Bam Bam Bigelow Compilation DVD

With Summerslam finally out of the way, I had some extra time and started back in on the pile of DVDs I bought a few weeks back.  I took care of this one, which was the first of the set so far that had actual wrestling (shocking I know).  Let’s get to it.

Bigelow is an interesting case as he’s one of the first high flying big men to gain prominence in America.  He had a very unique look with a lot of size that could move around, but that head tattoo is one of the best trademarks you’ll ever see.  He was always someone to watch and would have been a main event player back in the late 1980s had his knees not given out (and had he not been as loyal to Japan).  If nothing else, he was the first wrestler whose name I could say as a baby, though given that my first word was cranium (I don’t get it either), I don’t know how much of a positive that is.

What we have here is a collection of very random matches and parts of a 1998 shoot interview.  The interview itself is about two hours and forty five minutes but we only get about forty five minutes here.  What we do get is rather entertaining though as Bigelow is a pretty good interview, talking about everywhere he’s been (which is a lot of places) and speaking highly of himself, but not going insane.  He has praise for some people and criticisms for others so it’s not like he’s going nuts or anything.  At the same time, his discussions of what happens when you have no competition and a billionaire comes along with a bunch of money to invest in wrestling hold up 21 years later in an almost eerie manner.  I could go for the whole interview as what we got was intriguing stuff.

The matches….I don’t get it.  I understand that they could only use certain stuff so we have an indy match, a pair of ECW fancam matches and a short clip from a Memphis match in 1986, but there’s one problem: Bigelow goes 1-3 in these matches, including losing a title in one of them.  If the set is supposed to be a nice look at Bigelow, who in the world thought showing him losing most of the time was a good idea?

The whole thing only runs about an hour and a half so it’s a very quick sit with one good match and some interesting stuff in the interview, so this was as easy of a DVD as you could sit through.  The other three matches combine to be about as long as the good one so even they don’t weigh it down too much.  It’s a nice entry, but it feels like it was put together without thinking things through.  Bigelow isn’t going to get the big WWE DVD release so this is about all you can ask for.

And now, the matches.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Samu
Date: November 6, 1998
Location: Patterson Catholic High School, Patterson, New Jersey
Commentators: Unknown

This is from an Independent Superstars of Professional Wrestling (ISPW) event. Samu (Roman Reigns’ father) is a pretty big guy as well, though nowhere near as big as Bigelow of course. Commentary talks about Bigelow being a champion everywhere in the world. And that’s very true, assuming you leave out the two biggest companies he had worked for so far. Samu jumps him at the bell and gets in a “beautiful eye rake”. Bigelow comes out of the corner with some clotheslines and it’s time to go out to the floor.

Samu goes into various metal objects as one of the commentators suggests going after the bare pinkie toe. Back in and Bigelow misses a splash in the corner, allowing Samu to hit a “beautiful” side kick. Choking ensues and what looked to be a low blow in the corner keeps Bigelow in trouble. Samu bites in the corner and pokes him in the eye, only to miss a splash of his own. The referee gets bumped off a clothesline, just as Bigelow hits his headbutt. The timing of these things is one of the great marvels of wrestling. Cue another Samoan to hit Bigelow with a chair though and Samu gets the pin at 3:49.

Rating: D+. Of all the matches you could pick for Bigelow, you start the match with a loss? I know it’s kind of hard to find an indy match for him, but you would think they could find a squash win for him. Either way, they treated Bigelow as a big deal here and it wasn’t a clean loss, but the match wasn’t even that good.

Post match, Bigelow promises to get a piece of Samu’s a** and make it his. That’s getting a tad personal, no?

ECW TV Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Date: April 4, 1998
Location: Burt Flickinger Center, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 2,600

Bigelow is defending and this is fan cam footage so the quality isn’t exactly quality. Bigelow (with a bandage on the side of his head) comes out to Welcome To The Jungle and the star power is strong with this one as Bigelow almost charges to the ring and you can feel the raw energy. The song is kind of perfect for a wrestling entrance (it was used in the WrestleCon Supershow Battle Royal and one of the commentators said “This could be any independent wrestler since the 80s!”) but my goodness it’s weird to see Bigelow with a belt. Van Dam (with Bill Alfonso) is just a cocky heel at this point and not the ECW legend he would become.

We get some LAWRENCE TAYLOR chants during the Big Match Intros for a little old school twist. They take their time to start with Bigelow being weary of the kicks. Bigelow gets smart and punches him in the face but Rob is right back with the kicks. For some reason Rob tries a charge in the corner and is thrown down like he’s not even there. I mean, as much as you can throw something that isn’t there….I think. We get a breather on the floor so Fonzie can give Van Dam some pointers, or maybe make a weed order.

Back in and Bigelow pounds away some more but the top rope kick to the face takes him down. Rolling Thunder: beta version gets one and Bigelow low bridges him to the floor. That means an exchange of postings before Van Dam’s headscissors is easily countered with a shove over the barricade. They’re playing up a nice story here with Rob using all of his flying and athleticism and Bigelow just using raw power.

The fight into the crowd is capped off with Bigelow being sent face first into the barricade and then getting kicked right back into the chairs. Fonzie declares Bigelow soft as a boiled egg as Van Dam pelts a chair at Bigelow’s head. That sets up the big dive over the barricade as Van Dam is breaking him down. A CRAZY top rope flip dive over the barricade takes Bigelow down again but Van Dam crashes even harder. The legdrop over the barricade (minus the spin) keeps Bigelow in trouble but Van Dam is spent from all the flips.

Bigelow is back up with a slam onto the timekeeper’s table and a big elbow off the apron puts Van Dam through it in a crash that isn’t as big as you would expect around here. It takes some time for them to get up so Van Dam kicks him in the head, with the bandage gone and the blood flowing. Back in and Bigelow runs him over again but misses the moonsault (I always liked how he did those), setting up the Five Star (or close to it) for two.

A Samoan drop (with Van Dam landing on his shoulder) gets two and Bigelow spikes him with a scary looking brainbuster for the same. Greetings From Asbury Park bumps the referee so here’s Sabu to throw a chair at Bigelow. Not to be outdone, Bigelow throws Sabu at Van Dam and then powerbombs him, with Sabu somehow landing on his face (only Sabu). The chair is back in though as it’s the Van Daminator for the pin and the title at 15:47.

Rating: B-. Remind me to not sign up for a compilation DVD anytime soon as it seems to be a bunch of losses. I liked this one and the interference at the end is fine as it makes sense to have Fonzie’s guys cheat to win the title. Van Dam was about to have a rocket attached to his back as he would hold the title for nearly two years without ever being defeated for it as a broken ankle forced him to vacate it.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. New Jack
Date: February 20, 1998
Location: Woodbridge Armory, Woodbridge, New Jersey
Attendance: 1,200

Fancam again and since it’s a New Jack match, the music is blaring so loudly that there may or may not have been a bell. Bigelow jumps him during the entrance and pounds away with a headbutt sending Jack into the pile of weapons. A low blow is loaded up as Bigelow somehow doesn’t notice Jack holding a big metal sheet, which goes right along the tattooed head. And now, here’s an umbrella, because Jack apparently inspired Jack Gallagher.

Rating: D+. Well at least he won something. This was all about the weapons vs. the wrestler though Bigelow can brawl very well in his own right. I’ve never cared for New Jack for the most part but it’s hard not to smile a little bit at him being so into what he does. As long as they don’t advertise him as a wrestler and just acknowledge that he’s a gimmick nutjob, he can be acceptable in small doses like this one.

Post match the beatdown is on until someone (looks like John Kronus) comes in for the save. This goes badly for him as well with Greetings From Asbury Park leaving him laying. Jack and Kronus get destroyed with the weapons.

AWA Southern Title/AWA International Title: Jerry Lawler vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Date: September 8, 1986
Location: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentator: Lance Russell

Lawler is International Champion, Bigelow is Southern Champion and this is a Texas Deathmatch, meaning Last Man Standing but you have to get a pin before the count starts. Therefore, we’re joined in progress in the seventh fall, with Russell saying we’re about thirty minutes in. Lawler knocks him down but gets whipped into the referee in the corner.

A splash gives Bigelow the pin from a groggy referee, who doesn’t notice Lawler’s feet on the ropes. Bigelow’s manager Larry Sharpe blasts Bigelow with a chair by mistake and they’re both down after a rest period. Lawler gets to his feet first and gets both titles at 4:14 shown. I’m not rating four minutes (with over a minute of the two of them laying after the bell) of a thirty minute match but this was classic Memphis.

Post match Sharpe beats Bigelow up, which for some reason needed a quick intro from Lawler.