Big Boss Man is a WWE Hall of Famer and had some epic feuds with the best superstars on the roster.
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. plied his trade in various promotions. After stints in Jim Crockett Promotions, Universal Wrestling Federation, he signed for WWF in 1988 playing the character Big Boss Man which was inspired by his erstwhile career as a corrections officer.
He was a heel and was managed by Slick. After his matches, he would handcuff his defeated opponents to the ring ropes and beat them with a nightstick or ball and chain.
His major storyline feud in WWF was with Hulk Hogan. He attacked the Hulkster on “The Brother Love Show“. He also had a feud running with “Macho Man” Randy Savage at the same time. Big Boss Man formed a team with Akeem and they were named “The Twin Towers“. They were the heels and feuded with Savage and Hogan. They were part of the WrestleMania V match which saw Savage turning on Hogan.
At the beginning of the ’90s, he feuded with Bobby Heenan and The Heenan Family after Heenan continuously insulted his mother. Big Boss Man left the company in 1993.
He joined WCW soon after and wrestled under the ring name “The Boss”. Soon afterward, his ring name was changed to “The Guardian Angel“. In 1995 he again changed his ring name to “Big Bubba Rogers” and defeated “The Icon” Sting at Uncensored 1995.
Big Boss Man was a member of the nWo for a brief amount of time. His last couple of matches were against Bill Goldberg and Bret Hammer. He lost the first one but won against Hammer before moving back to WWF.
Big Boss Man served as Vince McMahon’s bodyguard in the WWE Chairman’s feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin and DX later. He was part of the villainous stable, The Corporation where he served as the bodyguard for people like Vince and Shane McMahon. During his stay in the faction, he became a four-time Hardcore Champion and a Tag Team Champion with Ken Shamrock.
He even face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XV Hell in a Cell match. It’s what happened after the Hell in a Cell that was scary to watch. The Phenom hanged Boss Man from the roof of the cage but that illusion was created by a body harness concealed under the latter’s outfit.
Kindly note: The following image might be disturbing.
Big Boss Man had some intense feuds with Al Snow and Big Show for the Hardcore Championship and the WWF Championship respectively. Both the feuds had some infamous segments like Boss Man telling Snow that the meat he offered him was from Snow’s on dog, Pepper. For Big Show, Boss Man arrived at Big Show’s father’s funeral and chained the casket to his car and drove off.
He also faced The Rock on an episode of RAW in 1999 in a winning effort. Boss Man would team with the likes of Prince Albert, Booker T, and a few more before he was taken off from the main roster.
After this, he had a brief stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he was assigned to train rookie wrestlers who were in the developmental category. He also wrestled in one match for OVW where he teamed with John Cena and Charlie Haas to defeat the team of Lance Cade, Rene Dupree, and Sean O’Haire. He was ultimately released by WWE in 2003.
Big Boss Man won the UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation) Heavyweight Championship on one occasion. He became a WWF Hardcore Champion on four different instances. He also won the WWF Tag Team Championship once with Ken Shamrock.
Big Boss Man suffered a heart attack which led to his death. The incident took place at his home in Dallas, Georgia on September 22, 2004. His wife Angelo left the room for a brief while and returned to find him dead on the sofa. He was only 41 years old. Big Boss Man was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.
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