Welcome back to The Bump, Sheamus.
It's been way too long since we've had you on here.
So before we get into the meat of this interview, how have you been?
What's been going on?
>> I'm great, yeah, just enjoying my wrestling at the moment, enjoying and
having some good bangers with a lot of older talent on newer talent.
I come up from NXT and just enjoying that, enjoying the role I'm in and
just get in there and just looking at it with people and
getting to see what they're made of, you know what I mean?
We're definitely in a phase of transitional phase.
Well these superstars coming up but they're cutting their teeth as well and
they're making a good name for themselves have been in there with Riddle, Kate.
Of course to finish that thing with Big E which was a lot of fun, AJ and
so I'm just I'm just enjoying my wrestling.
I'm enjoying being in there and just just having the crack and
Just hammered it out really and I mean, it's fun.
>> Yeah, it's been fun for us to watch.
But RJ was we're happy you're here and we're glad that you've been enjoying your
time on Rob but let's just get to brass tacks this past Monday night on Raw.
The match everyone was anticipating was made official.
Your friend Drew McIntyre is gonna defend the WWE Championship against Goldberg at
the Royal Rumble.
Feel free to take this in whatever direction you want.
What are your thoughts on this match now being official?
>> I know a lot of people [COUGH] do read the stuff online and you read Twitter and
all that, just a lot of people who's angry about it, you know what I mean?
They're saying there's a lot of old baric comments and stuff like that and
Bill Goldberg doesn't deserve an opportunity against Drew.
Me and Drew said last week's like him faces die, I don't know.
>> I know it's not like be tasty [COUGH] The Mets are hitting the box and Bible.
I'm not sure how is that with you in there with Bill.
And Goldberg is somebody, he definitely did set the were like back in
WCW when he first came out and he brought his new element destroying people and
in a short amount of time and going on striking.
He's multi time world champion and he does keep stuff in great shape.
And I don't think this is gonna be a bad match for Drew you know what I mean?.
I think it's another opportunity for
Drew to cement his legacy by going in against people like old Barragan.
And ultimately beaten them, you know what I mean?
Maybe he can do a Goldberg on Bill.
I mean maybe go in there and take him out pretty fast but
I still think it's expected though these the Royal Rumble and
the gold bear comes back once or twice a year for these big matches.
It'd be interesting to see what I mean?
Like trees lit up against someone who watches the kids.
So Drew can say, he likes putting underneath and
it'll be an interesting one first rule you know what I mean?
To get in there with Goldberg.
>> Let's talk about the Royal Rumble.
We've been doing a segment called rumble royalty.
Our guest for that specifically this week is Hacksaw Jim Duggan the winner of
the 1988 Royal Rumble.
But you certainly fit into that discussion as well because as Kayla mentioned at
the top, you were the winner of the 2012 Royal Rumble.
And I wanna talk about that because you entered from the number 22 spot.
This is only your second Rumble match.
So is the excitement of being in such a marquee match like the Royal Rumble still
there?
As it is your second one or
are you pretty much in straight competition mode at this point?
>> I mean, Royal Rumble is very special, well we said that.
There's only one winner every year,
it's a very elite group of people who have won the Royal Rumble.
I'm not taking anything away from being a Word Champion, WWE Champion,
a Universal Champion.
But, I mean the list is a lot longer than it is the Rumble it's really
is a hard match to win.
It takes a lot out of you, especially depending as well,
where you enter on the carriage, you know what I mean?
I've had some great moments, I've had some embarrassing moments,
obviously the 2012 or sorry, yeah, 2012 where I won at.
And then of course, I don't know what year it was run in there real cocky and
then Slater just thought was Lamia right away.
So I've had highs and lows and that match.
But it's a great match.
And the most important thing is the exciting match for the fans.
I think last year's Royal Rumble the true one was probably one of the more
exciting Rumbles I've watched a long time especially with
Lesnar just choking everybody over the top.
Edge coming back and then of course with Drew winning it, you know what I mean?
I have to go off to Mania, so I feel like it was a great Rumble and
is a really exciting match to start off the road to WrestleMania.
I do like it a lot.
Just that, I don't mind at this stage, I've already won it.
I've got nothing to prove to anybody, you know what I mean?
As I said, the one title I want is that Intercontinental title.
So I can play myself notes of a grand slam champion.
That's on the order of brand at the moments,
which caused a bit of like a logistics problem.
But at the same time as the Rumble itself, for me I would love to prove, so
if I win I wouldn't mind going in there number one.
I'm just knocking out of people, you know what I mean?
It's all a challenge, it's a cardio in, you know what I mean?
Gotta put some cardio in, see if you can last the hour, an iron man,
you know what I mean?
So I really enjoy and I enjoy watching it.
I enjoy being in it as a competitor and I also enjoy watching as a fan.
>> I wanna go back to 2012 here for a moment though,
because we just watched that clip of you winning.
We saw you pointing at the WrestleMania sign you're beating your chest no doubt,
you're so excited.
But what memories do you have?
Moments after walking back through the curtain after that victory.
>> It's pretty surreal.
After every match your adrenaline's going like 100 mile an hour like I could never,
I'm the type of person after Smackdown our Pay Per View.
It takes me a long time to sleep, because my adrenaline's going for so
long, I can't relax.
But that night as well it was just like,
it's just kinda that moment I want to double the title for the first time.
It's just there's a lot of surreal feeling about it, it just there's so
many emotions going through you and it's yeah.
And it's just hard to kind of take in at that moment in time.
It's just there's so many emotions, so
many things running through your head at that time,, Is this real?
Is this happened this you know what I mean?
And then you don't want to get to a main event match at WrestleMania,
you know what I mean?
It's joining such a small group of people who have won the Royal Rumble.
So I couldn't tell you my exact emotions were or feelings were.
But I just know that it was another notch in the belt
another thing major accomplishments taken off the bucket list.
>> You mentioned being- >> Actually, I met Connor.
Actually, I met Connor's Cure.
>> Yeah.
>> Right.
>> Wow. >> Met up with Connor actually after,
that's actually that's probably the main memory I have.
And I gave him a T-shirt that was all sweaty [LAUGH] and wasn't a little sweaty.
But yeah, I met him after the Rumble.
So that's really cool.
>> That's a cool memory.
You mentioned being WWE Champion.
I wanna take it back two years prior because not many people get to
make their debut at the Royal Rumble event as the WWE Champion.
But that's what you did you successfully defend that Championship against
Randy Orton that night in 2010.
That's your third Pay Per View ever.
What do you remember from that evening?
>> Marcus, I mean Randy like we're like last minutes stop going around like for
before the match started like stage review started like everything.
So kinda like Jack, look at Jack and Sheamus.
>> [LAUGH] >> There is a lot of chaos back stage
gonna be for this match so it was just, the whole day went by so fast.
It was one of those things the day starts slow and
everything drags on, all of a sudden,
just the minute starts speeding down before you gotta go in there and wrestle.
So I know it was kind of very much for our stuff,
was organized getting everything together.
We're kind of pulled off in different directions.
But I will tell you this that when you talk about that was my third Pay Per View,
my first Pay Per View was Survivor Series.
And I was so nervous about being in my first Pay Per View that we have
the medical team or whatever it is backstage, they take care of their blood
pressure and all that to make sure that your commission whatever it is.
The Pay Per View was in Washington DC, and the commissioner there and
they take your heart rate and all that.
And I failed it twice because I was so amped up.
My heart rate was so high because I was so
pumped up about going into my first Pay Per View.
I was so nervous.
I had such high anxiety going in there that I had to go back and do it again.
And then obviously Kind of chilled a little bit and relaxed they're like your
heart rates are just like- >> Wow.
>> My first Pay Per View here I mean some labor series DC another another marquee
Pay Per View.
>> And you won the match?
>> Yeah, watch me Drew and some fun that jumped in the ring at the end.
>> [LAUGH] >> Some guy from Cleveland.
>> Some skinny looking fella from Cleveland with a bad hair cut and
Dutchy tights.
>> [LAUGH] >> I don't know.
>> Because you were WWE Champion.
>> You didn't participate in the Royal Rumble match and first Royal Pay Per View.
Was there disappointment that you didn't get in, be in an actual Royal Rumble?
>> No, but I was WWE Champion.
>> [LAUGH] >> I didn't care.
>> [LAUGH] >> Why would I care about that?
I was WWE Champion.
Those other muppets, let those other muppets go in there and try it.
>> [LAUGH] >> They're fighting over you.
>> You guys didn't get a show.
>> [LAUGH] [CROSSTALK] >> If I
do a title match every year I'll be happy.
That means I'm still a champion, you know what I mean?
>> So know.
>> You mentioned last year's Royal Rumble talking about Drew McIntyre.
What do you think was the most exciting moments for fans but
you yourself as a veteran, and also as a fan, do you have a particular
favorite Royal Rumble moment of all time, or even a competitor of your own?
>> I think for me, as a kid, as a fan watching, I think the biggest moment for
me was the Royal Rumble in 1990 have that really.
I remember I snuck downstairs was 11 years old I think.
I snuck downstairs and
I put even recorded on the VHS watch was like the one that am Hogan one but
the first time the Hobo Meier basically went out with each other.
I remember that was a unbelievable moment cuz I was a huge warrior fine,
just because of his intensity.
I just loved his intensity, you know what I mean?
A lot of kinda like energy he brought to the ring and using.
He came in, he just went bananas.
And there was this a lot of electricity about him and
when he went in there with Hogan, it was Is really kind of a surreal moment.
We didn't really see too good guys go at it like that.
You now what I mean?
That's you guys were built so well are built so
how such a high profile and the company.
So it was crazy and it's funny even as kids in the playground I remember like
that build up to the build up to mania whatever was two and a half months or so
it was like yeah, it was great.
I mean, people in the schoolyard now, to pretend they were whatever wrestler
they pretend they're old or tender warrior, tender, savage, whatever it is.
But I remember it was such as the division between the kids,
some did half the kids love Hogan and half the kids love warrior and
it was just very interesting, you what I mean?
It's just a crazy kind of kind of situation, but
it definitely the truth so many people in just to watch that match.
It's awesome.