The Kliq actually did one good thing
It is a rare day when I stop roasting the ghosts of 1990s backstage politics, but here we are. Triple H recently dropped the news that the Kliq—yes, that bunch of power-tripping headaches—actually kept Bam Bam Bigelow on the roster. It is a wild piece of history considering Bigelow despised them with the burning passion of a thousand suns.
The Beast from the East was a legit worker. He was a 400-pound man doing moonsaults when big guys were mostly just bumping into turnbuckles. The Kliq typically cut anyone who threatened their spot, but his talent was impossible to ignore. They knew they needed a guy who could actually go in the ring to make their own act look like less of a joke.
The irony of the locker room
Bigelow didn't just dislike them; he supposedly couldn't stand the sight of the group. He viewed them as corporate parasites clogging up the main event scene. Most of the time, the Kliq would have bullied such an outspoken guy right out of the building. Instead, they pushed the front office to keep his chair at the table.
The Kliq unanimously voted to keep Bam Bam Bigelow on the WWF roster despite Bigelow hating them.
It is the ultimate professional grudging respect. Even the guys who poisoned the well recognized that their main-event matches would be absolute garbage without someone like the man from Asbury Park. They prioritized work quality over their own massive egos for once. It is shocking, honestly.
The booking mistakes we can't ignore
Let's not give the Kliq a pass or pretend they were saints in high-tops. Keeping Bigelow was smart, but that level of influence is why the mid-90s WWF product felt so stagnant. When your locker room leaders are deciding who stays and who goes, the meritocracy evaporates. It turned the company into a private lounge for their friends.
Bigelow eventually left for ECW because he knew the ceiling in Connecticut was made of Kliq ego. Watching him in the bingo hall tearing it up made it clear that management whiffed hard. They kept the right guy, but they did it for the wrong reasons. The fact that the story came out via WrestlingNews.co proves just how long those grudges have been marinating.
We are a week away from WrestleMania 41, and while WWE is currently firing on all cylinders, it serves as a reminder of how lucky we are that booking isn't left to the talent anymore. Imagine if the current roster had to vote on who works the show. It would make 1995 look like a paradise of stability.
