January 27, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Bam Bam Bigelow, Yoshihiro Akiyama

Bam Bam Bigelow, who was the most agile near 400-pounder to ever come into pro wrestling when he debuted in 1986, passed away on 1/19 at his girlfriend’s home in Hudson, FL at the age of 45.

Bigelow was an international headliner for most of the next 15 years, with several stints in promotions like WWF, WCW, UWA in Mexico and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Born Scott Charles Bigelow on September 1, 1961, he was a great natural athlete, with near sprinter speed and incredible agility while carrying 325 pounds in high school, which nobody in the 80s had. But he fell in with the wrong people and out of sports. He wound up as a bounty hunter, and then ended up as the most famous student of Larry Weil (Pretty Boy Larry Sharpe), who, largely through Bigelow’s success, his Monster Factory became the most famous pro wrestling school in the country.

But in recent years, the fall from stardom was hard. He went through a messy divorce. For a long period of time, he disappeared after a sandwich shop in Pennsylvania went bankrupt. He lost contact with his three children and ended up on terrible terms with his wife, and hadn’t paid child support in years.s

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November 8, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Panda Energy losing faith in TNA, PRIDE vs. K-1, more

When history looks back at what at this point is really just an expensive historical blip on wrestling’s radar screen, the period from 11/7 to 11/11 will be a key turning point in TNA company history.

While everyone involved knew from the start this would be a long haul if there was to be success, there is genuine fear among those involved that Panda Energy, the money which kept the project alive in 2002 when it was about to go bankrupt, is losing patience. Those involved have noted you can see cutbacks behind the scenes being made, including the attempt this past week to stop paying the jobber crew (which would have only saved the company $600 per week), which was overturned in one day due to so much negative feedback the company got. There were also problems with reservations at the hotel this past week, as some people had their hotels changed without being told. There are other signs that people are starting to get worried.

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