Hulking Heroes Collide to Delight of Beach Crowd

Hacksaw Jim Duggan normally expresses himself with elbows to the chin, knees to the groin or a poke in the eyes. When all else fails, he uses a two-by-four.

But the 300-pound former football player turned professional wrestler sounds poetic when it comes to explaining his somewhat unusual profession.

“Your heart starts pumping. The hair stands on the back of your neck,” he said. “You get butterflies in your stomach. The bell rings and you go back to your instincts.”

Even if most in the crowd of 15,000 knew the outcome of Hacksaw’s match was preordained, real competition wasn’t the point at Sunday’s event, which was broadcast live to a pay-per-view cable audience across the country.

The fans who turned out for this city’s first-ever beachside wrestling fest, sponsored by World Championship Wrestling, were there to cheer their burly heroes, chief among them Hulk Hogan, perhaps the sport’s best-known competitor.

Most of the audience spoke in glowing terms of the hefty men--dressed in everything from orange spandex pants to zebra-skin suits--who hurled each other against steel fences and bounced off each other like rubber balls. They were the first to admit, however, that little of it looked real.

“These are some of the best circus clowns I’ve ever seen,” said Charlie Checca, 40, of Playa del Rey. “I love the idea that 300- pound men can throw each other around and not get hurt. It’s very well-done choreography.”

Added Donna Spencer, 25, of Monterey Park, who wore “Hulkomania” emblazoned on T-shirt and hat: “I love the adrenaline rush. The competitive atmosphere is entertaining, and these guys are always there for their fans.”

“It’s fun,” said Linda Cools, 21, of Huntington Beach. Pointing toward her fiance, she said: “He can yell at the people instead of the T.V.”

More than 30 Huntington Beach police officers--triple the contingent that usually patrols the beach--were dispatched to prevent any violence in a city where a major disturbance occurred on the Fourth of July.

Although the crowd did shout its approval at the wrestlers, and a few revelers tossed sand-filled mineral water bottles during the four-hour show, police reported only a few minor scuffles.

Six people were arrested, mostly for drunk and disorderly conduct, during the event, which took place on the beach south of the pier.

“I wish it could always happen like this,” said one officer.