WWE legend and Hall of Famer Jim Duggan recently opened up and differentiated between how business runs backstage now and how it was years ago. In a recent interview with Clutchpoints, Duggan was asked about the difference between the new generation and old generation wrestling locker rooms.
While Duggan did not share anything specific about the new generation locker room, he opened up in detail about how conflicts were solved backstage by the old generation wrestlers. Sharing a very scary example, Duggan recalled how business was taken care of in the show back in the day.
“ Well, the old generation, it was different. I mean, now, as I said, it was before sports entertainment. And you know, nowadays, WWE, Undertaker, when they, they had the wrestlers' court, and, you know, they'd sit, and they'd argue and talk over things. Back in the territory days, ‘Can I talk to you in the shower?’ It was a different deal. Bruiser Brody got stabbed to death in the shower. A lot of business was taken care of in the shower.
“But it, it was different. Nowadays, I think my generation of guys was much more creative, I think. You know, 'cause we all came up with our own gimmick. I think this generation of guys is much more athletic,” Duggan said.
The veteran further opened up and shared a story about the new generation of guys partied as compared to his generation. In the same interview with Clutchpoints arranged by Swiper Casino Canada, Duggan shared, “I was with WCW. We went to Australia, and I went down to the bar, right? And there's nothing but girls, and the guy there's like, ‘Free food and booze for you wrestlers, whatever you want.' I'm down there by myself like, ‘Where is everybody?”
“And I took the elevator to go up. They got security, and I get on, then get off the elevator. All of a sudden, I hear something, you know. ‘Oh, a party, all right.' So I go in the room. They're all in there playing video games. I said, ‘What's wrong with you kids? Go down there. Meet some women, drink some booze. Kill yourself. What's with you young guys?'” Duggan shared before sharing a laugh.
WWE legend Jim Duggan goes into detail about the older generation and newer generation wrestlers
He further opened up and claimed that the wrestlers in the early days of the business were much more laid back, and things changed when the business turned from an arena show to a television show.
“I think, yeah, the early days, it was a lot more laid back, you know. I think once they started doing nationwide TV, it changed from an arena show to a television show. And that transformation changed the guys' outlook.
“I know if you were on an arena show, you know where you're at, what's gonna happen. TV show, you're wondering, you know, how much camera time am I gonna get, how much verbiage on my interview. And that's another big one.
Article Continues Below“I went back to the WWE, and this young kid comes up to me and goes, ‘Mr.Duggan, here's your verbiage for your interview.' I said, ‘My verbiage for my interview? How's some punk kid gonna tell Hacksaw Jim Duggan how to cut his interview?' And they're like, ‘Well, this is what we want you to say.' I'm like, ‘Well, send me my check.' So I got a whole new respect for actors. It's very hard to deliver lines and stuff.”
Duggan claimed that he lost all of his mannerisms as “Hacksaw” doing the verbiage, but he got his lines straight. Agreeing that it was robotic, Duggan shared that he found a lot of respect for the new guys who could act.
“I lost all my mannerisms. I lost Hacksaw, but I got the lines down straight, buddy. That's why I have a whole new respect for guys that can act. It's much harder than I thought it would be to remember lines,” Duggan shared.
At 73 years old, Duggan retired from in-ring action a long time ago. However, he kept performing sporadically over the years for several indie promotions. A former NFL player and the inaugural 1988 WWE Royal Rumble winner, Duggan wrestled his last match in 2019 against former WWE UK Superstar Rohan Raja, aka Gursinder Singh, in Canada. A wrestling veteran, Duggan is best remembered for his successful runs in WWE and WCW, where he earned several achievements and championships. One of the older-generation guys, Duggan's last WWE match dates back to 2013, when he faced off against Jack Swagger and won via DQ.