 Traylor in 2002 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (1963-05-02)May 2, 1963 Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | September 22, 2004(2004-09-22) (aged 41) Dallas, Georgia, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | (The) Big Boss Man[1] Boss Man[2] Big Bossman[1] The Man Big Bubba[2] Big Bubba Rogers[1] The Boss[3] The Guardian Angel[1] Ray Traylor[1] War Machine[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] |
| Debut | 1984[4] |
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. Traylor was posthumously inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2016.
Before he was a professional wrestler, Traylor worked as acorrections officer inCobb County, Georgia.[1][3][5] He debuted in 1984[4] then began working as ajobber forJim Crockett Promotions.[6] Head bookerDusty Rhodes took notice of Traylor's potential and took him off television for three months before repackaging him asBig Bubba Rogers.[6] He received apush as the silentheelbodyguard forJim Cornette, who, along withThe Midnight Express, wasfeuding with the James Boys (Rhodes andMagnum T. A., under masks).[5] Rogers 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.
In 1987, Traylor joined theUniversal Wrestling Federation (UWF) after it was purchased byJim Crockett.[7] On April 19, Traylor won theUWF Heavyweight Championship fromOne Man Gang, who was leaving the UWF for theWorld Wrestling Federation.[8] Following his title win, he aligned himself withGeneral Skandor Akbar and his Devastation Inc. stable. Traylor lost the title to"Dr. Death" Steve Williams on July 11 during theGreat American Bash tour.[9] In the secondWarGames match on July 30, Traylor, as War Machine, teamed withThe Four Horsemen (Ric Flair,Arn Anderson,Lex Luger andTully Blanchard) in a loss to TheRoad Warriors (Hawk andAnimal),Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes andPaul Ellering, when Animal forced the War Machine to submit by gouging his eyes with a spiked armband.[10]
Traylor made his first tour to Japan in March 1988 forAll Japan Pro Wrestling as Big Bubba.
In May 1988, Traylor joined the WWF asBig Boss Man, a heel character inspired by his previous career as a corrections officer. 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][11] On August 29, he defeatedKoko B. Ware at the inauguralSummerSlam.[12]
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Big Boss Man began his first major WWF angle by attackingHulk Hogan in an October edition of"The Brother Love Show".[11] He also formed atag team with Akeem (formerly billed as One Man Gang) known asThe Twin Towers. AtSurvivor Series on November 24, they teamed withTed DiBiase,King Haku andThe Red Rooster in a 5-on-5Survivor Series match, but lost toThe Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan andWWF ChampionRandy Savage),Hercules, B. Ware andHillbilly Jim.[13] The Twin Towers were a key part in the top storyline of Savage turning on Hogan, leading to theWrestleMania V main event; in the later part of a tag match between the four on February 3, 1989, atThe Main Event II, Hogan abandoned Savage to attend to the hurtMiss Elizabeth and went backstage. After being double-teamed for a while, Savage eventually rallied until Hogan returned to the match. 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.[14][15]
At WrestleMania V on April 2, The Twin Towers defeatedThe Rockers (Shawn Michaels andMarty Jannetty).[16] Meanwhile, Boss Man continued his feud with Hogan in a series ofsteel cage matches; in their most notable encounter on May 27 atSaturday Night's Main Event XXI, he failed to win the WWF Championship from Hogan.[15][17] During the match, Hogansuperplexed Boss Man off the top of the cage.[18] The Twin Towers were then involved in a feud withDemolition (Ax andSmash) over theWWF Tag Team Championship.[15] AtSummerSlam on August 28, they teamed withAndré the Giant and lost to Demolition andKing Duggan in asix-man tag team match.[19] Boss Man subsequently feuded with Dusty Rhodes and led a team on November 23 atSurvivor Series includingBad News Brown,Rick Martel andThe Honky Tonk Man, but they lost to Rhodes,Brutus Beefcake, Red Rooster andTito Santana.[15][20]
The Big Boss Man turned face on the February 24, 1990 episode ofSuperstars, when DiBiase had paid Slick to have Boss Man retrieve theMillion Dollar Championship belt fromJake Roberts, who had stolen it. Boss Man retrieved a bag containing both the belt and Roberts' pet python, Damien. OnThe Brother Love Show, he refused to accept DiBiase's money for the bag, and returned it to Roberts.[21] Boss Man then defeated his former partner Akeem inless than two minutes on April 1 atWrestleMania VI.[22] AtSurvivor Series on November 22, he teamed with Hogan, Duggan andTugboat to defeatEarthquake,Haku,Dino Bravo andThe Barbarian.[23] The entrance theme song "Hard Times" was performed bySurvivor lead singerJimi Jamison, written byJimmy Hart, JJ Maguire, Mike Stock and Pete Waterman.[24]
In the fall, Boss Man began feuding withBobby Heenan and theHeenan Family after Heenan continually insulted Boss Man's mother.[21] He defeated Heenan Family members The Barbarian on January 19, 1991, atRoyal Rumble[25] andMr. Perfect on March 24 atWrestleMania VII in anIntercontinental Championship match via disqualification.[26] Following this, he feuded withThe Mountie to see who the real officer of the WWF was, culminating in a Jailhouse match atSummerSlam on August 26.[27] Boss Man won the match, thus the Mountie had to spend a night in jail; this was the only such match ever held by the company.[28]
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 to sell his (kayfabe) injuries, eventually returning and having a series of matches with Nailz in the latter half of 1992.[1][29] The feud culminated atSurvivor Series on November 25, where Boss Man defeated Nailz in aNightstick on a Pole match.[30]
Boss Man's last major feud was againstBam Bam Bigelow, leading to a match at theRoyal Rumble on January 24, 1993, which Boss Man lost.[31][32] He left the WWF shortly after ahouse show inGatineau, Quebec on March 14 and later made appearances inUSWA,SMW andJapan.[33][31] In December, he briefly returned to the WWF to serve as thespecial guest referee for three house show main events betweenBret Hart andJeff Jarrett.[31]
Traylor made his debut for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) asThe Boss on the December 18, 1993 episode ofWCW Saturday Night, pinningInternational World ChampionRick Rude in a non-title match.[34] He challenged for Rude's title atStarrcade '93: 10th Anniversary on December 27, but was unsuccessful.[34]
In 1994, Traylor began a lengthy feud withBig Van Vader, losing to him on April 17 atSpring Stampede.[35][36] In light of legal complaints from the WWF regarding the similarity of "The Boss" to "Big Boss Man", Traylor was renamedThe Guardian Angel and sported similar attire to those in theorganization he was named after.[18] He subsequently lost to Vader atBash at the Beach on July 17,[37]Fall Brawl on September 18,[38] andHalloween Havoc on October 23 to end their feud.[39] In early 1995, he turned heel and again became known as Big Bubba Rogers,[40] defeatingSting atUncensored on March 19 but lost in a rematch atSlamboree on May 21.[41][42] On September 4, Rogers challenged Hulk Hogan for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship on the debut episode ofWCW Monday Nitro, but failed to win the title.[40]
In 1996, Rogers joined theDungeon of Doom and feuded with former Dungeon of Doom memberJohn Tenta,[43] whom he lost to atThe Great American Bash on June 16 andBash at the Beach on July 7.[9][44] By the end of the year, he had turned on the Dungeon of Doom and joined thenWo.[43] 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. He later explained thatEric Bischoff fired him from the nWo while he was temporarily paralyzed.[45] Upon his return in September, Traylor resumed wrestling under his real name and began feuding with the nWo, forming an alliance withThe Steiner Brothers, who also soughtTed DiBiase as their manager.[45] The union abruptly ended whenScott Steiner turned on them to join the nWo in February 1998.[46] After Traylor lost toGoldberg on the March 30 episode ofNitro, he left WCW the following month.[46]
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Traylor rejoined the WWF shortly after, again as Big Boss Man. 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.[47] He served asVince McMahon's bodyguard during his feuds withStone Cold Steve Austin andD-Generation X (DX) and was one of the first members of his heelstable,The Corporation, briefly wearing a mask before his identity was revealed.[1][33]
On the November 30 episode ofRaw is War, Big Boss Man defeatedMankind to win theWWF Hardcore Championship.[48] Boss Man and Shamrock were initially defeated byWWF Tag Team Champions theNew Age Outlaws atRock Bottom: In Your House on December 13,[49] however, on the following day'sRaw is War broadcast, they won the WWF Tag Team Championship in a rematch, making Boss Man a double champion.[47] He lost the Hardcore Championship to New Age Outlaws memberRoad Dogg nearly two weeks later,[48] but defeated him in a non-title rematch atRoyal Rumble on January 24, 1999.[50] Boss Man and Shamrock lost the WWF Tag Team Championship toOwen Hart andJeff Jarrett the next night onRaw is War.[51] AtWrestleMania XV on March 28, Big Boss Man lost toThe Undertaker in aHell in a Cell match. 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).[52] 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 with only minor injuries.[53] AtOver the Edge on May 23, Boss Man was a part ofThe Corporate Ministry, losing to The Union in an eight-manelimination tag team match.[54]
Big Boss Man subsequently entered a major feud withAl Snow, which eventually involved Snow's pet chihuahua, Pepper. He won the WWF Hardcore Championship from Snow on July 25 atFully Loaded.[51] AtSummerSlam on August 22, the two had a Falls Count Anywhere match that spilled into the backstage area, the street and, finally, into a nearby bar. Prior to the match, Snow had set Pepper'spet 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. CommentatorJim Ross immediately apologized to viewers for the act and stated that Pepper had been removed from the box before the match. Snow won the match and regained the WWF Hardcore Championship.[51][55] Boss Man regained the championship on the subsequent episode ofSmackDown!.[48] 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.[1] On the same night, Big Boss Man lost the Hardcore Championship to the returningBritish Bulldog, who then gifted the title to Snow.[48] Boss Man and Snow settled their feud in aKennel from Hell match for the title atUnforgiven on September 26, in which a blue solid steel cage surrounded the ring itself and the ringside was surrounded by a chain-link fenced "cell". The objective 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.[7][56] Boss Man ultimately lost the match,[57] but won back the title in a triple threat match involving Snow andBig Show nearly two weeks later.[48]
While 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. 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][58] On the November 15, 1999 episode ofRaw is War, Big Boss Man defeatedThe Rock to become the number one contender to the WWF Championship.[51] He failed to win the title from Big Show atArmageddon on December 12 and in a handicap match withPrince Albert on the following episode ofRaw is War, ending their feud.[59][51]
The alliance between Boss Man and Albert ended after they lost to theHardy Boyz on the January 13, 2000 episode ofSmackDown!.[60] The following week, Boss Man lost the WWF Hardcore Championship to Test.[48] He entered theRoyal Rumble match at thetitular event on January 23, where he eliminatedRikishi,Chyna andFaarooq before being eliminated by The Rock.[61] AtNo Way Out on February 27, Boss Man lost toTaz via disqualification.[62] On the March 19 episode ofSunday Night Heat, he introducedBull Buchanan as his protégé.[60] They teamed to defeatThe Godfather andD'Lo Brown atWrestleMania 2000 on April 2 and theAcolytes Protection Agency on April 30 atBacklash.[63][64] On the June 5 episode ofRaw 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.[60]
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.[60][7] He returned on the December 20, 2001 episode ofSmackDown!, forming a team withBooker T after Vince McMahon ordered him to be his enforcer.[65] The team quietly split in late January 2002, and Boss Man returned toJakked/Metal andHeat. In April, he formed a short-lived tag team withMr. Perfect after both weredrafted to theRawbrand.[66] On the May 26 episode ofHeat, he lost his final WWE match toTommy Dreamer.[66] In the summer, Traylor was assigned to train developmental wrestlers inOhio Valley Wrestling.[33][67] He was released from WWE in 2003 after his contract expired.[67]
After a year-long hiatus, Traylor returned in 2004 to wrestle for theInternational Wrestling Association of Japan, attackingSteve Williams at a show inKorakuen Hall.[33] In his first match back on March 12, he teamed with Keizo Matsuda in a loss toMike Rotunda and Williams.[68] On August 31, he competed in a tournament for the vacantIWA World Heavyweight Championship but lost toJim Duggan in the finals.[68]
Traylor was married to his childhood sweetheart Angela, and they had two daughters.[69]
Traylor suffered a motorcycle accident on hisHarley-Davidson in May 2002 after he hit a deer and was badly injured.[7] He was badly affected by close friendCurt Hennig's death in 2003.[70]
In July 2004, Traylor unsuccessfully ran for Commission chairman forPaulding County, Georgia.[67] He was the owner of aDallas, Georgia, storage company called RWT Enterprises.[71]
Traylor died of aheart attack at the age of 41 on September 22, 2004, at his home in Dallas, Georgia.[67] According toThe Wrestling Observer, Traylor's sister had been visiting, 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.[3] Traylor was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 bySlick, with his widow and daughters accepting the award on his behalf.[72][73]
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[74]WWE 2K18,[75]WWE 2K19,[76]WWE 2K20,WWE 2K22,WWE 2K23 andWWE 2K24.
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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