Bam Bam Bigelow

[The Brain]

The purpose of this thread is whatever you want it to be. The topic is Bam Bam Bigelow. You can share any general thoughts and memories you like. Some ideas are your first impression, favorite matches, favorite feuds, feuds that should have been, place in wrestling history, etc. Basically you can say anything you want so long as it is about Bigelow and it is not spam.

The first time I saw Bam Bam Bigelow was in the summer of 1987. His four hundred pound frame and his shaved and tattooed head immediately jumped off the screen. I had seen big guys before but Bigelow was different from King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang. Bigelow moved much better than most big men. He would regularly do cartwheels in the ring and launch himself over the top rope. His unique look, ring ability, and an alliance with Hulk Hogan made Bigelow look like a future superstar. I remember thinking he had a very reasonable chance of winning the vacant world title in the WrestleMania IV tournament. Instead an injured Bigelow lost by count out to One Man Gang in the first round and left the WWF shortly after.

I didn’t follow wrestling much outside the WWF so the next time I saw Bigelow was in the fall of 1992 and I was happy to see him back in the WWF. This time around Bam Bam was a heel and I was excited for potential feuds against Bret Hart, Randy Savage, and Undertaker. Instead I got to see feuds against Tatanka (not bad) and Doink (not good). Bigelow remained a very relevant name during the New Generation years but I always felt he could have been used better. Feuds and storylines used to stretch out longer back before monthly pay per views meaning fewer high profile matches for wrestlers, so the stars never aligned for the matches I had hoped for. I did get to see Bigelow vs. Hart in the 1993 King of the Ring final but I always felt a long main event program between the two could have been really good.

A lot of people remember Bigelow for his match against Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania and unfairly criticize him for it. Bigelow did a great job pulling a decent match out of a non wrestler and did an even better job selling the feud making it seem real and important. Unfortunately it was the beginning of the end for Bam Bam in the WWF. Losing to a football player got Bigelow kicked out of the Million Dollar Corporation which caused a face turn. The face turn was ok at first as Bigelow formed a brief alliance with WWF champion Diesel but it wouldn’t be long before he faded out of the spotlight. Bam Bam’s final WWF appearance was putting Goldust over at the 1995 Survivor Series.

Over the next few years Bigelow found success in ECW and had a run during the dying days of WCW. As I said I pretty much only followed WWF so I can’t really comment on those times. I remember Bam Bam as a guy with a great look who seemed like he could fit into any era. I don’t normally like using the word underused but with his look and ability I think Bigelow could have accomplished a lot more in the WWF if he were given the opportunity.

I enjoy random threads about old school guys so just share whatever thoughts and memories you may have of the beast from the east.

 

[jccool420]

I really liked Bam Bam... The Beast From the East was an original... There weren't any other guys his size that could move like him and he was good on the mic...

I really enjoyed him in ECW and his days with Luna...

He should be voted into the hall of fame one day... just for making Lawrence Taylor look look good in their Wrestlemania match...

I also think he was ahead of his time... He was a big guy and he had great charisma...

RIP

 

[LegendK1ller]

I was never really a big fan of him and I remember when Lawrence Taylor kicked his ass. I was so happy that he had lost, haha. I will always remember that, not to mention his tattoo on his head. He was pretty agile for a big guy too.

 

[boozinjedi]

I remember his ugly ass attempts at a moonsault!!
It looked like a lop-sided cartwheel!

At least when Vader did his Vadersault it at least looked like a pure flip!!

 

[jaceynightheat]

Bigelow was great. He didn't have many titles, I think the ECW World, ECW TV, WCW Hardcore & WCW Tag Team. He was pretty big in WWF, WCW & ECW. Usually feuding with the main guys. I believe his first feud in WCW was Goldberg.

I looked it up he tried MMA in a losing effort to Kimo Leopoldo.

Also he got burns on 40% of his body when saving some kids from a burning house. Pretty legit.

He would be a great addition to the WWE Hall of Fame.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Bam Bam Bigelow. I first remember seeing him at the first Survivor Series. He was a big guy with a Tatooed skull. I thought to myself, why the hell would any one do that to himself. I also wondered how long a tattoo like that would take and how badly it hurt.

Most people will remember him for the match against Lawrence Taylor and let's face it, he did a great job making Taylor look good. I hated how he was used as well while he was with WWF both times he was there. My only favourite matches of his were him facing Taylor and the 1987 Survivor Series match. He was a big guy, who had agility, could talk and could be solid as a heel or a face. He had his issues with the Kliq which might have hurt him during the Attitude Era.

He'd be an interesting selection in the HoF. He was a consdierable talent and he would be deserving of that honour.

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

The 1st time I ever saw Bam Bam was in the WWF Wrestlemania Video Game for the NES that my cousin had. I thought it was cool the way the game made a guy his size do all those cartwheels and flips.

Little did I know that he had that ability in real life and then some!

I always thought Bammer had a cool look. When I got older, I really started to respect his ability in the ring. Especially in ECW when he was in the Triple Threat.

To me, he'll always be one of the better big men of all-time, and extremely underrated. I would've liked to see him get a run at the I-C title in the WWF or a U.S. Title Run in WCW. Maybe becoming a Main Event threat the way Vader was.

 

[Da Truth]

I always loved Bam Bam; It seems like I remember him being in World Class for a second. I thought for sure he would be a champion of some kind in the WWE but it never happened. I think one of the better matches of his career was against Barry Windham for the US Title in NWA. I think that was a great match. His second time in the "E" I thought he would at least win the tag titles but didn't. He had classic feuds with Taz and RVD in ECW. Then it went downhill for him after his feud with Goldberg and his run with the NJ Triad. He was one of the greates big men of all time. He had great ring psychology, knew how to put on a great match, and he had pretty descent mic skills. For some reason he was always booked incorrectly. He was pushed as a monster in short spurts then it was back to being a jobber to the main eventers. I always felt that Bigelow deserved better from WWE & WCW.

 

[nikvoodoo]

I loved me some Bam Bam. It's such a stupid memory I have of him that always comes to mind first...but I just can't help it.

It was a match against a face Razor Ramon probably about 6-8 months before Scott jumped to WCW I think. Such a great match. So well done, but it had one of the most hilarious moments ever where Razor knocked Bam Bam to the ground and he rose up and looked right at the referee and with no irony or sarcasm screamed at him "HE PULLED MY HAIR!" and gave the accompanying gesture of it.

The announce team, ref, and Razor all started to crack up at the absolute absurdity of the accusation of his hair being pulled which....obviously wasn't there. I'm not sure if this was a consistent gimmick bit of his where he'd level that accusation against opponents but it's the only time I ever saw him do it.

Wish he was still around, I bet he could be one hell of a trainer for any of the major companies. Sure as hell was one of the most agile big men to ever grace the squared circle.

 

[GameOver]

My fondest memory was of him in the first Survivor Series, being the final member of Hogan's team going against Andre The Giant, King Kong Bundy and The One Man Gang and how small he looked.

or battling against Bret Hart in the King Of The Ring tournament

great matches

Bam Bam was underrated IMO, he could go as good as a much smaller guy and wasn't too bad on the promo's either. If Hogan wasn't the megastar and sole focus in those days (not bashing him, i know I was a Hulkamaniac too) alot of guys may have played a much bigger role in early WWF and there time in WCW Bam Bam included.

Bam Bam seemed more at home in an ECW/Japanese type environment.

 

[KoC417]

My fondest memory of Bam Bam wasn't what he did IN the ring, it's what he did OUTSIDE of the ring. Many of you may not know that Bam Bam ran into a burning home to save 2 children. He didn't think of himself first. He didn't hesitate he ran in and saved their lives. The man was not only a terrific athlete but a genuine human being. Shame he left far too soon.

As far as inside the ring. I loved when he "invaded" WCW and rolled up in a red Cadillac (i think it was a Caddy anyways...) then challenged Goldberg. Goldberg came out blah blah blah then Bischoff and JJ came out. JJ subsequently gets fired and takes off in the EXACT SAME CADDY THAT BAM BAM DROVE UP IN.

 

[playboy210]

Bam bam was the shit. R.I.P. to him. definitely a great who deserves a hall of fame nod. if there going to induct all the celebs in to the HOF LT lawerance taylor ( if not already) will be at some point, than bam deserves to be as well even though his career was more HOF worthy than just that moment. On the subject of agile big men. big van vader deserves to be mentioned as well. if one man gang and andre and king kong paved the way than these to laid the foundation for big men.......maybe even mabel?

 

[muzz-rocks]

Bam Bam in ECW was epic! When he was in WWF, i really didn't care for him that much because i was a kid and wanted anyone to beat him, but a few years later i saw a match between Bam Bam and Taz. Taz got him in the Tazmission and Bam Bam was walking around the ring with Taz on his back when all of a sudden, Bam Bam throws himself backwards and puts himself and Taz through the ring. It was the first time that i had ever saw that. I was hooked on Bam imediately!

Bam Bam truly was the best big man in the business and it's a shame that he isn't in the hall of fame already!

 

[closet_fan]

the first thing i remember about bigelow was he was one of the biggest/agile wrestlers around. he was as big as a house, but moved like a luchador.

not sure why people are critical of his match against LT. a wrestler who can make another wrestler look good is applauded. a wrestler who can make a non-wrestler look great should get more fanfare. not many would care to make a non wrestler look good these days.

he was popular right out of the gate in the WWF with the whole angle of heel managers wanting to manage him, instead he picks Oliver Humperdink.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I enjoyed the way he could move around the ring, given his size. It was exciting to see that Survivor Series in which he pinned a couple of other big guys before succumbing to Andre the Giant. It looked believable because of Bam Bam's ability to work.

However, I always wondered why they picked him to lose to Lawrence Taylor. On the one hand, WWE needed a "sacrifice" to offer; someone with a name, yet someone who could suffer a loss to a non-wrestler without it looking too ridiculous. Also, they needed someone with the wrestling ability necessary to coax Taylor through a match that looked legitimate. I remember seeing the contest; without Bigelow's guidance, it would have looked ludicrous......yet, somehow it didn't......and that was because of Bam Bam, not Taylor.

On the other hand, you would think that if the wrestling business wanted to display a wrestler in a match that was going to be watched by many, many non-wrestling fans, they would have offered up someone who looked more physically impressive than Bigelow. After all, this was the only match people who never watch wrestling were going to see..... you'd think WWE would want to give those people the best they had to offer. But Bigelow's bloated body resembled one of those fat old wrestlers from the 1950's, rather than an example of the modern, impressive looking guy we're used to today.

It was a quandry for WWE, it really was. I can almost see Vince McMahon addressing the locker room in the months before the event, saying:

"Okay, I need a volunteer.....and there's good news and bad news. The good news is you get a feature match at Wrestlemania. The bad news is you gotta lose to a $&*@#% football player. Who wants to do it........Bigelow? Okay, Bam Bam, it's you."

Thanks for the memories, Bam Bam.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Bam Bam Bigelow was one of those marketable stars that could have been WWF Champion. He had his ups and downs during his WWF career and more WTF moments rather than what was to be expected. I remember him teaming up with Hulk Hogan for 1987 Survivor Series and I remember him fighting Big Bossman at the 1993 Royal Rumble. I remember his short partnership with Luna Vachon and I remember him for fighting Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI. It sucks how he never won any titles or any distinctions. He was always the more agile of the big men and performed well against competitors of all sizes. His appearance also helped to establish him as a WWF mainstay that really fit in with all the other top names. He should have at least won the WWF Tag Team Championship or a Royal Rumble for his efforts. I'm glad he did get more recognition in ECW (my all-time favourite promotion) and held both the ECW World title and ECW Television title. His feud with Taz is one of my favourites. I don't remember him in WCW all that much, but I heard that Shane Douglas had the intention of reforming the Triple Threat. I vaguely recall that Bigelow feuded with Goldberg and then faded into the hardcore division. He also did those NBA video game commercials. How disappointing. Hopefully he can be appreciated more or mentioned at least in future WWE segments or programming.

 

[Mr. Piledriver]

I don’t know if I’ remembering this right, but Bam Bam Bigalow in a match in ECW against Bam Bam Gordy and they went through the ring floor... OH! MY! GOD!

 

[boozinjedi]

I don’t know if I’ remembering this right, but Bam Bam Bigalow in a match in ECW against Bam Bam Gordy and they went through the ring floor... OH! MY! GOD!

You are half right,it was a match against Taz when they fell through the ring down to the floor.
But he did have a match against Gordy,It was billed as "the battle of the Bam-Bams"

 

[steinerscrewdriver]

My fondest memory of Bam Bam wasn't what he did IN the ring, it's what he did OUTSIDE of the ring. Many of you may not know that Bam Bam ran into a burning home to save 2 children. He didn't think of himself first. He didn't hesitate he ran in and saved their lives. The man was not only a terrific athlete but a genuine human being. Shame he left far too soon.

As far as inside the ring. I loved when he "invaded" WCW and rolled up in a red Cadillac (i think it was a Caddy anyways...) then challenged Goldberg. Goldberg came out blah blah blah then Bischoff and JJ came out. JJ subsequently gets fired and takes off in the EXACT SAME CADDY THAT BAM BAM DROVE UP IN.

My dad was a minor league baseball coach in New Jersey and Bam Bam threw out the 1st pitch one night. I was around 12 or 13 years old took a picture with him and he let me keep the ball after he signed it. Ranks right up there with having a catch in centerfield with Dr. J. I co-sign on Bam Bam Bigelow and its a shame he left the world so soon.

 

[Mr. Piledriver]

it was a shame how WWF/WWE used him. I saw Bam Bam back in 1986/ 1987 when he was in Southwest Championship Wrestling and he beat Scott Casey as if Casey Stole from him.

 

[wrestling89]

First off, good idea for a thread. We need more of these.

As for Bam Bam, I remember first seeing his picture in a magazine, be it PWI or the Wrestler, or whatever it was. I guess it was in 1986. He was then known as Crusher Yorkoff, or something like that. I guess he was supposed to be a Russian. At the time I didn't think much of it, because I was 7 and because there were already a bunch of Russians all over the place in wrestling. But one thing that caught my eye was his head. Bald and nuthin but TATS. I thought, WOW, this guy is amazing.

But since he wasn't in the WWF or NWA, I never thought much. Then I saw some vignettes on the WWF shows a year later. Some guy with flames was coming. He turned out to be Bam Bam Bigelow. I said hey, I seen him before.

When he first entered the WWF (this part was kinda vague for me) he was looking for a manager or the managers were looking for him, or something like that. Very Macho Man (Circa 1985) like. They built up Macho Man pretty big by 87, so I thought, this guy must be pretty good. In the end he hooked up with Oliver Humperdink, who would also manage Mr. #1derful at some point as well.

Then came the 87 Survivor Series. He just was on fire (pun intended.) He took out Bundy and the Gang by himself!??!?! WTF!??!!? I was amazed, I mean Hogan nearly got killed by both these guys, and here was Bigelow cleaning house!

The thing I liked most about his firts WWF run was his theme music. Man I LOVED all that sax in the late 80's. Whatever happened to that?

But then he disappeared. He would go on to Wrestlemania 4 in the tournament and then he was gone. What the hell WWF? They booked him to be the next big thing and then he was gone.............

Then he went to the NWA and feuded with Barry Windham for about a month, and then left again................WHAT?!!?!?!

I remember seeing some of his matches in New Japan, tagging with Vader. Those were pretty good, but he never did any promos or interesting stories.

When he came back to the WWF again in 92, I was excited and hopped to see the Bam Bam from 87 - 88. That never happened.

He had his run with LT, which was fun, but I never was a fan of LT. I did like how VInce brought in Mongo McMichaels and crew though..........."I'm looking for this Kama character!" He had his thing with Doink, which led the most ridiculous Survivor Seried match ever, and did his thing with the Million $ Corporation, which was fine, but he never went passed mid-card status.

Then he showed up in ECW...........and we finally got to see what he could do.

Oh man, the extreme surfing with Spike Dudley, the Triple Threat, and the "Grettings from Asbury Park." IMO the best looking pile driver ever (until Petey Williams.) He was a complete badass in ECW. That whole deal with TAZ and falling through the ring and ramp. Good stuff!!!

I did enjoy his Triad schtick in WCW with Kanyon and DDP, but it was a sad end to the twilight of his career.

Sadly, with the exception of ECW, he never really returned to his initial WWF push form.

But he will be remembered as one of the all time great big men.

 

[byrnside]

My earliest memories of Bam Bam were probably him as Luna's main squeeze.. I remember the feud he had with Bastian Booger to see who was truly Luna's main squeeze. Also I remember the Tatanka and Doink feuds rather fondly. Of course now if I went back and watched some of those matches with Doink I would probably cringe. I always really liked Bam Bam as he was a believable heel and a hell of a worker. As Brain said, his cartwheels and the fact that he did an awesome moonsault were amazing. Later when he went to ECW is when I really started to realize how awesome he was. I'm sure most of you can remember him throwing Spike into the crowd or falling through the mat with Taz. The first ECW PPV I ever watched was Wrestlepalooza '98 and I was pretty excited to see Bam Bam in action again against New Jack. They had a pretty brutal match that included New Jack jumping from a balcony and crushing a guitar on Bigelow's head. The match also included a Godzilla doll, but I digress. I always had high hopes for Bam Bam but unfortunately that was never fully realized.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I never really liked Bam Bam Bigelow that much because he was kind of boring. I tend to be biased against larger guys and find them to be less interesting than guys like Michaels or Jericho unless they find a way to really impress me whether that be superior in-ring ability, being good on the mic, having an interesting character, or involvement in good storylines. Sometimes even meeting some of that criteria doesn't help. I didn't like his look or any of his matches honestly. I won't even get started on his infamous match at Wrestlemania 11.