History
After being absent from WCW television for some time following the angle where she was pregnant, Stacy Keibler suddenly made her return on the March 12th Nitro. She was pushing a baby carriage, which she fussed over as it was pushed into the ring. Stacy talked about how she had left her fiancée (David Flair) at the altar, but she had changed. She then said that she wanted to introduce everyone to her newest baby and out came Shawn Stasiak. Stasiak, now referring to himself as “The Star†and the “Mecca of Manhood,†planted a kiss on Stacy and said they should introduce the world to their bundle of joy. They reached into the baby carriage and pulled out a pile of Stasiak’s promo photos, which they threw into the crowd. Stasiak then called the crowd fat, toothless, bald-headed, tattooed losers, and out came Bam Bam Bigelow.
Bigelow offered to settle Stasiak’s problem with bald, overweight, tattooed people who were missing a few teeth and headed for the ring. Stasiak tried to head him off with the baby carriage, but Bigelow shoved it aside and attacked. A clothesline sent Stasiak to the outside and then Bigelow challenged him to a match at Greed.
On Thunder, Stasiak asked why he was the Mecca of Manhood, and Stacy kissed him by reply. That brought out Reno, who was displeased by Stasiak’s disdain for bald people.
Stasiak soon lost control of the match and rolled to the outside, where Stacy consoled him. When Reno followed, Stasiak attacked. He took care of Reno, and then threw him back into the ring. Reno attempted to hit Stasiak with the Roll of the Dice, but Stasiak reversed it into a hangman’s neckbreaker for the win. After the match, Bigelow attacked, which sent Stasiak and Stacy to the back.
At Greed, Stacy came out and welcomed us to the Shawn and Stacy show. She put Stasiak over, who then came out and took the mic himself. He talked about the match and concluded by informing us that this had been our brush with greatness before he started throwing promo pictures into the crowd.
Bigelow came out and the match was on. The match seesawed back and forth between the two until Stacy hopped up onto the apron. She threw a can of hair spray to Stasiak. He sprayed it in Bigelow’s face while the ref wasn’t looking and dropped him with the neckbreaker for the win.
On Nitro, Bigelow said that Stasiak had needed a woman to beat him the night before and demanded a rematch.
Stacy came out and demanded a bigger ovation for herself before she again introduced the Shawn and Stacy Show. She brought Stasiak out who trashed Bigelow yet again and closed with his new catchphrase “that was your brush with greatness this evening.â€
Bigelow came out and the match was on. Less than two minutes later, Stacy tried to throw the hair spray to Stasiak, only to have it intercepted by Bigelow. Bigelow dropped it and then dropped Stasiak with the Greetings from Asbury Park for the win.
After the match, Stasiak grabbed the mic and started arguing for a rematch. Bigelow said that he would agree if he got to tattoo the little lady if he won. Stasiak agreed and said that Stacy would do anything for him (as Stacy didn’t look thrilled with the concept). Bigelow pointed and informed Stasiak that he wasn’t talking about Stacy. As Stasiak realized what he’d agreed to, a triumphant Bigelow headed to the back.
That brought us to the final episode of Nitro. Stacy came down to the ring and asked the Spring Break crowd if they wanted her to dance. She refused and introduced Stasiak. Stasiak came down and started to speak, only to be interrupted by Bigelow’s music. The music was followed a moment later by Bigelow himself, carrying a case that contained his tattooing equipment.
Bigelow tried to attack Stasiak with the case, only for the referee to wrestle it away from him. That gave Stasiak the opening he needed to attack first. A diving headbutt from Bigelow put Stasiak down, only for Stacy to distract the referee and prevent the pin. Bigelow set up Stasiak for the Greetings, only for Stacy to intervene again by grabbing his legs and preventing the move. Stasiak then reversed it into the neckbreaker for the win.
This was an interesting feud, and Shawn Stasiak claims it was one of his favorites. It was obvious that WCW, had it continued, had big plans to push Stasiak. First, they paired him with Stacy Keibler, one of the most beautiful valets on the roster. They also gave him a new entrance and new music. The feud with Bigelow only would have helped to cement his arrogant persona and allowed him to move into the upper mid-card.
Unfortunately, the closure of WCW forced a rapid end to the feud. If it had been allowed to play out, we probably would have seen a clean win from Stasiak. As it was, he wasn’t allowed to win any matches without interference from Stacy (who had also shot up greatly in the arrogance department by informing the crowd she deserved better ovations for her entrance).
In the end, neither Bigelow or Stasiak benefited from the feud. Stasiak did get some valuable screen time just before the WWF buyout, which may have helped the WWF decide to pick up his contract.
On a side note, Stasiak also mentions in his new DVD “Determined†that this was one of his favorite feuds in his career.
Shawn Stasiak was picked up by the WWF after the WCW buyout. By August, he had been transformed into a goof who, while trying to impress Alliance leader Steve Austin, would crash into walls while attempting to attack higher profile WWF stars. In November, he had to have knee surgery and made his return to WWE the following April as Planet Stasiak. The gimmick did not catch on and Stasiak was released that September. Stasiak went back to school and today works as a chiropractor. Stasiak still makes occasional indy appearances.
Stacy Keibler was also picked up in the buyout. In 2006, she left the WWE after a successful run on Dancing with the Stars. Today she appears on ABC’s What About Brian and also works as an entertainment correspondent for Good Morning America.
Bam Bam Bigelow remained under contract to Time-Warner until mid-2002. He made several independent appearances through 2006 and then dropped out of sight. Bigelow passed away in his sleep on January 17, 2002 at the age of 45.
