Bobby Heenan Once Tried To Rib Jim Duggan With A Bird Of Prey

For more than four decades, fans have known WWE Hall of Famer "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan for his 2x4 and American flag-waving. He also was the winner of the first Royal Rumble match in 1988. Duggan joined AdFreeShows.com for a  live watch-along of the match and was asked about going a more cartoonish route with his persona.

"I think as my career went on, the character got a little crazier and sillier as it went on, but, folks, you don't last 40 years in the ring chopping meat," he said.

Duggan said wrestling was much stiffer in Mid-South, where he first caught fire, and he was always planning for self-preservation. That meant embracing a lighter side to the "Hacksaw" persona. With that in mind, Duggan recalled an idea the late Bobby Heenan came up with for him that Duggan wasn't crazy about.

"When I was the 'King of Wrestling' I had the cape, the crown, the flag, the board, the thumb, the tongue, the 'ho,' cross eyes, and Bobby Heenan's like, 'You know, Vince [McMahon], Duggan needs an eagle! We should get Duggan an eagle!'" Duggan said. "I'm like, 'Bobby, shut up! He'll get me an eagle as a rib! You know?' But yeah, the character did change over the years as it evolved."

Duggan makes it clear that there was a method to his madness, as he always says to fans: "I'm the last of the old-timers with all my original body parts, too."

In the wake of his watch-along, Duggan went into further detail regarding his career with an exclusive Wrestling Inc. interview.