TNA Semi-Final: Ultimate X: Chris Jericho vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

[Shocky]

The following match is a Semi-Final match in the TNA Region, from the impact Zone in Orlando, Fl.

Ultimate X: Wiki...

Ultimate X is usually contested by three wrestlers of the X Division. Two cables, connected to metal structures rising from the four corners of the ring, cross 15 feet above the middle of the ring.[1] Similar to a ladder match, an object (usually a championship belt or a large red "X") is suspended from where the cables cross. The winner is the first person to take possession of the hung object. After TNA made the transition to a hexagonal ring in June 2004, the cables were suspended from the four turnbuckles that were not perpendicular to the entrance ramp(s).

Essentially, the first wrestler to retrieve the Briefcase from the X will be the winner and advance to the TNA Finals.

Chris Jericho

vs.

Bam Bam Bigelow

 

[klunderbunker]

It's Jericho and it's the biggest blowout this late in the tournament perhaps in tournament history. There is no argument at all for Bigelow in this. He's simply too heavy to make this work. Jericho will outrun and outlast Bam Bam here and wear him down. Jericho is one of the smartest wrestlers of all time and this would be no exception. Bigelow is just too big and while it got him this far, it doesn't work here.

 

[NSL]

While I agree with KB that Jericho wins this, by a lot, I'm not agreeing with it being the biggest blowout. Bam Bam is bound to get close at least once, maybe even twice. He'll make this a hell of a match. It will get to a point where Jericho is so beaten, you think there's no way either man can win, but Jericho is a CLB, and will find a way to win this.

 

[Marquis]

Jericho takes this one. I really see no way for Bam Bam to score the win here. While he is agile for his size, his weight works too much against him in this match. Can he even hang from the rope? Jericho is more agile, cunning, and flexible. Probably the worst Gimmick match Bam Bam could have drawn. I agree with KB when he says this should be a blowout.

 

[tbanger]

Bam Bam could do what LAX tried against Styles and Daniels, and grab a ladder from under the ring. But he would have had to have absolutely decimated Jericho, so badly that he has time to grab the ladder, set it up, and climb his massive self up it.
Essentially, he has no chance.
Jericho is too quick, too clever, and good enough not to let Bam Bam have any hope. Not that the gimmick gave him a chance anyway.

 

[Big Sexy]

Jericho wins this. Bigelow is lucky that he even made it this far as I believe he is overrated. This type of match suits Jericho perfectly and Bigelow has never really won a big match against a main event talent in his whole career.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I honestly don't see how anyone could ultimately justify voting for BBG in this type of match. It's tailor made for someone of Jericho's size and, to be honest, I'm rather surprised that BBG has made it this far. The guy was never a main event caliber performer and he's beaten some big names. Only way Jericho goes down is for a major Jericho hate squad to pop up and vote for BBG.

 

[Shock]

Jericho wins this. Bigelow is lucky that he even made it this far as I believe he is overrated. This type of match suits Jericho perfectly and Bigelow has never really won a big match against a main event talent in his whole career.

You, my friend, need to understand that not winning against main event talents or not being in WWE or TNA doesn't mean you're not good.

That being said, Bigelow does have a shot. A tiny shot. Not enough of a shot to best Jericho. The only way Bigelow could possibly win is by taking the LAX/Team 3D method and retrieving a ladder from under the ring. But as tbanger put it, he would need to decimate Jericho first. Now although he does possess the necessary tools to do so (don't forget that Bam Bam is a beast), I am firm in the belief that Jericho is crafty enough to avoid him, maybe even make Bigelow hurt himself in the process.

Undoubtedly, Chris Jericho could outwit and outmatch Bam Bam Bigelow in what is essentially a squash match, as once Jericho gets up top, Bigelow can't get him.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Jericho wins this. Bigelow is lucky that he even made it this far as I believe he is overrated. This type of match suits Jericho perfectly and Bigelow has never really won a big match against a main event talent in his whole career.

Bigelow is FAR from overrated. You couldn't be more wrong. In fact, this year's tournament is the first time Scott has gotten a smidge of the credit he truly deserves from anyone other than me or <gasp> Justin.

Bigelow, in fact, would have probably the best shot in a match like this than any other SHW. The man was a consuumate athlete on two continents. He moved around the ring like a man half his size would. He seemlessly hit drop kicks and flew from the top rope. He was intense, and above all, he was a safe guy to work with who called a solid match. His KOTR finals against Bret Hart is one of the best and most under rated WWF matches of all time, and it wasn't just because of Hart - Bigelow played a damn solid part in it.

That being said, I called it before that the gimmick would decide the victor, and it does. Jericho's main objective is to use the cables to ESCAPE Bigelow. In Jericho, you've got a guy who defeated Kane in a Last Man Standing, Benoit in a ladder match, and pushed Shawn Michaels to his limit - twice - before winning his 3rd World Title.

I'll take Jericho, and the voting won't be close, but that's not a reflection on Bigelow as a pro wrestler - it's just a reflection on how well Jericho's athleticism matches up with the gimmick.

 

[gd]

Gotta go with Jericho here. The gimmick favors him, even if it may be slightly. Bam Bam was athletic, but Jericho is one of the most athletic ever. I also think it would be difficult for Bam Bam to climb across the rope, even though I'm sure he could do it. However, I think Jericho is the better wrestler and has a gimmick in his favor, so he wins this one.

 

[justinsayne]

Bigelow is lucky that he even made it this far as I believe he is overrated.

That may be the most absurd load of horseshit you have ever posted, Bam Bam is easily the best SHW of all time, he's an amazing athlete and an incredible wrestler, posiably one the best wrestlers to never win a a World title in either WWE or WCW, the guy should have had at least on title run, if anything Bam Bam is criminally underrated, as IC said, if there is an SHW that would have a chance to win an Ultimate X match Bam Bam would be the guy to do it

That being said, as much punishment as Jericho would end up taking from Bam Bam in this match, I see him winning, as has been said this match is designed for guys like Jericho, and he ends Bam Bams amazing run here

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

This match favors Jericho but I'm still giving Bigelow a puncher's chance. He would either bring a ladder in the ring to retrieve the X, or knock Jericho off as he is climbing and start beating him with it giving BBB enough time to get the X. I still believe Jericho's quickness and agility will win this match but I'm not saying that Bigelow has a 0% chance.

 

[Big Sexy]

That may be the most absurd load of horseshit you have ever posted, Bam Bam is easily the best SHW of all time, he's an amazing athlete and an incredible wrestler, posiably one the best wrestlers to never win a a World title in either WWE or WCW, the guy should have had at least on title run, if anything Bam Bam is criminally underrated

That whole paragraph you wrote is complete bullshit. You said it yourself in your post that he never won a world title in a major promotion. Shit, he never even won a mid card title. The guy wrestled for around 15 years, if he was as good as you say he is then he definitely would have gotten some kind of title run. When the highlight of your career is beating Taz in ECW that really isn't saying much. Bigelow never accomplished shit that was noteworthy and he is taking on a very accomplished wrestler in Chris Jericho, in a match that suits Jericho perfectly.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

That whole paragraph you wrote is complete bullshit. You said it yourself in your post that he never won a world title in a major promotion. Shit, he never even won a mid card title. The guy wrestled for around 15 years, if he was as good as you say he is then he definitely would have gotten some kind of title run.

Wrestlers who are apparently "shit" because they never won a world title in a major promotion:

1. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (WWE Hall of Famer, also never won a sanctioned mid-card title)

2. Jake "The Snake" Roberts (also never won a mid-card title)

3. Paul Orndorff (WWE Hall of Famer, 1-time WCW TV Champ)

4. Nikita Koloff (a few NWA belts, never the "big one")

5. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (WWE Hall Of Famer, Intercontinental Champ for 3 months, 1-time WCW US Champ)

6. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka (WWF Hall of Famer, no major titles)

7. Magnum T.A. (1-time NWA US Champion)

8. Honorable mentions - Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Scott Hall, Owen Hart, Bob Orton Jr., Dean Malenko...

Big Sexy, you get my point? Is you're basing Bigelow simply on his title history, then you're way off base. And here's the kicker - Bigelow headlined a Wrestlemania. How many of the names above did that?

 

[Jonny B]

That whole paragraph you wrote is complete bullshit. You said it yourself in your post that he never won a world title in a major promotion. Shit, he never even won a mid card title. The guy wrestled for around 15 years, if he was as good as you say he is then he definitely would have gotten some kind of title run. When the highlight of your career is beating Taz in ECW that really isn't saying much. Bigelow never accomplished shit that was noteworthy and he is taking on a very accomplished wrestler in Chris Jericho, in a match that suits Jericho perfectly.

No, that paragraph is complete bullshit.

It was pointed out that Bam Bam was an amazing wrestler for his size, go and read IC's post and try to pick it apart, you cant. Just because he did not win a major Championship (as we may consider it) that does not make him any less of a wrestler, there are countless wrestlers out there that never got that run with a major World Championship but that Championship doesn't change what they did or could do in the ring.

To say Bam Bam has a shot here is not ridiculous, but the match does clearly favor Jericho, but a strong case could be made for Bam Bam to pick Jericho apart on the Ground and simply get a ladder.... but I dont think someone like Jericho would give him that opportunity. If it were one of the regular X Division Guys in TNA Bam Bam would probably be able to do that, but Jericho is far too smart and tough to let that happen. Jericho takes this, but I could definitely see reasoning for voting for Bam Bam.

 

[SavageTaker]

I like Bam Bam as much as the next guy but I am going to have to vote for Jericho to go over. Jericho has more of an edge in this type of match. Bam Bam might be able to pull it off but I don't see it happening because Jericho is a smart wrestler and he won't let Bam Bam get a ladder or get anything else to make the match easier for him. Once Jericho sees Bam Bam getting into the ring with a ladder he would let him climb up a little and then run in and push the later resulting in Bam Bam falling off of the ladder.

For now I will be voting for Jericho but I could be easily swayed to vote Bam Bam if someone can make a very good argument for him and I think there's a couple of people who might be able to do it.

 

[Big Sexy]

Wrestlers who are apparently "shit" because they never won a world title in a major promotion:

1. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (WWE Hall of Famer, also never won a sanctioned mid-card title)

2. Jake "The Snake" Roberts (also never won a mid-card title)

3. Paul Orndorff (WWE Hall of Famer, 1-time WCW TV Champ)

4. Nikita Koloff (a few NWA belts, never the "big one")

5. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (WWE Hall Of Famer, Intercontinental Champ for 3 months, 1-time WCW US Champ)

6. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka (WWF Hall of Famer, no major titles)

7. Magnum T.A. (1-time NWA US Champion)

8. Honorable mentions - Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Scott Hall, Owen Hart, Bob Orton Jr., Dean Malenko...

Big Sexy, you get my point? Is you're basing Bigelow simply on his title history, then you're way off base. And here's the kicker - Bigelow headlined a Wrestlemania. How many of the names above did that?

I'm not basing my argument only on title history. With the exception of his loss to Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania 11, he never did anything really noteworthy in his career. All the other guys on your list have at least had world title feuds or done something else of note. I'm not saying Bigelow was shit as a wrestler or as a performer. In fact I find him very entertaining. But the way some people talk about him, you'd think he was a career main eventer who has beaten some of the biggest names in the business and that couldn't be anymore wrong. If you were to list all of the victories he has had in his career the best wins he has had are over guys like Taz and Shane Douglass.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

But the way some people talk about him, you'd think he was a career main eventer who has beaten some of the biggest names in the business and that couldn't be anymore wrong. If you were to list all of the victories he has had in his career the best wins he has had are over guys like Taz and Shane Douglass.

1. In the first ever Survivor Series, Bigelow was on Hulk Hogan's team, where he was the final member of his team, as Hogan had been eliminated. With Bigelow alone, he was facing One Man Gang, King King Bundy, and Andre the Giant. Bigelow single handedly defeated both ONG and Bundy (a world title contender at Wrestlemania 2) before finally losing to a fresh Andre.

2. Won the prestigious IWGP Tag Team Titles with Big Van Vader.

3. Pinned Big Bossman at Royal Rumble 1993 in roughly 6 minutes.

4. Narrowly lost to Bret Hart in the finals of the 1993 King of the Ring.

5. Won the 1994 Survivor Series (along side Bundy) against Lex Luger's team.

6. Main evented Wrestlemania 11, putting Lawrence Taylor over.

7. Along side Diesel, defeated Psycho Sid and Tatanka at King of the Ring 1995.

8. Won the ECW World and TV Titles in 1997, wrestling classics with Taz, Sandman, and Shane Douglas.

9. Feuded with Goldberg over the WCW World Title in late 1998 before winning the WCW Hardcore Title and WCW Tag Team Titles twice. Jersey Triad FTW!

10. And most importantly - he appeared in the Damon Wayans film "Major Payne."

There's some knowledge, freshly dropped on ya!

 

[SavageTaker]

I would love to point out that Bam Bam Bigelow has held a world title before. He held the ECW World Heavyweight Title when it was actually considered a title. He has main evented in almost every company he has ever worked for at least once. Other than main eventing in almost every company he has worked for he has also been successful in them. Whether he was holding tag titles with Vader in Japan (which is not the easiest task if you are a foreigner) or holding singles title Bam Bam he was still a very successful wrestler.

He has also had some other memorable moments other than main eventing and losing to Lawrence Taylor in the Main Event at Wrestlemania. May I remind you of the match between Taz and Bam Bam where Bigelow slammed Taz through the ring, I thought that was pretty memorable. There's others that have been memorable but I won't bother listing those moments.

 

[Big Sexy]

1. In the first ever Survivor Series, Bigelow was on Hulk Hogan's team, where he was the final member of his team, as Hogan had been eliminated. With Bigelow alone, he was facing One Man Gang, King King Bundy, and Andre the Giant. Bigelow single handedly defeated both ONG and Bundy (a world title contender at Wrestlemania 2) before finally losing to a fresh Andre.

2. Won the prestigious IWGP Tag Team Titles with Big Van Vader.

3. Pinned Big Bossman at Royal Rumble 1993 in roughly 6 minutes.

4. Narrowly lost to Bret Hart in the finals of the 1993 King of the Ring.

5. Won the 1994 Survivor Series (along side Bundy) against Lex Luger's team.

6. Main evented Wrestlemania 11, putting Lawrence Taylor over.

7. Along side Diesel, defeated Psycho Sid and Tatanka at King of the Ring 1995.

8. Won the ECW World and TV Titles in 1997, wrestling classics with Taz, Sandman, and Shane Douglas.

9. Feuded with Goldberg over the WCW World Title in late 1998 before winning the WCW Hardcore Title and WCW Tag Team Titles twice. Jersey Triad FTW!

10. And most importantly - he appeared in the Damon Wayans film "Major Payne."

There's some knowledge, freshly dropped on ya!

The Survivor Series thing was good, but they gave him that nice push to start his WWE career and nothing ever came of it.

The tag titles in Japan are nice, but he did have Vader with him.

Bossman was on his way out in 93. That was actually his last match before going to WCW.

As far as the KOTR goes making the finals is ok but he did lose.

94 Survivor Series is again ok, but Bundy eliminated the only big name from Lugers team and that was Luger.

I'll give you putting LT over because it was the Main Event of Wrestlemania.

Again beating Sid and Tatanka looks good, but it's a lot easier when the WWE champ is your partner.

His ECW work was good, but it was ECW. The same place Tommy Dreamer and Sandman were main eventers

His feud with Goldberg was a few matches where Goldberg kicked his ass.

The WCW tag titles are ok, but Bigelow was only part of the team that won the titles the first time. He was watching from the outside when they won them the second time.

His role in Major Payne was very good. One of the better things on your list. Great movie.

Again I like Bigelow and he was a very good worker, but he was never a legit main event superstar.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Get the fuck out of the way, people! This is a man that has witnessed every Ultimate X match ever coming through.

Now, let's get rid o' this myth that big men can't climb. They most certainly can. Exhibit A: Hernandez not only traversed the cables with ease, but took time out to take the piss out of Triple X by hanging there for about five minutes. Ice cold, dog!

Bam Bam Bigelow, however, could not. He's considerably chubbier than Hernandez and lacks the same upper body strength. If he can drag his fat ass along those cables, it'll be slow as fuck and the likelihood is he'll fall down pretty swiftly. Just ask Samoa Joe, the chubby bastard.

Jericho may take a battering on the ground, but Bam Bam can't do anything once Y2J hooks his legs around the ropes and shimmies to the centre. Jericho wins.

 

[Tastycles]

I'm glad Sam pointed that out. I did a little research on the Ultimate X match, largely because I thought that I'd need to do anything I could to stop RVD progressing. This is what I discovered: the heaviest guy in it is often the winner. Hernandez had not trouble moving along it, and Team 3D have won one too. But I think Bam Bam is just too slow here.

Don't get me wrong, he'd give most people a run for his money, but I think this is the end of the road. Jericho is like a cat in the ring and he would be able to win this one. There's not much else I have to say really, except that to suggest this would be easy for Jericho is shortsighted.

 

[NSL]

That whole paragraph you wrote is complete bullshit. You said it yourself in your post that he never won a world title in a major promotion. Shit, he never even won a mid card title. The guy wrestled for around 15 years, if he was as good as you say he is then he definitely would have gotten some kind of title run. When the highlight of your career is beating Taz in ECW that really isn't saying much. Bigelow never accomplished shit that was noteworthy and he is taking on a very accomplished wrestler in Chris Jericho, in a match that suits Jericho perfectly.

Defeating Taz in ECW is a big fucking deal. Even when he debuted as a tag wrestler, he was a beast...

And here's the kicker - Bigelow headlined a Wrestlemania. How many of the names above did that?

I agree with you saying none of them headlined WrestleMania, but Piper headlined a Starrcade against Hogan, and Magnum TA had the greatest Starrcade match ever against Tully Blanchard. Your point still stands though...

His ECW work was good, but it was ECW. The same place Tommy Dreamer and Sandman were main eventers

Jericho was a mid-carder in ECW, Bigelow was a main eventer.



I'm still agreeing that Jericho wins, but it's a close fight. Bam Bam will give him everything he has. I don't think Jericho has ever faced anyone of his size in a gimmick match, and it could work against him. Bam Bam will have some amazing spots, and have his hand on the "X" a few times, but Y2J is the winner in the end.

 

[ZEUS]

I'm sure its been said before, but I doubt Bam Bam would be able to actually climb across the cables considering his weight. He will kick the crap out of Jericho, but won't win unless the "X" falls from the cables, or the cables themselves snap.

 

[Big Sexy]

Defeating Taz in ECW is a big fucking deal. Even when he debuted as a tag wrestler, he was a beast...

In ECW it was a big deal, but outside of ECW it doesn't really mean much.

Jericho was a mid-carder in ECW, Bigelow was a main eventer.

I would much rather be a main eventer in the WWE and a mid carder in ECW, then a main eventer in ECW and a mid carder in the WWE.

You, my friend, need to understand that not winning against main event talents or not being in WWE or TNA doesn't mean you're not good.

I never said that not winning against main event talents made you suck. But if you really don't have any major one on one victories in your career against main event guys then why should I vote for you in this tournament? As far as the promotion thing goes, the majority of the time I'm obviously going to put guys that main evented in WWE and WCW over guys that main evented in ECW and TNA. That doesn't mean that the TNA and ECW guys aren't good, I just find winning in major promotions to be more impressive then winning in TNA or the glorified indy fed that was ECW.