Most of us remember Ray Traylor as the Big Boss Man from his WWE days where he alternated between being one of the best heels and most popular faces in the company, and we’re remembering him on this day in wrestling history.
Whether he was teaming with Hakeem the African Dream or going solo, he was fun to watch and his imposing presence added a sense of danger for the audience.
While his role in WWE went from a small county police officer from Cobb County, Georgia to a swat team member during the Attitude Era, he was always fun to watch in the ring.
Catching others attention
Traylor started working for Jim Cornette Promotions for several months as an enhancement talent until Dusty Rhodes put him in a TV taping against Tully Blanchard.
The match went better than expected and Rhodes realized he could do something with Traylor, so he pulled him off TV for 12 weeks to further train him, and when he returned he was Big Bubba Rogers, Jim Cornette’s bodyguard.
Within his first year in the business, Traylor was feuding with Dusty Rhodes, who happened to be the fourth biggest draw in the country behind Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Ric Flair.
One of his more memorable moments came when he no sold a chair shot. According to prowrestlingstories.com, Baby Doll hit him on the head with a wooden chair and it exploded on contact.
It didn’t even knock his hat off, and he calmly went about removing his hat and coat for a fight.
Afterwards, Jim Cornette congratulated Klondike Bill on gimmicking the chair so well only to learn Bill forgot to do it.
Traylor took the hit and didn’t flinch because that’s what he was supposed to do as the monster he was built up as would do.
End of the line
Unfortunately, life doesn’t always imitate art and on September 22, 2004 Traylor passed away in his home in Dallas, Georgia from a heart attack at the age of 41.
The Wrestling Observer reported that his sister was visiting, and while his daughters went upstairs to play and his wife briefly left the room he suffered his heart attack and was found dead when his wife returned.
His career would be honored when he was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 7, 2016 by his former manager Slick, and his wife, Angela, and daughters, Lacy and Megan, accepted the award.
It’s never easy losing someone and my thoughts and prayers are with his family to this day.
He made it fun to watch wrestling as a kid, and made it fun to cheer for the heels, making this day in wrestling history a rough one.
What’s your favorite Ray Traylor match? Let us know in the comments below.
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