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Q&A with pro wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Posted: Nov 22nd 2015 By: Timesunion.com

Q: A lot of people who follow you know you are from Glens Falls. You will be back in the area Sunday giving your expert analysis on the Survivor Series in a fan engaged event on the internet (Internet Marketing Ninjas YouTube channel).

A: I've been doing a little work for them. I'm trying something new. I hope it will be a lot of fun.

Q: You are 61 years old. Do you still get in the ring?

A: (laughs) Occasionally. Believe it or not. I just got in from Eugene, Oregon. But (pro wrestling) is a kid's activity. At this stage of my life, I am limited with my athletic ability. But I can still entertain a crowd. There is more than just taking bumps. I can still get the crowd going. I have been chanting "USA, USA!" since 1979. I have been going for quite awhile. When I get on the ring now, it's more like "Dancing With the Stars" (laughs).

Q: Well, you certainly have had longevity.

A: It's one of the things I am most proud of it. In my WWF heyday, I wrestled Ted DiBiase, Bob Orton and Dusty Rhodes. When I came back in the WEE, I was wrestling their kids.

Q: Doing this for so long, you must have a long list of injuries.

A: I'm a little banged up. I have had 10 surgeries. Four knee surgeries. Wrist. Shoulder. Really been banged up. But I still get around.

Q: Would you say you are an iconic name in the game? You and your 2x4 heading into the ring with the "U-S-A!" chant.

A: I guess. Maybe. But some of the fans were always not so flattering. I think our generation, back in the 1980s, was the golden age of wrestling. Hulk Hogan. Macho Man Randy Savage. Even to this day, we come on to the younger kids.

Q: Speaking of those 2x4's, how many of them do you have?

A: (laughs). I have gone through a bunch of them over the years. I have signed them for fans. It has been a great thing for me to carry all those years. If you are going to carry something into the ring, that's what it should be. I'm not going to carry a feather bow! It has been a good symbol.

Q: Do you think you are as popular as you used to be?

A: I still do a lot of different things. I am going to a charity golf tournament in December. I've been to every state in the Union, a lot of different countries.

Q: So, there is no intention of giving it up.

A: No. Jake and Snake (Roberts) and I do stand up shows. People ask questions, and we tell wrestling stories. They have been hugely popular. Hopefully, we'll play one in the
northeast in early spring and I'll get closer to back home. I hope to get to the Albany area.

Q: Where is home now?

A: We (he and wife Debra) recently moved to Lugoff, South Carolina.

Q: So, when you go out in public, do you ever get guys who want to pick a fight with you because you are a wrestler?

A: It's not like you can never go out. I don't go out that much anyway. If you meet 100 people, 99 of them are always very polite. There always seems to be the one guy who wants to arm wrestle you or he'll say you look bigger on TV. Actually, it's great the people still remember me. Everyone comes up to me and starts yelling "Hooo!" (his catchphrase).
If I am in Scotland or in England, no one knows who Peyton Manning is, but they know me.