The late Bam Bam Bigelow is celebrated today for his legendary career and the accolades to come in multiple companies. Topics like a Dark Side of the Ring episode about his life or lighter moments like WWE releasing unique merchandising of him shows fans still care about the Beast from the East. Bigelow’s WWE tenure is often the most discussed as highest profile stint.

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There are plenty of fascinating aspects of Bam Bam’s career that warrant a deeper look at all that went into them. Bigelow has a rare case of someone that became a memorable performer but that could have been a far greater star at his full potential. Find out more about the interesting tidbits of Bam Bam’s WWE career.

10 Received Massive Debut Push Early In Career

Many fans forget that Bam Bam Bigelow had two stints in WWE since the first came earlier and went by quickly. A strong reputation existed for Bigelow in the territories that were still around to get on WWE’s radar as an intimidating big man with a unique skill set.

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WWE actually made Bam Bam an upper card babyface right away and even had him interacting with Hulk Hogan on his Survivor Series dream team. Bigelow worked against many top names, but WWE never paid off their full plans for him to make a large percentage of fans remember him only for the second stint.

9 Won Humorous Slammy Award

WWE starting the Slammy Awards in the 1980s added a fun dynamic for diehard fans getting to watch the wrestlers in an award show context. Bam Bam Bigelow won one Slammy Award earlier in his career for the most absurd reason.

The 1987 Slammy Award for “Best Head” went to Bam Bam as a way to celebrate his unique look of having the wild tattoos on his head. Mean “Gene” Okerland was the other name to win this award as a joke over him losing his hair.

8 Left WWE Due To Heat With Andre The Giant

The short stint of Bam Bam Bigelow in WWE’s Golden Era ended due to the political landscape of the business. Andre the Giant worked with Bigelow on house shows to help the legend have some fun matches as his body fell apart and to elevate Bam Bam against a legend.

Bigelow felt like Andre was working intentionally stiff and was trying to injure him since some veterans were unhappy with him receiving a huge push so quickly. This caused Bam Bam to request his release due to his body paying the price with injuries after Andre’s beatings in the ring.

7 WrestleMania 9 Match With Kamala Was Canceled Due To Hulk Hogan’s Title Win

Bam Bam Bigelow returned to WWE early in the New Generation Era for a stint in the revamped company, especially with Andre the Giant no longer around. However, things got off to a rocky start with one of his first big matches getting canceled.

WWE had to reshuffle the card when they made a last-minute WrestleMania 9 change to have Hulk Hogan’s shocking impromptu title shot and win. Bigelow’s scheduled match vs Kamala was bumped as Bruce Prichard confirmed that everyone felt it was the right move since they had high hopes for the Hogan win.

6 Luna Vachon Helped Him Find Heel Voice

The first WWE run of Bam Bam Bigelow saw him primarily playing a babyface character. WWE fans had to adjust to Bigelow becoming a heel for this second stint. Luna Vachon was placed with Bam Bam as his manager with a romance gimmick meant to make the most terrifying couple in WWE.

Future interviews saw Bigelow crediting Vachon for helping him get more comfortable in the new WWE stint. Heat was easier to get with Luna’s antics outside of the ring during his matches or contributing to promos.

5 Helped Bret Hart Recover From WrestleMania 9 Embarrassment

Bam Bam Bigelow wasn’t the only wrestler harmed by Hulk Hogan’s WrestleMania 9 title win after his match was bumped. Bret Hart had a terrible night ending his WWE Championship reign early to Yokozuna, but he looked worse when Hogan swooped in to get the babyface revenge.

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WWE used King of the Ring 1993 to make sure fans viewed Bret as a top star again. Great matches over Razor Ramon and Mr. Perfect started the tournament, but it was the underdog victory in the finals over Bam Bam that cemented his status. An outstanding heel performance by Bigelow helped get Hart over at the top level again.

4 Was The Biggest Challenger To Tatanka's Undefeated Streak

One of the most forgotten WWE storylines of the 1990s was Tatanka having a long undefeated streak lasting over a year. The main reason no one ever talks about this is due to Tatanka rarely having big wins or storylines to tie memories to the streak.

However, WWE did try with one program against the bigger and more intimidating Bam Bam Bigelow. Tatanka scoring victories over Bigelow was meant to make him feel more important, but fans had no reason to care for the most pointless undefeated streak before or after.

3 Was First Major Acquisition For Million Dollar Corporation

Many fans name the Million Dollar Corporation as the most memorable chapter of Bam Bam Bigelow’s WWE career. Ted DiBiase received a chance to manage his own top heel faction after he retired from the ring due to a career-ending injury.

The act started with DiBiase buying Nikolai Volkoff’s contract and representing him. However, fans weren’t clear about it being a group act until the second member Bigelow joined. DiBiase treated Bam Bam’s acquisition like a huge deal to give the group some momentum as they continued adding members.

2 WWE Trusted Him To Carry Lawrence Taylor In Main Event

It doesn’t get talked about enough how big of a deal it was for WWE to trust Bam Bam Bigelow in a huge attraction match on the biggest stage. WWE picked Bigelow to wrestle NFL legend Lawrence Taylor in the main event of WrestleMania 11.

Vince McMahon felt like Bam Bam had the perfect look to pose a threat to Taylor but could take a loss without losing credibility. Trust was also important as WWE wanted someone that came off like a star who could also lead Taylor to a passable match, which Bigelow did.

1 Never Won A Championship In WWE

A surprising stat from Bam Bam Bigelow’s career is that he never won any championships in WWE. Bigelow was typically featured on the show and had stints at the top of the card. WWE just never felt the timing was right to make him a champion.

Bam Bam was in WWE when they had fewer titles and those belts changed hands much less often than every future era. WWE didn’t feel any of Bigelow’s pushes warranted a belt and prioritized the other names holding the titles at those times more.