My Take On 1.20.07: RIP Scott Bam Bam Bigelow

The NWA run was also short lived and Bigelow went onto the WCCW territory where he again tasted gold under the gimmick of Crusher Yurkof, defeating Steve Simpson for the World Class Television title. He would drop the title to Tony Atlas and head back to Japan, feuding with Inoki and Fujimani, but would once again head off to the WWF.

Bigelow first came in as a free agent, and all of the managers vied for his services, which Sir Oliver Humperdink would acquire. He would eventually become a running buddy of Hulk Hogan and even team with the Hulkster at the 1987 Survivor Series. Hogan and the rest of the team would be eliminated from the match, leaving Bigelow alone to face the One Man Gang, Andre the Giant and King Kong Bundy. He would put on a great performance by eliminating Bundy and OMG, before losing to the Giant. Bigelow once again wouldn’t have as much of an impact as many would have thought and again left WWF for a new venture.

Bigelow would go onto New Japan Pro Wrestling, and in 1992 along with tag team partner Big Van Vader would defeat Hiroshi Hase & Keji Mutoh to capture the IWGP Tag Team titles. They would have a strong 4-month run as the monster team before dropping the titles to the Steiner Brothers. (MATCH HERE:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/a30s5j) Bigelow earned a reputation as a good big man worked along side Vader, and when his NJPW contract expired, he would return to the WWF.

In 1993 Bigelow would put on a display of excellence running the gauntlet to the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament. There he and Bret Hart put on a great main event, where it appeared as if Bigelow would walk away with the crown, but the match was restarted and Hart would leave king. Bigelow would move onto feuds with Tatanka and Doink, which occupied most of his time until joining the Million Dollar Corporation.

After an embarrassing loss at the Royal Rumble, Bigelow would have a shoving contest with NFL Legend Lawrence Taylor and history would be made. The two men would battle in the main event of WrestleMania XI. Bigelow had the Corporation in his corner while Taylor had NFL players in his to counteract them. The to would have what is widely regarded as the best “wrestler vs. celebrity” match ever, with Taylor coming out on top. Soon after Bigelow would turn face, leaving the Corporation and was rumored for big things, including a title push, but backstage politics stopped that and in 1996 Bigelow would leave the WWF, never once wearing any WWF gold.

Bigelow would travel back to Japan, where he once again found success winning the WAR World 6-Man Tag Team titles. WAR World 6-Man Tag Team titles also found success in North America as he entered the promotion of Extreme Championship wrestling. 1996 saw the one and only “battle of the Bam Bam’s” as he battled and defeated Terry Gordy. Bigelow would then go onto team with Chris Candido and Shane Douglas as “The Triple Threat.” His career was revitalized in North America as he was one of ECW’s top stars. Bigelow would capture the ECW World and TV Titles during his tenure there, and this was enough to catch the eyes of “big brother” and Bigelow was once again off for a new adventure.

1998 and WCW was the place, “The Beat from the East” made a huge impact showing up unannounced and challenging the undefeated Bill Goldberg. After a feud with Goldberg and Scott Hall, Bigelow was just another guy on the roster and had some hardcore feuds with “Hak.” He would team up with Chris Kanyon and DDP in 1999. They would win the tag team titles and be knows as “The Triad.” They had special permission from management to defend the titles in a rotation unit ala the Freebirds.

In 2000 the Triad was dead and Bigelow would feud with DDP. Fate intervened and in the summer of 2000, while he was out for the evening Bigelow stumbled upon a house fire. He courageously charged into the fire and rescued two children, while sustaining 2nd degree burns over 40% of his body. Bigelow would recover and return to WCW TV, feuding with Mike Awesome and The Wall. Again he would be on again and off again until the beginning of 2001 where he would feud with Shawn Stasiak. They feuded all the way through the final WCW PPV and Nitro.

With WCW and ECW folded, Bigelow would bounce around between Indy gigs and retirement. In October of 2005 he and his girlfriend were involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident, but both survived and life went on for Bigelow. On January 19th, 2007 Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow was found dead in his apartment in Hudson, Florida at the age of 45; the cause of death has yet to be determined at the time of this writing.

My Take On Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow
Truth be told when I was a young lad I was overweight. I always was a huge fan of wrestling and always wanted to get involved. There were three men that made me believe that I could be a wrestler no matter what and they were Dusty Rhodes, Big Van Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow. Dusty was the guy with the gift of gab, jive talking and made you believe anything was possible. Vader was a beast, a killing machine and just dominating. Bam Bam moved and did things I didn’t think a man his size was capable of. He never seemed to tire and was always “on.”

Looking back on the career now as someone who writes about wrestling for a living, and who has done wrestling, I have a whole new appreciation for the man. The agility, the ability to work with anyone almost effortlessly, the timing and the fact that he was always over during his whole career was astonishing. Whether he worked Bret Hart, the Steiner’s, One Man Gang or Hak he always brought it. It is a true shame that he was part of the WWF mostly when Hogan was the man because he could have been a huge draw. What is even more of a shame is the fact that he was to get the push, but it was sabotaged out from under him.

But the fact of the matter is that his work remains for us to watch, enjoy, and just to have fun. Scott was also more than a great wrestler, in reality he is a hero. When I first heard news of him saving those children in 2000 I was in awe of the man and thought he was THE man. A superstar, a hero and a favorite. Thank you for all you did Scott, hopefully wrestling never forgets you.