R.I.P. Bam Bam Bigelow

Wow, that's some fairly sad news for a Friday afternoon....

Bam Bam was never one of my favorite wrestlers, per se, but there's no questioning the impact he had on the business. I remember him first coming into the WWF in the mid-1980's, as really, one of the first high-flying big guys we'd ever seen. Between the "finding a manager" gimmick and teaming up with Hulk Hogan on the house show circuit, it was evident that they wanted to push him early on. I remember genuinely being surprised that he didn't fare better in the WrestleMania IV title tournament, but then he would have had to face Randy Savage, which wouldn't have made political sense at the time.

He went to the NWA after that, and although it wasn't a lengthy stay, I do recall him getting set for a program with Ric Flair, which at the time was reserved for top talent only. It's too bad he didn't get a better push with that company after his initial launch, though.

His second WWF run was even more interesting, in that he actually main-evented a WrestleMania vis-a-vis his match with Lawrence Taylor. I remember the match being better than I thought it had any right being; a lot of that was Bam Bam carrying LT to a decent encounter.

From there, he had interesting stays in both WCW and ECW as an upper mid-card heel, and one of the few guys I can say consistently put on decent matches, no matter where he was on the card, or which company he was with. And who can forget him dropping Tazz through the ring in ECW, and the reaction from the fans?

I honestly saw Bam Bam as someone who would come back at one point (if not in WWE, than in TNA). Sure, he had "retired", but that hasn't stopped tons of other retired wrestlers from reappearing over the years. He wasn't "past his prime" in the wrestling sense, and certainly wasn't someone who wore out his welcome. He'll be missed.

Rest in peace, Bam Bam.