Moment of truth here, I am not always the one that comes up with the subject matter for SQUASH of the Week. Sometimes they come from readers like you, sometimes they come from folks on Facebook, and sometimes they are courtesy of other folks here on the site. So when Jordan suggested I cover Hulk Hogan squashing Hacksaw Jim Duggan, my mind immediately started spinning….when on earth would this ever have happened? I thought perhaps during the Hulkster’s Hollywood phase maybe lowered himself to be on, I dunno, Thunder or something but that wasn’t the case.
Nope, this one took place WAY back in 1981 (!!!!) when Duggan wasn’t Hacksaw, but instead just an ever so slightly doughy looking guy in the plainest tights you ever did see. But look closely and you see a future there. One that doesn’t exist with him vaguely waving to the crowd, but rather with a lot of gung HO you might say.
As for the Hulkster, here he was decked out in the shiniest robe imaginable, gold and purple and looking like a million bucks. Even today that would be a pretty dope outfit for someone to pull out of the mothballs.
So the two do a nice lockup, and Hogan muscles him back into the ropes, showing Duggan who’s the man here today. What’s interesting is that if you look at the two, while Duggan is smaller, the size difference ain’t that big. I mean, you bring in Hogan I’d be throwing guys like Sky Low Low at him to really put over just what a giant he is.
Another lockup, and then we get Hogan working the arm as Duggan does his best to try to come up with a counter. And hey is that ref Danny Davis? Not sure, but this guy does sport a horrendous hairdo so maybe it is.
We get a battle of FISTICUFFS next which Hogan clearly wins after raking Duggan’s eyes. He follows that up with the phoniest, lightest knee drop you will ever witness.
Speaking of phony and light, check out that elbow and sell job by Duggan! Holy crap, these guys wound up a zillion times better as the years went on.
Duggan tries some more punches, but right back to the eyes goes Hogan who then chokes him on the ropes. The Hulkster then gives Duggan a flying knee. I bet somewhere Brutus Beefcake was thinking, “Dude, even >>>I<<< could do a better knee than that!”
This all leads to the finish, which isn’t the legdrop but instead a clothesline called, no joke, the HOGAN HAMMER. Laugh if you will, but it’s so powerful it makes Duggan doing a flying jazz hands bump! Never saw anyone do that when they got hit with the legdrop, maybe Hogan should have kept that as his finisher!