Ray Traylor appreciation thread

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

One of my favorites. I live in the county next to Cobb County, and Big Bossman was THE wrestler in the Paulding/Cobb area. I met the man at least a half dozen times throughout my life. Great guy and a great wrestler.

[plushtar]

I have always enjoyed his work, whether he was Bubba or the Bossman. Whenever he would show up, you always knew someone was getting their ass beaten.

[Deleted]

He might not have been a technical master of the ring, but he had a certain look and appeal that made me a fan.

I loved how he'd bounce off the ropes, slide under the bottom rope and waffle a guy with a punch. The man sold a big boot like he was shot. He flew around the ring like a guy 200 pounds lighter.

I remember reading about him in a Raw magazine (during the time when he was Vince's hired henchman in his vendetta against Austin) and they talked about how he did a lot of charity work in his spare time for kids and also had a big role in Habitat For Humanity, the charity where they build homes for lower income people who can't afford them.

If I remember correctly, the death of Ray Traylor was almost along the same lines as when our good friend John Tenta passed away. It was like losing a close friend. We may not have been able to meet him personally, but he seemed to be one of the kinder guys in the business.
Reading Ray's account in Fred Blassie's book about how a heel acted in the '50s as opposed to today (he recalled a story where his grandfather cracked Blassie's head with a chair after a match), I could picture him smiling, like he loved what he did. When he said that these days, when the fans chant "Bossman sucks!", they do it with a smile instead of extreme hatred. Which is what he set out to do with his character; make the people hate him.

I miss seeing him fly around the ring, selling for Hulk Hogan or any of Heenan's guys. I don't think he'd ever have received a shot at holding a World title or anything, but he did a helluva job as a mid-card guy to get you interested in what he was doing.

I miss the Bossman.

[bigrick0016]

I mark for the scrapbuster slam and the old blue cop uniform.

["Handsome" Whitey Fats]

One of my all time favorites. Very underrated as far as his abiliy to get ultra heat

[Kash Flagg]

When he first turned face, he was OVER. He should have gotten an IC run then.

[x]

If you ever take a trip down to Cobb County Georgia...

[Ben Wyatt]

kashflagg said:

When he first turned face, he was OVER. He should have gotten an IC run then.

Agreed.

I also figured he was going to beat Mr Perfect at WM7 as the payoff to his feud with the Heenan Family and was really pissed when it didnt happen.

[Mozenrath]

I DESPISED him when I was younger, being a huge Al Snow mark, but now I recognize the genius of it.

One of my favorites, and probably a future Hall of Famer.