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Raymond ("Ray") Traylor (May 2, 1962 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler. He was perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name The Big Boss Man.
Early Career
World Wrestling Federation (WWF), 1988 - 1993By 1988, Traylor had joined the World Wrestling Federation as the Big Boss Man, a character who was formerly a prison guard in Cobb County, Georgia (Traylor had actually been a jail guard for a time in that area, a fact the WWF exploited to bring in the character Nailz, a former convict who believed Traylor had wronged him). Traylor enjoyed a good deal of success in the company, first as a heel, challenging for Hulk Hogan's WWF World Championship also teaming with Akeem in the Twin Towers, and later as a face, befriending Hogan and opposing Bobby Heenan's stable of wrestlers, the Heenan Family, including a memorable encounter with Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania VII in 1991. Boss Man would go on to beat wrestlers such as Ted DiBiase, Dino Bravo, and The Mountie. World Championship Wrestling (WCW), 1993 - 1998After leaving the WWF in 1993, Traylor had a brief stint in All Japan Pro Wrestling before returning to the United States to work for World Championship Wrestling. Traylor was originally known as The Boss, but the WWF legal department determined the character to be too similar to the one that Traylor had portrayed in the WWF and forced WCW to change it. As a result, Traylor became the Guardian Angel, a character based on the real-life Guardian Angels group. Once again, the character did not last long before Traylor returned to his original Big Bubba character. Big Bubba was a solid mid-card heel, joining the Dungeon of Doom faction before eventually defecting to the nWo. Eventually, a loophole in Bubba's contract forced him out of the nWo (according to storylines). As a result of this, Bubba became a face once again and began competing under his real name - Ray Traylor. He frequently worked with the Steiner Brothers during this time period. This was not the most successful period of Traylor's career, as he rarely rose above the mid-card.He also appeared briefly as a suprise partner for the Rock N Roll Express vs Jim Cornette's Heavily Bodies.Cornette thinking they were still friends was incorrect as Big Bubba Rogers was successful in helping defeat Cornette and the Bodies. World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), 1998 - 2003
After his return, he would eventually go on to feud with The Big Show over the WWF Championship. This feud is infamous for a skit where Boss Man showed up at Big Show's (kayfabe) deceased father's funeral and proceeded to steal Show's father's casket by rigging it to the back of his car and driving off. In a desperate attempt to stop the theft, The Big Show jumped onto the coffin as it was being towed away, riding atop the coffin for a few yards until he lost his grip and tumbled off. The feud also featured a classic line uttered by Traylor, "Ya hear that Paul Wight!, you're a nasty bastard and your Momma said so!", a reference to a forced teary admission via satellite by Show's mother that his deceased "father" wasn't really his biological father. This feud ended with Boss Man being crushed by Big Show at the 1999 Armaggedon pay-per-view. In 2000 Boss Man introduced protege Bull Buchanan to the WWF, Bull dressed like the Boss Man and they formed a tag team which lasted until then end of the year when Bull joined the Right to Censor. Boss Man would continue to compete primarily in the hardcore division until suffering a knee injury. Traylor admittedly did not enjoy the hardcore style, and liked it even less when, during a match with Bob Holly, a glass pitcher of water was smashed into his face. Despite the glass being stunt glass, a piece nevertheless lodged just below Traylor's eye, swelling it significantly. When Traylor returned from that injury, he was given a role as the bodyguard of Booker T, but the new gimmick was ultimately not successful. After forming a short lived tag team with Mr. Perfect, Traylor was then assigned to train new wrestlers in Ohio Valley Wrestling before ultimately being released from WWE in 2003. His last high-profile series of matches was in a tournament for the vacant International Wrestling Association of Japan heavyweight title. He made all the way to the finals before being defeated by old rival Jim Duggan. JapanWhen wrestling in Japan under the "Big Bubba" moniker, his name was changed to "Big Boo-ba" (ビッグブーバー) because if his name were converted to the Japanese syllabary pronunciation of "Bubba", it would come out "Ba-Ba", which sounds too close to the name of All-Japan Pro Wrestling legend, Giant Baba. Big Bubba also competed in some local sumo wrestling deuts where he faired to keep his own with a record of 11-13 DeathTraylor died in his home from a heart attack in Paulding County, Georgia on September 22, 2004 at the age of 42. Wrestling facts
Quotes
Championships and accomplishments
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