Bam Bam and Barry Windham in 1998 WCW

[thegame415]

What did everyone think of this?

I get the idea of adding to fill the roster, but I feel like a lot of casuals had no clue who they were, especially Barry Windham.

Bam Bam in the hardcore division worked, but did anyone really like his long, drawn out feud with Goldberg?

[Jindrak Mark]

I think Bigelow fit in decently enough as a credible midcarder. He was coming off a great ECW run too which was maybe the best of his career.

Windham though felt like a relic from a bygone era which is strange because he wasn't even 40 at the time. It reminds me of D-Lo Brown returning to WWE in 2008. He was only 37-38, basically the same age Windham was when he returned to WCW in late 1998, but he just felt out of place at that time and didn't last long.

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

I misread this as 1988 WCW and thought this was going to be about their really good Starrcade 1988 match back when both guys were in their primes.

I thought Bigelow fit in as he wasn't that far off from his WWF run and main eventing a Wrestlemania and with his look was a guy who was always going to be easy to present as a threat. Windham on the other hand was completely washed. West Texas Rednecks were great but he himself wasn't bringing much to the table as he real out of shape and broke down. Come to think of it is there any one who has had such steep decline performance then him? Went from being possibly the best worker in any major North American company in 1988 to being washed up and complete shell of his former self by 1993 when he was only 33 years old.

[tirtefaa]

Bam Bam was always welcome, as many times it never felt like he wore out his welcome, since he never stuck around many places for too long.

Windham was never one of my favorites as he just never stood out enough. I wonder if his return was a favor to Flair, as I know they were pretty close. He was okay in the West Texas Rednecks at least.

[slaughterama]

I remember seeing Bam Bam at his house right before Christmas of 98. I think he had been with WCW for about a month or so at that time. He couldn't even get out of his chair the entire time we were there as his back was completely shot. Have no idea how the hell he kept going, but it's sad to think what he was putting himself through to continue wrestling.

[tafkaga]

Bam Bam and Windham are both probably in my top 10 list of all time favorites, so I was happy to see them. I thought Bigelow really had potential for a good run, until it became clear they were just going to feed him to Goldberg. Windham felt really out of place.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Windham, as others have said, really seemed to change after his dad and brother went to prison.

He’s also hinted in interviews that he was supposed to get the WCW title but Flair shut it down, and it seemed to bother him because they had been close.

I think he just lost most of his motivation around that time, then began having health issues.

[chronocross]

I liked Bam Bam and thought he can still offer a good performance after ECW, not so much for Barry though.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Windham’s team with Curt Hennig was kind of an afterthought.

Imagine that team in ‘88-‘89.

[Mozenrath]

Bam Bam was fine in this run. His Goldberg feud was filler, but as far as filler goes, it wasn't so bad. Certainly better than some of Goldberg's feuds.

Jun 4, 2022 19:23:34 GMT -5 "Playboy" Don Douglas said:

Windham, as others have said, really seemed to change after his dad and brother went to prison.

He’s also hinted in interviews that he was supposed to get the WCW title but Flair shut it down, and it seemed to bother him because they had been close.

I think he just lost most of his motivation around that time, then began having health issues.

Yeah, I know he always kind of had issues, and I know Cornette, and probably others as well, have theorized he kind of was anxious about the big time, that that may have been why he could be unreliable, but yeah, his dad and brother being locked up really did him no favors. Dustin Rhodes also cryptically said he was "lost" when he was asked on AEW's podcast if he still keeps in touch with Barry, so yeah, I imagine he was really not in a good place, not that Dustin was, either, at the time.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

I loved when Bam Bam just stormed into Nitro wrecking stuff, and his feud with Goldberg was fun until they added Nash to the mix, mid feud, then pushed him down the card as Nash's backstage influence took hold.

Bam Bam was a great choice for someone who could give Goldberg Hus first monster to slay, he got an okay match out of one barely trained footballer so could do it again, the Nash feud could and should have waited, but no, Nash got the belt and harmed two kliq adversaries on the process.

[Jindrak Mark]

Jun 5, 2022 6:33:29 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

I loved when Bam Bam just stormed into Nitro wrecking stuff, and his feud with Goldberg was fun until they added Nash to the mix, mid feud, then pushed him down the card as Nash's backstage influence took hold.

Bam Bam was a great choice for someone who could give Goldberg Hus first monster to slay, he got an okay match out of one barely trained footballer so could do it again, the Nash feud could and should have waited, but no, Nash got the belt and harmed two kliq adversaries on the process.

I don’t think Goldberg/Nash should have waited. That was the obvious Starrcade match. They were the two most popular guys and fans were hyped for that match.

I think it’s Bam Bam’s debut that should have been held off. Why is he randomly getting in the middle of the build for the main event of the biggest show of the year. He could have debuted a month later the night after Starrcade and attacked Goldberg, giving Goldie a kayfabe reason to be distracted for a month of two so they have an explanation for him not immediately killing Hogan/Nash after Starrcade and the finger poke, because he has to deal with Bam Bam first.

[polarbearpete]

I loved Bam Bam in WCW. I thought he fit the times well.

Windham I honestly couldn’t remember his run at all until someone in the thread brought up Hennig. Totally forgot he was in the West Texas Rednecks .

[Mozenrath]

Jun 5, 2022 7:55:41 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

Jun 5, 2022 6:33:29 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

I loved when Bam Bam just stormed into Nitro wrecking stuff, and his feud with Goldberg was fun until they added Nash to the mix, mid feud, then pushed him down the card as Nash's backstage influence took hold.

Bam Bam was a great choice for someone who could give Goldberg Hus first monster to slay, he got an okay match out of one barely trained footballer so could do it again, the Nash feud could and should have waited, but no, Nash got the belt and harmed two kliq adversaries on the process.

I don’t think Goldberg/Nash should have waited. That was the obvious Starrcade match. They were the two most popular guys and fans were hyped for that match.

I think it’s Bam Bam’s debut that should have been held off. Why is he randomly getting in the middle of the build for the main event of the biggest show of the year. He could have debuted a month later the night after Starrcade and attacked Goldberg, giving Goldie a kayfabe reason to be distracted for a month of two so they have an explanation for him not immediately killing Hogan/Nash after Starrcade and the finger poke, because he has to deal with Bam Bam first.

Yeah, that'd have been tidier, honestly.

That said, I did enjoy Goldberg's midcard stuff, anyway, like the Jersey Triad.

[kingoftheindies]

Bam Bam had a lot of momentum when he started attacking wrestlers when he came to WCW. But changes to creative team lost him a lot of momentum that he didn't get back till the Jersey Triad became thing

[msc]

Bam Bam looked like a great signing but he was more banged up than folk realised and was more limited in ability compared to 1995-97. Shame as I loved Bigelow. Fantastic big man.

Windham was old and broken down and post several career threatening injuries. He was never the same after 1993 (?) or so.

Yet, both did good stuff in the tag division. Windham was the wily veteran (never mind he's younger than one of the tag team) for the West Texas Rednecks of Curt Hennig and Bobby Duncum Jr.

Bam Bam fit into the New Jersey Triad with DDP and Chris Kanyon, which is one of my all time favourite WCW things. Just an incredible trios group.

Both teams had good matches with the remnants of the Horsemen (Malenko/Benoit) and the old Revolution (Saturn/Malenko/Benoit) or Filthy Animals (Rey/Konnan/Eddie Guerrero).

I think if Bam Bam was less banged up he'd have been in the Invasion angle or back in WWE after it but he was just gone in the ring. Shame too as he said in a 1999 interview just beforehand that he felt he was having a career renaissance next to Vader (frenemy) who "was on his last legs" - Vader's comeback in Japan outlasted Bigelows renaissance.

Too many people mentioned in this post are dead now.