James Duggan with his famous American patriot charcter (Sescoops)
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Duggan had words of advice for the participants of the 30-man Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is fast-approaching. The first PPV event of the WWE calendar is set to be held at the ‘The Dome at America’s Center’ on the 29th of January, 2022.
A number of exciting matchups are set to grace the event. Three titles – WWE Championship, WWE Universal Championship and WWE Raw Women’s Championship will be on the line besides a heated mixed tag team clash between the GRIT couple and the IT couple.
However, the match that will be grabbing the most eyeballs would be the 30-man Men’s Royal Rumble Match, which gets the winner a world championship ticket to WrestleMania 38.
Big names Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, and Big E will be looking forward to asserting their authority in the grand stage.
Ahead of the event, Royal Rumble’s first-ever winner ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan shared some valuable piece of advice for the Superstars.
Duggan’s advice seemed to be simple yet powerful. The key was to avoid people and stay in the corners. Here is an excerpt from what Duggan had to say whilst speaking to Betway Online Casino.
“Try to stay away from people. The less time you’re in contact with people, the longer you’re in the ring…That’s why when you watch the Royal Rumble, everyone goes straight to the corners. That’s a safe place.”
Jim Duggan was the 13th entrant at the 1988 Royal Rumble. Unlike the 30-man Royal Rumble, the first event featured just 20 participants.
The 2011 Hall of Fame inductee eliminated Danny Davis (13th entrant) and Nikolai Volkoff (11th entrant) before staring across One Man Gang who came in as the 19th entrant.
Duggan then eliminated One Man Gang as well, to emerge as the winner of the inaugural men’s Royal Rumble.
He had spent 14 minutes and 44 seconds inside the ring before emerging victorious. Duggan went on to challenge for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a 14-man tournament. However, he was beaten in the very first round by Ted DiBiase due to interference from Andre the Giant.
It is worth noting that Ted DiBiase inducted Duggan into the WWE Hall of Fame on the 2nd of April, 2011.
