A star wherever he wrestled, Bam Bam Bigelow was one of the pioneers of the agile big man later popularized by Vader.  His career saw him work in several of the territories and eventually all of the major wrestling organizations of the last fifteen years including WCW, WWF, and ECW.  Bigelow’s size and skill also made him much wanted overseas where he had a lengthy as well as successful run in New Japan Pro Wrestling.   Bigelow was probably best remembered by fans for his remarkable agility (given his size) and the flame tattoo that adorned his skull.

After training at Larry Sharpe’s Monster Factory in New Jersey, Bigelow competed in Memphis before moving to Fritz Von Erich’s World Class Championship Wrestling where he achieved some success as Crusher Yurkov, a Russian heel managed by Larry Sharpe.  Bigelow made an instant impression on the wrestling world both for his exotic look (chief among it, the flame tattooed on his skull) and his remarkable agility for such a big man.  Despite his height and weight of 6’3”, 350 pounds, he executed dropkicks and cartwheels with ease. Bigelow became the darling of fans and wrestling magazines as they predicted big things for Bigelow's careers.  "The Beast from the East" would not disappoint them.

After returning to Memphis, he was rechristened “Bam Bam Bigelow” and he became part of the white-hot feud between Jerry Lawler and the heel team of Austin Idol and Tommy Rich.   Working alongside Lawler in the main event program against Idol and Rich, Bigelow quickly caught the eye of the World Wrestling Federation’s (WWF) Vince McMahon.  In 1987, Bigelow began working in the WWF where heel managers courted him, much as they had done when Randy “Macho Man” Savage had entered the federation just a few years earlier.  Bigelow stunned the heels and won the fans’ hearts when he wrestled as a babyface.  Bigelow's biggest match during this run came when he teamed with Hulk Hogan at the 1987 Survivor Series to battle against Andre the Giant's Survivor Series team.  Although Bigelow lost the match, he was the last survivor of the team and impressed the fans with his performance.

When a knee injury sidelined his career temporarily, Bigelow took time off to get surgery and he opted for a new work environment.  After a brief run in Jim Crockett Promotions, Bigelow headed to Japan where he formed a successful team with Van Vader in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).  The two would go on to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship and enjoy much success in Japan over the next several years.

Following his success in Japan, Bigelow returned to the WWF where he wrestled as a heel, first under the managerial guidance of Luna Vachon and later on as a member of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation.  It was during his time in the Corporation that Bigelow achieved his biggest mainstream exposure in North America, wrestling former NFL great Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania XI. After losing to Taylor, Bigelow was kicked out of the Corporation after which he resumed wrestling as a babyface.

One of Bigelow’s most memorable campaigns was his run in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) where his size and power led him to a reign as ECW Television Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.  Bigelow had several memorable matches in ECW including one in which he threw Spike Dudley out of the ring and into the crowd and another where he slammed Taz so hard into the ring that Taz actually went through the ring.

During the Monday Night War, Bigelow worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he feuded with Bill Goldberg and Mike Awesome.  In WCW he was part of the faction known as the Jersey Triad, teaming with Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon and going on to win the WCW Tag Team Championship.  After the demise of WCW, Bigelow sat out his contract before he announced his retirement in 2002.  Like many wrestlers before him, the lure of the ring called him back and he worked several dates for USA Pro Wrestling before retiring again in 2004.  After retiring from wrestling, Bigelow tried his hand at running a restaurant named after his wrestling name.  Bam Bam Bigelow was forty five years old.