Ex-Pro Wrestler 'Bam Bam' Bigelow Dies

[TxRedneck13]

Ex-Pro Wrestler 'Bam Bam' Bigelow Dies
Cause of Death Won't Be Known for Few Weeks
AP
HUDSON, Fla. (Jan. 22) - Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, the tattooed heavyweight professional TV wrestler, has died. He was 45.


Wrestling Giant Dies

AP
Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, who wrestled with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, was found dead in his home by his brother.

He was found dead in his home on Friday, his brother Todd Bigelow said Monday.

Preliminary autopsy results did not show signs of foul play, but a cause of death will not be known until toxicology tests are completed in a few weeks, Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.

Bigelow had been struggling with a persistent infection and diabetes, his brother said.

Bigelow wrestled with Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant during his two decades as a sports entertainer. Bigelow's flame-tattooed scalp and 6-foot-2, 400-pound frame made him recognizable in and out of the ring. He retired in 2004.

A service is planned for Friday in his hometown of Neptune, N.J.


:( RIP BAM BAM

[halfnhalf]

OMG, you have to be kidding me. Bam Bam was one of the best ever. Remember when he took on LT at Wrestlemania. Man he was good, had the flames on his bald head, did cartwheels in the ring, even though he was like 300 lbs. He would do the head drop from the top rope. Man I cannot believe this.

[Snyder_TigerFan]

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/17/images/large/FLO_1_td17bam1_227751_1117.jpg

[Blastoderm55]

Jeez, I thought he'd already died. There was a case a couple of years ago where he went missing while police searched for him due to delinquent child support payments. Sad to see so many pro wrestlers succumb in this fashion. :(

R.I.P The Beast From The East

[Bull19]

A LITTLE OF TOPIC, BUT WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUSTIN 3:16?

[Emerson1]

Retired for now, he is in an upcoming movie though.

[Bull19]

WHAT ABOUT? WILL HE BE KICKING BUTTS AND TAKING NAMES?

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by Bull19
A LITTLE OF TOPIC, BUT WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUSTIN 3:16?

Well, his magic legs kind of prohibited any in-ring action, so he married Debra McMichael, beat her, co-starred in The Longest Yard, and most recently contributed to a Victoria-area "Relay for Life" in honor of his father. That's what's happened in a nutshell, I suppose.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by Bull19
WHAT ABOUT? WILL HE BE KICKING BUTTS AND TAKING NAMES?
No, it's gonna be a romantic movie. Only because you type in all caps

[Highschoolfan78]

Bam Bam recently owned a resturaunt where he had a enourmous burger named after him. It's been a few days sinceh e passed, but it's sad to see another one go as a wrestling fan.

Owen Hart
British bulldog davy boy smith
Rick Rude
Curt Henning Mr. Perfect
Big Bossman
Hawk from Roadwarriors
and now Bam Bam :(

[theyoefnshow]

don't forget eddie guerrero. it is a sad thing that so many guys from the 80s and early 90s gone befor 50. even brian pillman, kerry von erich, big john studd, yokozuna, earthquake, jerry saggs from the nasty boys, miss elizabeth......all superstars we grew up watching gone. that's why I hope vince is taking that new wellness policy seriously and that he enforces it so that another generation won't have to see its heroes drop like flies 10 years from now.

as for austin he was forced into retirement for two bad knees and a jacked up neck. rumors persist that he'll have a last match against hogan but I can't see either guy wanting to lay down for the other so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. he does have a flick coming out calld "the Condemned" which will have dual advertisement with wrestlemania 23 so expect him back on tv very soon....

[halfnhalf]

Originally posted by Highschoolfan78
Bam Bam recently owned a resturaunt where he had a enourmous burger named after him. It's been a few days sinceh e passed, but it's sad to see another one go as a wrestling fan.

Owen Hart
British bulldog davy boy smith
Rick Rude
Curt Henning Mr. Perfect
Big Bossman
Hawk from Roadwarriors
and now Bam Bam :(
HOLD ON A MINUTE!!!!!! You have got to be kidding me that the British Bulldog, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and Big Bossman are all also already dead. I already knew about animal, but wow, not all these guys. When did this happen? How did it happen? That really sucks, those guys were legends.

[Snyder_TigerFan]

Originally posted by halfnhalf
HOLD ON A MINUTE!!!!!! You have got to be kidding me that the British Bulldog, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and Big Bossman are all also already dead. I already knew about animal, but wow, not all these guys. When did this happen? How did it happen? That really sucks, those guys were legends.

I was surprised too. Search wikipedia.org for these names and you will find the info. I think most died due to complications from steriods and painkillers.

[Highschoolfan78]

Hawk died because he was a crazy partier outside the ring. I loved 'em but he was crazy...

the rest pretty much had similar stories...

i forgot eddie gurerro

[Snydertigersrul]

Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 23, 1999, during the WWF Over the Edge pay-per-view event. He was being lowered into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a predicted WWF Intercontinental Championship win over The Godfather.

In keeping with the Blazer's new 'buffoonish superhero' character, Owen was to be lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would release himself from the safety harness and then comically fall flat on his face. He had performed the stunt only a few times before, and was worried about performing the stunt at Kemper Arena due to the height involved (Owen had a fear of heights).

Owen performed a practice stunt earlier in the day, and the stunt went forward on the show as scheduled. His wife Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Owen unintentionally triggered an early release and fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, smashing his chest on a padded, but still tough, ring turnbuckle.

TV viewers at home did not see the incident or its aftermath, as the WWF was transmitting a promotional video package for the match, and only showed the audience while Owen was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring while WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly.

Owen was transported to the Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The cause was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt chest trauma. The WWF chose to continue the event, which drew a great deal of criticism over the following weeks, especially as the main event of the evening involved The Undertaker (also known as the "Deadman") winning the WWF Title.

In the weeks that followed, much attention focused on the harness Owen used that night, especially on the "quick release" trigger and safety latches. When someone is lowered from the rafters in a harness, there are backup latches that must be latched for safety purposes. These backups may take some time to unlatch, which would have made Owen's stunt difficult to perform smoothly. Therefore, it was apparently decided that it was more important not to have the safety backups, because it would be easier for Owen to unlatch himself.

In addition to not having safety backups, the harness Owen used was designed for sailboats and required only six pounds of weight to trigger the quick release mechanism; Owen weighed about 225 pounds. An out-of-court settlement between Owen Hart's family and the WWF has prevented the release of any information about the harness. The WWF, however, decided to ban stunts of a similar nature from this point on to avoid a similar event from occurring.

Owen left a widow, Martha, and two children, Oje Edward and Athena. Martha Hart settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the WWF for approximately $18 million[citation needed], and used the funds to establish the Owen Hart Foundation. Martha wrote a book about Owen's life in 2002 called Broken Harts.

Owen's last match was on May 22, 1999, in Chicago, Illinois. He and Jarrett won a tag team match against Edge and Christian.

On the October 4, 1999 edition of WCW Nitro, Owen's brother Bret Hart wrestled Chris Benoit in an Owen Hart tribute match at Kemper Arena.

[ASUFrisbeeStud]

Originally posted by Snydertigersrul
Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 23, 1999, during the WWF Over the Edge pay-per-view event. He was being lowered into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a predicted WWF Intercontinental Championship win over The Godfather.

In keeping with the Blazer's new 'buffoonish superhero' character, Owen was to be lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would release himself from the safety harness and then comically fall flat on his face. He had performed the stunt only a few times before, and was worried about performing the stunt at Kemper Arena due to the height involved (Owen had a fear of heights).

Owen performed a practice stunt earlier in the day, and the stunt went forward on the show as scheduled. His wife Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Owen unintentionally triggered an early release and fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, smashing his chest on a padded, but still tough, ring turnbuckle.

TV viewers at home did not see the incident or its aftermath, as the WWF was transmitting a promotional video package for the match, and only showed the audience while Owen was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring while WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly.

Owen was transported to the Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The cause was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt chest trauma. The WWF chose to continue the event, which drew a great deal of criticism over the following weeks, especially as the main event of the evening involved The Undertaker (also known as the "Deadman") winning the WWF Title.

In the weeks that followed, much attention focused on the harness Owen used that night, especially on the "quick release" trigger and safety latches. When someone is lowered from the rafters in a harness, there are backup latches that must be latched for safety purposes. These backups may take some time to unlatch, which would have made Owen's stunt difficult to perform smoothly. Therefore, it was apparently decided that it was more important not to have the safety backups, because it would be easier for Owen to unlatch himself.

In addition to not having safety backups, the harness Owen used was designed for sailboats and required only six pounds of weight to trigger the quick release mechanism; Owen weighed about 225 pounds. An out-of-court settlement between Owen Hart's family and the WWF has prevented the release of any information about the harness. The WWF, however, decided to ban stunts of a similar nature from this point on to avoid a similar event from occurring.

Owen left a widow, Martha, and two children, Oje Edward and Athena. Martha Hart settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the WWF for approximately $18 million[citation needed], and used the funds to establish the Owen Hart Foundation. Martha wrote a book about Owen's life in 2002 called Broken Harts.

Owen's last match was on May 22, 1999, in Chicago, Illinois. He and Jarrett won a tag team match against Edge and Christian.

On the October 4, 1999 edition of WCW Nitro, Owen's brother Bret Hart wrestled Chris Benoit in an Owen Hart tribute match at Kemper Arena.

That was actually a very sad day. I remember it very well. Almost was as big as the day Selena died, I guess the only difference was I knew who Owen Hart was and I didn't know Selena until everyone at school was crying like they knew her.

[themsu97]

I used to enjoy the heck out of wrestling... I guy I went to high school with was the nephew of one Tito Santana... McMahon has lost it these last few years and has really ronchied up wrestling... TNA is giving it a good run except they need better star power... the Rock needs to come back but unlikely as does Goldberg... the problem is that for the longest time steriods were accepted and we all know what that can do to people...
do not forget what has happened to the Ultimate Warrior, Brutus the Barber and Buff Bagwell...totally out of touch with reality now

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by Highschoolfan78
Hawk died because he was a crazy partier outside the ring. I loved 'em but he was crazy...

the rest pretty much had similar stories...

i forgot eddie gurerro

Hawk's is a sad story. He got clean, and had a heart attack while moving furniture into his new house. :(

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by themsu97
I used to enjoy the heck out of wrestling... I guy I went to high school with was the nephew of one Tito Santana... McMahon has lost it these last few years and has really ronchied up wrestling... TNA is giving it a good run except they need better star power... the Rock needs to come back but unlikely as does Goldberg... the problem is that for the longest time steriods were accepted and we all know what that can do to people...
do not forget what has happened to the Ultimate Warrior, Brutus the Barber and Buff Bagwell...totally out of touch with reality now

TNA needs to stop trying to imitate WWE. Too many vignettes. And how do they hire Christian's lackey in WWE and make him his lackey in TNA. Just makes no sense. People are tired of the product, which is why I rarely watch these days.

Rock would be a huge acquisition.
Goldberg works stiff and has no wrestling ability. I doubt TNA wants to pipe in the Goldberg chants like WCW and WWE did.
Warrior is a raving lunatic. Seriously. He legally changed his name to Warrior and has been a nutjob (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Warrior) ever since.
Brutus Beefcake had stints in WCW as the Zodiac, the Booty Man and the Disciple. He has since retired and has started a new wrestling school for the wrestlers/barbers of the future.
Buff Bagwell, I'm not too sure about. I think he joined up with that Christian promotion that featured DiBiase, Sting, and the Road Warriors. I'm sure Wikipedia knows what he's doing now. I think he had a brief stop in TNA.

[theyoefnshow]

Bagwell actually was with WWE for a little bit after Vince bought WCW. On the first show featuring WCW wrestlers, Buff main evented against Booker T. The match was so terrible (thanks to Bagwell) that he was released shortly thereafter. Plus his ego/attitude didn't do him any favors.

If you want to talk about crazy, look no further than the Ultimate Warrior. Here's a guy who LEGALLY changed his name to Warrior and is a super super republican who gives speeches and seminars at campuses all over the US. The guy is very outspoken against democrats, conservatives, gays......you name it, he'll trash them. My favorite is when he uses the term "queer propoganda." I've seen a few of his speeches and they are quite nuts. He still thrives on who he used to be but doesn't realize that kids in college these days are too young to remember who he was back in the late 80s/early 90s. He has a website http://www.ultimatewarrior.com/. Check it out if u are in need for a good laugh. Here's a guy with a bigger ego than Hogan and Vince McMahon.

As for the "raunchiness" of WWE, they've actually cleaned it up quite a bit since the "attitude era." Those days were pretty stout but now most of the women actually(attempt) wrestle and while they look amazing, they don't feature the raw (no pun intended) segments they used to.

Then with TNA....look at it this way. Their champion is Christian. #1 contender is Angle. That's a match that wouldn't have even gathered much attention on the RAW midcard. Way to make urself look good TNA.

[coach]

does anyone miss watchin sting fight...he was my fav.

[theyoefnshow]

Sting wrestles every week in TNA. Comes on Spike TV on Thursdays @ 8:00 pm.

[tree8400]

what about the ultimate warrior, and sting what has happened to them.

[theyoefnshow]

read my last two posts dude....

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by tree8400
what about the ultimate warrior, and sting what has happened to them.

Warrior's status is explained above.

Sting is busy stinking it up on TNA. I tuned in the other night and saw him slapping James Mitchell who was hand-cuffed to a fence. Very silly angle.

[Bearkat]

Originally posted by coach
does anyone miss watchin sting fight...he was my fav.


Yeah, he was my favorite also. Do you remember the classic matches he had with Flair and Vader?

[wildstangs]

I thought Animal was the Road Warrior that was dead. Hawk's son was a LB on this years Ohio State team.

[Hansum Stranger]

Originally posted by wildstangs
I thought Animal was the Road Warrior that was dead. Hawk's son was a LB on this years Ohio State team.

You got that backward. Hawk has passed away.

[halfnhalf]

No matter how roided up Ultimate Warrior was he was great. Would run out with his music playing, beat the crap out of the guy, and then run out with his music still playing.

[Highschoolfan78]

Originally posted by theyoefnshow
don't forget eddie guerrero. it is a sad thing that so many guys from the 80s and early 90s gone befor 50. even brian pillman, kerry von erich, big john studd, yokozuna, earthquake, jerry saggs from the nasty boys, miss elizabeth......all superstars we grew up watching gone. that's why I hope vince is taking that new wellness policy seriously and that he enforces it so that another generation won't have to see its heroes drop like flies 10 years from now.

as for austin he was forced into retirement for two bad knees and a jacked up neck. rumors persist that he'll have a last match against hogan but I can't see either guy wanting to lay down for the other so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. he does have a flick coming out calld "the Condemned" which will have dual advertisement with wrestlemania 23 so expect him back on tv very soon....


sheesh i didn't realize jerry saggs died. I knew about the rest though. The von erich stories were sad. One after another fell.. I get most of my information at www.obsessedwithwrestling.com.. there you can look at all the profiles and stuff. its pretty neat. I agree they need to enforce the drug/steroids policies because like others people i grew up on are gone. I loved the ultimate warrior when i was a kid, but geez he is a looney. If you get a chance watch the dvd The self-destruction of the ultimate warrior. It discusses how much of a psycho he really is.

[theyoefnshow]

The DVD is good but it's pretty one sided to make Warrior look even worse being as how he isn't in there to defend himself. Not that he wasn't nuts but they just totally rip on him in that DVD from start to finish. The reason he wouldn't do commentary is because the WWE refused to put in a flyer inside the dvd case advertising another Warrior DVD that he sold from his website. Once that went down, it was officially a "Bash the Warrior" dvd. (again, not that I was on the guys side, he was a TERRIBLE wrestler)

[Blastoderm55]

And we get an ode to Warrior whenever Batista shakes the ropes. They're about on the same level in terms of wrestling ability, and that's not saying much. :rolleyes:

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by Blastoderm55
And we get an ode to Warrior whenever Batista shakes the ropes. They're about on the same level in terms of wrestling ability, and that's not saying much. :rolleyes:

true...

i miss the days of malenko/benoit, e.guerrero/malenko, benoit/e.guerrero...
between those 3... i wouldnt get bored...

[Blastoderm55]

Yuppers. The Luchadores were fun to watch too, before they fell to the punch-kick cartoonworld of WWE. Mysterio used to be such an innovator, along with Juvi, Ultimo Dragon, Jericho and Psicosis. Benoit, Malenko, and Guerrero were just awesome. I could watch them wrestle each other every day and not get tired. Its nice to see matches that aren't so painfully obviously scripted.

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by Blastoderm55
Yuppers. The Luchadores were fun to watch too, before they fell to the punch-kick cartoonworld of WWE. Mysterio used to be such an innovator, along with Juvi, Ultimo Dragon, Jericho and Psicosis. Benoit, Malenko, and Guerrero were just awesome. I could watch them wrestle each other every day and not get tired. Its nice to see matches that aren't so painfully obviously scripted.

they actually had full control over their matches if i believe. the only script was the finish... which i took as being awesome...

[Blastoderm55]

Bischoff would have been an idiot to script there matches. They dominated the first hour of Nitro for a reason. Too bad I'd switch to Raw when the NWO suckfest came on at 9. :p

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by Blastoderm55
Bischoff would have been an idiot to script there matches. They dominated the first hour of Nitro for a reason. Too bad I'd switch to Raw when the NWO suckfest came on at 9. :p

DX or nWo?

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by District303aPastPlayer
DX or nWo?

I didn't care for either faction, but DX had better feuds with The Road Warriors and Nation of Domination. nWo had a decent program with the Horsemen, but it was the same thing week after week with Hogan and Co. And the whole thing with Sting just bored me to tears.

[theyoefnshow]

I think Malenko was in charge of booking the CW division back in the day. Actually....if you watch Smackdown these days, it's really come into it's own as an actual WRESTLING show. There are some storyline elements but I'd say it's 80/20 vs the 60/40 (or worse) that Raw is. London & Kendrick are amazing to watch and though they don't utilize the CW division like they should, when given the chance, those guys still shine.

[District303aPastPlayer]

remember 3 Count?

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

Originally posted by District303aPastPlayer
remember 3 Count?


Haha, I do. Those guys were weird.

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by theyoefnshow
I think Malenko was in charge of booking the CW division back in the day. Actually....if you watch Smackdown these days, it's really come into it's own as an actual WRESTLING show. There are some storyline elements but I'd say it's 80/20 vs the 60/40 (or worse) that Raw is. London & Kendrick are amazing to watch and though they don't utilize the CW division like they should, when given the chance, those guys still shine.

I've never bought into Smackdown. I'm not much a fan of London. Kendrick is Spanky from RoH isn't he? He's pretty good.

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END
Haha, I do. Those guys were weird.

Jimmy Yang, Jaime Knoble and Sugar Shane Helms...

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by District303aPastPlayer
remember 3 Count?

And their manager The Original Huntington Beach Bad Boy Tank Abbott? :p

Wasn't Evan Courageous a member of 3 Count?

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by Blastoderm55
I've never bought into Smackdown. I'm not much a fan of London. Kendrick is Spanky from RoH isn't he? He's pretty good.

Yeah he is... RoH is a great promotion...

[theyoefnshow]

3 Count was "Sugar" Shane Helms aka the Hurricane/Gregory Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagius. Jimmy Yang and Jami Noble were the Yung Dragons.

Dude how can u not be a fan of Paul London? That cat is amazing plus he was born and raised in Austin!

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by theyoefnshow
3 Count was "Sugar" Shane Helms aka the Hurricane/Gregory Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagius. Jimmy Yang and Jami Noble were the Yung Dragons.

Dude how can u not be a fan of Paul London? That cat is amazing plus he was born and raised in Austin!

I guess I just haven't seen enough of him to be a fan. He's on a RoH dvd I have and just seems really generic compared to the others. Of course, those others happen to be Styles, Daniels, Ki, Red, and American Dragon, so he had tough acts to be compared to.