BAM BAM BIGELOW vs. SPIKE DUDLEY
Matt Hyson first appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling on October 7, 1996, under the alias of "Spike Dudley." He did a bucket load of jobs to ECW's midcarders, other jobbers, and main-eventers. He usually lost within the first five minutes of the match, but his heart is what impressed the hardcore-bred ECW fans. This was never more evident than on August 8, 1997. Bam Bam Bigelow, a legend in the business, weighed over 350 lb. He was a former-ECW World Heavyweight Champion, and had only been with ECW since about the beginning of 1997.
One day, Bigelow was watching an ECW six-man tag team match that featured Spike, and immediately saw spectacular potential in the 5'5", 155 lb.'er, and asked Paul E. Heyman (ECW's Chairman/Owner) if he could have a match against the little guy. Heyman agreed. So, at the legendary Born To Be Wired supercard (the same card that featured the infamous Sabu/Terry Funk Barbed-Wire Deathmatch for the ECW Title), the third match of the night saw a "The Beast From The East," Bam Bam Bigelow, who weighed 368 lb., go toe-toe-toe with "Little" Spike Dudley.
Bigelow, a Triple Threat member (along with Chris Candido and Shane Douglas), began the match by showing his awesome power off, whipping Spike into the turnbuckles several times and literally catapulting him around the ring. Early in, Spike was busted open after being tossed into a turnbuckle. Bigelow missed his Bigelowsault (a top-rope moonsault), which allowed Spike to mount a small comback. When Bigelow whipped Spike into the turnbuckle, Spike bounced right back and charged Bigelow, nailing him with a headbutt to the crotch! Soon after, Spike attempted a hurricanrana, but eventually ended up with a victory roll. The referee counted: 1...2...3!!!
The crowd went absolutely nuts! Spike Dudley had just pinned the mammoth! A 155 lb.'er had just pinned a 368 lb.'er! It was this match that, in essence, made Spike Dudley's career. Not only that, but it was this match that put Spike over as "The Giant Killer," a name that has also been associated with such junior heavyweights as Mikey Whipwreck and Rey Mysterio, Jr. Until then, he was a jobber. He was a nobody. However, when he pinned Bam Bam Bigelow's shoulders to the mat that night in August, everything changed. Fans began seeing him as a legitimate competitor. He was nowhere near the level of a Sabu, a Sandman, a Taz, or a Tommy Dreamer, but he was over. He was over as "The Giant Killer." However, the rivalry between Bigelow and Spike wasn't over, yet...
At the Hardcore Heaven Pay-Per-View later that same month, a rematch again pitted Bam Bam Bigelow against Spike Dudley. Bigelow dominated most of the match (as expected), tossing Spike around like a rag doll. Spike got a few offensive manuevers in, but most were easily fought off by Bam Bam. When Spike attempted a hurricanrana, he was folded up with an absolutely sick powerbomb. Spike's thrown outside, and when he re-enters the ring, his face is covered in a bloody crimson mask. Then, in an amazing sight, Bigelow then tosses Spike out of the ring and into the screaming sea of fans, who gladly "surf" him around. That clip would be shown in the opening music video of many ECW Pioneer Home Video releases. Bigelow eventually drags Spike back into the ring, where he drops him on his neck with a Piledriver, and then a Bigelowsault. Bigelow covered, and the pinfall is academic: 1-2-3. Bigelow has gained considerable revenge upon Spike Dudley for his apparent "fluke" win earlier that same month.
There'd be one more faceoff in the David vs. Goliath rivalry between Bam Bam and Spike, and it'd occur at As Good As It Gets, the same card that featured the sick bloodbath that saw Bill Alfonso's entire body become a magnet for blood. Before the match, Bigelow got on the microphone and told the crowd that if they agreed to "surf" Spike around like a beachball, he would throw him into the stands filled with about 1,600 screaming ECW fans, just like he did during their last encounter. This prompted an "Over Here" chant to commence from all areas in the arena. Early in the match, Bigelow casually tosses Spike around like a rag doll, causing him to take some vicious bumps. Spike begins mounting a comeback with a DDT, top-rope flying clothesline, and dropkick, which sends Bigelow flying over the ring-ropes and crashing through a ringside table.
Back in, Spike hits Bigelow with two chairshots, one of which a flying version off of the top-rope, but only gets two. Bigelow takes the advantage back with a stiff vertical suplex, and then makes good on his prematch promise, as he literally tosses Spike out of the ring and into the screaming sea of fans, who gladly begin bouncing him around like a beachball, with him all the while floating on the top of the mass. Bigelow eventually retrieves Spike and brings him into the ring, where he leaps off the top-rope and brings all of his 368 lb. down onto the miniature body of Spike, courtesy of a flying bodysplash. The pinfall is, once again, academic: 1-2-3 (5:05). After the match, another chants starts up, as the fans urge Bigelow to catapult Spike into the sea of humanity "One More Time!" He gladly obliges, and they again toss him around.
So, there you have it: the Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Spike Dudley feud. Without it, Spike Dudley would not be where he was and wouldn't have found the success that he's found today. The matches they had against eachother were pretty good, too. None were better than about **1/2 (stars), but the bumps so commonly showcased in them were amazing. Bigelow literally just thre Spike around like a baby. The bumps he took were incredible, as he was tossed out of the ring and into the crowd three times, making for one awesome sight. Bigelow, on the otherhand, improved his persona of being a colossal giant. The feud will certainly not be remembered by most ECW fans, but nonetheless, it was an entertaining one.
One-On-One Match Results:
TALLY: Bigelow: 2 wins; Spike: 1 win
WINNER: Bigelow
FINAL TALLY: Bigelow: 2 wins; Spike: 1 win
WINNER: Bigelow
UNDISPUTED WINNER of the BAM BAM BIGELOW vs. SPIKE DUDLEY feud:
Bam Bam Bigelow
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