James Edward Duggan Jr., better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American retired professional wrestler. His best-known character is a patriot who swings a 2x4 at opponents, cries "Hoooooo!" continually with a thumbs up and leads chants of U-S-A!
Duggan at a fan signing for wounded soldiers
Duggan in a WWF event
Jim Duggan with fan in Dayton, Ohio 1988.
Duggan poses for the fans
The 1988 Royal Rumble was the inaugural Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 24, 1988, at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event aired as a television special on the USA Network on the same night as Jim Crockett Promotions' Bunkhouse Stampede pay-per-view (PPV) and was centered on the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. It would be the only Royal Rumble event to broadcast as a television special, as beginning with the 1989 event, it began airing on pay-per-view. After the launch of the WWE Network in 2014, this inaugural Royal Rumble was included with the rest of the Royal Rumble events in the PPV section.
The 1988 Royal Rumble logo
The inaugural Royal Rumble was held at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Bret Hart, the #1 entrant of the Royal Rumble match and the first wrestler ever to enter a Royal Rumble match.
Jim Duggan, who won the Royal Rumble match.