Hacksaw Jim Duggan Predicts Vince McMahon Will Launch a New Promotion

WWE Hall of Famer "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan said in a recent interview that he would not be surprised if former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon launched a new wrestling promotion.

Duggan made the remarks while speaking to multiple media outlets in an interview arranged by BetVictor Online Casino.

The 1988 Royal Rumble winner was asked whether McMahon could return to WWE in any capacity.

Duggan said he found a separate venture easier to imagine than a return to the company he built.

"I don't know if he'd actually come back," Duggan told ITR Wrestling.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he started his own company up or something."

"I don't know, he might run up a competition, he might. But yeah, I don't see him coming back, all the baggage he's carrying."

McMahon departed WWE in early 2024 following a sexual harassment and sex trafficking lawsuit filed by former employee Janel Grant.

That lawsuit has since moved out of court into confidential private arbitration.

Another case involving McMahon was recently closed, according to ITR Wrestling.

These legal developments have fueled speculation about whether McMahon might attempt a return to the wrestling business.

Duggan, however, drew a clear line between a WWE comeback and starting something new.

He also described how McMahon's on-screen personality mirrors his real-life character.

"The way he looks, he looks like a villain," Duggan told ITR Wrestling.

"I think he likes being that master villain."

"He embraced the role, man! And they always say the best characters are really close to your own personality."

Duggan's relationship with McMahon during his time in WWE was strictly professional.

"I always looked at Vince as my boss," Duggan told 411Mania.

"He wasn't my friend."

"I never went over to his house to have something to eat. I never invited him to my house."

Duggan's first WWE run lasted from 1987 to 1993, during which he won the inaugural Royal Rumble match.

He returned for another stint in 2005.

The Hall of Famer also reflected on his time in WCW, alleging that later storylines were designed to push him out of his contract.

"When we first get down there, things were great," Duggan recalled to FightBook MMA.

"But then Vince Russo came in, and he wanted to push me out of my contract to clear up some money for some younger kids."

"So they first fly me up to Atlanta, big meetings, the CNN Tower, and they're gonna make me the janitor of WCW."

Duggan said he took the janitor gimmick and made it work.

"But I took the janitor gimmick and took it off, and the janitor gimmick got off."

He interpreted the subsequent move to Team Canada in a similar way.

"They wanted me to quit," Duggan said.

"'We're gonna turn you against America.' I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, Iraq, Iran.' 'You're gonna be part of Team Canada!'"

Duggan said the fans did not buy the character change.