Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam Bigelow had a LOT of potentially huge runs in him, but something about him rubbed a ton of high-level people in wrestling the wrong way.

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! This week I’ve found two bouts from a Madison Square Garden card before the Hogan/Andre match for the Title, as Hogan teams up with his newest buddy, Bam Bam Bigelow, against Ted DiBiase and VIRGIL in a rare in-ring appearance for the Million Dollar Man’s bodyguard! Come watch a tour de force of heel selling by DiBiase, and just how jacked Virgil was in 1988. Following that it’s “The Rock”… Don Muraco vs. The One Man Gang in a match that looks more like the Gang was angling for another push.

Then it’s a bizarre request, as it’s the Battle of the Forgotten 1992 JTTS Gimmicks, as “Terrific” Terry Taylor and Lance Cassidy (Steve Armstrong in a cowboy gimmick) battle it out and kill time in epic fashion! Then it’s more of the Best of Well Dunn, as they actually make the spring of 1995, taking on the brand-new Blu Twins, Jacob & Eli!

HULK HOGAN & BAM BAM BIGELOW (w/ Oliver Humperdink) vs. “THE MILLION DOLLAR MAN” TED DIBIASE & VIRGIL (w/ Andre the Giant):
(WWF in MSG, Jan. 1988)
* The Million Dollar Corporation EXPLODES as DiBiase & Bam Bam face each other… four years before BBB became part of one of the worst stables of all time. Here, Bigelow is still a top-ranked “Hogan Buddy” before his own attitude and politics would jettison the thousands of $$$ he’d have made betraying his pal later in the year, and Hogan is still World Champion. At this point, Virgil was only barely trained and only occasionally wrestled on TV- here he’s in long red tights and HOLY SHIT was he jacked in 1988. Like he maybe has the best physique in the company.

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! And I have more of the very stuff that made me come up with this column- horrible, horrible bouts that embarrass the very business! That’s right- it’s 1992 Andre and the most low-rent thing that maybe ever happened in a WWF ring- Ninja Turtle cosplayers!

So yep- we start off with one of those bizarre lucha Trios matches, this one involving Andre the Giant (at his most unhealthy-looking and bedraggled) and Bam Bam Bigelow of all people, teaming up with legend Dr. Wagner Jr. against three big-time stars in Canek, Villano III and FISHMAN! Yes, FISHMAN!

Then I watch a notorious one-off appearance of the “Toxic Turtles” (of course it’s the Executioners under the masks), as two guys in low-rent TMNT Halloween costumes face off against two jobbers in a squash so bad the crowd goes from “Wait… this is dumb” to “I am personally aggrieved to be subjected to this and want you people DEAD!” in record time!

The remainder is a mix: I wanted to check out more Kurasawa, so here he is being fed to The Giant in in-1996. And then there’s Eddie Guerrero vs. Psychosis from a Nitro around the same time!

ANDRE THE GIANT, BAM BAM BIGELOW & DR. WAGNER JR. vs. EL CANEK, VILLANO III & FISHMAN:
(Mexico, April 24th 1992)
* Haha, YES! Another “hit random on Fire Pro” Mexico match with a fading Andre the Giant, decked out in a red singlet that looks like it was cut out of a couch. And he’s teaming up with Bam Bam of all people, as well as Dr. Wagner Jr., one of those big stars & great workers who just never went abroad as much as his peers. Poor Andre is holding himself up via Doc, and can barely hoist himself up into the ring. The opponents are all big-name lucha guys- Canek is a major superstar, Villano III is the superior to his bros IV & V, and Fishman is apparently a huge ’70s star is now one of those “old slow dudes” by the ’90s. Canek’s in black, Fishman green & Villano in red- Fishman is REALLY bulky, with a ton of muscle mass and a bit of a gut. Canek is BROAD- a real powerhouse dude. VIII is a bit top-heavy, slender at the waist and delicately built aside from his chest/shoulder area.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Copps Coliseum 03.13.88

Taped from Hamilton, ON

Your hosts are Craig DeGeorge & Nick Bockwinkel.  OK then.

Happy Extreme Saturday Everyone!

I decided to review this one as I remember the Main Event being a really good match, as well as being a historically important one as well for reasons we’ll get into as the review progresses.

Still the most bitching entrance in wrestling history, probably.

I think it was Scott Keith who mentioned that WCW had such a bad PR department that they had a man dresses as a giant skeleton who hit people with chairs and then danced atop the chairs, yet failed to market him to children. And that anyone who failed in such a thing had no business promoting ANYTHING, much less wrestling.

So on that note, we have a new Dream Matches column, this time showcasing what Scott’s talking about as La Parka is set up as one of Goldberg’s many victims! Also more of the Best of Ice Train, as he and fellow “forgotten big guy” Roadblock fight on the D-show! Then one of the all-time lowest-tier matches ever, as the former “Squire” Dave Taylor fights MEAN MIKE of Disorderly Conduct! Also, a pair of 1995 WWF matches, as Bam Bam & Henry Godwinn take on Ted DiBiase’s teams- first Tatanka & Kama, then Sid & Kama, in successive B-shows. Good ol’ 1995 WWF! If you think any shows TODAY suck, take a look at ’95!

Then we end things with me looking at Mid-South of all things, as my search for One Man Gang matches sees him teaming with Ravishing Rick Rude against Bruiser Brody and the Missing Link… with the latter two being BABYFACES! Oh, and also a request, as Dustin Rhodes faces Bobby Eaton, with both guys being totally washed up in the dying days of WCW.

WCW US TITLE:
BILL GOLDBERG vs. LA PARKA:
(WCW Nitro, June 1st 1998)
* This is an epic one- La Parka is beloved online, but to WCW he was just a chair-wielding jobber, so here he is to be sacrificed to Goldberg on a Nitro in Washington, DC. And HOLY SHIT is Goldberg over, with the full regalia, fireworks and his bitching theme song and everything. And he hits the ring like a twitchy madman and the fans are going nuts already.

WWF KING OF THE RING QUALIFYING MATCHES (1993):
* So for this week’s “Dream Matches” column, I decided randomly to take a look at the build up to 1993’s inaugural King of the Ring. As a 12-year old fan, I was way into the idea of this big tournament, and even now the set-up seems great- you have an 8-man tournament in one night on PPV, and in the weeks leading up to the show, you stick your stars up against JTTS guys in “Qualifying Matches” that are mostly foregone conclusions, except a couple of them have a legit question mark. It lets your “Featured Matches” actually count for something, and gives your name guys a big win on TV- and if you were watching back then, you know you only saw “Star vs. Star” matches once per week if you were lucky. I’ll see what I can find on YouTube for these (turns out it’s everything but Shawn/Crush, which ended in a Double Count-Out, which disqualified BOTH for some reason, so we had a different Qualifying Match instead).

The issue with KOTRs, of course, is that with 16 guys, 15 have to do the job. And when times are tough, Vince is squirrelly about letting guys drop legit falls. The real purpose of the first King of the Ring, of course, was to return some credibility to former champion Bret Hart, and set off his new feud with Jerry Lawler.

RAZOR RAMON vs. “EL MATADOR” TITO SANTANA:
* So Razor had debuted the previous year and been given arguably his biggest solo push ever, teaming with Ric Flair in the main program at Survivor Series and then facing Bret Hart for the WWF Title at the Royal Rumble. After his loss there, he was cycled into the upper-midcard, beating Bob Backlund at WMIX. Here, we’re a little bit away from the face turn that would forever change his career. Santana, meanwhile, has fallen all the way down the card and is only rarely featured on TV anymore- he’s been a JTTS for years by this point, and was looking pretty flabby compared to the ’80s. Both guys are in black, here- I don’t recall Tito in that look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lN66_G2wtw&ab_channel=Manjigatame

Also a weirdo mishmash of Giant Kimala II & Headhunters vs. Johnny Ace, Johnny Smith and a Virtua Fighter character!

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! This time we start off with The Goon’s biggest challenge, as he faces the Undertaker during his feud with Vader! Also the time All Japan ran Johnny Ace/Johnny Smith/Wolf Hawkfield vs. a Kamala knockoff and the Headhunters! If you haven’t had enough Wrath from last week’s column, here he is in the “Post-Nash” part of his career, wrestling an Olympic bobsledder! Also a request from Maffew, as Mabel & Doink the Clown wrestle Bam Bam Bigelow & Jeff Jarrett on a Fancam house show!

As always, WWF stuff isn’t okay to post on the blog, but is readily available on YouTube.

THE UNDERTAKER vs. THE GOON:
(WWF, 1997)
* Yes, they really pit these two legends against each other on FREE TV. Can you believe that? I do find it hilarious how much like a 1990s hockey player Bill Irwin actually looked, what with that big hockey hair and his silhouette. I mean, props. Gorilla Monsoon on commentary suggests he needs to be “Ostracized from the World Wrestling Federation”. The canned heat here is ridiculous, keeping things at a long drone at the exact same volume- they’re not even trying.

What defines “Dream Match” better than “Jorge Gonzalez versus _____”?

Welcome to more Dream Matches! Including a rarity with Giant Gonzalez actually interacting with other “name” guys. Also more “short-lived gimmicks” as The Stalker (Barry Windham) has to try and oppose the might of THE GOON! A FAT MAN STAND-OFF between Mabel and Bam Bam Bigelow! Yokozuna in New Japan taking on Riki Choshu! And did you know that Sherri Martel did a run in 1981 AJW? Now you do- watch her face Devil Masami!

All of this can be readily found on YouTube.

“MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE & MR. PERFECT vs. MR. HUGHES & THE GIANT GONZALEZ (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
(17.08.1993)
* Here’s a random taped “end of the card” bout, and an AMAZINGLY weird combination, as Macho Man & Mr. Perfect team up once more to take on Giant Gonzalez near the end of his run, and Mr. Hughes, who at this point was the new guy feuding with the Undertaker (was this the first “heel steals the urn” angle? This feels like the first). Hughes is DEFINITELY not as tall as I remember- he doesn’t look much taller than either opponent. Macho’s in his AMAZING super-patriot gear with red, white & blue, while Perfect’s in black & orange, and the heels are in their usual- airbrushed muscles (Gonzalez) and the sharp suit (Hughes).

Gomezamania runs wild!

And we’re back with more of the best Dream Matches imaginable- headlined by the legendary Desperado himself, Joe Gomez, teaming with “Plain Old Rick” against WCW’s roidiest, midcardiest Power Plant graduates. Also, we’ll get the British Bulldogs in a standard tag match against the Fantastics from All Japan, plus a FAT MAN STAND-OFF between Mabel & Bam Bam Bigelow! Oh yeah, and one of those bizarre jobber matches where CHONO & MUTA take on goobers like El Dandy and Damian. Can the luchadores win? I doubt it.

Hello You!

Originally this was going to be posted on Saturday, but that was before I agreed to team up with Rick for G1 this year, so I decided to move it to Monday instead so as to not over-saturate the place with too much Mike.

Earlier this month I thought I’d try the Pro Wrestling Tees’ DVD mystery box where you get seven DVDs for about $20 (not bad when you factor in a Fourth of July sale). Since I don’t keep DVDs, I have no reason to keep them so I thought some of you might be interested.

The DVDs are:

Jimmy Hart Shoot Interview
Lucha Bros Shoot Interview
Bam Bam Bigelow Compilation
Monday Night Wars Debate (Eric Bischoff vs. Bruce Prichard Moderated By Chris Jericho)
Best Friends With Chuck And Trent?
PCW Release The Kraken (Blu-Ray)
PCW Relentless

If you want all seven of these, pick up any three of my books (ebooks, paperbacks or a combination) and send me some form of a receipt (Screen shot of one, forward me the receipt, whatever. I’ll take your word for it.) to [email protected] and I’ll mail you all of these 100% free of charge (I’ll pay the shipping). I’ll watch these ASAP and send them out ASAP. As you might have guessed, this is of course first come first serve with only one set of them.

Let me know any questions you might have.

Thomas Hall

Live from Poughkeepsie, NY

Airdate: October 18, 1993

Attendance: unknown

Hosted by Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Will Savage and Crush reconcile their differences? Can Michaels be reinstated? Who’s the new guy in the WWF? Also, **BREAKING NEWS** included just for your amusement. Read on!

Taped from New Haven, CT

Airdate: October 4, 1993 (taped 9/27)

Attendance: 5,500 (3,200 paid)

Hosted by Vince McMahon & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Who will become the top two contenders for the IC title? What’s up with Bigelow and Doink? Let’s find out!

Taped from New York, NY

Airdate: September 20, 1993

Attendance: 1,200 (sold out)

Hosted by Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Can Scott Steiner earn a shot at the tag titles a week after losing them? Are these truly happy days for the WWF? Let’s find out!

Taped from New York, NY

Airdate: July 26, 1993 (taped 7/19)

Attendance: 1,200 (sold out)

Hosted by Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Will Bigelow even the score or will Bret earn a second straight victory over the Beast from the East? What’s up with Doink and Savage? Let’s find out!

Live from Dayton, OH

Airdate: June 13, 1993

Attendance: 8,000 (7,000 paid)

Hosted by Jim Ross, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Who will become the 1993 King of the Ring? Will Yokozuna regain the WWF title or will Hogan keep his “toy”? Let’s find out!

Live from New York, NY

Airdate: May 10, 1993

Attendance: 750

Hosted by Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Can Bigelow become IC champion AND King of the Ring? The first part of the question’s answered TONIGHT. Let’s rock!

Live from New York, NY

Airdate: May 10, 1993

Attendance: 1,200 (sold out)

Hosted by Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Duggan gets another shot at the IC title, but this time it’s Paul Bunyan-style. In addition, Typhoon and Bigelow battle for a spot in the KOTR tournament. Wayne, how do you feel about leading us into the show?

Taped from Poughkeepsie, NY

Airdate: April 19, 1993 (taped 4/12)

Attendance: 3.500

Hosted by Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett

Can the Beverlies upset the champs? Will Ramon get by Virgil? Does Bartlett survive the episode? Let’s find out!

Taped from New York, NY

Airdate: April 5, 1993 (taped 3/22)

Attendance: 1,000 (sold out)

Hosted by Vince McMahon & “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Lawler makes his RAW debut, so this episode is special, right? There couldn’t be celebrity guests trying to attach themselves to this glorious moment, are there?