Live Report: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan’s One Man Show

Driving into work on Wednesday morning, I was changing radio stations when I heard an unmistakable gravelly voice.

“Is that Hacksaw?”

The patriotic powerhouse was on NJ 101.5 telling an Andre story. He wrestled him 54 nights in a row, and it was the biggest honor of his life. But at 7’4 and well over 500 pounds, the giant also stunk. Somedays he couldn’t fit in the hotel shower, so he went au naturale. And it was on those days when Jim Duggan would be trapped in Andre’s singlet strap, gasping for air as the 8^th Wonder of the World laughed.

The radio host announced they were giving out tickets to Duggan’s one-man show taking place that night at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, New Jersey. I called up the contest line and the receptionist gave them right up.

I went from being late for work to seeing Hacksaw live. HOOOOOO!

About 20-25 people showed up at the comedy club for a very intimate evening with the wrasslin’ legend. Duggan marched out in black dress slacks, a black Under Armour-style shirt, and his trademark 2×4. His act is a biography of his career, a hilarious shoot interview of sorts. While some wrestlers like Mick Foley try to appeal to everyone at these shows, Duggan knows his audience and knows what to give them. Aside from explaining what insider terms like “heel” and “rib” mean, he kept it straight wrasslin’ for the diehards.

I didn’t know about his pre-Mid-South days, so those territory stories were fresh and fun. Of course, his WWF stories are worth the price of admission. You’ll still be cracking up about his Jake the Snake, Andre and Undertaker anecdotes on the ride home. With so few stars of that magical era still alive, Duggan serves as the bard of the good ol’ days.

His comedy is clean – I only caught two “shits.” He’s also honest and answered every question during the Q/A, which was almost as long as his monologue. He didn’t get along with Vince Russo, he still keeps in touch with Roberts and Ted DiBiase and he became really close with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper during Legends’ House. Apparently, there’s lots of footage they didn’t show (if only there was a network for that).

You always get some fools who use their one chance to ask a superstar anything and waste it with: “Who did you throw out to win the Rumble?” “Did you ever wrestle Superstar Billy Graham?” “How about Ivan Koloff?”

Then one guy thought he was real slick and asked “During the steroid days of the 80s, did guys just turn a blind eye?” Despite the interrogative tone of the question, Duggan, to his credit, quickly admitted to taking them and explained how people didn’t know the risks back then. But it just felt like a slimy move during a fun night of memories and bar stories.

After the roughly two-hour show, Duggan went to the merch table full of autographed 8x10s, action figures and autographed pieces of 2×4. When walking through the club, he shook everybody’s hands and thanked them for coming.

We all commended him on such a good show. You could tell he’s still new to it, but man, he delivered. He also had zero notes up there. Hell, he didn’t even have a sip of water until at least an hour in!

I highly recommend you check out Hacksaw’s show when it comes to your town. Although his career spans many generations, fans of the late 80s-early 90s WWF will certainly enjoy themselves.

Make sure you ask for his favorite Mr. Fuji story.