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HACKSAW DUGGAN & NIKOLAI VOLKOFF INTERVIEWS
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 In 1990, Nikolai Volkoff saw the error of his
communist ways and teamed with the proud American, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.
This week, for the first time in 15 years, we reunite that team on The
Interactive Interview!
Nikolai Volkoff, a Class of 2005 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee,
joins the show for a rare 20 minute interview where he discusses everything
from his early match with Bruno Sammartino, his 70's run, the 1980's, his
feeling that Hulk Hogan killed wrestling, ECW, and so much more!
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is a wrestling legend. In this 45
minute interview, Hacksaw discusses everything from his transition from football
to wrestling, the Mid-South and UWF, the WWF, knocking Andre the Giant out,
where the famed "HOO!" came from, Shawn Michaels, WCW's rise and fall, his
cancer fight, Team Canada, the XWF, TNA, Japan, and his challenge to fight
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin over his abuse of women! Whew! That's a whole lot
of stuff in a short amount of time!
Rounding out this epic show is Chris Yandek of
www.NewEraofWrestling.com and www.TheSportsInterview.com as he joins us to
preview No Way Out, his interviews through the years, and so much more! And,
by listening to the recap you can win a FREE copy of Tietam Brown, Mick Foley's
book!
All this and so much more is available right now, for
free, from your friends at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com!
 .: Visit
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan's Official Site Right Now!
.: Visit
Nikolai Volkoff's Official Site Right Now!
.: Visit
Chris Yandek's "New Era of Wrestling" Right Now!
.: Visit
Chris Yandek's "The Sports Interview" Right Now!
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"HACKSAW" JIM DUGGAN &
NIKOLAI VOLKOFF
-- The show opens with a brief opening statement by James
telling you the schedule for this edition. This quickly runs into the Russian
National Anthem as James welcomes Nikolai.
-- Nikolai is pleased to be a part of the Hall of
Fame.
-- Nikolai's fily has been in wrestling for years. This
is why he wanted to be a wrestler.
-- Early on, Nikolai worked with Bruno Sammartino. Nikolai
says he always was a fan of Bruno and when he told Bruno he had his picture
in a scrap book, Bruno called him a goofy name kidding around.
-- Nikolai enjoyed being a part of the Mongols very much.
He shares a few stories about this tag team.
-- "To tell you the truth, I think he killed the business,"
said Nikolai about Hulk Hogan. He mentions how they did good numbers in the
60's and 70's and doesn't feel Hogan "made" the business as some, including
TII host James, feels.
-- Nikolai felt the entire WWF Rock 'n' Wrestling era
was "cartoonish." James asks if he hated the Hulk Hogan cartoon show. Nikolai
says he absolutely hated it.
-- Nikolai says there is no doubt Wrestlemania III had
93,000 people there. Nikolai even extends the idea that there were more than
93,000 people. James agrees with that and enjoys sticking it to the "smart"
crowd who hate to admit that crowd's size.
-- Nikolai isn't sure why his match with the Hart Foundation
at Wrestlemania VI was so short. "I think Sheik had to catch an early plane,"
said Nikolai.
-- Turning face for Nikolai was fun but he still feels
it was cartoonish.
-- Nikolai uses the same word when describing ECW which
throws James off a bit.
-- Nikolai doesn't have much to say about his time with
the Million Droller Corporation. He remembers getting his revenge on
DiBiase.
-- Nikolai then tells the story about how singing the
Russian National Anthem came about.
-- The show then runs a brief commercial playing station
identifications done by such superstars as "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Jake "The
Snake" Roberts, Sting, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Diamond Dallas Page, Marty
Jannetty, Bruno Sammartino, Sherri Martel, Terri Runnels, and so many more.
A very cool commercial and a good chance to catch your breath.
-- The show returns with a guy who will take your breath
away if you try to keep up with him. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan's "USA" theme from
the 1993 WWF Superstars CD plays followed immediately by the one and only
"Hacksaw" himself!
-- Hacksaw starts out by saying he has to start the interview
off by giving a big "HOO!!!" as it fires him up. He then encourages Erik
and James to fire away.
-- Hacksaw's doing great. He has been working some indy
events these days but the main thing he's involved in is a new real estate
venture called the "DDC," Duggan Development Company. Hacksaw jokes saying
DDP probably would get a kick out of the name.
-- Hacksaw thought Wrestle Reunion was great. He isn't
sure how the promoter made much money off of it, though. He says the final
count that he heard was 86 stars were at the event and he figures about 70
of them needed transportation. But, he thinks the fans had fun getting to
interact with the wrestlers and legends and the wrestlers themselves had
fun as well getting to see some old faces again for the first time in a while.
-- Hacksaw wanted to be a professional football player
above all else. But, he was told by Fritz Von Erich that he'd make a good
professional wrestler. After his college football days at SMU, he was picked
up by the Atlanta Falcons in 1977. He didn't really make it big in Atlanta
and headed to Canada. He realized his football career wasn't going to take
off so he took Fritz Von Erich's advice and became a professional wrestler.
-- Hacksaw really enjoyed working for Bill Watts in the
Mid South/UWF. Hacksaw feels Watts always treated him well but treated him
especially well after Junkyard Dog and Jake "The Snake" Roberts went to the
WWF. To this day, the area where Mid South ran is a hot bed for Hacksaw to
work and Mid South remains a high point in his career.
-- The idea to carry the 2 x 4 came while Hacksaw was
working for Joe Blanchard in San Antonio, Texas. He was brought down to feud
with Bruiser Brody who needed a big guy to be a heel and work with. That
territory had a lot of guys with fancy robes and such but Brody told Hacksaw,
"If you're going to carry something to the ring, make it something you can
use." And, that's where the 2 x 4 came from.
-- The trademark "HOO!" which James does a poor version
of and Hacksaw rips on him for, just came from his heart. James says he always
wondered where the idea came from because Johnny Carson did something like
that and so did the Thunder Cats. Hacksaw doesn't know what the Thunder Cats
were. James just about sings the theme song before realizing it's time to
let that one go. Hacksaw jokes and says a lot of guys thought, when he was
up in New York, that he was calling for a girl. The three chuckle.
-- When asked about the incident with the Iron Sheik,
Hacksaw says, "The drug situation in the WWF in the 80's was just like the
drug situation in society. That's when our former President Bill Clinton
was smoking pot along with me and a whole lot of other people." Hacksaw goes
on to say the WWF back then was not like a team as most people say but like
a band that was hot at the time. They'd tour constantly and live the lifestyle.
Hacksaw talks about taking downers to get to sleep on the plane, other pills
to get you excited for the shows, and all the pain killers. He says a lot
of guys have trouble getting out of those habits.
-- The cop saw Hacksaw and Iron Sheik drinking in the
car and pulled them over. He was arrested for possession of less than a quarter
ounce of pot. Iron Sheik had pot and cocaine. Though his record was cleared
6 months later, Hacksaw says he never fully recovered from the incident but
since he was over 21, he should've known better.
-- Knocking Andre the Giant out with the 2 x 4 was the
highlight of Hacksaw's career in his opinion as he is the only man to have
done so. "It's something I'll always remember and it's something I'll always
appreciate the Giant doing for me."
-- Hacksaw felt he and Yokozuna had some great matches
and put on some great TV. He had the chance to get to know the big guy pretty
well. In addition, he feels Mr. Fugi added a lot to his character.
-- "I'll tell you... They gave him the bus, they gave
him the big push, and he still couldn't carry the USA gimmick," says Hacksaw
about Lex Luger in 1993.
-- Hacksaw feels Vince has tried to create a new version
of the Hacksaw character over the years and nobody pulls it off. James mentions
that Ahmed Johnson carried a board for a little while and it just wasn't
natural. Hacksaw agrees and says even the Big Show carried a board but nobody
did it the way he does it. He then says even Kurt Angle, who Hacksaw feels
is a great worker, doesn't pull off the USA gimmick as well as Hacksaw feels
he did and still does on the indy scene.
-- Hacksaw liked working with Shawn Michaels because
he knows he came up the hard way. They never were friends but Hacksaw always
liked him. But, Shawn got a bigger and bigger head as time went on and his
reputation became that of a jerk.
-- Hacksaw decided to go down to WCW when Turner offered
him a no-cut contract. Hacksaw feels Turner was getting more competitive
as he had Hogan, Jimmy Hart, Beefcake, and a lot of the WWF guys going down
to WCW. He also says he feels that opened the door for guys like Hunter and
Austin to go up to the WWF and they did leave WCW and do that.
-- Hulk Hogan was involved in Hacksaw going to WCW. When
Hogan decided he was going to go, Hacksaw thought that since they both played
off their characters as wrestlers that the door was open for his style. So,
Hogan helped Hacksaw get a no-cut contract. Duggan feels that's the most
important part of being a wrestler since it is a business. Winning belts
is great but the measure of success is how well-off you are financially once
you leave the business.
-- Hacksaw didn't think Steve Austin would catch on the
way he did. "You know, that's what Vince does for somebody. I don't think
Austin went up there with the "Stone Cold" deal. I think Vince gave him the
"Stone Cold" deal and he carried the ball and did well with it. But, he's
not a friend of mine and I don't think too much of the guy. I think anybody
that beats up women regularly is not much of a man. I told him that after
the Halloween Havoc match and his bogus knee injury. I chased him out of
the ring, went into his locker room, and told him what I thought about him.
And Austin, if you can hear me, brother, I'm not a hard guy to find! You
ducked me before and I'm sure you'll duck me again, tough guy!" It is unclear
to me if Hacksaw was cutting a promo for our enjoyment or if he actually
wants to fight Austin. But, the 3 then discuss how they would measure up
in a fight. Austin is shorter and lighter and has a bad neck and 2 bad knees,
Duggan has a bad knee, the kidney, and is about 10 years older than Austin
but still feels he could take him in a fight.
-- Hacksaw feels Hall and Nash are 2 of the best talents
in the history of the business. But, there have never been 2 guys who were
more detrimental to a company as they were to WCW. Hacksaw says the thing
is they came in and were hot with the start of the NWO thing but Hogan flipped
over and became heel and is why it took off to the level it did. "Hogan's
the master, you've got to give it to him."
-- Hacksaw doesn't believe Vince sent Hall, Nash, and
Russo to WCW to kill it "but that's a great story."
-- Hacksaw feels Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo never
liked his character. He feels a lot of what they had him do in WCW was an
attempt to get him to quit or end his contract with them early. He feels
this is why he never faced Hogan even though he challenged him on Nitro a
few times.
-- About the Thunder where they showed the promo of Hacksaw
telling everyone he had cancer, Hacksaw is asked if he was comfortable showing
that side of himself to the people. "Nope, not at all. A friend of mine,
Terry Taylor, who I've known for years said, "These fans have been with you
for 20+ years, they want to hear from you."" So, he did it. Hacksaw said
it was hard to talk about because he didn't want to talk to anybody at that
time because he didn't know if he'd survive much less return to wrestling.
But, by the grace of God and through early detection, he's still with us
today.
-- James mentions an emotional quote Bobby Heenan said
to him off the air one time about how everybody should get cancer once in
their life so they realize what is important in life. Hacksaw says he doesn't
agree with the part about everybody getting cancer because he wouldn't wish
it on his worst enemy but says it does make you appreciate what you have
so much more.
-- When Hacksaw returned, he remembers taking a piledriver
from Brian Adams and losing the match. Brian stood up, played to the crowd,
got no reaction at all. Hacksaw stood up, gave them a big "HOO!" and the
crowd chanted USA at him. He went backstage, confronted Bischoff and told
him "You can't kill me off. You beat me every night and I still get the
reaction." So, they didn't get along too well.
-- The janitor thing didn't bother him because he knew
as long as he was on TV, he'd get it over. His segments on TV were some of
the highest rated of the show.
-- Hacksaw was approached about turning on the USA and
he was a little apprehensive about it. "Geez, are they going to put me with
Korea or Iraq?" "Oh, we're going to put you with Team Canada!" Hacksaw laughs
and says "It's not like we have a lot of heat with Canada!" So, he didn't
mind the switch but felt it wasn't that great because Hacksaw is stomping
around the ring chasing around Major Guns and Lance was whispering into the
microphone. Hacksaw said they told him he had to "tone it down" while he's
out there and Hacksaw said no, Lance had to "turn his up." "It's not my fault
the kid can't carry the load."
-- Hacksaw thinks Lance is an okay wrestler.
-- Hacksaw loved WCW Saturday Night because it was a
family based wrestling show and they had their own angles to run. He liked
working with Fidel Sierra and defending the WCW TV title. He feels the funny
thing is they had 1/8 the budget of Thunder and yet they were getting just
about the same rating.
-- Hacksaw didn't mind the gimmick where Goldberg punched
him in the kidney. He was just glad they were giving him the chance to do
something in between the revolving doors of bookers. He feels Russo and Bischoff
didn't like you unless you did "all those fancy dance moves and fly off the
top rope even if the fans are sitting on their hands during all that. If
I can stand in the ring, stick my thumb up in the air and say "HOO!" and
get 70 or 80% of the audience to chant USA with me, tell me, who is the better
professional wrestler?" James jumps in saying he has this fight with a lot
of Internet wrestling fans because acrobatics are tremendous if you can do
them but because wrestling is an entertainment business, what matters is
who the fans connect with. James says he'd take a Hacksaw Jim Duggan and
Hulk Hogan over a CM Punk and Rey Mysterio any day of the week because you'll
actually make money with Hacksaw and Hogan.
-- "It's PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! They wanted to be all
hot and clicky and appeal to the college kids," said Hacksaw about WCW near
the end.
-- Hacksaw tells a story about a 22-year-old kid coming
up to him and handing him his promo for that night at the end of WCW. Hacksaw
just said, "Sure, I'll say it. Send me my check." Hacksaw said it was just
like being on the Titanic. You knew it was going down and you just couldn't
stop it.
-- Hacksaw says Orndorff took the bump at the end of
WCW so he could sue them because he knew it was going down. "Everybody
knew."
-- Hacksaw tells the kids he sees at indy shows that
this is professional wrestling. The oddity that is the WWE just happened
but wrestling is 5 guys in a car driving from town to town.
-- Hacksaw really thought the XWF would pick up. He doesn't
know why it didn't ever get off the ground.
-- Hacksaw was called by TNA to do a few shows and see
what he thought of it. He knew pretty quickly that they were going to use
him to put over the young guys and not do very much for him. So, it didn't
last long.
-- The reason he did the thing with Jarrett in late 2003
was a favor to Jimmy Hart, one of Hacksaw's good friends. "Hardest working
man in the wrestling business," says Hacksaw about Jimmy.
-- Hacksaw says he has a new web site up,
www.HacksawJimDuggan.com. He likes the way it looks and is glad to have it
online. Promoters can book Hacksaw through this site for upcoming live events.
-- We then do word associations with names like Randy
Savage who Duggan calls insane, Diamond Dallas Page, Eric Bischoff, Vince
McMahon, and so many more. One I want to include is Lex Luger who Hacksaw
completely rips on for beating up Elizabeth. He also shares a story about
how Elizabeth looked at her funeral with caked make-up to hide the bruises.
Very sad.
-- Hacksaw also talks in depth about Hennig, Rude, Kerry
Von Erich, and the Big Bossman who Duggan wrestled just days before he died.
-- In the recap, we are joined by Chris Yandek of
www.thesportsinterview.com and www.neweraofwrestling.com. By listening to
this recap, you can walk away with a free copy of Mick Foley's book!
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