From 1998-99, Bossman (real name: Ray Traylor) enjoyed success he had not seen since his late-80s rivalry with Hulk Hogan.Īn early star of the entertaining Hardcore division, Big Bossman amassed several reigns as champion and is considered one of the final true, quality champions before the title was watered down by the 24-7 stipulation.ĭeceased far too early, Ray Traylor, and his immense in-ring talent for a man of his size, is often forgotten by many fans for his contributions in the industry. As the body guard and, later, the enforcer for Vince McMahon's Corporation, Bossman was often featured in several high-profile segments and matches.īossman was often sent to the ring to do the evil owner's dirty business, whether it be beating on Steve Austin or the Rock or taking care of the brash, loud-mouth New Age Outlaws. One of the underrated "big men" for much of his career, Big Bossman saw a sort of career renaissance in 1998 when he returned to the World Wrestling Federation following a five-year run at the competition, World Championship Wrestling. April 30, 2000: Teamed with Buchanan to defeat the APA April 2, 2000: Teamed with Bull Buchanan to defeat Godfather and D'Lo Brown at Wrestlemania 2000 December 12, 1999: Received, and lost, a WWF Championship match against Big Show at Armageddon Feuded with the Big Show, capitalizing on the recent passing of Show's father. August 26, 1999: Defeated Al Snow to recapture the Hardcore title July 25, 1999: Defeated Al Snow at Fully Loaded to win the WWF Hardcore Championship McMahon to face the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania XV. March 28, 1999: Was hand-selected by Mr. January 24, 1999: Defeated the Road Dogg in the opening contest of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view December 14, 1998: Teamed with Ken Shamrock to defeat the New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Championship November 30, 1998: Defeated Mankind in a Ladder Match to become the new Hardcore Champion Made his WWF return as the mysterious body guard of company owner Vince McMahon Notable Highlights from Online World of Wrestling: Unlike my previous article, based on the top Superstars of the 1980's, women will be included on this list. There will be arguments made to the contrary, but I personally feel better not including him or some of his lesser work in these rankings. While he was a featured performer for most of the period, I believe he and his family members would agree that his work after Bret Hart left for WCW was hardly his best. Owen Hart is not included due to his untimely death in the middle of the Attitude Era. Shawn's significant back injury limited his involvement on the shows leading to his Wrestlemania XIV match with Steve Austin and even before that, the limited in-ring role he played hardly warrants his inclusion at the expense of others on the list. Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart are NOT included on the list. Stars such as Billy Gunn, Road Dogg Jesse James, Bradshaw, Faarooq, Edge, Christian, the Hardy Boyz, and the Dudley Boyz are not on the list because of this. This list is based solely on singles stars. The Attitude Era, for the purposes of this article, is defined as the period spanning from Novemuntil April 1, 2001. They were also judged on their marketability, their ability to sell merchandise, their place in pop-culture, and their in-ring abilities. Wrestlers were based on their overall impact and influence on the business. The now-defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) organizations - plus other regional promotions that have long-since folded in the wake of Vince McMahon's expansion of his WWF - had syndicated wrestling programs similar to "WWF Superstars of Wrestling.These rankings were based on several different factors. But for those who perhaps caught the professional wrestling bug in recent times, this is how it was. Of course, professional wrestling has improved greatly much better since the Monday night explosion, and the makeup of syndicated and cable wrestling programs has greatly changed. Most people were satisfied with these 60-minute programs for years. in a given wrestling organization maybe but not always a confrontation between two currently feuding wrestlers and perhaps a main event pitting two big-name wrestlers against each other. Typical programs featured big-name wrestlers against jobbers (those wrestlers who always lost) interviews that were taped (usually) weeks in advance promotions of upcoming wrestling events promos, or skits, of wrestlers soon to either make their debut or introduce a new gimmick updates of current events, feuds, etc. Long before wrestling's explosion in popularity on Monday night cable TV, most wrestling fans used to be satisfied with these one-hour syndicated wrestling programs. For all newer wrestling fans or older fans who don't recall, "WWF Superstars of Wrestling" is a perfect example of how wrestling used to be presented on television.
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