Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Hak (WCW Spring Stampede 1999) Match Review

It’s April 1999 and somehow, this is now a WCW match. Bam Bam Bigelow had arrived in late 1998, targeting Bill Goldberg before settling into a role quite some distance below that. The Sandman debuted in February 1999, portraying Hak and quickly becoming entangled with Bigelow. Here they meet at Spring Stampede, an event billed as ‘The Good. The Bad. The Showdown.’ I’d like to use that for a joke about the good being absent but honestly, it’s actually rather good.

In fact, this is the last truly good WCW PPV ever, or at least until Greed. Either way, this is a hardcore match, being built by extensive brawls in recent weeks. That includes a three way with Raven at Uncensored. Hak arrives with Chastity, Raven’s on-screen sister. Bigelow brings a box like structure of weapons or as some would call it, a cart. Along the way, Tony Schiavone gets incredibly mad at Mike Tenay’s refusal to be horny at the announce table.

The lads brawl on the ramp, with Hak setting up a table and staggering his way to a senton thingy. In the meantime, Chastity fills the ring with weaponry as Bigelow swiftly fights upright, whooping Hak as they walk the ramp. This includes Hak virtually standing on his head, with Bigelow quickly making up for that early onslaught. Along the way, Hak does set up another table, whacking Bigelow some only to be clobbered by more weaponry himself.

Soon afterwards, they simply fall down, with Hak seemingly obliterating his knee. Naturally, that inspires him to retrieve a ladder, diving onto that and Bigelow in the process, I suppose. Hak is happy with that transaction, then bringing a guardrail to the party as poor Chastity is forced to prop the ringside table back up. That’s timely too, as Hak is flying through that very table within seconds. He soon rallies though, using a literal crutch before heading up for a leg drop on the rail.

Instead, he crashes and burns, physically bouncing on the thing in agony. Jesus wept.

Bigelow is then distracted by a bizarre Chastity run-in, and I’ll leave that recap there. He eats a cane shot as in the process, with Sandman landing a White Russian Leg Sweep to boot, Bigelow’s head bashing the barricade as a result. He avoids Sandman’s intended sunset nonsense though, hitting Greetings From Asbury Park off the middle rope, through a table. Along the way, they somehow manage to land on a fire extinguisher too, as though they hadn’t suffered enough.

This is an absolute hoot. It’s not what you’d call good but god it’s fun, an insane plunder match that feels entirely out of place in this setting. I’m not sure there’s a weirder version of WCW than this. The Russo eras are worse obviously but they’re also crystallised pieces of wrestling history. This is the lost bridge between Bischoff’s more famous failings and those tragedies, a timeline that usually jumps from January 4^th 1999 all the way until Russo’s arrival in October.

It’s a bizarre stretch, with Bischoff turning to ECW for any fresh talent he can possibly acquire. I mean good lord, Mikey Whipwreck is in the bout after this, it’s unhinged. Even still, this match rules, warts and all. Your ideal undercard plunder party, a blast that’s only assisted by some truly demented commentary from Schiavone, Tenay and Bobby Heenan, who remains in rare form here.