Given the fact that he was "discovered" in 1985 by Paul Heyman, "The Beast From The East" may be the truest "ECW original" there is. Debuting in ECW in 1996, Bigelow's pre-ECW career allowed him to enter the promotion as possibly the biggest mainstream star the company had regularly seen in its midst to that date. Bigelow's two WWF runs involved working with Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Lawrence Taylor, while in the NWA he wrestled Barry Windham, and in New Japan wrestled Antonio Inoki and teamed with Big Van Vader. Thus, when making his first substantial run in ECW by 1997, he was a polished pro wrestling superstar in every sense of the word. Upon entering ECW, Bam Bam Bigelow hurled Spike Dudley into the crowd, fell backwards while locked in the Tazmission and plunged through the ring with him on his back. He also joined the Triple Threat with Shane Douglas and Chris Candido, and by October 1997 became the ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Memorable matches with Shane Douglas, Lance Storm, The Sandman and Rob Van Dam defined his run, and made him one of the promotions most popular wrestlers by the time he left for World Championship Wrestling in 1998.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
