Is Bam Bam Bigelow the Best Big Men Wrestler Ever?
When you think of the biggest wrestlers in terms of weight there are plenty of names that come to mind, Yokozuna, King Mabel/Viscera, Earthquake, Giant Gonzales, Vader, The Big Show, of course, Andre the Giant, and more. One name not mentioned yet is a big man who moved quite differently than the rest due to his unbelievable athletic prowess, ‘The Beast from the East’ Bam Bam Bigelow. The nearly 400-pounder was quite possibly “the best working big man in the business” as quoted by Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. When you see a man Bam Bam’s size, doing cartwheels and jumping off the top rope with ease you would think that’s close to impossible, when Bigelow just made it look flawless every time he was in the ring. Although some big men went on to win the WWF Heavyweight Championship, Bam Bam never got the chance to but always played a key role during his two stints with the company, and when he eventually joined ECW after his second time leaving WWF, he became ECW World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Television Champion.
One of Bam Bam Bigelow’s most memorable matches was back on April 2nd, 1995, during WrestleMania XI against New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The buildup to this matchup took place a couple of months back in January at the 1995 Royal Rumble. Bigelow was pinned by the 1-2-3 Kid, and after seeing Taylor laughing ringside, Bam Bam confronted the Giants' future Hall of Famer. Lawrence reached out for a handshake but was pushed to the ground by the WWF Superstar. Taylor first declined the match after having no real wrestling experience, but after constant insults from Bam Bam, LT accepted the matchup. The matchup gained a significant amount of media coverage, Pat Patterson was the special guest referee, and both men had a group outside the ring supporting them. Lawrence’s entourage consisted of Carl Banks, Rickey Jackson, Steve McMichael, Ken Norton Jr, Chris Spielman, and Reggie White, while Bam Bam’s crew had King Kong Bundy, ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase, Kama, Irwin R Schyster, Tatanka, and Nikolai Volkoff.
LT gained an advantage early on and performed a clothesline that knocked ‘The Beast from the East’ out of the ring. Bam Bam, once back in the ring, kept repeatedly performing a Boston crab submission hold to hurt Taylor’s back. Taylor got out of the hold and threw Bigelow with a suplex. When he recovered, Bam Bam performed several headbutts before executing a moonsault flip to knock LT onto the mat. Lawrence took control of the match for a second time, but Bigelow kicked him in the back of the head and then performed a headbutt from the top rope. Bam Bam was unable to pin Taylor. However, LT climbed to the second rope, jumped off, and used his forearm to hit the WWF Superstar. Lawrence Taylor then covered Bam Bam Bigelow to win the match. Both gained a massive amount of publicity before and after the match, and Bam Bam was credited for carrying an inexperienced Taylor.
‘The Beast of the East’ had some more notable matches like the 1993 King of the Ring Finals against Bret Hart, and Bigelow taking on Andre the Giant. He teamed up with Hulk Hogan during his first stint with the WWF and then with Diesel during his second run. Of course, during his ECW days, he defended his title against Al Snow, Chris Candido, Mikey Whipwreck, and Paul Diamond. Bam Bam’s talent, size, athletic ability, and his skills talking on the microphone were none like any other. He certainly deserves to be remembered for the work he’s put into the ring, as one of the best big men wrestlers of all time.
