Hacksaw Jim Duggan is the second inductee for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. The announcement was made last night on WWE Monday Night RAW. The 2011 Hall of Fame ceremony will be held on April 2, 2011 in the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the night before WrestleMania XXVII.
Duggan is a thirty plus year veteran in the pro wrestling business, first debuting in 1979. He cut his teeth in Texas and Georgia but first became a star when he joined Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling in 1982. While there he became a major fan favorite, honed his Hacksaw character and started carrying his trademark 2 x 4. Along the way he was a two time Mid-South Tag Team Champion and a North American Champion.
He became an international superstar when he joined the WWF in 1987. He became the flag-waving patriot and “policeman” of the WWF, often acting as the number two or number three “babyface” in the company and fought all of the top villains of the day. Along the way he became King of the Ring and won inaugural Royal Rumble match, held in 1988.
In 1994 he moved to World Championship Wrestling where he remained in the same flag waving patriot role. Along the way he became United States Champion and was the final WCW World Television Champion. After WCW folded in 2001, Duggan worked the independent circuit until he made an improbable return to WWE in 2006, where he worked primarily in the undercard and in a nostalgia role. His final full time appearance with the company was in Royal Rumble 2009.
Duggan is one of the most iconic wrestlers of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and is often thought of in the same regards as other legends like Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. He was and is a larger than life character; the type that is often missing in today’s wrestling landscape and is more than worthy of this induction.
He will inducted into the Hall by “Million $ Man” Ted DiBiase, a former ally and opponent from their early days in Mid-South Wrestling and two men who crossed paths numerous times during their tenure in the WWF together.
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