Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor: A Reasonable Main Event

[The Brain]

Credit to Mr. Amazing and the worst WrestleMania main event thread for inspiring this thread. I didn’t want to post in there because I didn’t want to take that thread in a different direction.

WrestleMania XI. It is widely considered to be one of the worst manias of all. The main event featuring mid carder Bam Bam Bigelow vs. retired NFL great Lawrence Taylor is a large reason why. Many people despise that an outsider briefly came into wrestling and because of his fame grabbed the top spot at the biggest event of the year. I admit WM11 ranks pretty low on my mania list and while I’m not crazy about the main event I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

The match itself doesn’t seem to be a problem with most people. It’s never been called a classic, but it certainly wasn’t bad for someone who didn’t have any experience. The problem was it was the main event. I’m convinced if this match went on second to last instead of last there wouldn’t be nearly the amount of hatred toward this event. For those who were against this match as the main event I have one question. What was a better option?

The obvious answer is Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels. After all it was for the WWF championship. Let’s not forget that despite being in the title match at WrestleMania neither of these guys had really established themselves as main event players in early 1995. Diesel came out of nowhere to capture the title a few months earlier and Michaels was still considered a mid carder who was somewhat of a surprise to get the mania title shot. I do think their mania match was a turning point for both as both took a giant step forward with their performance that night. However, going into the event the championship match looked weak. So many have said 1995 was a terrible year for the WWF and Diesel’s title reign is often argued as the reason why. I find it funny that those who criticize Diesel as a champion insist he should have been in the mania main event.

Hulk Hogan, the man who headlined the first nine manias, was now with the competition and Diesel was hardly the draw Hogan was. After main events like Hogan vs. Andre, Savage, and Warrior, Diesel vs. Michaels just wasn’t seen as a big match. The WWF needed LT that year. The roster was weak on main event talent and Vince needed something to really grab some attention. I highly doubt WM11 would have had as many buys as it did if not for LT. That’s ultimately what it comes down to. Us diehard wrestling fans would have been satisfied with Diesel vs. Michaels as our main event, but how many people would have bought the show? The WWF relies heavily on the profits of WrestleMania each year and without LT the profits would have be substantially lower. Also it’s always fun when the WWF gets some attention from the media and LT brought a lot of that.

Other times I’ve argued that as fans we should be more concerned about what entertains us rather than profits that aren’t ours. I believe that and I understand if you didn’t like LT in the mania main event. I don’t fault you for that at all. Normally I don't like this kind of thing either. I’m just saying I think Vince was justified for going in that direction. Desperate times call for desperate situations and I think Vince was feeling a little desperate when looking at his roster for WrestleMania XI.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

I completely agree with you. Plus there was a GREAT buildup for this match if you recall. The title match just plain wasn't the biggest match on the card. LT was a huge draw as he was one of the most colorful football players in the NFL when he retired. Plus with all the other NFL players he had with him it actually turned out to be a pretty cool integration of the NFL and WWE.

 

[RicSpade]

The problem was the men they had tried to build the previous year were kinda in a jobbed mid card rank. Lets look at the facts. Yokozuna who was a multiple time WWF champion and headlined Wrestlemania 2 straight years with Bret Hart (which is the first and only time the world championship match was the same match back to back) was stuck in a tag title match with Owen Hart, while that was a big match for him earning another belt that match just seemed pointless and was only really "elevating" Owen. Lex Luger who was in the main event picture a year ago was also in a meaningless tag match teaming with the bulldog, I mean how does one of your top stars become the first match?

Bret was stuck in a match against Bob Backlund that we seen in Survivor Series, and Taker much like wrestlemania 19 was just kinda fed a random wrestler to go up against. Granted he had a feud with the Million Dollar Corporation but I didn't really feel a build against Bundy.

Now if you look at the title picture I don't think the main event was bad, but it was a lack of judgement on how they did it. They made HBK win at #! at the Rumble, but based the whole best friends bitter enemies thing on who was with Pam and who was with Jenny, I mean a whole build gone I would've focused it on how they were friends and how HBK has done things no man has ever done and when he falls short have that year face turn leading to face Bret vs HBK in the Iron Man match instead they more focused it on LT vs Bam Bam to make the unoccasional viewer more interested much like Floyd Mayweather, Mr. T, Ake Bono, Micky Rourke.

Was the match decent? Yes, but it really had no merit compared to a world title match and thus why IMO felt more like David Arquette winning the world title, then the yankees winning the world series.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I agree with Brain that the match was not much of a problem. It was OK considering LT's inexperience. But the problem was the booking as well as its place on the card.

See, Lawrence Taylor is a huge name outside pro wrestling. So by saying that LT is going to appear on your show is pretty much guaranteeing that all LT fans are going to watch your show. What purpose does it serve then by putting him in the main event with a midcarder? LT fans were going to buy Wrestlemania anyway knowing that LT was going to be on that show.

The main event of a wrestling company should be about the most important thing in your company. For WWF that was the WWF title. Whether the two guys are draws or not does not matter. The main event of WWF that year was a match between a footballer and a midcarder. That is not what WWF is about. It was a way of saying that this footballer is more important than any superstar in the company. Now that may be true but there was really no need to shout this fact out and that is exactly what the WWF did that year.

The booking was another problem. On the biggest show that year LT pinned a WWF talent clean in the ring. Another way of saying that this footballer is better than you at your sport. Have Bigelow win by cheating and then have LT bash him up but giving LT the win was a wrong decision.

In short the point I want to make is that LT vs Bigelow was a match that could have been placed anywhere on the card and having it in the ME served no purpose. On the other hand the HBK vs Dielsel match could have benefitted from having a higher place on the card.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I never once looked at Wrestlemania XI and thought it was a horrible show. It was huge as far as media goes, and when you cut things down to the bottomline; thats all that matters. Lawrence Taylor will draw more media and publicity than Diesel, Shawn Michaels or even the likes of Bret Hart or anyone else in the Company at that time.

As far as Bam Bam Bigelow being the individual to work with him, when you break down the top heels at that time, who else was going to be the guy to do it? Jeff Jarrett? Someone else from the Corp? Bundy? Tatanka? I.R.S.? No. Bigelow is a good wrestler, and whats more - he's good enough to make you look great. He's big, he's powerful, he's a bad ass when he wants to be. Taylor was a football player, coming into a world that wasn't his own. Bigelow beat him up, and Taylor took it and came back. It was a great match, and Bigelow was truly the only guy who could've been able to do it.

Now, you have complainers going on about why the Championship match wasn't the Main Event. Well, it's not like it's the first Mania when the Championship wasn't the top match on the card. Wrestlemania 8 ring any bells? And fuck anyone who says otherwise, Randy Savage v. Ric Flair is a far greater match-up than Diesel v. Shawn Michaels.

When you look closer, as the OP pointed out; neither HBK or Diesel were exactly top names in the Company as far as Main Event talent was concerned. Bret Hart was still the arguable top guy, and he was wrapped up fighting/finishing up a feud with Backlund. So, you have Shawn Michaels who can steal any show on any night, regardless what spot on the card he's at.. who was ultimately still a mid-carder coming into the Heavyweight Main Event division. Then you have his former bodyguard.. let me repeat that.. his former outside the ring, valet, essentially. So, neither individual had proven at this time in the WW(F)E that they could be the Main Event.

Shawn Michaels won the shortest Royal Rumble in history, by being #1 and you know the rest. Diesel defeated an aged Bob Backlund at a house show event, in 8-9 seconds. It's not exactly like either guy had a ton of credibility off either moment. Sure, HBK made history - but when you look at the other talent in that year's Rumble, beyond #2 (Bulldog) and Luger - who else could've won that seemed as valuable to?

Thus, we spin full circle and focus back on Bigelow v. Taylor and answer the question..

Why was this the Main Event over the Heavyweight Championship?

Simple.. because it was the better promoted, better built up, better media focused story. It was the match that made the Company, that made Wrestlemania, a profit for that night. Not two former mid-card friends who came to a head in their feud against each other over a World Championship - that most felt neither deserved at that time.

 

[darqknyt]

As far as the actual match goes.LT's match was probably the best "celeb-outsider" match in WWE history.The only guy to take almost as many bumps as LT took was Mayweather.At no point during that match did it look like LT was out of place.The honest truth is that that match was the biggest match of the night.Fast forwad to 2010. The WWE title(the "most valuable thing in WWE) took a back seat to HBK vs Taker, simply becasue HBK/Taker was a bigger match than the rest of the card.
Even Mayweather got a better spot than other key matches at WM24.
Its a purely business decision because the only reason people even had interest in WMXI was because of the Taylor/Bigelow angle. And just from a production point of view, they needed to send fans home happy.HBK vs. Diesel wasnt going to cut it.Nash was now in full Cena mode(i.e boring, not controversial) & Shawn was a heel and wasn't really over enough with the fans to have the belt, so him winning would have been a stale finish to the PPV.
Ultimately the blame lies with Mcmahon for not doing a better job of booking the talent he had into viable fueds.

 

[jmt225]

I haven't watched Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor in YEARS; however, as a young boy (I had to be about 9 at the time), my momma did let me order the show, and I have to say that I remember back then really enjoying it, and to me that's all that matters.

I'm sure today if I watched it I would find all kinds of flaws and be bored to death with the match/show, but who cares? I loved it while it happened, as I'm sure most my age did. That's all that matters at the end of the day.

I mean, think about it... the match itself was intriguing. I LOVED football growing up, and I knew all about Lawrence Taylor. Bottom line... the guy is the greatest, most deadly defensive player throughout NFL history. And here he comes to the WWF, to challenge this absolute monster in Bam Bam Bigelow. Just look at Bam Bam... what an intimidating motherfucker. Huge, head full of tattoos... could Lawrence Taylor actually beat this guy? I didn't know, but I was interested, and on the edge of my seat the entire match, rooting for Lawrence Taylor to pull off the victory. And at the end of the day I got what I wanted.

So, yeah... I'm sure the match is "shit," but I enjoyed it as a kid. When looking back at the match, to me enjoying it back then is much more than me enjoying it today.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Sadly at the time, that was probably the best option for the WM11 Main Event (and its really hard to say that). First off the match wasn't terrible by no means and considering LT never wrestled a day in his life he did a pretty decent job. Bam Bam was a great worker and was once again, the best option to face LT. Shawn had a program with Diesel, Bret had a program with Backlund (not to mention bret was a face back then), so really Bigelow was the best choice.

Also like you said, Diesel wasn't a big draw like Hogan was and at the time I wouldn't feel comfortable putting him in the main event of WM (and I don't think Shawn was quite ready at the time either, almost but not quite). Bigelow vs. LT was the biggest draw of the PPV (actually it was the only draw of the PPV) so it only makes sense that it went on last. Any extra PPV buys that the WWE got for WM11 was because of LT vs. Bigelow, it got the most attention (wrestling or mainstream wise) and since that was the match everyone was talking about, that was the match that should have went on last.

In hindsight Michaels vs. Diesel may look like a better option (mostly because it was match of the year and probably the best match Kevin Nash ever had), but at the time of WM11 people were overlooking that match with their attention straight to LT and Bigelow. The truth is Michaels wasn't the showstopper yet, Diesel was a shitty draw as champion, and LT was one of the greatest players in NFL history, so Bigelow vs. LT as the main event was a no brainer.

 

[Big Sexy]

Most of the people that say the Main Event was shit are ones that look back at it now and don't look at it from a 1995 perspective. This match was really a first of its kind. Athletes had been involved in matches before but this was the first time an athlete and a pro wrestler went one on one on this big of a stage where people around the world could see it. The build up to the match was done well and all the other NFL great players being at ringside really added to the match. It wasn't a technical masterpiece but it wasn't supposed to be. This drew in fans like no other main event at that time could have. I've never had a problem with the match or the fact that it was the main event.

 

[byrnside]

I always liked Wrestlemania XI, of course I was 10 when it happened, and it was my second live pay per view, but I still like to think I am unbiased. I think with what Vince had to work with, it really wasn't that bad. The biggest problem I think a lot of people overlook is that it was the first Wrestlemania that wasn't in some legnedary, huge arena.

Around the time of Wrestlemania XI the WWE was in transition. This was relatively soon after Vince had lost so many of his stars and the company was resting soley on the shoulders of, for argument's sake I'll say, Kevin Nash. HBK was at the very beginnings of his world title push. Luger was on the way out. Yokozuna's angle had run it's course. Razor, although a huge star in the making, was on the beginning of his WWE decline, and left to babysit X-Pac. And if I'm remembering correctly, Bret had been on and off of TV for "injuries" and what not, and even [with a handful of exceptions] the Undertaker hadn't really been main eventing at this point.

Diesel vs. HBK is a great match that I still watch today, and would've made a fine main event bringing the card up as a whole.

Of course that being said, I don't think that they should've put Bam Bam vs. LT on last, but I think Vince felt he had to do it because of all the outside media hype. But it really wasn't that bad of a match if memory serves. I'm pretty sure Bam Bam took a legit bump from LT's forearm too. Not to mention, this was the first time the wrestling world got a hold of Steve "Mongo" McMichael.

 

[dman1373]

Thats was a total bullshit call to have this match last. It makes no sense to have this match last because the people who bought this ppv to this match wouldn't care if it were last or not. You could give it all the hype you want, but to put a gimmick match above the wwf championship match makes the fans think "hey this isn't as important as the gimmick match so then i won't care about as much as the gimmick match." And when wm is over their and their is no LT, then you still have to use your wwf championship to draw money.

 

[The Brain]

Thats was a total bullshit call to have this match last. It makes no sense to have this match last because the people who bought this ppv to this match wouldn't care if it were last or not. You could give it all the hype you want, but to put a gimmick match above the wwf championship match makes the fans think "hey this isn't as important as the gimmick match so then i won't care about as much as the gimmick match." And when wm is over their and their is no LT, then you still have to use your wwf championship to draw money.

I'm sure a lot of people bought WM11 solely because of LT. It was built up as the main event and had a lot more interest than the title match. I can see the title match going on last and may have even preferred it. I'm just saying it's not unreasonable for LT to have gone on last. There's a reason the main event always goes on last. If it didn't a lot of people wouldn't care about anything that happened after. Everyone waiting for LT watched Diesel vs. Michaels first. Who knows? Maybe they became a fan of those guys while waiting for LT. Had LT gone on before a lot of those people may not have bothered watching the title match. Remember we're talking about Diesel and HBK before they were real stars. If Hogan was still around I'm sure he would have gone on last. In fact if Hogan was still around there probably wouldn't have been a need for LT at all. Vince was obviously not confident that Diesel and Shawn could headline the biggest show of the year. I don't blame him for thinking that at the time.

 

[The Crock]

This was definitely one of the worst 'Manias, but this match accomplished what needed to be done. LT vs Bam Bam was a draw, people tuned in just to see what would happen. It doesn't matter that the match was fairly bad, all that matters is that the buyrates stayed up and that the PPV sold. What's more, the WWF(E) actually got solid media coverage too. LT was a HUGE name, widely considered one of the best defensive football players of all time, there was no way in hell people were just going to let that go.

I was a little under three at the time, so I didn't watch it back then, but I watched it on VHS when I was 6 or 7 and then again a few years ago, I even did some research, and this 'Mania, and this match in particular, was a success. This was the Wrestlemania that saved the WWF(E), had Taylor not come in and garnered those ratings, who knows what would have happened. Solid match/event by all counts.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I completely agree that Diesel VS Michaels should have been the main event instead. Wrestlemania XI is widely regarded as one of the worst and that's due to the fact that it was plagued by the infamous Bigelow VS Taylor main event. You don't put a non-wrestler as the winner of the main event of an organization he's not involved in. The WWE Championship should have main evented because it's the focal point of the federation. Obvious choice. The Bigelow VS Taylor match could have still happened and Taylor could have still won.... but NOT in the main event. That will always be a large part of what makes Wrestlemania XI one of the, if not THE, worst.

 

[Tech N9ne]

Pretty weird too that they didn't do a bigger and better job pushing Shawn Michaels Vs. Diesel for Wrestlemania.

There were plenty of directions to take this and plenty of side angles could have been worked in. The fact that they were former partners and "former" friends, should have been pushed much harder.

To give credit where credit is due. It's not like they never mentioned it. But creative really could have went hard into the angle of this match being personal. It shouldn't be hard to push a Main Event World Title Match at Wrestlemania. But for whatever reason WWE acted like they didn't know exactly what to do with it.

The fact that they pushed it to the side for a football player and talented, but mediocre big man that wasn't even near the top of the company or a star for that matter, is just stupid.

It seemed like creative didn't even want the Diesel/Shawn match. Yet, they are the ones that made it happen. It also seemed like they wanted Diesel as their champion and wanted HBK to win The Royal Rumble. But didn't like the fact they got matched up for the title. Both guys were on the rise and had each other to thank for it.

Maybe everyone that had any say so in WWE at that time, knew it was probably the way to go but it might have been a little too soon. Another weird thing is how everything went. The sound was messing up and definitely took a shit during Diesel's promo. Then he continued further by just botching his promo altogether.

I guess we can just chalk up the timing of this match for Wrestlemania to be wrong. A year later it probably would have been more talked about. Though in hindsight, the following year might not have been a great choice, as we got HBK Vs. Hart in the Iron Man Match.

The rest is history though as the following Mania HBK won the title for the first time, in one of the best matches ever and Diesel would wrestle in his final Mania. He was one of the earlier victims of The Undertaker at Wrestlemania.