Sadly Bam Bam Bigelow passed away this friday morning. He was 45 years old. Most of us will remember Bam Bam aka The Beast From The East (he represented the garden state New Jersey) as the big bald brute with flaming tattoos instead of hair who would headbutt unlucky mother-ufckers off the top rope. According to many wrestlers including Bret Hart he was one of the best, most agile big-men in wrestling, period.

He wrestled from 1986-on in WWE, but he got most of his success in Japan putting over the local talent. He did headline one Wrestlemania but it was against a pro-footballer. In popular culture he was in a few flicks including the terrible Damon Wayans movie “Major Payne”. After his wrestling career he opened a diner, was in a motorcycle accident, had third degree burns on most of his body and a gang of other stuff that makes his life seem like it wasn’t too rosy. His death is being investigated as a crime as of now.

The easily recognisable wrestler was an icon in many circles and his moniker “Beast from the East” was probably the basis for the Lost Boys track featuring Canibus and Redman of the same name. Bob Marley illegitimate son Damian “I come from Jamrock” Marley also name-checked him on the track “Road To Zion” featuring Nas:

“Di youngest veteran a come murder dem slow
Ragamuffin sent to God before di bush bungalow
Mi nuh watch it mek I carry out my voice now figarow
Di hammer dem a slam and spend day a dead now
Some bwoy could a big like Bam Bam Bigelow
Buss off trigger finger trigger hand and trigger toe
A two gun mi have mi buss dem inna stereo”

Sadly it’s a pretty lackluster line, but then again the rhyme is in Patois so noone’ll understand it anyway. However, domestic rapper PeDahl of Øverste Etage summed it up much better on “Hvem Ka’ Ta’ Mig Ud?”:

“Kom til mig og få en skalle som Bam Bam Bigelow!” – word up!