A Final Farewell to Bam Bam
The Princess’ Quickie YouTube Comp Rant on Bam Bam Bigelow
With Scotty out of the fold for another few days and me itching to go back in the Rant game but not feeling ECW right now (I tried boys, but I couldn’t write a thing about those bad shows) I was so touched by the outpouring of love you guys have given the death of Bam Bam Bigelow, that I decided to search YouTube for a few matches and do a quick rant. Maybe Scott can do something more in depth when he comes back.
– We first pick up on Bam Bam’s career in 1987 when several of the top heel managers were vying for his services. Week after week Bigelow turned them down one-by-one (Jimmy Hart, Mr. Fuji, Bobby Heenan, etc.) until Slick remained. Slick, being my favorite manager of that era, was delightfully cocky about Bigelow being the latest member of his stable (the Jive Soul Bros??) but Bigelow had other ideas as he dusted off Oliver Humperdink from the mothballs and brought him in as a manager instead. I never understood WHY Bigelow needed a manager because he was over from the minute his non-vocal video promos aired and he wasn’t horrible on the mic so it seemed useless, but whatever. Anyway Bigelow tells Slick and Nikolai Volkoff to get the hell out of his face and pops Nik in the jaw for good measure leading to his first match.
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Nikolai Volkoff. This is from WWF Superstars, the classic Saturday night show that everyone and their mothers watched. I loved those red blazers Vince and Bruno Sammartino used to wear…and even better I loved the fact that Ventura would never wear one. Nikolai belts out an especially craptastic version of the Soviet anthem. That never failed to crack me up. Bigelow didn’t have theme music yet and was listed at 393 pounds (although he probably wasn’t over 350).
Volkoff tries to get an early start but Bigelow knocks him through the ropes and does some cartwheels. Bigelow had infectious charisma and there’s no doubt he could’ve been over huge with the right push because the fans were into him from day one. Bigelow absolutely murders Volkoff with power moves and a flying headbutt and completely no-sells anything Volkoff tries. Bigelow floors Volkoff with a clothesline but Volkoff goes to the eyes and tries some punches which Bigelow no-sells and instead gives him a standing dropkick that sends Volkoff to the floor.
Nikolai attempts a third comeback and gets headbutted like seven times for it and sent to the floor again. Poor guy. Nikolai tries another comeback but Bigelow rolls through a punch and hits the flying headbutt for a three count. Total squash designed for Bigelow to display his offense. (Bigelow d. Volkoff, pinfall, 4:02, **).
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Barry Horowitz. Another Superstars episode, probably the next week. I will admit Humperdink looks gloriously looney in the Grand Wizard’s old jacket. Bigelow starts off with a clean break, which frustrates Horowitz, so he gives him a cheap shot and runs away. Bigelow chases Horowitz, catches him and beals him about 10 feet in the air. Clothesline completely wrecks Horowitz’s world. Shoulder block and a standing belly to belly sets up a slingshot splash and an easy victory. (Bigelow d. Horowitz, pinfall, 2:39, *)
On a side note there’s an awesome Savage-Honky Tonk Man segment following this match that sets up their classic Saturday Night’s Main Event encounter. I’ve also been wanting to do a Randy Savage YouTube rant so maybe that’s coming.
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Van Vader. This is from New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1988 so I have high expectations. Vader looks like a svelte 370 or so here. Bigelow rolls through a few punches to get the crowd behind him before Vader corners him and does a half clean break (he slapped him in the chest). Shoulder block moves neither man but Vader ropes Bigelow with a few punches and a Vader crush. Bigelow turns the tide with a hip toss and sends him through the ropes. Vader responds with a solid temper tantrum.
Back in the ring and the stalling continues with a test of strength. Hmmm, Hogan-Warrior it ain’t. Vader’s super strength puts Bigelow to his knees but Bam Bam fights back to a standing position before Vader goes for a knee and floors Bigelow with a short-armed clothesline. Vader lands some seemingly stiff forearms and a belly to back suplex. Vader corners Bigelow with some more forearms and hits a corner splash for a two count. A bodyslam gets another two count and Vader clotheslines Bigelow over the top ropes.
Back in the ring, Another bodyslam and Vader goes to the top and nails Bigelow with a flying clothesline that sends him out of the ring again. Vader misses a charge and hits the railing. Bigelow sends him in the ring and works the shoulder. The official tries to stop Bigelow from throwing another closed fist and Vader accidentally wallops him. The official sells better than either ref. Vader slaps on the claw hold as a new referee comes in the ring. Bigelow rallies with a flying shoulder and two clotheslines to send Vader over the ropes (looks like it was a blown spot as Vader was suppose to go over the top on the shoulder block and was scared to take the bump). The fight on the outside and the ref calls the match off. Vader didn’t give much and Bigelow took a solid ass kicking. (Vader & Bigelow, NC = double countout, **)
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Kouji Kitao. This is completely in Japanese and despite my love for sushi, I have no clue how to translate. The overlays on the screen say “90 superfight” so let’s guess this is in 1990. Kitao is dressed like a gay Japanese biker. Kitao starts with an armdrag that gets all kinds of Ooos and ahhhs from the crowd. Interesting. And Kitao gets another one to a big pop. Hell this crowd would’ve LOVED Ricky Steamboat. Kitao and Bigelow do the headlock takedown-into-head scissors thing and both rise quickly. Bigelow gives an old fashion kick to the chest but fails to knock Kitao down on the shoulder block. Bigelow tries a headbutt but Kitao gives him a bodyslam for his efforts and Bigelow decides to take a breather.
Bigelow comes back in with a clothesline and a headbutt before tossing Kitao over the top rope. Kitao tries to come in and Bigelow kicks him back out. Kitao tries again and Bigelow knocks him back out again. I hope you don’t get the idea that this is compelling television or anything because it’s not. Bigelow suplexes Kitao back in the ring for a two count and slaps on the chinlock because there hasn’t been enough stalling to this point. Kitao tries to fight back and Bigelow just overpowers him with the chinlock again, it’s actually more of a rear naked chinlock now.
Kitao fights back to his feet but Bigelow is ready and hammers him with some forearms. Kitao sidesteps the charges and lands six kicks to the chest and floors Bigelow with a clothesline to get a two count. Kitao back to the kicks but one punch to the gut by Bigelow sends him back down. DDT by Bigelow gets two and a falling headbutt gets two again. Bigelow goes to the old-fashioned choke but Kitao catches him going for a backdrop and starts kicking the shit out of him. Ugly Samoan drop by Kitao gets two and a double-rope legdrop gets the pin. (Kitao d. Bigelow, legdrop = pin, 9:29, 1/2*). This wasn’t good and the same fans that were popping for the armdrags were not impressed with this one overall.
– Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger vs. The Smoking Gunns. This is Bigelow’s second run through the WWF where he’s paired with his “main squeeze” Luna Vachon before joining the Corporation and this is in the second season of Monday Night Raw. Vince and Johnny Polo are doing the commentary and of course Polo is hilarious. Bigelow and Billy start off and the Gunns take the upper hand with some pedastrian double teams. Bigelow misses a blind charge and Bart goes to work on the shoulder. Bigelow catches Bart with an elbow and tags in Booger.
For the few of you that don’t know, Booger is also known by his other characters, Makhan Singh or Norman the Lunatic. Real name is Mike Shaw and he looks quite disgusting in this gimmick. Booger turns Bart inside out with a clothesline and moves with the agility of camel in slow motion.
Commercial break.
We’re back and the Gunns double-team Booger with a bulldog but Booger fights back and sends Bart to the floor where Bigelow rams him into the post. Tag to Bigelow and he gives Bart a snap suplex for two. Bart fights back but Bigelow tags out and Booger takes control again with a shoulder block and a legdrop. Booger keeps pouring on the power moves but Booger misses a very slow blind charge. Booger makes the tag but Bart makes the hot tag to Billy. A kneelift and a standing dropkick puts Bigelow down. The Gunns with the double team backdrop while Luna gives Booger some extra attention by rubbing his hump.
Booger takes this act of friendship as a show of affection and tries to kiss Luna, so Luna punches the shit out of him in response. That’s how they love in the Heath family. Meanwhile in the ring, Billy with a top rope sunset flip for two but Bigelow sidesteps Billy’s next top-rope manuever and finally catches attention of Booger makes the moves on his bitch. Needless to say Bigelow isn’t pleased and starts hammering on Booger until both are counted out. (Gunns d. Bigelow/Booger, countout, 8:17, *3/4) My maximum ranking for any Booger match is two stars, so by those standards he was on his game this night.
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The Undertaker. This appears to be a Superstars taping from 1993 and this match was a “Coliseum Video” exclusive as Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross do the broadcasting. This is OLD SCHOOL Undertaker so I’m not sure how much he’s going to be selling offense. They stall for about a minute after the bell rings and right away Undertaker no sells punches and sends Bigelow into the corner with a few uppercuts and a choke. A whip to the corner but Bigelow catches Undertaker with a foot. Bigelow goes for a shoulder but Undertakes counters with a nice drop toehold. Undertaker does the armbar-rope walk combo but Bigelow ducks a flying clothesline that sends Undertaker to the floor.
Bigelow sends Undertaker to the post first and then to the stairs. Bigelow sends Undertaker to the corner, snapmares him out and hits two falling headbutts. Undertaker gets up but Bigelow slams him down and hits two more falling headbutts. Undertaker threatens to rise and Bigelow hits another falling headbutt. Bigelow cautiously goes to the top and misses the top rope headbutt. Undertaker comes back with a flying clothesline and Bigelow decides to take a hike but Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tanka forces Bigelow back in the ring. Chokeslam and a three count ends this one. (Undertaker d. Bigelow, chokeslam = pin, *). Nothing special.
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Kimo Leopoldo. This is from U-Japan in 1996 and the octagon looks like it was made for about a $150. Kimo is looking jacked as hell and I’m wondering how Vince didn’t try to sign this guy when he went after Severn and Shamrock. He’s got the look, the tattoos, the natural charisma. I mean the whole “born-again Christian” thing might not go over well, but it’s nothing Vince hasn’t worked around before.
Ok you put a professional wrestler in an MMA fight with an MMA expert and what happens? Kimo quickly mounts Bigelow and beats the shit out of him for a good 90 seconds opening up a HUGE gash before going for the choke to force the tap out. I hope Bigelow got paid well for this one because it looks like it hurt. (Kimo d. Bigelow, choke = submission, 2:15, DUD).
– ECW TV Title: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Rob Van Dam. This is from an ECW show in Buffalo on April 7 and Joey Styles reveals that Bill Alfonzo’s grand plan is to have RVD soften up Bam Bam for Sabu to win the title at the PPV, which almost gives away the outcome. That and the fact that Bigelow had already signed a deal to join WCW again if I’m not mistaken. Not sure which PPV he’s talking about, it doesn’t really matter.
RVD goes low but Bigelow catches him with some punches and nasty shoulderblock. RVD rallies with a spinning heel kick but a hurricanrana is reversed into a powerbomb and RVD takes a powder. Alfonzo’s trash talking is hilarious as they have completely forgot about the match and begin talking about how the ratings are climbing because the camera is on RVD’s face. I’m never a big fan of stalling, but at least have fun if you do it.
Ok back in the ring and Bigelow goes with the headbutts but RVD catches him on a blind charge with a side kick. Top rope high cross body and and top rope leaping side kick combo into a tumbling splash only gets a one count. RVD goes for another high flying maneuver but Bigelow is too smart for it and RVD goes straight to the floor. Bigelow posts RVD and send him into the railing. RVD goes with a kick and hits the springboard side kick off the railing. A few more kicks stagger Bigelow but he sends RVD into the post again and back into the railing. RVD tries something off the railing but Bigelow casually tosses him into the seats.
Headbutt sends RVD tumbling into chairs but RVD sends Bigelow into the guardrail and does a springboard hurricanrana on the floor. RVD was still learning how to conduct match flow as he’s just going from spot to spot. RVD back in the ring, goes to the top and lands an plancha onto Bigelow out in the stands. I must admit, that’s impressive. RVD back in the ring again and pulls out the SOMERSAULT PLANCHA~! to the floor. Holy shit. Both guys get out of the crowd and RVD lands a guillotine legdrop from the ring apron to the railing on Bigelow.
Bigelow responds with a clothesline and a powerbomb onto a table that doesn’t break. Oops. Bigelow drops an elbow from the ring apron and that does the job instead. RVD gets up first and tosses a metal chair at Bigelow that opens a cut on his eye. Bigelow fights through it and lays in a nasty chair shot on RVD. Bigelow thinks about suplexing him in the ring but RVD counters with a stun gun. RVD tries to enter from the top but Bigelow catches him with the powerbomb. Bigelow up to the top but the moonsault misses, RVD tries his top-rope manuever and the five-star hits flush but only gets two. Fallaway slam by Bigelow and a sweet brainbuster gets a near fall.
RVD tries to catch Bigelow with a chair on a blind charge but Bigelow no-sells it and scoops up RVD for Greetings from Asbury Park (Mitchinoku Driver). The ref bumps as Bigelow spins RVD into in and Sabu runs in. Bigelow counters Air Sabu by tossing him into RVD. Bigelow tries to powerbomb Sabu but gets jabbed in the eye which staggers Bigelow enough for the Van Daminator and the three count and a new champion! (RVD d. Bigelow, pinfall, 15:32, ***1/2). Pretty good match there.
– Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldberg. I’m almost certain this is from an episode of Thunder since there isn’t any signs of it being a Nitro broadcast. Mike Tenay informs me that this is a return match from several months previous in Superbrawl. Goldberg has had problems with DDP in recent months and I’m certain this is during the Triad phase with Bigelow, Kanyon and DDP joining forces. The announcers are also referring to Bigelow as a “Triple B”.
Bigelow starts quickly with a slam but misses a falling headbutt and Goldberg responds with a slam and Bigelow takes a powder. The combatants try some rope rope and Goldberg catches Bigelow on a high-cross body and turns in into a falling slam. Armbreaker by Goldberg but Bigelow fights back with a shot to the eyes. They wrestle into the corner and Bigelow accidentally wallops referee Nick Patrick. Goldberg whips Bigelow into the corner and nails him with a clothesline. Goldberg continues to pound on Bigelow from the mounted position. Patrick is pretty much motionless.
Bigelow fights back with forearms and headbutts. Bigelow continues hammering away as Goldberg begins to no-sell and hits Bigelow with a standing side kick. DDP runs it and the Triad tries a double team but DDP bails out when Goldberg spears Bigelow. Jackhammer time gets a three count. Page comes back in with a chair shot and the Triad leaves to the sounds of boos and vision of flying trash. (Goldberg d. Bigelow, jackhammer = pinfall, *1/2). Nothing Great.
The Bottom Line: I wish I had a better choice of matches, but there’s good variety in here from his two WWF runs, one of his WCW runs, a few Japanese matches and probably his best ECW match. In a perfect world I would’ve found a Bret Hart match and a match against Barry Windham from the late 80s. I hope you enjoyed.
Not bad Princess, but like you said — it been fun if a Bret Hart or Barry Windham match would have been on there. I should leave this comment on your other blog report; but I was seriously saddened when I heared Scott Bigelow had died. I actually thought of him the other day when I heard a “BAM” sound on Raw or ECW and I was hoping maybe he was making a comeback; and it turned out to be somebody else.
He always seemed to got the short edge of the stick in terms of booking; but damn I thought this guy was going to be a major star. He never truly was one in the WWF or WCW when he could have been one (1988) and by the time of his good run; it was in a promotion that only a Northern hardcore fanbase had any access to at the time. I mean he may have been around the WWF from 1993-95 — but once he jobbed to Doink; I had washed my hands of the guy.
Once he went to WCW in 2000; I was hoping they had him beat Goldberg to show his greatness; but in the end — not so much.
All in all; rest in peace Bam Bam.
See now, it would have been complete if you found a match of him in Texas as Crusher Yurkov. I always wanted to see that.