Rip Bam Bam?
19 Mar 2011
Scott Bigelow was, among other things, a globetrotter.
Better known as Bam Bam Bigelow, he spent more than two decades crisscrossing the United States, Japan and Europe, rubbing elbows and swapping blows with some of professional wrestling’s biggest names.
Bigelow retired a few years ago, but life after wrestling wasn’t always sweet. He suffered from chronic injuries sustained in the ring, endured a bitter divorce and was involved in a motorcycle wreck that nearly killed his girlfriend.
For Bigelow, the pain is over.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said he was found dead Friday morning in a house at 12314 Morgan Road, just north of State Road 52.
"We got a call at 10:22 a.m.," said sheriff’s spokesman Doug Tobin. "He was found by his girlfriend."
The cause of death was unknown Friday. There didn’t appear to be foul play, but the sheriff’s office is awaiting autopsy results, Tobin said.
Bigelow’s death shook friends and family, as well as the wrestling community. Survivors include daughter Ricci and sons Shane and Scott, who live with his ex-wife in New Jersey.
"He was a good guy, very good, with a good heart," said wrestler Jerry Sags, one-half of renowned tag team The Nasty Boys and a longtime friend of Bigelow’s.
Sags and Bigelow had worked together recently on local and regional American Combat Wrestling promotions for which Bam Bam often gave advice to ACW wrestlers like "Roughhouse" Ralph Mosca, Sideshow and David Mercury.
"In a lot of ways he was just a big teddy bear that had that New Jersey [vibe] about him," Sags said. "My last conversation with Bam Bam, I saw the state he was in and I said, ‘Man, we’ve lost 40 of our friends [in recent years]. I’m tired of going to funerals. Don’t let it happen to you.’"
Dave Meltzer, founder and owner of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, said there is a recent trend of pro wrestlers dying relatively young.
"The number of wrestlers 45 and younger who have died in the last decade is just ridiculous," he said. "It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s 100. I was tracking it until it got so ridiculous. When ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’ did a story on it a few years ago, I had the number at 67.
"Some were car accidents and a few freakish things, but a lot of them were" drug-related.
He Could Do It All
Bigelow was known for the fiery tattoo that covered his skull and uncanny agility for a man of nearly 400 pounds.
Brian Knobbs, the other half of The Nasty Boys, was a friend of Bigelow’s, as well as a foe in the ring.
Bigelow "not only had the look, but he was a tremendous athlete. He did tons of crazy stuff off the top rope," Knobbs said. "Me and him had a WCW hardcore championship of the world match in St. Louis. We fought all over the building, even in the concession stand. He wound up beating me.
"Bam Bam could do it all. He could scientifically wrestle and come off the top rope with the flying head butt. Plus, he could barroom fight like the Nasty Boys. He was one of the best hardcore wrestlers around."
Meltzer said he followed Bigelow’s career from his early days as a star in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
In the mid-1980s, and at nearly 400 pounds, he performed drop kicks and other aerial maneuvers, and perfected a finishing move he called "Greetings From Asbury Park."
"Now there are some huge football players [with that kind of agility], but back then I’d never seen anything like him. Nobody had," Meltzer said.
Bigelow’s exciting style made him a regular in the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, among other organizations, and he was often seen on national television broadcasts.
But his bone-crunching approach probably shortened his career.
In an interview last year, Bigelow said that he once was 6-foot-3, but was then 6-foot-1. He attributed his diminishing frame to back surgeries.
A Natural In Nature Boy’s Class
Scott Charles Bigelow was born and raised in New Jersey, where he was an All-American wrestler in high school. After turning down a college scholarship, he earned money as a bounty hunter.
Eventually, Bigelow enrolled in a New Jersey professional wrestling school run by "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, a wrestling icon.
Bigelow, who could bench-press 600 pounds and run 100 yards in 11 seconds, was a natural. During his career, he shared a ring with the likes of Andre the Giant, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Hulk Hogan and scores of others.
Unfortunately, the hard knocks didn’t end with his retirement.
On Oct. 5, Bigelow was driving a 1998 Harley-Davidson motorcycle on State Road 50 in Hernando County when he wrecked on wet pavement. His girlfriend, Janis Remiesiewicz, was critically injured.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the motorcycle was traveling 80 mph to 90 mph when it crashed.
Bigelow was charged with driving under the influence with serious bodily injury, driving under the influence, driving without a motorcycle license and driving with a suspended New Jersey license. The case was not resolved when he died.
On Friday, friends preferred to remember the good times.
Mosca, the ACW wrestler, said he became friends with Bigelow after he started helping with local promotions.
"I did everything in my power to try and get him back involved" in wrestling, he said. "I’d challenge him from the ring when he was in the audience."
Mosca’s tactics worked.
He and Bigelow became partners and recently won the ACW tag-team title.
That’s sad. I liked watching Scott wrestle. He will be missed.
B-Cool