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The World According To Dutch: Bam Bam Bigelow Story

Posted: Dec 11th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Here's just a short little story that was told to me by Bam Bam Bigelow while he was in WWF. I can't remember the time frame but Bam Bam told me that while he was in WWF, they had just started drug testing all the wrestlers. Drug tests were random and usually, after awhile, you could more or less gauge when a test was coming. Sometimes, he said he would be tipped off in advance from someone deep inside the office or he said that one time, Vince McMahon even tipped him told him personally to get his act together because a drug test was coming down and even gave him the date.

When Bam Bam heard a drug test was imminent, he had to know well in advance so he could stay away from smoking pot. One bad thing about marijuana. It can be detected in a drug test up to 30 days after exposure. With cocaine or pain pills, it?s usually out of the body's system in 72 to 96 hours. Bam Bam would refrain for months and not indulge in any pot smoking in front of the test but as soon as the test was over, he breathed relief as he could resume his pot smoking knowing that another test probably wasn't coming for another 90 days.

On one particular weekend, the WWF ran a small show about 100 miles from New York City on a Saturday night and since Bam Bam had been tipped off, a drug test was given. The show was close to NYC because the next day was a big MSG show.

As he walked into the locker room at the small town show, he saw a sign posted on the wall whenever there was a drug test given in the WWF. The signs always said the same thing. On the wall in big black letters, the sign read:

MANDATORY DRUG TEST TONIGHT!!! ALL WWF TALENT. NO EXCEPTIONS. VINCE MCMAHON

Bam Bam said he went into the bathroom, peed in the cup and handed it to the technician. He knew he was clean and he was happy. Now, he said, he could smoke some weed knowing they that he probably had anywhere from a 30- to 45-day window where no tests would be given. Bam Bam said dodging the tests were no problem if you just understood the timing.

As soon as the Saturday night show was over, Bam Bam said on the drive to his home in New Jersey, he fired up a joint and enjoyed the ride. The next day, he left his house in late afternoon for the short two-hour drive into New York City and he told me he actually smoked two joints on the New Jersey Turnpike on the way to the Garden. Bam Bam said that since he didn't get the luxury of smoking weed at his leisure, he was taking advantage of this little window of opportunity that the WWF had given him. Bam Bam had at least 30 days of 'smoking freedom' and he was going to enjoy it.

Bam Bam arrived at the Garden stoned like Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, he said. Bam Bam said he was happy and weed always made him happy. As he walked into the hallway leading to the dressing rooms at the Garden, he entered with a smile on his face. But the smile changed quickly as Bam Bam read a sign on the wall that brought him back into reality, a world that Bam Bam was trying to escape.

The sign read in big BLACK LETTERS:

MANDATORY DRUG TEST TONIGHT. ALL WWF TALENT. REPORT TO ROOM 3A. NO EXCEPTIONS. VINCE MCMAHON

Bam Bam said he had been outsmarted...two tests in two days...and that was something that WWF had never done before. Bam Bam said he knew he was sunk but he had no choice. He walked into the room and said it was the same guy that had administered the test the night before. Not only did Bam Bam say he failed the test, but he said he was still 'HIGH' when he took it.

He was suspended without pay for 30 days and Bam Bam said that he knew the rules, it actually penalized two people for the sins of one. His opponent. Bam Bam said he was right in the middle of an angle and if he was taken off the road, then it also punished the other guy which wasn't fair. Bam Bam suggested to WWF management at the time that he would work all the dates he was booked for 'without pay' so as to not punish people who had nothing to do with it..such as his opponent, the WWF booking team and the fans. I've never heard that being done before nor since. But I saluted Bam Bam for thinking of more than just himself.

RIP Mr. Bigelow. You were truly one of a kind.