Fred Ottman
Fred Ottman | |
---|---|
Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
Alma mater | Miami Senior High School (Miami, Florida)[1] |
Spouse(s) |
Sheila Ottman (m. 1987) |
Children | 3 |
Family | Dusty Rhodes (brother-in-law) Cody Rhodes (nephew) Dustin Rhodes (nephew) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Big Bubba[2] Big Steel Man[2] The Shockmaster[2] Sigfried Super Shockmaster Uncle Fred Terminator Tugboat[3] Tugboat Thomas Tugboat Tyler Tidal Wave Typhoon[3] |
Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[3] |
Billed weight | 384 lb (174 kg)[3] |
Billed from | Norfolk, Virginia [4] |
Trained by | Boris Malenko[2] |
Debut | 1984[2] |
Retired | 2009 |
Fred Alex Ottman (born August 10, 1958) is an American retired
In 1993, Ottman debuted as The Shockmaster in World Championship Wrestling and immediately fell over, losing his mask on live television while his teammates broke character and laughed. This botch hurt his career, and is now generally regarded as the worst debut in wrestling history, but he was able to capitalize on its notoriety after his in-ring retirement.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1984–1988)
Ottman was trained by
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1988–1989)
In September 1988, Ottman wrestled on the Gordon Solie-hosted TV shows of Championship Wrestling from Florida as a heel called Big Steel Man, managed by Diamond Dallas Page. He feuded with Dusty Rhodes, among others. He defeated Rhodes for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship on May 13, 1989.
World Wrestling Federation (1989-1993)
Tugboat (1989–1991)
Ottman made his first appearance in the WWF in June 1989 in a dark match under the ring name Big Steel Man with Slick as his manager. He wrestled three more dark matches that summer, defeating Paul Roma and Boris Zukhov, and losing to Mr. Perfect.
That September, his name was changed to Tugboat Tyler, then Tugboat Thomas, as he portrayed a
Natural Disasters (1991–1993)
In May 1991, Ottman teased a
The Natural Disasters dumped Hart and turned into fan favorites in early 1992 - with Ottman's heel run having lasted less than seven months - feuding with Hart's new top team,
World Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)
The Shockmaster (1993–1994)
After departing from the WWF, Ottman found himself at the center of one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history as The Shockmaster. He had signed with
On "A Flair for the Gold", an
While making his entrance, Ottman tripped over a piece of lumber that was framing the set, causing him to fall forward through the wall with his helmet falling off and sliding across the floor. His face accidentally exposed, he scrambled to put the helmet back on as Vicious, restraining laughter, exclaimed "Oh, God!", while Flair could also be heard saying "Oh no" under his breath. Ottman donned the helmet and got back on his feet, shifting his weight and dusting his hands off in an attempt to shrug off the gaffe while Harlem Heat's Kole asked, "Who is this motherfucker?" and Smith exclaimed "He fell flat on his arse! He fell flat on his fucking arse!". Both of these comments were audible to the live audience and television viewers, but were bleeped in future showings of the footage by WWE. Ottman then began gesturing toward his would-be opponents several seconds before a menacing gravelly off-screen voice (provided by Ole Anderson, who could be heard laughing before speaking) started to threaten Sid and Vader. Sid Vicious, remaining in character, reacted in rage to Shockmaster, and the broadcast focused on Vicious for the duration of the voiceover. The announcers said nothing as the segment ended.
Dusty Rhodes later claimed, on an episode of WWE 24/7's "Legends of Wrestling" show, the piece of lumber previously wasn't there during a successful practice run and it was later put there by David Crockett without informing Ottman. WWE, on its official website, wrote, "There is a case to be made that The Shockmaster's debut at WCW Clash of the Champions XXIV is the greatest of all time – albeit for all the wrong reasons."[14] The organization has also described the incident as "one of the most unintentionally funny moments in sports entertainment history,"[15] and "a debacle many still consider one of the worst gaffes in the history of sports-entertainment."[16] While Ottman was initially displeased with the turn of events, he now finds humor in the incident.[15]
They put me in a Storm Trooper mask which they painted and covered in glitter, I couldn't see a thing. I got to the wall and put my hands up like a double axe handle and bust through. The top broke perfectly, but the bottom didn't give. The momentum took me through the wall and to the floor.
— Ottman on The Shockmaster's debut[15]
Despite generating no crowd reaction, WCW tried to continue with the
This version of the character remained reasonably popular with live crowds and continued to appear at the final three pay-per-view events of the year. At
In 2009, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Dusty Rhodes appeared on a segment of WWE Raw to discuss the DVD release of The Rise and Fall of WCW when Triple H brought up the subject of the Shockmaster's debut. During that segment, the WWE recreated the Shockmaster's stumbling through the wall, with Santino Marella portraying the character and Arn Anderson providing the voice. Anderson fled from the camera when the other wrestlers pointed at him.
On February 22, 2016, Ottman returned as The Shockmaster for an episode of the WWE Network show, The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness. On the show, The Shockmaster was given the opportunity to redeem the famous debut incident by walking through the show's banner.[17]
World Wrestling Federation (1994)
Ottman returned to the WWF as Typhoon in May 1994, taking the place of his former partner Earthquake in house show matches against Yokozuna after Earthquake left the WWF. Typhoon made his return to television on the June 25 episode of Superstars (taped May 25), defeating Quebecer Pierre. He then primarily lost matches to Yokozuna on television and at house shows before departing in August.[18]
Late career (1994–2001)
After leaving the WWF in August 1994, Ottman, still using the Typhoon name, began wrestling on the independent circuit in the
By the late 1990s, he was wrestling primarily in Florida, where he competed for FOW and WXO. In WXO, he was given a gimmick where he was too big to get out of his own car. He lost to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn on November 7, 1997 in Gainesville, Florida. On May 27, 2000 as Typhoon he defeated One Man Gang and Ron Harris in a 3 way match for Wrestling In Ashwaubenon independent show in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.
In 2000, he briefly appeared in the iGW promotion as a manager named Sugar Daddy.
Ottman was one of the participants in the 20-man Gimmick Battle Royal match at WrestleMania X-Seven as Tugboat, and was eliminated by his former partner, Earthquake.[19] He retired soon thereafter.
Return to wrestling (2009)
On September 5, 2009, Ottman returned to the ring as Tugboat losing to Martin Nolte at DWA 10 years event in Uelzen, Germany. He returned to North America on November 21 as Tugboat defeating Jason Static at ECPW in New York City. He once again retired.
Other media
In 1992, he appeared as Typhoon (along with Earthquake) in the SNES version of the video game WWF Super WrestleMania. The Disasters were absent from the Sega version. On February 23, 2016, he appeared as downloadable content for WWE 2K16. He appears along with Earthquake in WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18 as well. In 2K18, the Shockmaster helmet (slightly modified as to avoid any copyright disputes with the Star Wars license) and the Typhoon singlet are available in the game's attire creation suite, and can be worn by any character in the game.
On a two-part episode of the 1994 TV series Thunder in Paradise, Ottman played a palace guard named Yussef. He is also parodied in the 2014 RPG LISA as Shocklord.
On a two-part episode of the 1998 TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Ottman played Z'dak, in the second episode his name was featured solely in the credits though.
Personal life
Ottman retired from wrestling after WXO folded in 2001. In 2007 he lived in Lakeland, Florida and worked as a safety manager for Gaffin Industrial Services, a building cleaning service. He also coached the little league team of his two sons, Berkley and Beau, and daughter, Bailey.[20] Berkley currently serves as the timekeeper for the WWE. He is the brother-in-law of pro wrestler Dusty Rhodes.[21] He is one of the two uncles of Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes, the other being Jerry Sags.[22]
Championships and accomplishments
- Continental Wrestling Association
- AWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Jerry Lawler (1 time) and Goliath (1 time)[23][24]
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- International Wrestling Association
- Super World of Sports
- SWS Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Earthquake[27]
- Universal Superstars of America
- USA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[25]
- World Wrestling Federation
- WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Earthquake
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Worst Gimmick (1993) (as The Shockmaster)[28]
See also
References
- ^ "Incredible bulk". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Typhoon". Cagematch.net. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Tugboat". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ "The Wrestling Revolution - Pro Wrestling Reviews".
- ^ Brett Hoffman (April 5, 2007). "Where Are They Now? Tugboat". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "1989 WWF results". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "1990 WWF results". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c Cawthon, Graham. "1991 WWF results". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ "Gallery - Online World of Wrestling". www.onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "1992 WWF results". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ "1993". thehistoryofwwe.com.
- ^ Kevin, Powers. "20 memorable Superstar debuts: #6 Shockmaster". WWE. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- ^ a b c Hoffman, Brett. "Catching up with Tugboat". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ Zeigler, Zack. "Wherever Nitro goes, success follows". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ "The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness Review: Episode 1". Daily DDT. February 22, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ "Online World of Wrestling » WWE WrestleMania 17". Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "Catching up with Tugboat". WWE. Retrieved April 21, 2007.
- ^ "Oklafan.com > News > Dusty Rhodes". Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- ^ "Cody Rhodes Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved October 18, 2007.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ cite web|url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=285838
- ^ Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ISSN 1083-9593.
External links
- Tugboat on WWE.com
- Fred Ottman's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
- Fred Ottman at IMDb