Adam Bomb

[The Brain]

Adam Bomb was one of many gimmick wrestlers to quickly come and go from the WWF in the early/mid 90s without making much of an impact. He lasted about two years and didn’t have any title reigns or memorable storylines. Despite that I always liked Adam Bomb. At 13-14 years old I thought he was pretty cool. He was a good sized wrestler with a pretty good look and was decent in the ring. The gimmick itself was pretty ridiculous but no more so than many others from that timeframe. I enjoyed watching him during his first year as a heel but as I mentioned he never had any real storylines. I was disappointed to see him squashed so quickly by Earthquake at WrestleMania X in one of mania’s most forgettable matches. The writing seemed to be on the wall for Adam Bomb after that.

A few months after mania Bomb turned face after a falling out with manager Harvey Wippleman and Wippleman’s new protégé Kwang. It wasn’t much but it was the first feud I can remember for Adam Bomb. Neither was thought highly enough to get a match on ppv. They wrestled each other in a dark match at SummerSlam 94 and it appeared the face turn was not going to do much to help Adam Bomb’s career. Then going into Survivor Series he started a feud with Bam Bam Bigelow and things started to look better. Bigelow was a big step up from Kwang and Bomb was a part of Lex Luger’s team at Survivor Series with Bigelow on the opposing team. This was before monthly pay per views so just having a feud with someone on the opposing team at Survivor Series was enough to be relevant and a step in the right direction for Bomb.

Adam Bomb was starting to develop a personality and become marketable. He got a little pyro with his entrance appropriate with his name and gimmick. He had a name for his fans in the Bomb Squad. He also had his bombs (pretty much a nerf football with his name on it) that he threw into the crowd. These things may not sound like much but they were a sign that Adam Bomb had a chance at becoming somebody. Unfortunately for him that was as good as it was going to get for Adam Bomb. WrestleMania XI came and went without a storyline in sight for Adam Bomb. He lost to Mabel in less than two minutes in a King of the Ring qualifying match at the first In Your House. A couple months later Bomb was out of the WWF.

According to Bomb he was promised an IC title reign in the spring or summer of 1995. Like pretty much everyone else from that era he blamed the Clique for sabotaging his push. The IC title went to Shawn Michaels instead. Even though I liked Adam Bomb I have a hard time believing the WWF was serious about putting the IC title on him. They may have considered it but given how popular Michaels was becoming in 1995 he was obviously a better choice. Maybe they were considering giving the belt to Bomb but changed their minds when they heard the reaction Michaels was getting every night. Those things happen in this business. When the audience is responding to something you have to change plans and roll with the punches. Bomb was upset about not getting the title and left the WWF. Although according to Triple H he was fired for refusing to get Henry Godwinn’s slop bucket dumped over his face. Draw your own conclusion.

So what did you think about Adam Bomb. Did you like him as a heel, a face, both or neither? Was he just some mid card gimmick that meant nothing or did you see potential? Could you picture him as IC champion and do you think the WWF was ever serious about giving him the title. Give me any general thoughts and opinions on Adam Bomb.

 

[Pedigree1]

Weighing in at 295 pounds and hailing from Three Mile Island Adam Bomb. Yah i liked adam bomb and i remember him vividly. He was totally misused in his career and i feel at least an IC title reign would have been perfect for him. But his timing take it for what you will he was in the reign of the Clique. I agree that the WWE didnt intend on doing anything with him and promised him the world while the E knew all along that they would not deliver.

His feud with Bigelow showed legs showed promise. I wish we could have seen that come to life. Bomb was showing promise he was getting reactions from the crowd too bad he left or was fired.

 

[SWSTOKES]

he was around at a time when gimmicks were big. I remember him being cool but not overly memorable.

i liked him better in kronik.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Bomb was over. He came out and looked dominant. He looked like someone a fan could see squashing others and beating the best guys WWE had to offer at the time. His strength, size, gimmick and power made up for whatever personality was there or not there. I thought for sure he would win a title or two in a dominant way. I was always surprised and confused that he didn't go further. Ryback's power and gimmick kind of reminds of Bomb except Ryback is actually getting the push I thought would go to Bomb at the time.

Although I thought the same about Scott Norton so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[bxbigshow]

I liked everything about him. Around that time (early/mid-90's) I had already become jaded to the wrestling business in general and was watching more out of habit. But Adam Bomb was someone that I kept my eye one. He looked like the type of wrestler I wanted to be (big, imposing, powerful).

But I knew then that he couldn't be taken seriously in the then WWF. It was clear that Whippleman would never manage someone to the heights of the WWF Title. And a clear "Gimmick" wasn't gonna cut it either, Yokosuna aside.

I dug him as Wrath more than in Kronik only because I was curious about how "Mortal Kombatty" WCW planned on getting....

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

Adam Bomb was certainly a unique character. I remember he had that colorful wrestling attire and those goggles. I didn't have cable or satellite at the time, so my exposure to Adam Bomb was limited to Superstars and the VHS tapes of PPVs. I seem to remember him being a fairly athletic big man. I remember him doing an attempted slingshot shoulderblock from the apron onto Shawn Michaels. I think he also did some top rope moves as well. I'm not sure if I preferred him as either a heel or a face. He started doing more after his face turn though. I believe he debuted in May 1993 but his PPV debut wasn't until that year's Survivor Series. (Where he was pinned by Marty Janetty of all people.) He probably could've been IC champion if he was around when that title changed hands every 4-6 weeks on average. (1999-2002) During his time, the IC champions were Shawn Michaels, Marty Janetty, Razor Ramon, Diesel and Jeff Jarrett. I'm guessing Vince was probably never serious about giving him the title due to the popularity of Razor Ramon and the newly face-turned Shawn Michaels.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I was about 11 years old around the time Adam Bomb was in the WWF. I thought it was a cool character.

I remember wanting to see Bomb and Crush have a fued at that time but it never happened. I think the closest we got was them fighting in the 93 or 94 Royal Rumble.

 

[HBsam31]

I always liked Adam Bomb. Wasn't he infected with radiation from the fallout of his hometown of Three Mile Island lol. I believe he even had yellow contacts when he first came. I liked him as a heel, but really thought he was going to last a lot longer than he did when he turned face and had his Bomb Squad. I am sure he sold some merch, and he really was over with the fans. I could have seen him getting an IC title run, and for a time when gimmicks were huge in the WWE, I think they could have tweeked his to get some more longevity out of him. I remember him being on Luger's team and at the time that was big as there were not as many ppvs. I have to be honest, I didn't like Kronik, but as Adam Bomb I think they could have done more with him at that time.

 

[Ovaltine]

I was never a huge WWF fan so I didn't see too much of him as Adam Bomb, but what I did see was kind of lame. However, I thought his undefeated streak in WCW (as Wrath) was great. He was rEALLY starting to get over with the fans and than Nash squashed him on his way to beating Goldberg at Starrcade. I have often wondered what it would have been like if he had gotten a mega push as that character. And while I know (prior to his win streak) that he was squashed by Goldberg most people didn't rememeber that that happened. To have a fued with two undefeated Monsters would have been great. I know that Kevis Sullivan (who was the long time booker for WCW) wanted a monster heel to beat Goldberg. He figured that WCW could get A lot of mileage out of a character like that. I have wondered if that was the motivation behind Wrath's push. We will never know. Still, he was good in Kronic with Bryan Adams even if their match against Kane and Undertaker sucked. I never understood why that match ended up so bad cause all of those guys knew how to work.

Actually, I rather enjoyed him as The NIghtstalker in the AWA. Even if he hated the caracter and said he was such a terrible wrestler at the time (he said that on his shoot interview) that he shouldn't have been in the ring with anyone.

 

[Lewis617]

I remember him well. He never got the right push. But at the same time I can see why. Alot of people don't notice it, but in that era, bigger was better. Think about it. Earthquake, Adam Bomb, King Viscera, Giant Gonzo, Undertaker, there were so many giants in the company at the time that it would have been difficult enough for him to stand out. The gimmick could have worked, just never got the push. I prefer his WCW career as Wrath. Remember that? Starting off with Kanyon and fueding with Glacier and Ernest the Cat Miller. Kind of a Martial Artist type fued going on. I thought that was kind of lame actually, all it did was remind me of Mortal Kombat, Glacier = Sub-Zero, Kanyon = Reptile, Wrath = Shou Khan, and Miller was just the token black version of Lou Khang. Once that was all said and done and he was just Wrath, on his own, no manager, no MK gimmick, he had a good push, and actually after the repackaging he went undefeated for a looong time. No one notices it because his undefeated streak was in the shadow of Goldberg's. By the time he was winding down he was already getting really old and they didn't know how to push his character in the singles division so he teamed up with (I forget his name) and formed Kronik. Now, that was a dominant tag team and they could have been great. He is just a prime example of the wrong kind of packaging over and over and over.

Now, to end it, cuz now I'm rambling, if I could have packaged him my way, I'm not sure what I would have done in WWF/E, however, at the time he debuted in WCW.......I would have kept the gimmick, and Kevin Sullivan was pretty much done after the Benoit feud, so ......HELL! Get wrath and kanyon to join with him and BOOM! SECOND COMING OF THE DUNGEON OF DOOM!
It wouldn't have worked? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
NWO was the heels at the time, and NWO Wolfpack had not broken out yet, and pretty much all of WCW was faces......there were no Heels groups in the WCW faction........and no I do not count Raven's flock as a Heel faction.

 

[sdelfin]

I liked the Adam Bomb character, and he was getting pretty good in the ring with the big-man style. Back in the day, I figured he might be in line for the IC title. No way to verify if that's true, but he and Jeff Jarrett did a house show run together over the IC title, so it wouldn't shock me if they were considering that.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

I was a pretty big Adam Bomb fan back in the day. Looking back now I think he's among the crowd of monster heels that would have been better in that Yokozuna push from late 92 to Wrestlemania X. I'm not a big fan of Yokozuna, and I think there were several guys that would have been 10 times better in that push, Adam Bomb is one of them.

I pulled for him when he was Wrath in WCW, and I remember hoping to see his streak continue in 98 when he was on that roll, but he got burried by the clique again when they killed his momentum with a Kevin Nash squash that was absolutely senseless.