Big Boss Man | |
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Big Boss Man at a charity event in 2002.
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Birth name | Ray Washington Traylor Jr. |
Born |
Marietta, Georgia |
May 2, 1963
Died | September 22, 2004 Dallas, Georgia |
(aged 41)
Cause of death | Myocardial infarction |
Spouse(s) | Angela Traylor (m. 1989; his death 2004) |
Children | 2 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Big Boss Man Big Bubba Big Bubba Rogers The Boss The Guardian Angel The Man Ray Traylor War Machine |
Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Billed weight | 330 lb (150 kg) |
Billed from | Cobb County, Georgia |
Trained by | Ted Allen |
Debut | 1985 |
Retired | 2004 |
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler who was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man (sometimes spelled Bossman), as well as for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as The Boss, The Man, The Guardian Angel, and Big Bubba Rogers. During his appearances with the WWF, Big Boss Man held the WWF World Tag Team Championship once and the WWF Hardcore Championship four times. On March 7, 2016, Traylor was confirmed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016. He was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame 2016 by Slick and the award was accepted by his wife Angela and his daughters Lacy and Megan.
A former prison guard in Cobb County, Georgia, Traylor debuted in 1985, initially working as a jobber for Jim Crockett Promotions, under his real name. Seeing his potential, head booker Dusty Rhodes pulled Traylor from TV for 12 weeks, in order to repackage him as "Big Bubba Rogers", a silent bodyguard for Jim Cornette, who, along with the Midnight Express, was feuding with The James Boys (Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A., under masks). He got a solid push as a seemingly unstoppable heel and feuded with Rhodes (the top face at the time) in a series of Bunkhouse Stampede matches in 1986. He and Rhodes were tied for wins in this series, leading to a tiebreaking cage match, which Rhodes won.