Wrestling With Food

Beast from the East and restaurateur? Photo Credit: WWE.com

It's strange how random thoughts can evolve into major revelations. For example, yesterday, I saw Taz retweet a gif of him vs. Bam Bam Bigelow in ECW, and it made me wonder aloud whether he'd be cool on Twitter if he were alive today or if he'd be just another version of Vader, bitching and moaning about the younger wrestlers and various kids on his lawn. None of those replying reached a consensus, but @afraidomfighter did shine some light on a bit of trivia on the Beast from the East. He owned a hole in the wall eatery in the sleepy Northeast Pennsylvania borough known as Hamlin.

Bam Bam Bigelow's Deli got enough acclaim that it compelled a fan named "Bobby M" to make a visit. He wrote a review of the joint, and boy, he had some extremely nice things to say, both about the food and the guy running it. He said that Bigelow was "real cool, down to earth," and that he even encouraged him to take The Beast challenge, the item being a one-pound burger. The prize was only a picture with Bigelow to hang on the wall, but still, in this Man Vs. Food age, that challenge was before its time. The Beast wasn't the only large item on the menu. According to review, the portion sizes were befitting an establishment owned by one of the finest big man wrestlers ever. The deli is no longer open. Bigelow died in 2007.

Speaking of culinary personalities on Travel Channel, Anthony Bourdain announced Monday night that he'd signed with Titus Worldwide in a WWE Dot Com exclusive video. The tongue-in-cheek press conference featured backstage reporter and fashion goddess Charly Caruso holding court with other WWE interview personalities and oddly enough Rory Gulak in attendance. Bourdain is a well-known fanatic of mixed-martial arts, but who knew he'd deign himself to get them real wrestling minutes in. Either way, he'd be an excellent pro wrestling character if only to bring the grumpy old man character to America. Of course, if Neville ends up signing Guy Fieri to his kingdom, then you know the wrestling food wars are on, and they might get a little chippy. Anyway, you can watch the video below: