Dark Side of the Ring: Bam Bam Bigelow – What We Learned

He Was a New Jersey Legend

Bam Bam Bigelow grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey. While in high school, he wrestled and played football. It was in New Jersey where he met Diamond Dallas Page, who was running bars and clubs at the time. DDP talks about how everyone knew Bam Bam and there were so many stories about him, including a legend that Bam Bam once bit someone’s ear off in a fight. Page was the one who suggested Bigelow get into wrestling, which he did a few years later.

Bigelow also worked as a bounty hunter. Apparently, one of his jobs got him locked up in a Mexican prison, but the judge let him out early for protecting him during court.

He Was a Revolutionary Wrestler

For those who weren’t around or watching wrestling at the time, it can be hard to understand how different Bam Bam Bigelow was from the other wrestlers of the era. Yes, he was a big guy among many other big guys, but the way he moved made him totally unique.

He trained at the Monster Factory with Larry Sharpe and was a natural. Bigelow had agility unlike any wrestlers his size at the time. He could do cartwheels, flips, drop kicks, and other moves that simply weren’t done by other wrestlers his size. That made him a huge attraction and people wanted to see him wrestle.

That’s why Vince McMahon almost immediately pushed him into main event storylines alongside Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). However, some of the veteran wrestlers weren’t too fond of Bigelow’s instant push. In a match with Andre the Giant, Bigelow was choked and beaten, and mocked by Andre, who said Bigelow needed to pay his dues.

After this match, Bigelow left the WWF and worked for various promotions around the United States before heading to Japan to wrestle for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He eventually returned to the WWF and went on to main event WrestleMania against Lawrence Taylor.

He Wanted to be a Father More Than Anything 

One of the first things talked about in this episode is Bam Bam’s ex-wife saying how he wanted to have kids quickly after the two were married. He told her that he would stay home and look after the kids if that’s what she wanted, he just wanted children. She says he was happier when he found out that he was going to be a father than when he main evented WrestleMania. He wanted to be a wrestler, but he wanted to be a father more.

That makes the first story told by his daughter Ricci even more tragic. When she was about two or three years old, she remembers driving in the car with him when he started nodding off. She woke him up, saying that she needed to use the bathroom. It happened again, but eventually, the two pulled up to a diner. The next thing she remembers is that the police brought her into a car and walked Bam Bam away in handcuffs. That was the last time Ricci saw her father.

Wrestling Took a Toll on His Body

Over time, Bam Bam’s size and wrestling style started negatively affecting him physically. In a prerecorded voiceover from many years ago, Bigelow himself talks about how Vince McMahon had no sympathy for anyone who was injured. He expected them to work through it. He kept working through his pain because he knew that wrestlers only get paid if they’re working and they have no pension plan, so he needed to make as much as he could while he could.

That meant pain pills. There was a doctor who, according to Bam Bam’s ex-wife, would basically prescribe him anything he wanted, and that got him hooked. Things got worse when he entered the hardcore world of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). By this point, he had suffered many serious injuries and had several surgeries. However, Taz talks about how Bigelow “hid it well” and was always a professional in the ring and great to work with.

Eventually, his drug problems got him in trouble at work. While wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Bam Bam’s problem with OxyContin became bad enough that he was sent home and they paid out his contract.

The drugs also ended his relationship with his wife. The two divorced and Bam Bam moved to Florida. He didn’t see his children again. They also ended his life. Bam Bam Bigelow died of an accidental drug overdose on January 19, 2007.