HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN REVEALS HOW ERIC BISCHOFF TRIED TO GET HIM TO QUIT WCW, THE OVERPAID WCW STARS WHO “COULDN’T GET BOOKED ON THE INDYS,” WHY TNA ISN’T COMPETITION FOR WWE, AND MORE
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
WrestleMania 25 is in the air and ClubWWI.com is bringing your right to Houston with a special guest who’s on location at the big event…Tough Guy! Hoooo! That’s right. WWE Superstar Hacksaw Jim Duggan has come to the Club for a rare and revealing 30 minute uncut shoot you won’t hear anywhere else.
Just four days after Kenny Dysktra spoke to ClubWWI for a 49 minute interview, Ol’ Hacksaw followed suit. The longtime WWE star spoke openly about his entire career and the business as a whole. Think shoots with people employed by major companies don’t address hot button topics? Then you don’t know Jim Duggan. Among the topics Hacksaw discussed with James Guttman on ClubWWI.com include: Critics Who Blame Vince McMahon For The Deaths of Wrestlers, Chris Jericho‘s Fight With Fans and The Online Cell Phone Video, Developing The Hacksaw Persona With Bruiser Brody in Houston, Winning The First Royal Rumble, Bill Watts In The Hall of Fame, Ribbing Cryme Tyme, Wrestlers Who Had Issues Working With Andre The Giant, Knocking Andre Out Cold, His Original Gimmick Under Vince McMahon Sr., Saving Brian Blair From Being Humbled, Lex Luger and Other Guys Promoters Tried To Put His Gimmick On, Beating Steve Austin So Bad That “He Had To Shave His Head And Change His Name,” Ultimate Warrior, Eric Bischoff, Kurt Angle, Randy Savage, Tito Santana, and More
While Duggan spoke about his huge list of career accomplishments, James said he would be remiss not to ask about WCW. More specifically – Team Canada. World Championship Wrestling took away his USA gimmick and gave him…a Canadian one? What’s that all aboot, eh? Duggan explains to ClubWWI.com members:
“Eric Bischoff and those people were trying to push me out of my contract with WCW. They wanted me out of there pretty much. There was a new influx of people who couldn’t even get booked on the Indys – like Tank Abbot and Ernest “The Cat” Miller. They were getting paid a huge amount of money. They were just trying to get rid of me. So they did the janitor deal first. They said, “Well, you’re gonna have to clean toilets with a toothbrush and everything else. ” So I said, “Great, man! You give me my spot on TV, I’ll get myself over. I don’t care what you have me do.” So I was in the water, splashing around. I’ll get myself over, you give me the time. “
Jim goes on to speak about how he made his situation work and got through it. Just when that picked up steam, they changed their direction again. WCW approached him about an Anti-American gimmick. Duggan assumed they were talking Iraq or Iran. He was wrong…
“They said, “We’ll put you with Team Canada.” Aw, jeez. Not a whole lot of heat there. I think a lot of the people were more disappointed. It wasn’t like I had heat. It was like, “Oh. Come on, Hacksaw. What are you doing this for?”
Hacksaw touched on much more regarding the highs and lows of his career including the negative view many have of former wresters and how the movie, “The Wrestler,” has played into that. Throughout the ClubWWI.com shoot, Jim talks about successful former stars and how with the death of Andrew “Test” Martin, guys like Bob Backlund get lost in the shuffle. He also speaks about drugs in the business, the mentality of the type of person who would do that, and where the blame truly lies.
Of course, Guttman had to ask about TNA. Despite his job with WWE, does Hacksaw ever get to watch the show? Would he ever show up there?
“I never really watched TNA. I never really, was enemies with (Jeff) Jarrett, but we never saw eye to eye. So I’d never function well down there and I don’t watch the program. But it’s good for the talent to have another place to go, but they’re not really a competitor for the WWE. They’re more of an alternative for some of the fans to watch. But they’re a little bump in the road, actually.”
Besides Hacksaw Jim Duggan, you’ll hear over 150 uncut shoot interviews including: Bobby Heenan, Terri Runnels, Kevin Nash, The Iron Sheik, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Lashley, Kenny Dykstra, Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Eric Bischoff, Nikita Koloff, Nunzio, Armando Estrada, Dangerous Danny Davis, Ronnie Garvin, Colin Delaney, Jim Mitchell, Chris Harris, Ahmed Johnson,Glacier, Balls Mahoney, Francine, Sid Vicious, Paul Bearer, Brian Knobbs, Bruno Sammartino, Bryan Clark, Sean Mooney, Scott D’Amore, Tito Santana, Al Snow, Tod Gordon, JJ Dillon, Charlie Haas, Tom Prichard, Jacques Rougeau, Paul Roma, Jim Powers, Tammy Sytch, Too Cold Scorpio, The Honky Tonk Man, Ole Anderson, Kid Kash, Ivan Koloff, Jackie Gayda, Mr. Hughes, Scotty 2 Hotty, Dawn Marie, John Heidenreich, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Valiant, Rick Martel, Bad News Brown, Nick Bockwinkel, Dory Funk Jr, Diamond Dallas Page, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Mike Bucci, Samu,
Erik Watts, Buff Bagwell, Christian Cage, Jazz, Demolition Ax and Smash, Koko B. Ware, Ricky Morton, Lance Russell, Bruce Hart, Dustin “Goldust” Rhodes, Damian Demento, Fred “Shockmaster” Ottman, Justin Credible, Cpl. Kirchner, One Man Gang, Scott Steiner, Shawn Stasiak, Ted DiBiase, Ivory, Chris Masters, Elix Skipper, Kamala, Samoa Joe, Giant Bernard, Bill DeMott, Juvi “Juice” Guerrera, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Ni ck Dinsmore, Harley Race, Bull Buchanan, D-Lo Brown, Road Warrior A nimal, Missing Link, Rikishi, Slick, Nidia, George Steele, Christy Hemme, Disco Inferno, Paul Ellering, Vito, Steve Blackman, Bushwhacker Luke, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Dennis Stamp, Shawn Daivari, Kevin Sullivan, B.G. James, Ron Killings, Zach Gowan, D-Ray 3000, Dan Severn, Earl and Dave Hebner, Sivi Afi, Baron Von Raschke, Spike Dudley, Rodney Mack, Downtown Bruno, Larry Zybszko, Rick Steiner, Mae Young, and many, more.
James Guttman’s second book, “World Wrestling Insanity Presents: Shoot First…Ask Questions Later,” is available at BarnesandNoble.com or wherever books or sold.