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Bam Bam Bigelow

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Scott Bigelow
File:Scott Bigelow.jpg
BornSeptember 1, 1961
Asbury Park, New Jersey
DiedJanuary 19, 2007
Hudson, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bam Bam Bigelow
Bruce Bigelow
Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow[1]
Crusher Yurkof,
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Billed weight360 lb (163 kg)
Billed fromAsbury Park, New Jersey
Trained byLarry Sharpe
DebutAugust 23, 1985

Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, best known by the stage name Bam Bam Bigelow. His most recognizable feature was a tattoo that spanned most of his bald head. His ring name was derived from Bamm-Bamm Rubble, the superhumanly strong character in Flintstones cartoons. A non-conformist, Bigelow held a series of colorful, unconventional jobs (e.g., bounty hunter) in his life; pro wrestling was merely the biggest of them.

Career

Bigelow was trained as a pro wrestler at Larry Sharpe's "Monster Factory" in Gloucestor Township, New Jersey. He debuted in Memphis, Tennessee in 1985, dubbed Crusher Yurkov by promoter Fritz Von Erich so he could play the character of a Russian heel (i.e., villain). Moving on from the Memphis promotion, Bigelow adopted various ring names before settling on Bam Bam Bigelow.

In late 1987 he signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (then World Wrestling Federation). The storyline upon his debut was that the various heel managers were all vying for Bigelow's services. The angle was thus called "The Battle for Bam Bam". Bigelow in the end wound up a babyface (i.e., hero) when he denounced all the heel managers and announced that his manager was going to be Oliver Humperdink. His first WWF encounters were with Nikolai Volkoff and his jilted manager Slick. Bigelow wrestled as a part of Hulk Hogan's team at the first Survivor Series in 1987, in which he survived longer than even Hogan (the industry's top draw at the time); he closed-out that PPV main event by battling Andre the Giant. He wrestled in the WWF for one year before leaving to have surgery on a badly injured knee. Despite this injury, he performed anyway to elevate the status of his co-performers (a customary show of professionalism in the industry). Bigelow lost by count-out to the One Man Gang in the first round of Wrestlemania IV's WWF Heavyweight Championship tournament.

Bigelow briefly re-emerged with the NWA-branded Jim Crockett Promotions in late 1988, and was immediately set up to challenge Barry Windham for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. After this brief stay, he went to Japan to work for the legendary Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling. Here, he formed a tag team with Big Van Vader, winning the IWGP World Tag Team Championship. In 1992 he left New Japan, preforming for several other Japanese promotions, like WAR.

In late 1992 Bigelow returned to the WWF, defeating the Big Bossman at the 1993 Royal Rumble. That June, Bigelow made it to the finals of the 1993 King of the Ring PPV tournament, losing in a classic match to Bret Hart. Luna Vachon was brought in at this time as Bam Bam's love interest and manager. Bigelow went on to feud with Tatanka and Doink the Clown; he lost to Tatanka at the 1994 Royal Rumble, and teamed with Luna to defeat Doink and Dink at WrestleMania X. In mid-1994, he was made part of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation faction, often teamed-up with fellow Corporation members Irwin R. Schyster and (a now heel) Tatanka. Bigelow also survived a high profile Survivor Series-style match, with Corporation member King Kong Bundy, at the 1994 Survivor Series; they faced Lex Luger's "Guts and Glory" team.

Yet another unconventional storyline was bestowed upon Bigelow. After Bigelow and Tatanka lost in the finals of a WWE World Tag Team Championship tournament to Bob Holly and the 1-2-3 Kid at the 1995 Royal Rumble, Bigelow was mocked at ringside by former New York Giants All-Pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Bam Bam fought back, shoving "L.T." at ringside, and was soon engaged in a highly-publicised feud with the famous ex-football player. Bigelow was defeated by Taylor in the co-main event at WrestleMania XI, a match for which Bigelow was paid $250,000 and Taylor $1,000,000[citation needed]. Shortly thereafter, Bigelow was turned babyface, publicly quitting Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. He was teamed with then-WWE Champion Diesel at the 1995 King of the Ring; they defeated Corporation members Tatanka and Sycho Sid.

After rumored problems backstage with the Kliq, Bigelow left the WWF in 1995 and made a few appearances in the original, independent version of Extreme Championship Wrestling in early 1996, feuding with Taz. On November 17, 1996 Bigelow competed in a "U-Japan" mixed martial arts event against Kimo Leopoldo. Bigelow was dominated throughout the match, being mounted within the first 10 seconds. He lost to a rear naked choke in the first round. [2]

He returned to Paul Heyman's ECW in 1997, eventually getting packaged with the re-formed Triple Threat faction, with Chris Candido and lead member Shane Douglas. He was a dominant force in ECW, carrying out feats of strength such as hurling Spike Dudley out of the ring and into the audience and slamming Taz through the ring itself. He held the ECW World Television Championship and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship during his run.

On November 16, 1998 Bigelow debuted in World Championship Wrestling. He initially feuded with then-WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg before being shifted to the WCW Hardcore division, along with fellow ECW alumni Raven and Hardcore Hak. He was stabled with Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon -- known as the Jersey Triad -- in May 1999. After the Triad disbanded, Bigelow began feuding with ECW alumnus Mike Awesome, who defeated him in an ambulance match at Starrcade 2000.

In July 2000, Bigelow received second degree burns on 40% of his body, while rescuing three children from a burning house near his home. Following the incident, Bigelow spent two months recovering in a hospital. [3]

Bigelow remained with WCW until the company was purchased by the WWF in March 2001. Then, he waited until his Time Warner (the major corporation that had bought the promotion from Jim Crockett in 1989) contract expired in June 2002. Because his above-average salary was guaranteed, so long as he did not work for any other promotion, Bigelow was essentially being paid to not perform. Bigelow announced his retirement that November, but it did not last long. He returned to the ring, making several appearances for USA Pro Wrestling, before retiring once more on November 19, 2004. He performed his final wrestling match on October 25, 2006 for the American Combat Wrestling promotion, teaming with Ralph Mosca as "The Syndicate" in a tag team match against Overkill (Homeless Fred and Twiztid). [4] [5]

In his peak earnings years, Bam Bam Bigelow made between $750,000 and $1.2 million USD. [6]

Later life

In 2000, Bigelow and his wife, Dana Fisher, with whom he had several children, divorced. In 2005, Fisher sued Bigelow for non-payment of child support. [7]

Upon his retirement, Bigelow moved to a private recreational community called The Hideout, in Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania. He also opened the eponymous Bam Bam Bigelow restaurant, located nearby in the town of Hamlin in Salem Township, along State Route 590[8]; but, it later closed. He then relocated to Florida, with even his close friend Shane Douglas clueless as to his whereabouts. [9]

In May 2004, Bigelow was charged with endangering the welfare of a child through reckless driving. He attributed the incident to a seizure he had suffered, and the charges were dropped two months later. In August 2004, he was convicted of possession of cannabis. [10]

On October 2, 2005, Bigelow was hospitalized with a broken nose and several lacerations after crashing his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Spring Hill, Florida. His passenger at the time, Janis Remiesiewicz (Bigelow's girlfriend), suffered severe injuries and was declared to be in "critical condition". Larry Coggins, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, stated that Bigelow would be the focus of a homicide investigation should Remiesiewicz die, intimating that Bigelow would likely face charges based on "the factors...that led to this crash". Remiesiewicz eventually made a complete recovery, and remained with Bigelow up until his death. [11]

Death

On the morning of January 19, 2007, Bigelow was found dead in his home by Remiesiewicz at approximately 10 A.M. in Hudson, Florida. [12] At the time of his death, Bigelow had been suffering from a persistent infection and diabetes. [13]

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) acknowledged Bigelow's death by displaying a picture of him, and giving its commemorative 'three ring-bell salute', at the starts of all three of its brands' TV shows (WWE Raw; SmackDown!; and ECW).

His funeral in New Jersey was paid for by Vince McMahon, while a second funeral in Florida was funded by several local wrestlers.

Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves
  • Managers
  • The Beast from The East
  • The Self-Proclaimed Taz Killer

MMA Record

0 wins, 1 losses.
Date Outcome Opponent Event Details Time Notes
11/17/1996 Loss Kimo Leopoldo U-Japan Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1, 2:15

Championships and accomplishments

  • Mid-Southern Wrestling
  • NWA Northeast Championship (1 time)
  • Universal Superstars of America
  • USA Championship (1 time)
  • USA Xtreme Wrestling / USA Pro Wrestling
  • UXW/USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (2 time)
  • Ranked #68 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
  • Ranked #36 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years in 2003 - with Big Van Vader
  • Rookie of the Year (1986)

Filmography

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Bam Bam Bigelow.
  1. ^ Ring names/nicknames from his profile at Wrestlingzone.ru
  2. ^ Bigelow at Sherdog.com
  3. ^ "Meet Burger King Bam Bam Bigelow" interview by Gene Padden from ZWire.com
  4. ^ Kocosports.com & Combat-TV.com present Bam Bam Bigleow’s final match
  5. ^ www.kocosports.com
  6. ^ Wrestling with Bam Bam
  7. ^ Wrestling with Bam Bam
  8. ^ Best Burger in NEPA - Bam Bam Bigelow
  9. ^ Wrestling with Bam Bam
  10. ^ Wrestling with Bam Bam
  11. ^ Wrestler 'Bam Bam Bigelow' crashes bike on SR 50
  12. ^ Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow passes away
  13. ^ Ex-pro wrestler 'Bam Bam' Bigelow dies
  14. ^ Ring names/nicknames from his profile at Wrestlingzone.ru
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