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Joe Babinsack Reviews Timeline 88 With Jim Duggan

Posted: Oct 27th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Kayfabe Commentarie?s ongoing project to document the history of the WWE, via various voices, with each DVD taking up a year of the promotion, continues to be one of the most interesting and valuable projects in the wrestling industry.

Along the way, we get a perspective on a particular star, typically someone hip-deep in the timeline (as opposed to hip-deep in the fertilizer content), and some fascinating commentary on the era.

Sometimes, we also get some insight and personal perspective of the star. In this case, the fact that ?Hacksaw? Jim Duggan realizes that his infamous pull-over on that New Jersey highway in 1987 wasn?t just an embarrassment to his company, but also pretty much prevented him from ever seeing the Heavyweight Gold, is a strong example of the depth and candor anticipated in the series.

Sure, there?s also another two hours of Hacksaw in character, Hacksaw egging Sean Oliver into giving a ?HOOOO?, and Hacksaw spouting off various levels of worked and shoot commentary. And it?s obvious from Duggan that while he?s there to entertain, tell stories and detail the happenings of 1988 (which wasn?t the year he got pulled over, but the year after), that one of the underlying purposes of his efforts was to keep his name alive, and keep his status active, and keep his opinions well within the realm of gaining work in the industry.

I wouldn?t call it shameless, because it?s just part of the expectations, but it does make current commentaries and current opinions on the current players rather blas?.

Which plays into the weakness of this episode of ?TIMELINE: The History of WWE: 1988?

I?ve reviewed a handful or more of the years, and this one strayed from the timeline more than others. Not that it?s ultimately bad, but 1988 wasn?t exactly a dead year in the industry, and there just seemed to be more that could have been said than to pick out a random, often trivial date and minor event, and then comment upon it. Instead, some of the bigger pictures ended up being talks about Hogan, about the early 1990?s, about the late 1990?s, about five years ago, about two years ago, and about how Duggan became ?Hacksaw? and how he broke in.

Not that there?s anything wrong with that!

Actually, there are two rather annoying things, and then I?ll sway positive. First, there?s just got to be better music for the timeline interludes. It was worse, in the past, with some form of quasi-documentary trumpeting that reminded me of some bad WWII documentary. Now, it?s some form of quasi-documentary music that sounds like a bad European travel documentary.
The other issue is that ?bitterness of Bruno Sammartino? commentary, which I commented upon recently (in another piece on this site, www.f4wonline.com, for those who like to see writing on the place of origin, or linked accordingly.) If Jim Duggan isn?t sure why Bruno Sammartino feels the way he does, then why express uncertainty? Why not find out?
But regardless of my annoyances, Timeline: 1988 is an in-depth approach, with hundreds of dates and events, both trivial and not so trivial (Adrian Adonis and others died in a Car Crash in 1988), and Duggan?s own unique commentary throughout.

What I enjoy about Duggan is his approach to pro wrestling. Even in comedic roles, and for the most part, the whole ?Hacksaw? persona is in part comedic, Duggan obviously plays the role to the hilt, and never fails to take his job seriously.

I?m always unsure of how many fans remember or know the history of Duggan?s arrival in the then WWF. Duggan arrived, brandishing a 2x4 and interrupting Nikolai Volkoff?s horrific singing of the USSR National Anthem, and clearing house. He was a member of the winning team of the 1987 Survivor Series, and won the first Royal Rumble a little later.

That was the period where Hogan was winding down his first run, and despite conventional wisdom, Hogan was running out of steam. In many ways, if it wasn?t for the purchase of the UWF by Jim Crockett, and the mishandling of the merger with World Championship Wrestling, would the WWE be injected with the talents of Ted DiBiase, The One Man Gang (Akeem), Duggan, Butch Reed and others?

Although Randy Savage ended up with the WWF Belt, the push Duggan received was striking. When Duggan admits that being pulled over, and even though he was never charged with cocaine possession, the taint of him both being caught with drugs, and as even he admits, being caught with a villain at the time, derailed him from the Championship picture. Even though he got a much lesser charge, the impact on his career was significant.

It doesn?t take much adding to conclude that his run should have been in 1988 or shortly thereafter.

(The other question arising from that incident is how it may have sped up Vince?s much publicized ?entertainment? argument to save taxes in New Jersey. Heck, the cover was already blown? and the embarrassment to the company explained quite well in Duggan?s own words on the DVD.)

Duggan talks up his program with Andre the Giant, and throws in a few archetypical ?mean, nasty, beer drinking giant? stories, and an intriguing discussion of him getting bloody the ?hardway? when he rushed out to accept the Giant?s challenge.

From his origins as the son of the Police Chief of Glen Falls, New York, through his surviving kidney cancer, to his current happenings, we hear it all from the very entertaining personality of Hacksaw Duggan.

His stories about the various promotions he worked help to flesh out his approach to the business. Few others have had the passion and talent of the big man from Glen Falls, and hearing Duggan talk about getting a role, making the most of it, and making it entertaining is awesome.

Who else could be asked to clean a toilet with a toothbrush, in an obvious attempt to derail his career, and instead turn the tables and endear himself even more with the audience?

(Hmmm. Dusty Rhodes may have done a similar job!)

But what?s intriguing is that despite all the dumping on him by WCW, Duggan still plugs away, hoping for one more run, one more appearance on the big stage.

And it?s hard to fault him for that. Duggan has such an infectious personality: a level of charisma that allowed him to take up the mantle of patriotism that readily would have put Hogan to pasture, and a sense of the business that kept the fires of his talents burning through the worst that WCW and TNA and even modern day WWE could throw at him.

Duggan also explains his friendships with Jake Roberts, strange enough, as well as his friendships with the late Terry Gordy and the late Steve ?Dr. Death? Williams. Interestingly enough, he was roommates with both wrestlers, but the three were never in the same place at the same time, with Gordy and Williams spending long stints in Japan (Most famously as the Miracle Violence Combination.)

?Hacksaw? talks about how he got his name, how he learned the business, and of course, helps to flesh out the happenings of 1988 in the WWF (as well as the WCW and elsewhere.) The DVD works on many levels: it?s a great retrospective of Jim Duggan?s career, it?s an interesting insight from a main event worker of the era, and it?s a glimpse at a vastly talented wrestler who caught one of the most unfortunate breaks of all time in the sport.

I?ve still got, unbelievably, a Jim Cornette DVD and a New Jack DVD on the stack of stuff, but there?s still something about ?Hacksaw? Jim Duggan that made me cue up the DVD player, stick in the plastic, and enjoy watching him.

Who doesn?t scream ?HOOOOO!? and start chanting ?USA!USA!USA!? right along with the man?

I defy you to prove me otherwise.