"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was the winner of the first ever Royal Rumble in 1988. He recently recalled that moment and sounded off on Vince McMahon's legacy.

When you're a wrestling fan growing up in Upstate New York you have a tremendous amount of pride knowing that Jim Duggan was born and raised here, too. There have many wrestlers that have come out of New York State, and each one has their own claim to fame.

Mick Foley being a hardcore legend. Icons like Gorilla Monsoon and trailblazers like Chyna all hail from the Empire State. However "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is Upstate's own and his claim to fame is being the winner of the first Royal Rumble held.

Duggan was recently on the Busted Open podcast to talk about that now historic Rumble win but also provide some commentary on the controversy surrounding former WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

While we all know that wrestling is scripted, Duggan said he had no idea until the day of the Rumble that he was going to walk away the winner of the big event. He said that moment is the biggest of his career.

Nobody was more surprised than me to win that sucker that’s for sure man. Obviously it’s the biggest feather in my cap. You know I was never world champion, I was never tag team champion, I was never Intercontinental Champion, I was lucky to win a match brother.

When he was asked about Vince McMahon he said that everyone knows that Vince isn't a "good person" but also knows that his legacy wouldn't be what it is without McMahon.

I tell you what; at 71 years old, I’ve traveled the world, signing autographs and pictures with people. And that wouldn’t have happened without Vince McMahon.

The WWE Royal Rumble takes place February 1, 2025 at 6pm Eastern and is sure to have a few surprises as the night unfolds. How amazing would it be to hear Hacksaw's iconic music hit and see him run out with that two by four in hand?

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Gallery Credit: Will Phillips