[1993-07-26-WWF-Monday Night RAW] Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow

[Superstar Sleeze]

Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow - WWF RAW 7/26/1993

What a disappointment this match was. It was hovering between average and sucking but when Lawler came out bombed about as hard as any stand up comedian has ever bombed, this was an atrocity. It didnt help that this was half the episode of RAW. Stu & Helen Hart were in attendance at the Manhattan Center. Lawler comes out as Bret is about to put on the Sharpshooter. It shouldve been three jokes top. The first time he said he couldnt understand Stu it was funny and the couple produced more tragedies than Shakespeare is a legitimately good line, BUT they needed to go home after that. Lawler's stand up routine dragged and Bam Bam's beatdown dragged. It was brutal. You could hear a pin drop in the arena. Bret made his comeback to crickets. He hit a DDT and got counted out, but he was too late Lawler had already fled.

As for the body of the match, I was shocked at how heatless and plodding the match was. I remember really liking the KOTR finals match and I read my review after watching the match and writing this review and it sounded great. This match was anything but. A large part of that is Bam Bam Bigelow just isnt really all that good. I am just underwhelmed over and over by him. He has the great Lawler match when he was green. He has unexpectedly great match with RVD and the super fun squash with Spike. I have not seen the Spain 1993 match against Bret in forever and I know that is liked even more than KOTR finals so I should check that out. His offense is the definition of plodding clubbering. People like Hogan and Taker get accused of being slow, and it is such bullshit, Bigelow is brutally dry, BUT he can do a cartwheel. Gimme a break. Massive eye roll. Bret does his best. This pales in comparison to the Taker/Samu match I just watched and the Bret/Fatu match from earlier in the year. Bret gets beat down early, makes a mini-comeback. He does a senton sort of move which hurts his knee. Bigelow does a couple slams and headbutts. I like that it is missed moves by Bam Bam like a missed headbutt or a missed dropkick that gives Bret his opportunity to go on offense. Bret does not really respect the size difference or the knee selling with a belly to back suplex and back body drop. The sleeper was a nice touch by Bret. It was the usual moveset otherwise. Oh the Bulldog came out really good. 

Stick with KOTR '94. This match is not good to begin with and it craters once Lawler comes out. One thing I will say is Luna with Bam Bam made Bam Bam feel like a main event act. Not the best Bret match.