SCRANTON — “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is a professional wrestler who carries an American flag and a 2×4 plank of wood, but on Friday, March 25, Duggan will enter Scranton’s Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel as a comedian who carries an American flag and a 2×4 plank of wood. He calls it the “2×4 Comedy Tour,” and credits fellow wrestler Mic Foley for the inspiration to start telling his story.
“I think Mic was the first guy to start doing these type of shows,” Duggan said. “We have them at comedy venues, but it’s not comedy as a lot of folks think it is. It’s kind of a behind-the-scenes look at professional wrestling, road stories about Jake “The Snake” Roberts and his python Damien, ring stories about Andre the Giant, stories about Bret Hart and Owen Hart.”
Duggan started doing live shows with Roberts and, last summer, toured the United Kingdom with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. He said people seem interested in the look behind the curtain of golden age wrestling that live shows like his offer, and although the comedy side of the entertainment industry has its perks, wrestling will always be part of him.
“The main thing I like (about comedy) is definitely not having some great big guy beating the devil out of me,” Duggan said. “Wrestling is a very physical business and it’s extremely competitive. I’ve been doing it now for over 35 years and every once in awhile I still get in the ring. It’s my life’s blood. I joke and say I’m going to get a walker made of 2x4s.”
38 year-old Ashley resident Alan Dudeck remembered watching Duggan on television when he was 6. Dudeck was a fan of the wrestler Big John Studd, but after his grandmother led him to believe Duggan was a returning Studd, his allegiances changed. On March 25, Dudeck will open for his accidental favorite.
“I’m super excited to actually be able to meet him and I probably will be doing some wrestling-themed jokes,” Dudeck said. “It’s going to be a blast.”
According to promoter and show host Kevin Lepka, Duggan and Dudeck will be joined March 25 with sets from comedians Dan Hoppel and Ted Herbert. There will also be a Q&A session with Duggan at the end of the WWE Hall of Famer’s performance.
“It’s not just a stand-up performance, he’s going to be telling stories about wrestling, ring stories and road trip stories, as well as an interactive Q&A with the audience at the tail end of his performance so you can ask him whatever you want,” Lepka said.
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan has wrestled for multiple organizations and, among other accomplishments, became the first man to win WWE’s annual Royal Rumble match in 1988, among other accomplishments. Now he’s turned his attention to comedy, and on March 25 he’ll bring Old Glory and his 2×4 to Scranton to illicit “U-S-A” chants from the crowd at Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel. For fans wondering what to expect from a professional wrestler’s stand-up set, Duggan explained it as only he could: “You can go to the movies on any weekend, but for a fun, unique night out it’s the Hacksaw show, tough guy! Hooo!”
