| Big Boss Man | |
|---|---|
 Traylor in 2002 | |
| Birth name | Ray Washington Traylor Jr. |
| Born | (1963-05-02)May 2, 1963 Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | September 22, 2004(2004-09-22) (aged 41) Dallas, Georgia, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | (The) Big Boss Man[1] Boss Man Big Bossman The 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 |
| Retired | 2004 |
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an Americanprofessional wrestler best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) under thering name(The) Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) asthe Boss,the Man,the Guardian Angel, andBig Bubba Rogers. During his appearances with the WWF, Big Boss Man held theWWF World Tag Team Championshiponce and theWWF Hardcore Championshipfour times.[1] Traylor was posthumously inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016.[4]
A formercorrections officer inCobb County, Georgia, Traylor debuted in 1985.[5] He then began working as ajobber forJim Crockett Promotions, under his real name.[6] During this time, he faced the likes ofTully Blanchard,The Barbarian,Ivan Koloff,The Midnight Express, TheRoad Warriors, andWahoo McDaniel.[6] Seeing his potential, head bookerDusty Rhodes pulled Traylor from TV for 12 weeks, sent him toCentral States Wrestling territory for further training and in ring experience, in order to repackage him as "Big Bubba Rogers" with Traylor debuting as Rogers on the May 31 edition of WorldWide. As Big Bubba, Traylor was a silentbodyguard forJim Cornette, who, along withThe Midnight Express, wasfeuding with the James Boys (Dusty Rhodes andMagnum T. A., under masks).[6] He got a solidpush as a seemingly unstoppableheel and feuded with Rhodes (the topface at the time) in a series ofBunkhouse Stampede matches in 1986. He and Rhodes were tied for wins in this series, leading to a tiebreaking cage match, which Rhodes won on February 27. Traylor also defeatedRon Garvin in a Louisville Street Fight atStarrcade 1986.[7]
In 1987, Traylor joined theUniversal Wrestling Federation (UWF) after it was purchased byJim Crockett. On April 19, Traylor challenged and won theUWF Heavyweight Championship fromOne Man Gang, who was leaving the UWF for theWorld Wrestling Federation.[6] Following his title win, he aligned himself withGeneral Skandor Akbar and his Devastation Inc. stable. Traylor would hold the championship for nearly 3 months defending it againstSteve Cox,Barry Windham, andMichael Hayes before losing the title to"Dr. Death" Steve Williams on July 11, 1987, in Oklahoma City during theGreat American Bash 1987 tour.
In the secondWarGames match on July 30, 1987,The Road Warriors,Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, andPaul Ellering defeatedThe Four Horsemen and Traylor asThe War Machine at 19:38 whenRoad Warrior Animal forced the War Machine to submit by gouging his eyes with a spiked armband.[8]
After losing the heavyweight championship, Traylor began pursuing theUWF Tag Team Championship which were held byThe Lightning Express as he teamed withThe Angel of Death,The Terminator, andBlack Bart, but was never able to win the titles.
Traylor made his first tour to Japan in March 1988 forAll Japan Pro Wrestling as Big Bubba.
In May 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 bySlick, 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]
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After defeatingKoko B. Ware atthe inaugural SummerSlam,[10] Boss Man began his first major WWF angle by attackingHulk Hogan on"The Brother Love Show". During this feud, he also challengedRandy Savage for theWWF Championship, and formed a team with Akeem (formerly billed as One Man Gang, his UWF opponent) to formThe Twin Towers.[1] They feuded with Hogan and Savage (who had formedThe Mega Powers), and were a key part in the top storyline of Savage turning on Hogan, leading to theWrestleMania V main event;[11] in the later part of a tag match between the four onThe Main Event II, Hogan abandoned Savage to attend to the hurtMiss Elizabeth and went backstage.[12] After being double-teamed for a while, Savage eventually rallied until Hogan returned to the match.[12] After Savage tagged Hogan in, he slapped Hogan and left him to defeat The Twin Towers on his own, which led to The Mega Powers' demise as Savage beat Hulk in the backstage medical room where fellow wrestlers, managers and staff had to break them up.[12]
At WrestleMania V, The Twin Towers defeatedThe Rockers (Shawn Michaels andMarty Jannetty)[11] and then, for most of spring and early summer 1989, feuded withDemolition (Ax andSmash) over theTag Team Championship.[1] Meanwhile, Boss Man concluded his feud with Hogan in a series ofSteel Cage matches; one of the most memorable aired on the May 27Saturday Night's Main Event XXI, with Hogan's WWF Championship on the line.[13] During the match, Hogansuperplexed Boss Man off the top of the cage.[13]
The Big Boss Man turnedface on the February 24, 1990, episode ofSuperstars, whenTed DiBiase had paid Slick to have Boss Man retrieve theMillion Dollar Championship belt fromJake Roberts, who had stolen it.[1] Boss Man retrieved a bag containing both the belt and Roberts' pet python, Damien.[1] OnThe Brother Love Show, he refused to accept DiBiase's money for the bag, and returned it to Roberts.[1]
As a face, Boss Man adopted a newentrance theme called "Hard Times" that was performed by the lead singer ofSurvivor,Jimi Jamison.[5] Boss Man then feuded with former partner Akeem, defeating him inless than two minutes atWrestleMania VI.[14] As part of his face turn, he later stopped handcuffing and beating jobbers after matches. He made peace with Hogan, appearing in his corner in his match againstEarthquake at Summerslam 1990,[15] and teaming with him at the1990 Survivor Series, along with"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan andTugboat, to defeat Earthquake's team.[16]
In the fall of 1990, Boss Man began feuding withBobby Heenan andHeenan Family after Heenan continually insulted Boss Man's mother. He won a series of matches against Heenan Family members in 1991, includingThe Barbarian at theRoyal Rumble[17] andMr. Perfect (via disqualification) atWrestleMania VII in anIntercontinental Championship match, which featured the return ofAndré the Giant.[18] AtSummerSlam, he defeatedThe 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 withNailz, 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 ofWWF 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 atSurvivor Series, when Boss Man defeated Nailz in aNightstick on a Pole match.[20] The Big Boss Man's lastpay-per-view match came at the1993 Royal Rumble, where he suffered his first clean loss on a pay-per-view toBam Bam Bigelow.[21]
He left the WWF shortly after ahouse show inGatineau, Quebec, on March 14, 1993.[22] During the next few months he made appearances in Japan, Australia, theUSWA andSMW. On December 4, 1993, he made a one-time return to the WWF as aspecial guest referee to officiate the main event of a house show inAnaheim, California, betweenBret Hart andJeff Jarrett. Boss Man was expected to rejoin to the WWF but elected to sign withWCW instead.[23]
Traylor returned to the United States to debut for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), as "The Boss", on the December 18, 1993, episode ofWCW Saturday Night, pinning theInternational World Champion,Rick Rude, in a non-title match.[5] A face, he received a title match against Rude atStarrcade '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 theorganization he was named after.[5] In early 1995, he turned heel, and became again known as "Big Bubba Rogers".[5] He defeatedSting atUncensored in 1995.[25]
In 1996, Rogers joined theDungeon of Doom, and feuded with former Dungeon of Doom memberJohn Tenta, along with newcomerGlacier. By the end of the year, he had turned on the Dungeon of Doom and joined thenWo.[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 ofNitro, with Traylor later explainingEric 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 withThe Steiner Brothers, who also sought Ted DiBiase as their manager.[26] The union abruptly ended whenScott Steiner turned on them to join the nWo in February 1998.[26] After losing his final WCW match toGoldberg on the March 30 episode ofNitro, he was sent home and the company let his contract expire.[26]
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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-blackSWAT-style uniform, including a tactical vest and gloves. He served asVince McMahon's bodyguard during his feud withStone Cold Steve Austin and his later feud withD-Generation X (DX), briefly wearing a mask before his identity was revealed.[5]
Big Boss Man was one of the first members of McMahon's heelstable,The Corporation, and served as a bodyguard for other members, such as Vince's sonShane.[5] While in The Corporation, Big Boss Man won theWWF Tag Team Championship withKen Shamrock and won theWWF Hardcore Championship four times overall. On the November 30, 1998, episode ofRaw is War, Big Boss Man defeatedMankind to win the WWF Hardcore Championship. A few weeks later, Big Boss Man and Shamrock were initially defeated by the WWF Tag Team Champions theNew Age Outlaws at the December 1998 pay-per-viewRock Bottom: In Your House; however, on the following day'sRaw is War broadcast, Big Boss Man and Shamrock defeated the New Age Outlaws in a rematch to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. As a result, Big Boss Man was the holder of two championships in WWF, although Big Boss Man lost the WWF Hardcore Championship to New Age Outlaws memberRoad Dogg nearly two weeks later. Big Boss Man entered the1999 Royal Rumble match as the 22nd entrant, and he eliminated bothX-Pac andD'Lo Brown before being eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. At the same Royal Rumble event, Big Boss Man defeated New Age Outlaws member Road Dogg in a non-title match while Big Boss Man's partner Shamrock defeated the other New Age Outlaws memberBilly Gunn in a separate singles match. Big Boss Man and Shamrock eventually lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to the team ofOwen Hart andJeff Jarrett on the January 25, 1999, episode ofRaw is War. AtWrestleMania XV, Big Boss Man andThe Undertaker faced each other in aHell in a Cell match, which The Undertaker won.[27] After the match, The Undertaker hanged him from the roof of the cage (an illusion made possible by a full-bodysafety harness concealed under Big Boss Man's outfit).[27] While a video package of theWrestleMania Rage Party was then shown, Big Boss Man had to be safely taken down onto a stretcher so that he could get to a hospital just fine with minor injuries.[28]
In the WWF's hardcore division, Big Boss Man's major feud was withAl Snow, a feud that eventually involved Snow's pet chihuahua, Pepper.[5] Big Boss Man had first won the WWF Hardcore Championship from Snow at the JulyFully Loaded pay-per-view. One month later atSummerSlam, 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'spet carrier near the entrance way; minutes into the match, Big Boss Man picked it up, taunted Pepper, struck Snow with the carrier, and carelessly tossed it behind him. CommentatorJim 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 Championship.[29]
Snow's reign was short-lived as Big Boss Man regained the WWF Hardcore Championship on the subsequent episode ofSmackDown!. Two weeks later, Big 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, Big Boss Man lost the WWF Hardcore Championship to the returningBritish Bulldog, in which Bulldog then gifted the title to Snow. Big Boss Man and Snow settled their feud in aKennel from Hell match atUnforgiven, 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 WWF Hardcore Championship.[30] Big Boss Man would later win back the WWF Hardcore Championship in a triple threat match involving Snow andBig Show nearly two weeks later. Big 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, andThe Godfather.
While as WWF Hardcore Champion, Big Boss Man feuded with Big Show over the WWF Championship; during the feud, Big 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.[1] Big Show attempted to save the coffin by jumping on it, riding it for a few yards before losing his grip and tumbling off.[1] Big Boss Man became the #1 contender for the WWF Championship by defeatingThe Rock on the November 15, 1999, episode ofRaw is War.[31] AtArmageddon, Big Show defeated Big Boss Man to retain the title.[32] On the following episode ofRaw is War, Big Show defeated Big Boss Man andPrince Albert in ahandicap match to retain his title, marking the end of the feud.[31]
On the December 30, 1999, episode ofSmackDown!, Boss Man and Prince Albert defeatedTest 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 ofSmackDown! after they lost to theHardy 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 ofRaw is War. Boss Man entered the2000 Royal Rumble match, where he eliminatedRikishi,Chyna and Faarooq, before being eliminated by The Rock.[33] On the March 19 episode ofSunday Night Heat, he introducedBull Buchanan as his protégé. They teamed to defeat The Godfather and D'Lo Brown atWrestleMania 2000, and theAcolytes Protection Agency the next month atBacklash. On the June 5Raw 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 onJakked andHeat, where he had a minor feud withCrash Holly until suffering alegit injury in April 2001, keeping him out ofThe Invasion storyline, which featuredinvading WCW and ECW wrestlers, for much of the year.[34] When he returned on the December 20, 2001, ofSmackDown!, he formed a team withBooker T, after Vince McMahon ordered him to be Booker T's enforcer later interfering in Booker T's First Blood Match against Stone Cold Steve Austin and attacking Austin with a steelfolding chair causing Austin to shed first blood while theofficial for the matchEarl Hebner didn't see it happen. Then referee Hebner saw Austin bleeding and gave a signal to end the match resulting in Booker winning. And as Austin walks from the ring to go backstage, McMahon appeared on the screens laughing at Austin after he lost the match. On the December 27 episode ofSmackDown!, Boss Man and Booker T defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin in a handicap match. On the January 7, 2002, episode ofRaw, Boss Man and Booker T were defeated by Austin and The Rock. On the January 17 episode ofSmackDown!, Boss Man lost toDiamond Dallas Page. At theRoyal Rumble, Boss Man competed in the Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated byRikishi. The team quietly split in late January 2002, and Boss Man returned toJakked/Metal andHeat. In April, he formed a short-lived tag team with Mr. Perfect after both weredrafted to theRawbrand.[35] On the April 1 episode ofRaw, Boss Man and Mr. Perfect lost to The Hardy Boyz. On the May 26 episode ofHeat, he lost his final WWE match toTommy Dreamer. Once again, he was taken off the main roster after an injury from a motorcycle accident.
Traylor was assigned to train developmental wrestlers inOhio Valley Wrestling.[5] He wrestled one match for OVW when he teamed withJohn Cena andCharlie Haas defeatingLance Cade,René Duprée andSean O'Haire on November 6, 2002. He was released from WWE in 2003. He took a nearly two-year hiatus.
After leaving WWE, and being inactive in wrestling Traylor returned on June 20, 2004, to teaming withGreg Valentine losingJim Duggan andTonga Kid atEmpire Wrestling FederationTed DiBiase's Christian Event in Wilcox, Arizona.
Traylor's final matches were in theInternational Wrestling Association of Japan, where he competed in a tournament for the vacantIWA World Heavyweight Championship.[5] He made it to the final by defeatingFreddie Krueger before losing to Jim Duggan.[5]
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 hisHarley-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 friendCurt Hennig's death in 2003.
In July 2004, Traylor unsuccessfully ran for Commission chairman forPaulding County, Georgia.[9] He was the owner of aDallas, Georgia, storage company called RWT Enterprises.[36]
Traylor died of a heart attack on September 22, 2004, at his home in Dallas, Georgia. According toThe Wrestling Observer, Traylor and his family had his sister over at his home and were all spending time together, 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 (now widow) and daughters accepting the award on his behalf.[38]
Big Boss Man appears in video games includingWWF Superstars,WWF WrestleMania Challenge,WWF WrestleFest,WWF Rage in the Cage,WWF Attitude,WWF WrestleMania 2000,WWF SmackDown!,WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role andWWF No Mercy. He further appears posthumously inWWE Legends of WrestleMania,WWE '13,WWE 2K17[39]WWE 2K18,[40]WWE 2K19,[41]WWE 2K20,WWE 2K22,WWE 2K23 andWWE 2K24.
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