hear the enthusiasm in his voice. He returned to the WWE in 2009 and again in 2012, both times with the same degree of fire, as he faced off against some old foes.
To begin with, Duggan adds, "I wrestled Dusty [Rhodes]', [Ted] DiBiase', and [Bob] Orton's] kids in the WWF and theirs in the WWE.
The first time they came to one of my concerts, they would sit on my lap and introduce themselves to me. Before I beat up the youngster, I beat up the elderly guy!!"
It was in 2012, when Duggan was 58 years old, that he was placed into the Royal Rumble once again, this time as a 19th-place finisher. It was "harder" in every way, according to him, during the Royal Rumble in 2012.
The fact that all of the students were between the ages of 15 and 20 meant that it would be difficult." Concerned about my appearance, I was concerned about my age." With the passage of time, the trunks that I used to wear just become more cumbersome.
The concert will be seen by millions, so you have a lot of concern. This is multiplied by 10 when you're put into a PVP event when the audience knows you're Hacksaw and you won the first one."
It was only when the adrenaline struck that all of it mattered. "I could have taken on Andre the Giant again dude, I was 10ft tall when I hit that ring," recalls Duggan after stepping through the curtain.
Throughout the years, the people had lifted me several times, and on that particular day, they had me walking on air.
Hacksaw Jim, who is now 68 and recuperating from cancer for the second time, has decided not to return. It's unlikely he'll return to the ring any time soon because of his health difficulties, he adds.
A common reaction to my dog barking these days is for me to "jump off the sofa and injure myself"
Hacksaw Jim offers some words of wisdom for this year's competitors, despite the fact that he hasn't wrestled in 34 years. As Duggan puts it: "In a Royal Rumble, everything goes."
You don't have to select your targets in a Rumble, thus everyone made fun of my vision. I'll strike everything that moves if I see it. It would have been a safe bet that Hacksaw Jim would have come out on top in the initial scuffle.