Big Boss Man
Big Boss Man | |
---|---|
Birth name | Ray Washington Traylor Jr. |
Born | Marietta, Georgia, U.S. | May 2, 1963
Died | September 22, 2004 Dallas, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 41)
Spouse(s) |
Angela Traylor (m. 1989) |
Children | 2 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Big Boss Man[1] Boss Man Big Bubba[2] Big Bubba Rogers[1] The Boss[1] The Guardian Angel[1] Ray Traylor[1] War Machine[2][3] |
Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[1] |
Billed weight | 330 lb (150 kg)[1] |
Billed from | Cobb County, Georgia[1] |
Trained by | Ted Allen[2][3] |
Debut | 1985 |
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as the Boss, the Man, the Guardian Angel, and Big Bubba Rogers. During his appearances with the WWF, Big Boss Man held the WWF World Tag Team Championship once and the WWF Hardcore Championship four times.[1]
On March 7, 2016, Traylor was confirmed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016.[4] He was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame 2016 by Slick, and the award was accepted by his wife Angela and his daughters Lacy and Megan.
Professional wrestling career
Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1987)
A former
Universal Wrestling Federation (1987)
In 1987, Traylor joined the
In the second
After losing the heavyweight championship, Traylor began pursuing the UWF Tag Team Championship which were held by The Lightning Express as he teamed with The Angel of Death, The Terminator, and Black Bart but was never able to win the titles.
World Wrestling Federation (1988–1993)
Twin Towers (1988–1990)
In June 1988, Traylor joined the WWF as "Big Boss Man", a character inspired by his previous career as a corrections officer.[1][9] Wrestling as a heel and managed by Slick, Boss Man's post-match routine often included handcuffing his defeated opponents to the ring ropes and beating them with a nightstick or ball and chain.[1]
After defeating
At WrestleMania V, The Twin Towers defeated
Face turn and various feuds (1990–1993)
The Big Boss Man turned
As a face, Boss Man adopted a new
In the fall of 1990, Boss Man began feuding with Bobby Heenan and Heenan Family after Heenan continually insulted Boss Man's mother. He won a series of matches against Heenan Family members in 1991, including The Barbarian at the Royal Rumble[17] and Mr. Perfect (via disqualification) at WrestleMania VII in an Intercontinental Championship match, which featured the return of André the Giant.[18] At SummerSlam, he defeated The Mountie, who he feuded with to see who the real officer of the WWF was[9] in a Jailhouse Match, a match in which the loser must spend a night in jail; this was the only such match ever held by the promotion.[19]
In 1992, Boss Man began feuding with Nailz, an ex-convict character who, in a series of promos aired before his debut, claimed Boss Man had been his abusive Officer in prison, and warned he was seeking revenge. On the May 30 episode of WWF Superstars, Nailz – clad in an orange prison jumpsuit – ran into the ring and attacked Boss Man, handcuffing him to the top rope and repeatedly choking and beating him with the nightstick. Boss Man took time off TV to sell his (kayfabe) injuries, eventually returning and having a series of matches with Nailz in the latter half of 1992. The feud culminated at Survivor Series, when Boss Man defeated Nailz in a Nightstick on a Pole match.[20] The Big Boss Man's last pay-per-view match came at the 1993 Royal Rumble, where he suffered his first clean loss on a pay-per-view to Bam Bam Bigelow.[21]
He left the WWF shortly after a
World Championship Wrestling (1993–1998)
Early years (1993–1995)
Traylor returned to the United States to debut for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), as "The Boss", on the December 18, 1993, episode of WCW Saturday Night, pinning the International World Champion, Rick Rude, in a non-title match.[5] A face, he received a title match against Rude at Starrcade '93: 10th Anniversary, but lost.[24] In light of legal complaints from the WWF regarding the similarity of "The Boss" to "Big Boss Man", Traylor was renamed "The Guardian Angel", and wore similar attire to those in the organization he was named after.[5] In early 1995, he turned heel, and became again known as "Big Bubba Rogers".[5] He defeated Sting at Uncensored in 1995.[25]
Dungeon of Doom and feud with nWo (1996–1998)
In 1996, Rogers joined the Dungeon of Doom, and feuded with former Dungeon of Doom member John Tenta, along with newcomer Glacier. By the end of the year, he had turned on the Dungeon of Doom and joined the nWo.[5] His stay in the nWo was brief, with Traylor knocked out by an unknown assailant at the start of the February 17, 1997, edition of Nitro, with Traylor later explaining Eric Bischoff fired him from the nWo while he was temporarily paralyzed.[5] Traylor returned on September 1, now using his real name and vowing to rip Bischoff's head off, feuding with the nWo.[5] He formed an alliance with The Steiner Brothers, who also sought Ted DiBiase as their manager.[26] The union abruptly ended when Scott Steiner turned on them to join the nWo in February 1998.[26] After losing his final WCW match to Bill Goldberg on the March 30 episode of Nitro, he was sent home and the company let his contract expire.[26]
Return to WWF/E (1998–2003)
Hardcore and Tag Team Champion (1998–1999)
Traylor rejoined the WWF shortly after his WCW release and once again became "Big Boss Man".[5] On October 12, 1998, he returned to television with a new look, abandoning his blue police shirt for an all-black SWAT-style uniform, including a tactical vest and gloves. He served as Vince McMahon's bodyguard during his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin and his later feud with D-Generation X (DX), briefly wearing a mask before his identity was revealed.[5]
Boss Man was one of the first members of McMahon's heel
In the WWF's hardcore division, Boss Man's major feud was with Al Snow, a feud that eventually involved Snow's pet chihuahua, Pepper.[5] Boss Man had first won the WWF Hardcore Championship from Snow at the July Fully Loaded pay-per-view. One month later at SummerSlam, the two had a Falls Count Anywhere match that spilled into the backstage area, the street and, finally, into a nearby bar.[29] Just prior to the match, Snow had set Pepper's pet carrier near the entrance way; minutes into the match, Boss Man picked it up, taunted Pepper, struck Snow with the carrier, and carelessly tossed it behind him. Commentator Jim Ross then immediately apologized to viewers for the act, and stated that Pepper had been removed from the box before the match. Snow ended up as the winner of the match, thus regaining the WWF Hardcore title.[29]
Snow's reign was short-lived as Boss Man regained the Hardcore title on the subsequent episode of SmackDown!. Two weeks later, Boss Man kidnapped and ransomed Pepper, arranging a meeting in which he fed Snow a meat dish supposedly made from Pepper's remains. On the same night, Boss Man lost the WWF Hardcore title to the returning British Bulldog, in which Bulldog then gifted the title to Snow. Boss Man and Snow settled their feud in a Kennel from Hell match at Unforgiven, in which a blue solid steel cage surrounded the ring itself and also the ringside was surrounded by a chain-link fenced "cell".[30] The object of the match was to escape from the cage and the cell while avoiding "attack dogs" (which turned out to be disappointingly docile) positioned outside the ring.[30] Snow won the match and retained the Hardcore title.[30] Boss Man would later win back the Hardcore title in a triple threat match involving Snow and the Big Show nearly two weeks later. Boss Man held the championship for slightly over three months, although he only defended it sparingly, which included the likes of Al Snow, Faarooq, Kane, and The Godfather.
While as Hardcore Champion, Boss Man feuded with the Big Show over the WWF Championship; during the feud, Boss Man showed up at Big Show's father's funeral, made some disrespectful remarks, then chained the casket to the back of his car and drove off.
Various tag teams and departure (1999–2003)
On the December 30, 1999, episode of SmackDown!, Boss Man and Prince Albert defeated Test in a handicap match as part of the McMahon-Helmsley Regime's vendetta against Test. The alliance between Boss Man and Prince Albert ended on the January 13, 2000, episode of SmackDown! after they lost to the Hardy Boyz. Over the following weeks, Boss Man feuded with both Prince Albert and Test, with Test winning the WWF Hardcore Championship from Boss Man on the January 17, 2000, episode of Raw is War. Boss Man entered the 2000 Royal Rumble match, where he eliminated Rikishi, Chyna and Faarooq, before being eliminated by The Rock.[33] On the March 19 episode of Sunday Night Heat, he introduced Bull Buchanan as his protégé. They teamed to defeat The Godfather and D'Lo Brown at WrestleMania 2000, and the Acolytes Protection Agency the next month at Backlash. On the June 5 Raw is War, after losing to The Hardy Boyz and subsequently arguing, Boss Man knocked Buchanan out with his nightstick when his back was turned and the team split up.
In the summer of 2000, Boss Man disappeared from the WWF's primary television shows, wrestling mainly on
Traylor was assigned to train developmental wrestlers in Ohio Valley Wrestling.[5] He wrestled one match for OVW when he teamed with John Cena and Charlie Haas defeating Lance Cade, René Duprée and Sean O'Haire on November 6, 2002. He was released from WWE in 2003.
International Wrestling Association of Japan (2004)
Traylor's final matches were in the International Wrestling Association of Japan, where he competed in a tournament for the vacant IWA World Heavyweight Championship.[5] He made it to the final by defeating Freddie Krueger before losing to Jim Duggan.[5]
Personal life
Traylor had two daughters, Lacy Abilene Traylor and Megan Chyanne Traylor, and was married to Angela, his childhood sweetheart.[5]
Traylor suffered a motorcycle accident on his Harley-Davidson in May 2002 after he hit a deer, and was badly injured. He spent a year recovering from his injuries, and he was badly affected by close friend Curt Hennig's death in 2003.
In July 2004, Traylor unsuccessfully ran for Commission chairman for Paulding County, Georgia.[9] He was the owner of a Dallas, Georgia, storage company called RWT Enterprises.[36]
Death and legacy
Traylor died of a heart attack on September 22, 2004, at his home in Dallas, Georgia. According to The Wrestling Observer, Traylor and his family were visiting with his sister at his home, and while his two daughters went upstairs to play, his wife Angela briefly left the room at about 10:00 p.m., and returned to find him dead on the sofa.[37] He was 41 years old. Traylor was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016, with his wife and daughters accepting the award on his behalf.[38]
Other media
Big Boss Man appears in video games including WWF Superstars, WWF WrestleMania Challenge, WWF WrestleFest, WWF Rage in the Cage, WWF Attitude, WWF WrestleMania 2000, WWF SmackDown!, WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role and WWF No Mercy. He further appears posthumously in WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE All Stars, WWE '13, WWE 2K16 (as DLC), WWE 2K17 (including his 1999 appearance as DLC),[39] WWE 2K18,[40] WWE 2K19,[41] WWE 2K20, WWE 2K22, and WWE 2K23 .
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Universal Wrestling Federation
- World Wrestling Federation/WWE
- WWF Hardcore Championship (4 times)[45]
- WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ken Shamrock[46]
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)[4]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Improved(1987)
- Best Gimmick (1996) – nWo
- Feud of the Year (1996) New World Order vs. World Championship Wrestling
- Worst Feud of the Year(1996) vs. John Tenta
- Worst Feud of the Year(1999) vs. The Big Show
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1999) vs. Al Snow at Unforgiven
References
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- ^ a b c "Big Boss Man's OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
- ^ a b "Big Boss Man « Wrestler-Datenbank « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". Cagematch.de. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ a b Pappolla, Ryan (March 7, 2016). "Big Boss Man to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2016". Retrieved March 7, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Csonka, Larry (September 24, 2004). "Tremendous Tirades Special: RIP Ray Traylor". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Matthews, Bobby (August 22, 2017). "Big Boss Man – Ray Traylor: A Career Defined by Showing Up". Pro Wrestling Stories. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
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- )
- ^ a b "Full SummerSlam 1999 results". WWE. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
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- ^ a b "WWE Monday Night RAW 1999". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ "Full Armageddon 1999 results". WWE. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2000 entrances and eliminations". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on July 4, 2002. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ Soucek, Andrew (May 19, 2018). "RECAP AND REVIEW: Something to Wrestle on The Big Boss Man - his series of matches with Hulk Hogan, where the Pepper/Al Snow idea came from, the major spot he missed with Steve Austin, canceled taser angle, feud with Nailz (Ep. 99)". PWPodcasts. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
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- ^ RWT Enterprises profile at. Chamberofcommerce.com. Retrieved on November 20, 2016.
- ^ Oliver, Greg (September 23, 2004). "Ray 'Big Bossman' Traylor passes away". Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ "Big Boss Man to be inducted with WWE Hall of Fame's 2016 class". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ "Superstars to be featured on WWE 2K17 roster". WWE.com. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "WWE 2K18 roster: Meet the Superstars joining the list of playable characters". WWE.com. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "WWE 2K19 Roster". WWE 2K. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
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- ^ "Big Boss Man & Ken Shamrock". WWE. Archived from the original on November 29, 2005. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
External links
- Big Boss Man on WWE.com
- Ray Traylor at IMDb
- Big Boss Man's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database