Big Boss Man

At 41 years old, Big Boss Man has this physical status:

Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as The Boss Man, The Guardian Angel, and Big Bubba Rogers.

Big Boss Man captured the WWF World Tag Team Championship once and the WWF Hardcore Championship four times during his WWF appearances.

Traylor was announced to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016.

Slick was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016, and his wife Angela and his daughters Lacy and Megan accepted the award.

Personal life

Traylor had two daughters, Lacy Abilene Traylor and Megan Chyanne Traylor, and was married to Angela, his childhood sweetheart.

Traylor was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash on his Harley-Davidson in May 2002 after he collided with a deer. He spent a year recovering from his injury, and Curt Hennig's death in 2003 devastated him.

Traylor ran for Commission chairman for Paulding County, Georgia, in July 2004. RWT Enterprises, a Dallas, Georgia storage company, was owned by the owner of RWT Enterprises.

Traylor died of a heart attack on September 22, 2004 at his Dallas, Georgia home. Traylor and his family were visiting with his sister at his house, and although his two daughters were upstairs to play, his wife Angela left the room at about 10:00 p.m. and discovered him dead on the sofa. He was 41 years old at the time. Traylor was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016, with his wife and daughters presenting the award on his behalf.

Big Boss Man appears in WWF Superstars, WWF WrestleMania Challenge, WWF WrestleFest, WWF Rage in the Cage, WWF Attitude, WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role and WWF No Mercy. He appears in WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE All Stars, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20, and WWE 2K22.

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Professional wrestling career

Traylor, a retired corrections officer in Cobb County, Georgia, debuted in 1985. He began working as a jobber for Jim Crockett Promotions under his new name. He encountered Tully Blanchard, The Barbarian, Ivan Koloff, The Midnight Express, The Road Warriors, and Wahoo McDaniel during this period. Traylor's future was seen on television for a year, and Traylor was banned from television for a year in order to repackage him as "Big Bubba Rogers" on the May 31 edition of WorldWide. Big Bubba, Traylor's unethical bodyguard for Jim Cornette, who, along with the Midnight Express, was feuding with the James Boys (Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T. A. under masks). In a series of Bunkhouse Stampede matches in 1986, he had a solid push as a seemingly unstoppable heel and feuded with Rhodes (the top face at the time). In this series, he and Rhodes were tied for victories, resulting in a tiebreaking cage match, which Rhodes won on February 27. In a Louisville Street Fight at Starrcade 1986, Traylor defeated Ron Garvin.

Traylor joined the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1987, just after Jim Crockett bought it. Traylor defeated and triumphed the UWF Heavyweight Championship from One Man Gang, who had left the UWF for the World Wrestling Federation. Following his victory in the championships, he allied himself with General Skandor Akbar and his Devastation Inc. crew. Traylor would defend the championship for almost three months against Steve Cox, Barry Windham, and Michael Hayes before losing the honor to "Dr. Death" Steve Williams in Oklahoma City on July 11, 1987.

The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, and Paul Ellering defeated The War Machine and Traylor in the second WarGames match on July 30, 1987, when Road Warrior Animals compelled the War Machine to submit by gouging his eyes with a spiked armband.

Traylor began competing in the UWF Tag Team Championship, which were hosted by The Lightning Express as he teamed with The Angel of Death, The Terminator, and Black Bart, but he was never able to win the titles.

Traylor's nickname, "Big Boss Man," appeared on the WWF in June 1988, a character influenced by his previous work as a corrections officer. Wrestling as a heel and supervised by Slick, Boss Man's post-match routine included handcuffing his defeated opponents to the ring ropes and striking them with a nightstick or chain.

Boss Man made his first major WWF appearance on "The Brother Love Show" after defeating Koko B. Ware at the inaugural SummerSlam. During this feud, he also challenged Randy Savage for the WWF Championship, and formed a team with Akeem (formerly known as One Man Gang, his UWF rival) to form The Twin Towers. They feuded with Hogan and Savage (who had formed The Mega Powers), and they were instrumental in the top storyline of Savage turning on Hogan, which culminated in the WrestleMania V main event; in the later part of a tag match between the four teams, they departed Savage to tend to Miss Elizabeth's injured presence and went backstage. Savage eventually rallied until Hogan returned to the match after being double-teamed for a while. Hogan was tagged by Savage, who then slapped Hogan and left him to defeat The Twin Towers on his own, resulting in the death of The Mega Powers as Savage defeated Hulk in the backstage medical room, where fellow wrestlers, bosses, and staff were forced to break them up.

The Twin Towers defeated The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) and then feuded with Demolition (Ax and Smash) over the Tag Team Championships in WrestleMania V. Boss Man resurfaced in a series of Steel Cage matches; one of the most memorable on Saturday Night's Main Event XXI was Hogan's WWF Championship. Hogan anplexed Boss Man off the roof of the cage during the game.

On the February 24, 1990 episode of Superstars, Ted DiBiase had paid Slick to have Boss Man retrieve the Million Dollar Championship belt from Jake Roberts, who had stolen it. Boss Man retrieved a bag containing both the belt and Roberts' pet python Damien. On The Brother Love Show, he refused to accept DiBiase's money for the bag and returned it to Roberts.

Boss Man, a face, adopted "Hard Times" as the lead singer of Survivor Jimi Jamison. At WrestleMania VI, Boss Man then feuded with his ex partner Akeem, defeating him in fewer than two minutes. He later stopped handcuffing and beating jobbers after matches as part of his face turn. He made peace with Hogan by appearing in his corner during his 1990 Survivor Series against Earthquake and teaming with him to defeat Earthquake's team.

Since Heenan continually mocked Boss Man's mother, he began feuding with Bobby Heenan and The Heenan Family in the fall of 1990. In 1991, he won a series of matches against Heenan Family members, including The Barbarian at the Royal Rumble and Mr. André the Giant's return to WrestleMania VII was a success (via disqualification) at WrestleMania VII, which included the return of André the Giant. He defeated The Mountie, who he feuded with, to see who the true officer of the WWF was in a Jailhouse Match, in which the loser must spend a night in prison; this was the only such match held by the organization.

Boss Man, an ex-convict character who appeared in a series of promotions before his debut, said Boss Man was his brutal Officer in jail and told him he was demanding revenge. Boss Man was assaulted by the ring's orange prison jumpsuit on May 30 and screamed and struck him with the nightstick, handcuffing him to the top rope and repeatedly beating him with the nightstick. Boss Man took time off television to sell his (kayfabe) injuries, later returning and playing a series of matches with Nailz in the late 1992 season. When Boss Man defeated Nailz in a Nightstick in a Pole match, the feud came to an end. The Big Boss Man's last pay-per-view match was held at the 1993 Royal Rumble, where he suffered his first clean loss on a pay-per-view to Bam Bam Bigelow; he left the business soon thereafter.

Traylor returned to the United States to face World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "The Boss" on December 18, 1993, the International World Champion's triumph in a non-title match. A game against Rude at Starrcade 93: the 10th Anniversary of the contest, but he lost. Traylor was renamed "The Boss Man" as a result of legal proceedings involving the similarity of "The Boss" to "Big Boss Man," and wore similar clothing to those in the company where he was named after. He fell back in early 1995 and became known as "Big Bubba Rogers" again. In 1995, he defeated Sting at Uncensored.

Rogers and his fellow Dungeon of Doom member John Tenta and newcomer Glacier clashed in 1996. He had turned on the Dungeon of Doom and joined the nWo by the end of the year. Traylor's stint in the nWo was brief, with Traylor being forced out by an unknown assassinant at the start of the February 17, 1997 edition of Nitro, with Traylor later advising Eric Bischoff that he had been temporarily paralyzed. Traylor returned on September 1st, despite the fact that he was using his real name and promising to rip Bischoff's head off. Ted DiBiase was the head coach of The Steiner Brothers, who also wanted Ted DiBiase to be their manager. As Scott Steiner begged them to join the nWo in February 1998, the union abruptly ended. Traylor won his final match against Bill Goldberg on March 30's episode of Nitro, beating Bret Hammer on the following Saturday Night, but after that, he was sent home and WCW let his deal come to an end.

Traylor returned to the WWF a short time after being dubbed "Boss Man" for the second time shortly after his WCW debut, and he has renamed him "Big Boss Man." He returned to television with a fresh look, swapping his blue police shirt for an all-black SWAT-style uniform, complete with a tactical vest and gloves. During Vince McMahon's rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin and his later feud with D-Generation X, he was wearing a mask before his identity was revealed.

Boss Man was one of the founding members of McMahon's heel stable, The Corporation, and served as a bodyguard for other people, including Vince's son Shane. When Boss Man was in The Corporation, he won the Tag Team Championship with Ken Shamrock and then the Hardcore Championship four times overall. Boss Man defeated Mankind to win the WWF Hardcore Championship on November 30, 1998 episode of Raw. Boss Man and Shamrock were first defeated by the Tag Team Champions the New Age Outlaws at the bottom of your house in December 1998, but Boss Man and Shamrock defeated the New Age Outlaws later that day in a rematch to capture the Tag Team championships. As a result, Boss Man was the holder of two championships in WWF, but Boss Man lost the Hardcore title to New Age Outlaws competitor Road Dogg just over two weeks later. Boss Man entered the 1999 Royal Rumble match as the 22nd entrant and defeated both X-Pac and D'Lo Brown before being eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Boss Man defeated New Age Outlaws member Road Dogg in a non-title match, while Boss Man's partner Shamrock defeated Billy Gunn in a separate singles match at the Royal Rumble event, while Boss Man defeated other New Age Outlaws member Billy Gunn. On the January 25, 1999 episode of Raw, Boss Man and Shamrock eventually lost the Tag Team titles to Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett. Boss Man and The Undertaker clashed in a Cell Hell in a Cell, which The Undertaker claimed. The Undertaker hanged him from the roof of the cage after the match (an illusion made possible by a body harness hidden underneath Boss Man's clothing).

Boss Man's biggest rivalry in the WWF's hardcore division was with Al Snow, a feud that culminated in Boss Man's pet chihua pepper. At the July Fully Loaded pay-per-view, Boss Man had first won the WWF Hardcore Championship from Snow. The two were able to a Falls Count Anywhere match in SummerSlam, the street, and then into a nearby bar. Snow had set Pepper's pet carrier outside the gate; minutes into the match, Boss Man picked it up, taunted Pepper, struck Snow with the carrier, and carelessly tossed it behind him. Pepper had been removed from the box before the match, according to commentator Jim Ross who promptly apologized to viewers for the performance. Snow emerged as the match's champion, regaining the WWF Hardcore trophy.

On the subsequent episode of SmackDown, Boss Man regained the Hardcore title. Boss Man, a kidnapped and ransomed Pepper, arranged a meeting in which he fed Snow a meat dish made from Pepper's remains two weeks later. Boss Man lost the WWF Hardcore title to the returning British Bulldog on the same night, but Bulldog later gave the award to Snow. In a Kennel from Hell match in which a blue solid steel cage surrounded the ring itself and also the ringside was enclosed by a chain-link fence "cell," Boss Man and Snow settled their feud. The object of the game was to escape from the cage and the cell while still avoiding "attack dogs" (which turned out to be disappointingly docile) outside the ring. Snow won the game and kept the Hardcore title. Boss Man will regained the Hardcore trophy in a triple threat match involving Snow and the Big Show just over two weeks later. Boss Man held the title for less than three months, though he only defended it sparingly, including Al Snow, Faarooq, Kane, and The Godfather.

Boss Man and the Big Show feud erupted over the WWF Championship, but during the feud, Boss Man appeared at the Big Show's funeral, made some profane remarks, and then chained the casket to the back of his car and departed. The Big Show attempted to save the coffin by launching it for a few yards before losing control and tumbling away. Boss Man became the top contender for the WWF Championship by defeating The Rock on November 15, 1999 episode of Raw. The Big Show, which was fought to keep the title at Armageddon, defaining him to keep the title. The Big Show defeated Boss Man and Prince Albert in a handicap match to keep his title, effectively ending the feud.

Boss Man and Prince Albert defeated Test in a handicap match on December 30, 1999, part of the McMahon-Helmsley Regime's vendetta against Test. In another handicap match, both elderly women) defeated Test and Prince Albert on January 3, 2000. After losing to The Hardy Boyz on January 13, 2000, Boss Man and Prince Albert's relationship came to an end. Boss Man feuded with both Prince Albert and Test over the next week, with Test winning the WWF Hardcore Championship from Boss Man on January 17, 2000 on Raw.

Boss Man appeared in the 2000 Royal Rumble match, where he defeated Rikishi, Chyna, and Faarooq before being disqualified by The Rock.

Bull Buchanan was his protégé on Sunday Night Heat's episode, episode 19. They teamed up at WrestleMania 2000 and the Acolytes Protection Agency in Backlash, beating The Godfather and D'Lo Brown. It's war on the 5th Raw is Battle after losing to The Hardy Boys and subsequently arguing, Boss Man knocked Buchanan out with his nightstick as his back was turned and the team split up on June 5th.

Boss Man disappeared from WWF's main television shows in 2000, wrestling mainly on Jakked and Heath, where he had a minor dispute with Crash Holly until he sustained a legitim injury in April 2001, leaving him out of the Invasion storyline, which featured invading WCW and ECW wrestlers for the remainder of the year. After Vince McMahon ordered him to be Booker's enforcer when he returned from SmackDown! Boss Man and Booker T defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin in a handicap match on December 27 of SmackDown! Austin and The Rock defeated Raw, Boss Man, and Booker T on January 7, 2002. Boss Man lost to Diamond Dallas Page on January 17, according to SmackDown's January 17 episode.

Boss Man of the Royal Rumble defeated Rikishi in the Royal Rumble match where he was disqualified by Rikishi.

Boss Man lost to Rikishi on January 24 of SmackDown! Boss Man returned to Jakked/Metal and Heat in late January 2002 after the team sacked in late January 2002. In April, he formed a short-lived tag team with Mr. Fels. Both were designed to the Raw brand, and they're absolutely delicious. Mr. Boss Man and Mr. Raw, Boss Man and Mr. on the 1st episode of Raw, Boss Man and Mr. The Hardy Boyz were a perfect match. He lost his last WWE match to Tommy Dreamer on May 26 of Heat. He was booted off the main roster once more after suffering from a motorcycle crash.

Traylor was sent by Ohio Valley Wrestling to prepare developmental wrestlers. When he joined John Cena and Charlie Haas, he defeated Lance Cade, Rene Dupree, and Sean O'Haire on November 6, 2002. In 2003, he was banned from WWE.

Traylor's last matches were in the International Wrestling Association of Japan, where he competed in a tournament for the vacant IWA World Heavyweight Championship. He advanced to the final by defeating Freddie Krueger before losing to Jim Duggan.

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