During a recent interview on Busted Open, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan spoke about why he wrote his book, his relationship with Steve Austin, his thoughts on Vince Russo and more. Here are some highlights:
Why he wrote his book: “There has been so many negative things said about professional wrestling and professional wrestlers. The movie ‘The Wrestler’ with that jerk Mickey Rourke, with all the stories about Scott Hall and Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, I just wanted to put a positive spin on wrestling. It’s been a great business for me. I have been doing it for 33 years, I’ve been with my wife for 28 years, my kids go to school, I live in my home and pay my bills. I live kind of a normal life. Guys like myself, Roddy Piper, Tito Santana have been successful in this business.”
His thoughts on Vince Russo: “I can never understand that whole TNA deal. Russo took all the resources WCW had and flushed it down the toilet. Why would you give him control of your company? It doesn’t make any sense. Russo tried to take a lot of the credit for the turnaround of the WWE. Vince McMahon is an awful lot like Bill Watts. Bill would listen to Ernie Ladd, and Bill Dundee, and Buck Robley. McMahon has a whole group of guys he listens to, but he is the one that makes the decisions. He is the captain of the ship. Vince McMahon should take credit for turning that company around, not Vince Russo.”
His thoughts on Steve Austin in WCW: “We were never really close. There were two different camps in WCW. There was the Ric Flair camp with Arn Anderson and Steve Austin. Myself, I came in with Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart and there was a Hulk Hogan camp. So there were two different groups down there. So there was a lot of friction. It was just kind of a change in the business. In my day when I was breaking in, you would pass the torch and do the job for the other guy and the guy would do the job for you to make you a headliner. So I expected that from Steve, but the business started to change. Austin was more worried about his own persona than he was about the company and passing the torch. That’s just the way the business has evolved.”
Being in Mid-South: “Bill Watts liked tough guys. ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams obviously is a tough guy and myself and Terry Gordy, and I hit it off with ‘Doc’ and we became best friends. He in turn became best friends with Gordy. The three of us became so close and unfortunately I am the only one who survived but I am also a cancer survivor. We did a lot of stuff to our bodies and paid the price. But Mid South was such a tough territory. You were your own security. All the heels had to stay ’til the end. You all had to walk out and go to your cars together because people were waiting for you. If you lost a bar fight, you were fired in Mid South. It was really a rough, tough atmosphere down there and a lot of guys got stretched. They had a waiver, if you think it’s fake, you come in the ring and we will show you if it’s fake or not. That’s how it was in the Mid South.”
