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Tape Reviews
Bam Bam Bigelow Shoot Interview
Posted by Brandon Truitt on Jun 2, 2003, 19:30
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Nothing much to this week's intro, although a song I've heard has made me wonder about the possibilities for Jamie Noble and Nidia's gimmick. Somehow, I could see that Vince McMahon would reveal them to be relatives, "have kids with eleven toes and move to Alabama where that kind of thing is tolerated." (This is an exact quote so I'm not Alabama bashing. I'd start with a different state in the South or one on the border between the South and the Midwest instead.)
As always, you can feel free to Drop me an e-mail, read the archives, buy me stuff, or buy yourself stuff at Highspots.com.
Bam Bam Bigelow Shoot Interview (4/19/98)
We start with an Entertainment Tonight segment on Larry Sharpe�s Monster Factory, which is the school that produced Bigelow, Raven, and other wrestlers. The focus is on Bigelow, who is Sharpe�s prize student.
The actual interview starts with the standard question of how he got into the business. He was hanging out in Asbury Park, New Jersey, with no job and had to find something to do with his life. He got that opportunity through Larry Sharpe�s Monster Factory in Mt. Laurel. He used to be an amateur wrestler and had been a McDonald�s All-American.
The nickname Bam Bam- He says when he was born and the doctor slapped him on the ass, he slapped the doctor back.
The first territory he worked- Memphis, where he worked with Jerry �The King� Lawler and a lot of guys who are big in the business now like Undertaker and Sid Vicious.
We get some low-quality Memphis footage here as Bigelow cuts a promo on the announcer before getting into the ring. The footage then cuts to Lawler hitting Bigelow with a chair, which doesn�t even stun him.
Bam Bam Bigelow and Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantel and Master of Pain (Undertaker)- This is joined in progress and is hard to watch due to poor lighting. Bigelow hits a diving headbutt on Master of Pain for the pin.
Jerry Lawler- His philosophy for running a territory was the best way to learn the business.
Fritz Von Erich- He thought it was stupid that he�d gotten himself written up in Sports Illustrated, the first wrestler to be the subject of an article there, and yet Fritz decided to turn him into a Russian heel, Crusher Yurkov. It was still a lot of fun working down there with Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, and Mike Von Erich.
The Von Erichs- �They had a rich daddy and they thought they were above the law.� He said that Kevin was particularly braindead, introducing himself several times in the same night. Kerry and David Von Erich were the coolest of the brothers. �It�s a shame that their father fucked them all up� because he feels that Kerry was one of the greatest wrestlers in the world at one point, behind only Great Muta.
Fritz as a booker- Fritz was an obnoxious prick and was trying to relive his glory days. Brusier Brody was the booker for part of his run in the territory. He jokes that Percy Pringle (Paul Bearer) was only about 250 pounds back then but now he weighs about 600.
Larry Sharpe cuts a promo for Bigelow, as Crusher Yurkov, to introduce themselves to the World Class territory.
Abdullah the Butcher and Crusher Yurkov vs. Bruiser Brody and Stunning Steve Simpson- The match goes to a no-contest as everyone starts brawling on the floor.
New Japan- He had offers from the UWF, the WWF, and a few others but ended up working for Inoki for a year in New Japan.
We get some bad footage of Bigelow in Japan from 1987 here. Larry Sharpe cuts a promo about the upcoming Antonio Inoki vs. Bigelow match.
Was there pressure being pushed over Inoki that early in his career? No, it was just a fun learning experience. He puts over Inoki as a boss.
Bigelow vs. Inoki- This is joined in progress. Bigelow is counted out of the ring after taking an Inoki dropkick that knocked him over the ropes to the floor.
Vader- �I helped train Vader, break him in.� He says Vader was a bully and was threatened by another big man coming into the company. He tells a story of a match where he and Yokozuna faced Vader and Masa Saito where he and Yoko started laughing about the smoke coming from Vader�s helmet and Vader got pissed about them disrespecting his gimmick. They became a good tag team due to the heat between them because they would push themselves to outdo each other. He feels Vader�s career is winding down right now while his own is going into a rebirth. (While that was true as far as their careers in the US, Bigelow was stuck doing indy shows after WCW was sold in early 2001 while Vader still had a contract in Japan until recently.)
Bigelow vs. Vader- The match is thrown out as Vader and Bigelow start brawling through the chairs at ringside.
Great Muta- The best worked in the business today. Very good person. Great high flyer.
Bigelow vs. Muta- Muta escapes a bodyslam to roll up Bigelow for the win.
Leaving New Japan for the WWF- He signed a deal to go to the WWF and that started �the battle for Bam Bam.� (The battle for Bam Bam was a storyline gimmick where several managers such as Bobby �The Brain� Heenan, the "Doctor of Style" Slick, and Jimmy Hart were competing to win Bigelow�s services. Instead of choosing the lone remaining manager at the end of it all, he brought in Sir Oliver Humperdink to be his manager.) He says it was a fun year and that Vince McMahon would have put the WWF title on him but he blew out his knees. The first knee went when he tried to bodyslam Dino Bravo in a match and blew out the other one shortly thereafter. Vince McMahon didn�t want to hear about his problems so, at the Wrestlemania 4 WWF title tournament, he wore kneebraces under his tights and had double knee surgery the next day. That was the beginning of his departure from the WWF and he went back to New Japan for a while.
Vader and Bigelow vs. Hiroshi Hase and Kenji Mutoh (Great Muta)- Vader and Bigelow flapjack Muta and Vader gives him a Rock Bottom to win the IWGP tag titles.
The split between him and Larry Sharpe- He was a great guy but was a horrible businessman and very greedy. He didn�t have a problem with giving 10% of his money for 5 years to Sharpe for the most part. What pissed him off was when he was working for $1500 a week in Japan while Sharpe was getting $3200 a week there as his manager or $1500 a week at home as a booking fee from Inoki and still expecting 10% of Bigelow�s money. They went to court over it later in Sharpe�s hometown and Bigelow won because Sharpe wasn�t putting Bigelow�s financial well-being at the forefront. Sharpe also tried to negotiate his way into the WWF as Bigelow�s manager but Vince called him a snake to his face and told him to forget about it.
Larry Sharpe promo here. I don�t care to watch it.
His short run in WCW- Dusty Rhodes had the book there and, due to Bigelow�s bookings in Japan, wasn�t able to get a sustained push there. He also talks about how Dusty was a jerk. His run there was really short as the office made him choose between WCW and New Japan and his loyalties were to Inoki and New Japan.
Bigelow with Sir Oliver Humperdink vs. Barry Windham with JJ Dillon- This is from Starrcade 88. Bigelow gets decked while outside of the ring and counted out.
Dusty as a booker- The day he got hired as the booker, Dusty walked into the locker room and said �I�m the American Dream. I�m the rake and you�re the leaves.�, then fired a bunch of people. He felt Dusty�s ideas as a booker were too limited. He also worked for him in Florida for a few months without pay as a favor but, when Dusty got hired to be WCW�s booker again, he wouldn�t even take Bigelow�s calls.
We get HORRIBLE footage from Florida here that I�m not even going to bother with.
First impressions of Vince McMahon- Very intimidating. Lots of money and power. He�s always done business and honored his agreements. He talks about being given the opportunity to work the big match with Lawrence Taylor and brags that he was the only guy who could pull it off. (Actually, Shawn Michaels could have pulled it off but would have insisted that he beat LT cleanly with a superkick.) He got $250,000 for that one match with Taylor at Wrestlemania 11.
His series with Andre the Giant- �Andre tried to kill me� because he felt Bigelow was getting too cocky. Andre stepped on his head, tried to choke him out, and generally beat the crap out of him. Thankfully, Andre got so blown up that he couldn�t finish the job. He talked to Andre in Mexico shortly before he died. He then starts talking about a match in Mexico pitting him, Yokozuna, and Bad News Brown against Andre, Dos Carras, and Canek, Andre was pretty drunk and started to do his sit-down spot on Bad News when he sprayed a big load of diarrhea all over Bad News. Every time he tried he tried to get up, he just sprayed more out.
Andre, Bigelow, and ? vs. three luchadors- The picture is so bad I can�t tell who any of the luchadors are or what the finish was.
Hulk Hogan- Greatest guy in the world. A bunch of people tried to stab him in the back. He respects him a lot. Hogan and the other veterans like George �The Animal� Steele, Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, and Jake �The Snake� Roberts taught him a lot.
Was there every any antimosity over his spot? Only with Vader, who once beat up a 65 year old woman in Japan. He later got a lot of heat with The Clique in his later run in the WWF.
Vader and Bigelow interview- This is the same one about the Steiner Brothers from the Vader shoot.
Vader and Bigelow vs. Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner- This is also the same match from the Vader shoot.
Were drugs a problem in the locker room? Not really, as they had drug tests for cocaine and people with bad habits got fired. He said that Nick Bockwinkle became known as �Nick the Dick� because he had to watch everyone piss into the specimen cups. Weed and other drugs became a bigger concern to management after Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the Iron Sheik got busted together for drugs on Bigelow�s first day in the company. He talks about how people who let their drug usage affect their work, such as Brian Pillman or Scott Hall, need to quit.
Will wrestling ever be as hot as it was in the 80s? He thinks ECW will bring it back to that point. He talks about the cyclical nature of the business and how everyone is benefiting from it as the business is peaking with the three big companies on the rise.
Wrestlemania 4- It was just another match because he lost to One Man Gang in the first round and he could barely walk anyway. He quit the WWF shortly thereafter because Vince didn�t want to give him the time to heal.
What does he think about the amount of wrestling on TV today? It�s good for now but it�ll get stale because the nWo can only do so much. He says WCW will slowly fall because they overexposed themselves and can�t top what they used to do anymore.
Paul Heyman- He got Paul E his first manager gig in Memphis. Paul E got him his gig wrestling at Studio 54. He puts over how Paul E treats his employees like family rather than Eric Bischoff, who is possessive prick, and Vince, who pushes you hard until he gets what he wants and then could care less about you.
Bigelow and Jerry Lawler vs. Tommy Rich and Austin Idol- This is a hardcore brawl with no ending.
The WWF�s harassment of him in 1988- They wanted him to change the pattern of his flame-print bodysuit and change his name, despite the fact that he owned both. He says he told Vince �I guess you want me to grow my hair back, too.�
What were the differences between his first runs in the NWA and the WWF- The NWA had a smaller ring and a different wrestling style. The WWF had a larger ring and it was all about marketing and TV.
Starrcade 88- Bigelow takes credit for the success of a lot of the shows he was on, such as Starrcade 88 and Wrestlemania 11. He says that NWA wrestlers went balls-out in the ring because that was their living, while the WWF guys didn�t do as much because those 65 days straight on the road and double-shots on the weekend wore you out quickly.
Bigelow vs. Some Japanese Guy- Bigelow wins with a bodyslam and a big splash.
USWA- He had a lot of friends there and had a lot of fun and would work there between tours in Japan.
Bigelow vs. Lawler- It�s a bunch of brawling that goes to a double countout when they go into the ringside seats.
What lead to him leaving New Japan? He fulfilled his 5 years there and he wanted to come back but he wasn�t the #1 guy there between Vader being there and both Scott Norton and Tony Haime (Ludvig Borga in the WWF, currently a Finnish parliament member) coming into the company. He never came back once the company signed an exclusive deal with WCW that only allowed WCW wrestlers to work for the company. Bigelow had been told that the door was open for a return shortly before that but, after the deal, they wouldn�t even return his calls.
Other companies in Japan- He worked for several companies including WAR and All Japan, where he worked with �Dr. Death� Steve Williams. He says that the more companies there are in a country, the better it is for a wrestler. The fewer companies there are, the more likely that someone will get too much too fast. He brings up The Rock at this point, talking about how he�s doing fine now but he�s limited and his talent will be limited. He says that at least Rock learned from his first run with the Intercontinental title in 1997 and is able to handle it better now, but that most guys aren�t able to do that.
Bigelow and Owen Hart vs. �Dr. Death� Steve Williams and Pegasus Kid- Pegasus Kid is Chris Benoit under a mask. Owen pins Benoit by reversing a top-rope belly-to-back suplex attempt so that he landed on Benoit�s chest and was able to hook the leg for the pin.
WAR and Tenryu- Tenryu was a good guy and, every time he saw him, Tenryu would stick $1000 in his hand. He was sorry to see the company fold but says �the talent sucked.�
Bigelow vs. Some Japanese Guy- Some Japanese Guy wins with a legdrop.
Why did he come back to WCW- He had fun working with Abdullah the Butcher there. Kevin Sullivan was always a trip to work with. He was working with Mike �not Bastion Booger (Mike Shaw, Norman the Lunatic) but the Varsity Club like Mike Rotundo and Kevin Sullivan.�
Bigelow, Cactus Jack, and Kevin Sullivan with Sir Oliver Humperdink vs. Abdullah the Butcher, Norman the Lunatic, and Captain Mike Rotundo- This was when the �Captain Mike� gimmick was that of a sailor and NOT the captain of the Syracuse University wrestling team. The match went for Abdullah�s team although the pin was not shown on camera� typical WCW production for you.
Abdullah no-showing a lot in WCW- Abdullah didn�t like doing jobs but, at his age, he didn�t have a lot of talent left.
Bigelow and Sir Oliver Humperdink vs. Abdullah the Butcher- This turns into a big brawl between the teams of the previous match, with Cactus Jack getting his ass kicked.
The differences between his NWA run and his first WCW run- The difference was the talent.
Matches with Scott Steiner- Both Steiners are good guys. He�s fun to work with and very strong. Both are very talented but got to the point where they didn�t want to put anyone over and it killed them off, much like the Road Warriors.
Is it a problem when people get caught up in winning and losing? Not if they go out there and do it right. If they�re bitter about losing and sandbag the match, it hurts the match. Bigelow will give his all no matter what, such as last night losing the ECW TV title to Rob Van Dam. He said that Shawn Michaels didn�t want to job at Wrestlemania 14 and it showed because the match sucked.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Rob Van Dam with Fonzie- Sabu hits an Arabian Facebuster on Bigelow to give RVD the win.
End of Tape 1
Tape 2
We start off with Bigelow laying out Tazz at an ECW show while the Triple Threat (Lance Storm, Chris Candido, and Shane Douglas with Francine) celebrate. Storm gets a title belt to the head by Candido, as he is kicked out of the Triple Threat.
Going back to the WWF- The independents sucked back then and ECW wasn�t much, so he went back to work for Vince. There were no bitter feelings between him and Vince, as he got a nice push. He feels that the main reason he was buried on his was out was due to the Clique�s hatred of his friend Chris Candido. The Clique also did a few things that they shouldn�t have done and Bigelow was one of the only ones to stand up against them.
How different was it without Hogan there? Bret Hart and Yokozuna both did well as champion so it wasn�t too much of a difference. The locker room was different, though, as there was a lot of pissing, moaning, and politics. As an example, �Bob Holly wanted to be treated like he was Superman.� He says that if anyone had a problem with what they were making, they should have negotiated a better contract because Vince McMahon would have lived up to his end no matter what he thought of the deal. (I think Bret Hart will beg the differ on that point.)
Feuding with Tatanka- They had good matches together. �Good stiff, stiff matches.� He also worked with Luna Vachon for a little while and she pissed and moaned a lot about not being given stuff to do. Talent will always push someone to the top because they can�t just make someone a star by putting them on TV anymore.
Matches with Bret Hart- �Good payday.� Bret�s a class act and a good friend of his. He handled the business well.
Was Bret a pain in the ass to work with? �Vince is a pain in the ass too but it�s all business.� That�s the way business will always be. Hogan, for example, wanted more than what Vince was going to give him so he ended up leaving the company. �If half the boys had any idea how much money was involved, they�d be a prick too.�
Vince on trial for steroids- Everyone was pulling for Vince because it would have killed the territory if he was convicted. Everyone wants promoters to survive so they�ll have more places they can work. There weren�t serious fears about Vince getting convicted though. Vince was different after the trial because he was so relieved. He then makes an observation that everything the company did, such as bankrolling a Hulk Hogan movie, the World Bodybuilding Federation, or Vince McMahon�s defense, cost the boys money. �It didn�t cost Vince a dime.�
When did everyone realize that The Clique was in control of the WWF? When they would all go into production meetings, the talent would influence him and it hurt the company as a result. He finds it funny that Vince would come out of one of those meetings talking about how nice it is to have loyal wrestlers like The Clique then, two weeks later, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall signed with WCW. The Clique would be pricks to everyone and how they, especially Shawn Michaels in particular, would go up to guys like the Bushwhackers and berate them. He also mentions the Harris Twins kicking Shawn Michaels� ass and the Syracuse Incident in which an unknown number of marines made Shawn their bitch.
Bigelow vs. Some Japanese Guy- Bigelow wins with a powerslam and a splash.
How did the Lawrence Taylor thing come about? Lex Luger set that up. Lex did several charity golf events with LT and put the idea past him. The next thing Bigelow knew, he was called into Vince�s office and had the idea pitched to him. He agreed to do it on the condition that he called all the shots on it. It was a big opportunity for him to get a lot of mainstream exposure. �The Clique didn�t like it� because Shawn and Nash were technically the main event but Bigelow-LT went on last and got all the exposure. He would have had a much better position in the WWF if The Clique hadn�t screwed him but he couldn�t be happier than where he is today in ECW. (Man he can lie with a straight face well.)
Was LT even into it? It was just the money because he was all messed up on drugs and needed the million dollars that Vince was going to pay him. Bigelow told LT before the match that if he screwed up, he was going to pin him in the center of the ring and there was nothing he could do about it. He was so blown up that he was visibly sucking wind at the end of the match. LT put him over greatly after the match as one of the greatest athletes he�s ever seen and gave him his rookie helmet.
Shawn missing a lot of time after Wrestlemania- He figures it had to do with Shawn�s attitude but there is nothing concrete there. He knows Shawn hates to do jobs so that probably played into it.
Teaming with Kevin Nash at King of the Ring 1995- There was never any tension between him and Nash because Nash was only bad when he was around the other Clique members. He was pretty cool when you dealt with him one on one. He says Scott Hall would burn the candle at both ends by coming and saying �Shawn Michaels is an asshole� and, if anyone was dumb enough to agree with him, he�d immediately tell the other Clique members that people though Shawn was an asshole. �That was Razor�s deal. Besides being a drug addict and getting so fucked up all the time, he�d jump back and forth all the time. The 1-2-3 Kid (X-Pac), too. The Kid was a little backstabber.� Stuff like that is why there was the incident at the ECW show where Bigelow, Candido, and Shane Douglas yelled at Scott Hall and wouldn�t let him hang around. They felt that they lost their jobs and positions in the WWF as a result of Hall and the rest of the Clique�s bullshit.
Were there ever any blowups in the lockeroom? �They�d have gotten their asses kicked. At one time, they wanted to jump me and they were like �All right, you go first.��
Did he ever go to Vince about it? Vince refused to acknowledge there was any Clique at all. That was enough for Bigelow to realize it was time to go. He says he left on good terms with Vince, who let him out of the last year of his contract on the provision that he not do any pay per views before it would have expired.
Bigelow vs. �Lionheart� Chris Jericho vs. Konnan in a Triangle elimination match- Jericho pins Bigelow in a German suplex pin spot. Or those who haven�t heard of this spot, it�s typically seen in Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels matches like Michaels vs. Bulldog at Beware of Dog. In short, one guy goes for a German suplex and the ref counts three, but the guy who was suplexed is the one who picks up the win because he raised his shoulders and the other guy didn�t. In the Beware of Dog match, neither guy raised their shoulders and the feud continued until King of the Ring 1996. Oh, and the match is cut off after Bigelow�s eliminated, so we don�t get the remainder of Jericho vs. Konnan.
The Bret and Shawn situation- �Wow, they hated each other. Both their egos pushed them to the point where they couldn�t agree about anything.� It got to the point where Bob Backlund, one of the nicest guys in the business, would have stretched Shawn if he worked with him. Bigelow thinks that not only is Bret and Vince a work but also Kevin Nash and Scott Hall going to WCW in 1996. He feels that Vince told them to bleed Ted Turner dry and come back at some point. He says there�s something seriously wrong when Nash and Hall are making $950,000 each yet they piss and moan about how they want to come back to the WWF, where they�d make about 1/3 of that. �You pull three or four years there and you�ve got nothing to fear about unless you�re a drug addict.�
His match with Kimo- They couldn�t find anybody so they brought him in. He claims that it was supposed to be a shoot when they were paying him $30,000 but, once they wanted him to job, his price kept going up. He says that he wanted a contract and $100,000 cash, which he got. He dropped 50 pounds, got his cardio up, and was training with a bunch of shooters, then he showed up and was asked to put Kimo over. He figured �I�m getting $100,000 so what the Hell�� and agreed to it. He�d do it again if he got another $100,000 but feels that Ultimate Fighting burns out because the matches are too quick and most superstars� careers only last about two years. �Thank God my match was a work� because Ultimate Fighters train their asses off and you�ll probably get your ass kicked. (Most MMA people will dispute his claim that the match was a work, as Kimo was a legit badass who had only lost twice at that point, to Royce Gracie at UFC 1 and Ken Shamrock at UFC 8, and could easily have handled an untested fighter like Bigelow.)
Bigelow vs. Kimo- Bigelow taps out to a reverse naked choke. He�s pretty much on the mat getting his face pounded in for 90% of the match until Kimo tuns him on his stomach and lays the choke in.
At what point in his career did he think �I finally made it�? When he made $250,000 at Wrestlemania 11. The key to him was to make a lot of money in the business so he could always leave the business is he needed to.
First impressions of ECW- �Sick.� He was always taught the exact opposite of what they did. He says now they can actually put some wrestling in there along with all the hardcore stuff. After a while, the hardcore stuff won�t draw nearly as many fans as it does now. Doing more wrestling will add longevity to the federation.
Bigelow vs. Cactus Jack- Cactus cuts a pre-match promo about the Bigelow-LT match at Wrestlemania. Cactus is wearing his �WW F�in F� shirt here because he�s about to leave ECW to become Mankind. Bigelow beats Cactus with a clothesline then Cactus, Blue Meanie, and Stevie Richards start beating on Bigelow. Bigelow no-sells a Steviekick then whips Stevie�s ass. Tazz then jumps Bigelow and gives him a T-bone Tazzplexx and the Tazzmission.
Has he gotten offers from the WWF or WCW since he�s been in ECW? �Yes, very lucrative offers.� He�s turned them down, though, because he�s happy in ECW for now.
Does he miss wrestling in front of 20,000 fan crowds? Not with ECW fans. WWF fans just go because it�s in town. ECW fans are rabid about the federation and its talent.
Chris Candido and Shane Douglas- He�d known Chris Candido and Balls Mahoney ever since the two of them were kids in New Jersey working out in the ring Bigelow wrestled in. He had known Shane Douglas since he was in the NWA tagging with Johnny Ace and Ricky Steamboat. He starts talking about how much power the Triple Threat has in the company and how they can draw every night, etc. He feels that some office members see them as a threat because, if they ever turn something down, the company will get hurt.
We get footage of the Triple Threat beating on Balls Mahoney.
What would happen if a Clique member was brought into ECW? It would just be business so they�d deal with it. He�d speak his peace then wrestle them. If they were pricks, he�d stretch them and it would probably be their only match in the company because neither Scott Hall nor Shawn Michaels could kick his ass.
Spike Dudley- Hard worker. �People like him are assets to the business� and by him throwing Spike into the crowd, people started respecting Spike.
Bigelow vs. Spike Dudley- Bigelow presses Spike and throws him onto the turnbuckle support. When Spike gets back into the ring, Bigelow picks him up again and throws him from the ring into the fifth row of fans at ringside.
The match with Shane Douglas at November To Remember- It was a long match, about 40 minutes, and he�d told Shane to lay in the shots on him. He didn�t feel the match went off well at the time but, looking back, it told the story they wanted to tell. He says he can go 10 or 20 minutes balls-out but it was very hard for him to go 40 minutes when he wrestles his style, which uses a lot more highspots than most big guys use. He puts over Shane heavily as a champion and a guy.
Bigelow vs. Shane Douglas- Bigelow tries to powerbomb Douglas onto half a table that is stretched across a chair but Douglas counters it and gives Bigelow a belly to belly suplex through the table to regain his ECW title.
Tazz- The match they had was, in his opinion, Tazz�s best match ever. People may bitch about Tazz�s attitude but that�s his business. He went out and surprised Bigelow in that match and he was happy to see Tazz succeed to the level he�s at today.
Bigelow vs. Tazz- This is the infamous match where Bigelow slammed Tazz through the ring while trying to shake off the Tazzmission. This was swiped by the WWF for a Big Show vs. Undertaker title match on RAW in 1999. Bigelow pulls Tazz out of the hole and pins him for the ECW TV title.
If he didn�t become a wrestler, what would he be doing? He has no idea but wouldn�t have been doing time because he was getting out of the biker life. He figures he�d have stayed in the roofing business and still be doing that.
What made him get the tattoo on his head? He did it as a freshman in a high school because it seemed like a cool idea at the time. It hurt but not as much as people think. He also had a higher tolerance for doing stupid shit back then, as he said he used to be able to drink a fifth of Jack Daniels, puke, and then drink another one. Now he gets sick even smelling it.
Being a veteran in the ECW locker room- He hopes the young guys look up to him and give him the respect he gave to the veterans when he was young. He wants to try and pass on his knowledge and not be a prick. �I don�t want them to friggin� blow me or anything like that�, he just wants to give them advice he thinks will help them. Some of them get a little pissed because they think they�re equal with him and not below him. As far as he�s concerned, if someone steps into the ring with him and has the best match of their career, there�s definitely something wrong.
Getting a booker position- He doesn�t want to be the booker but wants to be involved in the process and groom new talent. He feels he�s one of the better hands-on trainers, along with Tazz and Brad Rheingans.
Was Bigelow vs. Hogan ever a possibility in the WWF? No, although it would have been a big money match. He doesn�t think Vince even thought about it in the nine months he was there. It didn�t disappoint him never to wrestle Hogan in his career.
How has his body held up over the years? It�s held up fine because he�s had breaks every so often. He gets a chance to heal up when he gets hurt in ECW and, unlike his injuries in the WWF, Paul E will pay for his surgeries if he gets hurt in the ring. He�s also able to get on Paul E�s insurance through the company, which is something not offered in the WWF.
Would he ever go back to the WWF or WCW? It�s a possibility because he may come to a disagreement with Paul one day that sees him leaving.
What�s his view on Memphis closing down? It�s a low blow because that�s one of the places where people need to go in order to learn the business before coming to ECW, the WWF, etc. He badmouths most of the independents and New Jersey promoter Dennis Corralluzzo in particular.
Dennis Corralluzzo- Dennis was deposed as an expert witness about the business relationship between Bigelow and Larry Sharpe. The problem was that Bigelow had never met him before the trial and, afterwards, made sure to confront Dennis. Dennis tried to claim he never said anything bad but Bigelow said �Dennis, I�ve got it in fucking writing.� �Maybe he was blowing Larry Sharpe� or maybe Larry was blowing him.� (Sharp and Corralluzzo had a business relationship that continued until the mid-90s at the least because they co-promoted a show with ECW owner Tod Gordon early in the life of Eastern Championship Wrestling.) He says that horribly indy promotions like Corralluzzo�s are why the WWF has Dr. Tom Pritchard training guys in Connecticut, WCW has the Power Plant, ECW has the House of Hardcore, etc., but that it�s not the same as working in a territory.
What are some of his favorite matches? His matches teaming with Hogan, the Sumo Palace match with Masa Chono, the matches with Vader, the Steiner Brothers, Inoki, Muta, Hase, Sasake, Choshu, Rob Van Dam, Tazz. The Tazz match was high on his list not due to the quality of it but the fact that it was in his hometown and it was the first time he�d ever broken through a ring instead of just breaking a few boards.
Bigelow and Vader vs. Some Japanese Guys- Vader hits a Rock Bottom on one of the guys for the win.
Seeing Vince wrestle on RAW- There was a time when Vince got drunk and decided he wanted to take everyone�s finishes on the floor of a bar, including the Road Warriors� Destruction Device. He ended up having neck surgery because of it. As for the �match�, he said the ending was a total letdown. (This was the first teased Vince vs. Steve Austin match and it ended before it ever began because Dude Love (Mick Foley) interfered, pretended to be a peacemaker, then laid Austin out.) Vince will wrestle eventually though. He does a Mike Tyson impression here talking about �Cold Stoned� and how Shawn Michaels is �an up and comer.�
The Triple Threat- �Shane Douglas has a lot of heart. Chris Candido will do whatever we tell him. One thing I�ll do is make sure no one gets over on my friends.�
Going to Dory Funk�s Funkin Dojo- One night, he, Candido, Al Snow, and Jerry Lynn took a ride up to watch Dory Funk�s seminar, which was hilarious. He makes a bunch of Steve Blackman jokes, calling him �GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip�, etc. He says they�re paying talent $100,000 a year who will never have a clue.
Scott Hall trying to crash an ECW show- Scott had asked someone if it was okay if he could come to the show. Shane Douglas had said �If he comes, I�ll kick his ass.� They didn�t think he�d even show up, but he came with PJ Walker (Justin Credible) and acted like he didn�t have heat due to the way he�d acted in the WWF.
Background on why they hated Hall- He knows that Scott was involved in spreading rumors about Sunny cheating on Chris Candido, which Bigelow says was bullshit. Shane got blackballed because Scott Hall didn�t want to work with him, sandbagging him in the ring and, as a result, they badmouthed him to Vince and tried to put Triple H in Shane�s spot. Bigelow talks about how Triple H is a piece of shit and a scumbag and will never draw as much money as Shane. (If they hadn�t jobbed out everyone in the company from Steve Austin on down for Triple H, he never WOULD have drawn as much money as Shane Douglas. He was pretty damn pathetic until Mick Foley made his career in early 2000.)
When Hall actually arrived, Shane went right up to him, called him a piece of shit, and told him how much he�d made him hate the business while he was in the WWF. Hall tried to pretend like he was still friends with Candido and Bigelow but both told him that he was a jerkoff and that he knew how he screwed them all over. Bigelow told him to leave because the didn�t want the entire locker room to get a bad rap because Hall was high at the time. Hall took a cab ride home within the hour. It started a commotion in the locker room, although Bigelow didn�t let Shane kick Scott�s ass like he wanted to. If Scott had come in and apologized for what happened in the past, they�d have dealt with it but he came in pretending that they were all friends and it pissed them off. On Scott�s way out the door, he even made some smartass comment about how ECW wouldn�t even be there in 6 months. (For the record, ECW lasted about another three years after that show, give or take a few months) He says that he�s heard a lot about Scott being a cokehead and that he snorts a lot and figures he�ll be shooting up eventually. He doesn�t like kicking a guy when he�s down but feels Scott was in the wrong and that he shouldn�t have even shown up at the show. The only Clique guy he thinks he wouldn�t even say hello to would be Triple H and that�s because he�s such a brownnoser. Trips used to carry Scott and Shawn�s bags and had �that big nose of his up Kevin�s ass.� He felt bad for Justin Credible for the whole situation because it got heat on him although he�s ECW through and through. Afterwards, he talked to Paul E and was told that he was the locker room leader and whatever decision he made would be respected.
Does he think Hall will be released? Who knows because Nash and Hall have a lot of pull but Hogan also has a lot of pull and doesn�t get along with them. He says that WCW is full of cliques that don�t get along and it�s getting ugly behind the scenes over there.
Ric Flair- Ric needs to change up his moveset and dump some stuff like the turnbuckle flip. He also needs to cut down on the partying because everyone�s had enough of him stripping bare-ass naked in the bar or running around wearing only a sock on his dick and calling himself the Masked Marauder. He says the funniest story about Flair�s partying is the night where a hooker put a Mickey in Flair�s drink and stole his Rolex and his money, as Flair had to go out and buy an identical Rolex so his wife wouldn�t find out what happened.
Phone call questions-
Does he think it�s time that ECW starts putting mats around the ring? No, because it would take away from ECW�s outlaw image, the guys have gotten used to working on what�s already out there, and it would drop things down.
Feelings towards Vince McMahon and The Clique- The Clique is dead. Vince is a businessman and always will be. Vince had such a bad experience with The Clique influencing him that he doesn�t think it�ll ever happen again. (You�d think that but, as I�m writing this, Kevin Nash is being prepped for a title match with Triple H that NO ONE outside The Clique wants to see and they crowds are being very vocal about that fact.)
What would be the highlight of his career? Getting paid a million dollars to wrestle someone he hates. It would also be nice to see ECW being right up there with the WWF and WCW in the ratings.
What happened with him, Shane, and Candido with Paul E and Justin Credible over the Scott Hall incident in Florida? Nothing, although everyone felt sorry for Justin since he�d brought a friend to the show who had heat with them and, as a result, was told to leave. Paul had said that they were in the position to make that position and that everyone should support him.
What�s his opinion of Bill Goldberg? He�s green but looks impressive. Looks very intense and has a lot of emotion. He hopes he comes to work in ECW.
Is he considering a return to either of the Big Two? No, because ECW is gaining a lot of momentum and they�ll be able to stand their own against the other companies.
What was it like wrestling Lawrence Taylor? He was a cool guy and a great athlete. LT showed him a lot of respect and received the same in turn.
What�s his feeling towards losing to Lawrence Taylor? The only bad feelings he has are that the only thing anyone remembers is that he lost and not that it was a good match. $250,000 makes up for it, though.
Is ECW coming to Chicago anytime soon? They�re trying to get on FoxNet and, hopefully, they�ll be running every major city within a year.
Was it difficult to learn the moonsault? He learned it off of his diving board.
What�s his fondest memory of working in ECW? It was the match he just had with Rob Van Dam in Buffalo, even though he lost because Sabu messed him up. He says if you get a standing ovation after losing a match, you�ve definitely accomplished something for the company.
Did the Triple Threat all meet each other in the WWF or did Paul E put you together? He�s known Candido since he lived in the next town over and knew Shane from the NWA.
Does he prefer being a face or a heel? He prefers being a heel because he can tell people to fuck off and hang up on them.
Does he plan to go back to Japan? He�s going there next week to work with Masato Tanaka in FWM.
Whatever happened to Sir Oliver Humperdink? He�s running a go-go bar down in the Florida Keys.
How would he compare Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, and Paul Heyman? Paul E�s the current genius of booking and is one of the boys. Bischoff and McMahon are both jerkoffs.
If he had to do something different in his career, what would it be? He wouldn�t have slammed Dino Bravo when he blew out his knee because Vince would have given him the WWF title, although he doesn�t really regret anything.
How long is he staying in ECW? He thinks he�s ECW for life because the fans are great.
Will he get another title shot? He wants to be world champ again sooner or later.
What was the deal with Scott Hall in Florida? Scott showed up at the building all screwed up and was told to go home. He also had heat from his WWF run with the Triple Threat beforehand.
What did he think of working in Japan and is he going back? He loved working there and is going to work for FWM soon.
Bam Bam goes into a story from behind the scenes of Wrestlemana 14 here. He talks about how a reliable source told him that, after the Undertaker vs. Kane match, Undertaker taped up his hands, sat in front of the TV backstage, and threatened to completely mess up Shawn Michaels if he didn�t lose the belt to Steve Austin. Shawn was apparently threatening to not job the belt to Austin, which would have totally screwed the company because Shawn�s back was screwed and people had decided they�d taken enough of his crap anyway.
Louie Spicoli- He was a great guy and it was a shame he was taking so many pills. Brian Pillman was doomed from five years ago, though.
Did the WWF let him be himself? If Vince has a creation for you in his mind, you�re going to get it whether you want it or not. As for Bam Bam, the gimmick was so over that Vince couldn�t change it. He�s going to go with what will make him the most money.
Who�s the nicest guy he�s worked with and who�s the biggest jerk? Bob Backlund is the nicest guy and Vader is the biggest jerk.
What does he think of ECW�s future? It�s going to be bigger than anyone ever imagined.
Shawn Michaels- Great worker, bad attitude, bad way that he does business.
Rob Van Dam- One of the up and coming superstars.
What�s the stiffest promotion he�s ever wrestled in? ECW. Japan�s only stiff when the cameras are on.
Bigelow�s movie career- He was in Snake Eater 3 with Lorenzo Lamas, Major Payne, Joe�s Apartment, and some other movies.
Where did he train to be a pro wrestler? Buddy Rogers broke me in but he also trained at Larry Sharpe�s Monster Factory.
Does he plan on doing another shoot fight? Maybe, if they pay him the $100,000 he got to face Kimo.
Bigelow vs. Shane Douglas- Bigelow powerbombs Shane for the win and the ECW title.
Bigelow vs. Sabu with Fonzie- This goes to a DQ due to Rob Van Dam�s interference. Why there was a DQ in an ECW match, I�ll never know.
Bigelow vs. Candido- Bigelow wins with a powerslam.
Bigelow vs. Rob Van Dam with Fonzie- RVD wins with a Van Daminator after Sabu jabs Bigelow in the eyes to win the ECW TV title. This match is on the DVD and VHS versions of ECW Extreme Evolution. *CORRECTION ALERT* I have been notified that this match was not on Extreme Evolution but, instead, ECW Path of Destruction.
Bigelow vs. Tazz- This is a poorly lit house show match and probably the worst handcam work I�ve ever seen. The match goes to an apparent no-contest after Bigelow and Tazz beat up the ref.
Bigelow vs. New Jack- Shoot me now. I hope someone uses New Jack�s own staplegun on his nuts so we don�t have to worry about him polluting the gene pool. Bigelow wins with a big splash and a headbutt.
Thoughts- Bigelow has a lot of interesting stuff to say but he�s VERY full of himself and thinks he�s the biggest badass on the planet. He also has at least a few credibility issues, as the claim that he was asked to job to Kimo seems to be an after-the-fact cover for him losing in under five minutes and his claim that Vince McMahon was going to give him the WWF title in 1988 was never substantiated by anyone else. I�m going to go with a rating of Recommended but you may get sick of Bam Bam�s repetitive comments of �I�ll stretch him� or �I�ll kick his ass� within the first hour of this interview.
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