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"Beast from the East" another premature loss to pro wrestling

Posted: Feb 1st 2007 By: CMBurnham

It seems like I find myself saying this all too often, and that's because I do. We lost another one.

On Jan. 19, Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow was found dead in his home in Hudson, Fla. He was 45 years old.

Read a biography of Bigelow anywhere on the Internet and you will likely find that his crowning achievement in the industry was being involved in the main event at Wrestlemania XI in a match against former National Football League linebacker Lawrence Taylor. But Bigelow was so much more to professional wrestling than a jobber to "LT." He was one of the most agile big men the business has ever seen, and he was an impact performer, no matter what organization he was a member of. He was one of the few to actually wrestle for all three of the big companies around during his time - World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Bigelow, whose most notable feature is the flame tattoo encompassing the entirety of his scalp, has his roots in New Jersey. He was born in Asbury Park and billed from there before his wrestling matches. At 6'3" tall and over 300 pounds, observers were amazed that "the Beast from the East" could move around the ring as well as he did and perform moves off the top rope, like his flying headbutt finishing maneuver that he used along with his Greetings From Asbury Park piledriver finisher. He was trained by Larry Sharpe at the infamous Monster Factory in Mount Laurel Township, N.J. - a school that has also graduated other notable stars like Chris Candido, Raven and The Big Show.

Bigelow's life outside of the ring was rocky. He went through a messy divorce with his wife in 2000, and would later be sued by her for unpaid child support. He had problems with drug addictions. He was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2005 that almost killed his girlfriend. And for most of the time after he left professional wrestling, people barely knew where he was or if he even still existed. They found out on Jan. 19.

When I was younger, about 11 or 12 years old, I had the privilege of seeing Bigelow live and in person in a venue far outside the ones holding professional wrestling events. While taking hockey lessons at the Wall Sports Arena in Farmingdale, N.J. in hopes of one day becoming an NHL star, I noticed Bigelow at the rink several times with one of his children. I never had the guts then to actually go and ask for an autograph, but just being able to see him outside of his element was intriguing enough at that point for me. My father spoke to Bigelow between the time when the WWE bought WCW and owned his contract to the time that contract expired. At that time, the WWE did not want to bring Bigelow back, and he just collected his paychecks during the remainder of the contract he originally signed with WCW.

My favorite in-ring memory of Bigelow is definitely the infamous crashing through the canvas moment during his match against Taz at ECW's Living Dangerously 1998 in Asbury Park. Taz had Bigelow locked up in his Tazmission submission finisher when Bigelow fell backward and both men went crashing through the mat, disappearing under the ring. Bigelow successfully pinned Taz after getting him back into the ring and walked out that night with the ECW World Television Championship in front of his hometown fans.

Bigelow was also the man responsible for the legendary Spike Dudley crowd surf in ECW. Bigelow tossed Dudley out of the ring and over the guardrail to the waiting arms of the fans, who proceeded to pass him around the ECW Arena.

In the end, Bigelow's best days were probably when he was with ECW. But, he made his mark in all of the big three promotions around during the time. Many that really got the chance to see him and appreciate his in-ring style are saddened by his passing, of which the cause is still unknown - though his brother said Bigelow suffered from diabetes and had a persistent infection, according to the Associated Press.

The WWE has acknowledged Bigelow's death with bell tolls before broadcasts to live crowds and a brief televised moment before its programs for those watching at home. I hope the WWE goes further, though, and puts out a DVD chronicling his life and career. And I also hope the company gives strong consideration to inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame. "The Beast from the East" deserves such a distinction.