Big Boss Man

## Professional wrestling stats

### Known as

Big Boss Man, Big Bubba Rogers, Ray Traylor, The Guardian Angel, The Boss, The Man, War Machine

### Trained by

Ted Allen

**Raymond Washington Traylor Jr.** (May 2, 1962 - September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known as **The Big Boss Man** while working for the World Wrestling Federation.

## Professional wrestling career

Traylor first debuted for the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions in 1986 under the name **Big Bubba Rogers**, serving as the bodyguard of manager Jim Cornette.

His first appearance saw him straightening his tie in response to a chair shot. He also wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation, where he won the title in 1987.

By 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 facing Bobby Heenan's stable of wrestlers, the Heenan Family. Nonetheless, the Boss Man did not win any championships during his initial run with the WWF.

After leaving the WWF, 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. This was not the most successful period of Traylor's career, as he rarely rose above the mid-card.

Eventually, Traylor would return to the WWF, once again under his Big Boss Man persona, but wearing a SWAT-style uniform instead of his old police uniform. He was introduced as the first member of The Corporation, a group of wrestlers controlled by WWF owner Vince McMahon to combat rival Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The Boss Man would have several matches with Austin, as well as winning the WWF Tag Team Titles with Ken Shamrock and the WWF Hardcore Title. After the Corporation disbanded, Bossman was back on his own in time for WrestleMania 15. In fact, he was feuding with the Undertaker (as the Corporation at the time had no love for the Undertaker or his newly formed "Ministry").

This led to what seemed like the nadir of the Hell in a Cell tradition, as Taker beat Bossman inside the Cell at WrestleMania 15, including an unconvincing *"hanging"* of Bossman by Edge and Christian at the end of the match. But luckily, hanging is NOT fatal in pro wrestling, so Bossman was back in action in a matter of weeks.

Boss Man would continue to compete primarily in the hardcore division until suffering a knee injury. 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. Traylor was then assigned to train new wrestlers in Ohio Valley Wrestling before ultimately being released from WWE.

## Death

Traylor died in his home in Paulding County, Georgia on September 22, 2004 of what doctors called a "massive heart attack". He was 42 years old. In Chris Benoit’s journal, he noted: *“As Nancy and I left the church and watched them put Ray’s coffin into the hearse. We both waved goodbye one last time and I thanked him in my heart, and thanked God for putting him in my life and said I love you Ray.”*