We all remember certain gifts from our youth. Maybe it was that first G.I. Joe action figure or maybe one of those light-up yo-yos that you saw on TV commercials. Certain presents just trigger happy thoughts and conjure up pleasant recollections.
When I was nine, my mother bought me something very special. It was the signature of superstar professional wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow. With its curvaceous and striking lettering, it seemed unfitting for someone with his physical form. Roughly 350 pounds, Bigelow's head was engulfed in a flame-like tattoo. However, the delicate script was emblematic of the ease with which Bigelow flew through the air, something that seemed to defy science.
I was very saddened to hear that Scott ""Bam Bam"" Bigelow passed away Friday at the age of 45 in Hudson, Fla. Nearing 400 lbs., Bigelow had many physical problems in the later stages of his life. In an interview last year he noted that he used to be 6'3\, but due to back surgeries he was left at the height of 6'1"". He suffered from seizures, something that almost caused him to crash his car in 2004.
Whether it was ""Greetings from Asbury Park"" (a reverse piledriver) or his ""Wham-Bam-Thank You Ma'am"" (a horizontal headbutt), Bigelow used an array of moves to wow the crowds.
Back in 1995, when I was just short of the tender age of 10, my father and his friends took me to Wrestlemania XI in at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut. There I saw Bigelow (managed by the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase) defeated by New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. While Bigelow was paid $250,000 for the match, Taylor was issued a $1 million check... just more proof that the world simply is not fair.
Upon returning home from a wrestling match in Japan in 2000, Bigelow stumbled upon a burning home. Hearing the screams of children, he burst into the house and rescued three kids. He spent two months recovering in the hospital after 40 percent of his body was torched with second-degree burns.
Bigelow, who starred in movies such as ""Joe's Apartment"" and ""Ready to Rumble,"" retired in 2002. Addicted to OxyContin and with the aforementioned physical ailments he entered into a life of semi-seclusion with his girlfriend Janis Remiesiewicz.
Bigelow joins a group with Owen Hart, Yokozuna, The British Bulldog, Mr. Perfect, Miss Elizabeth, Rick Rude, Crash Holley, Big Bossman, Eddie Guerrero and many more that were taken too quickly from us. Whether it's in-ring accidents, drug use or just large bodies, the life of a professional wrestler is far from easy.
The loss of these celebrities makes us realize how good the ""sport"" used to be and how much fun it was. The stereotypical characters and the not-so-complex plots not loaded with sex were hilarious. You knew every character, you knew how every match would probably end, but it simply didn't matter. Those were the days.
So we salute you Bam Bam. Today we are all Beasts from the East.
To reminisce about Bam Bam and other mid-90s WWF wrestlers, e-mail Sam at sepepper@wisc.edu.
