RAY TRAYLOR 42, aka 'BIG BOSS MAN' (WWF/WWE), 'BIG BUBBA' (WCW)
Hoodoo
By Anthony DeBlasi
WRESTLING-NEWS.com
http://www.wrestling-news.com/artman/publish/article_223.shtml
RAY TRAYLOR 42, aka 'BIG BOSS MAN' (WWF/WWE), 'BIG BUBBA' (WCW),
PASSES AWAY
I was really hoping that this wasn't true. Obviously if your reading
this, it unfortunately is.
Ray Traylor, who was most famous as The Big Boss Man in the WWF / WWE,
has passed away. He was only 42 years old. We do not know the cause of
his passing at this time. However early word was that local
authorities were called to his home Wednesday evening. As of now it
appears he passed away from natural causes.
Ray had been living in Paulding County, GA which is actually located
very close to Cobb County GA. Recently, Ray had run for political
office as Commision Chairman for Paulding County, and had attended a
public memorial ceremony on September 11th for the victims of 9/11.
Ray's wrestling career began after actually working at as a
correctional officer at the Cobb County Correctional Institute. He
began wrestling for the NWA under the names The War Machine and Big
Bubba Rogers back in 1986. However, in 1988 he moved on to the WWF.
And it was at that time where Traylor made famous the character The
Big Boss Man. He wrestled mostly as a singles wrestler, but was part
of the infamous tag team as 1/2 of the Twin Towers with his partner
Akeem, and their manager "The Doctor Of Style" Slick.
He left the WWF around 1995 and wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling
for a short stint before wrestling for WCW. He wrestled under
different names in WCW; as Big Bubba, The Boss, The Man, The Guardian
Angel before wrestling under his real name Ray Traylor.
He returned to the WWF / WWE in the late 90's. He wrestled for a few
more years, then was a trainer for Ohio Valley Wrestling before being
released in 2002/2003.
I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the Traylor family.
Personally, he entertained me throughout the years, and was well liked
by the wrestling community.