10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Big Boss Man

VICE's 'Dark Side Of The Ring' series continued with an equally heartwarming and alarming episode on Ray 'Big Boss Man' Traylor. He shot to fame in the WWF during the late-1980s boom period of Hulkamania, but that robbed Ray of more time at home with his family. The rigorous schedule also meant he developed a dependency on strong painkillers and other pills to get through.

Sadly, Boss Man died of a heart attack aged just 41 in 2004.

This episode brings together family members and peers alike to celebrate the best of Ray as a husband, father, friend, opponent and more. Typically for the documentary series, it covers a lot of ground - everything from Traylor's personal life and WWF peak to lowlight angles like feeding Al Snow his own chihuahua or his kayfabe hanging during a Hell In A Cell match vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XV are examined in painstaking detail.

Ray's daughter Lacy and widow Angela were particularly forthcoming about the man they love and look up to, and it's often their warmth that turns this from a run of the mill wrestling biography into something you need to see. Both have been on their own individual journeys as people since Boss Man's passing in '04.

Somewhat shockingly, Chris Benoit's name is also brought into the story late on as tales of Ray's addiction issues thicken. That was unexpected, but this is a tragedy of a much different kind. It's clear that Traylor was a good man who got lost.

Here's everything learned.

Early on in the doc, Ray’s daughter Lacy admits that she didn’t understand his place in wrestling history or how popular Big Boss Man was until later. In addition, she says deep into the episode that she was “so traumatised by his death that it took [her] over a decade to even think about his wrestling career”. In a candid moment, Lacy admits that she “got cynical” about everything, but now feels “blessed to have shared him with so many people”.

There's a lovely sentiment behind that heartbreak, clearly.

Throughout, footage of Ray being “a girl dad” is heartwarming stuff. Lacy said she “always felt loved, and we spent a lot of time laughing” during those early years. She’d often put makeup on her father and goof around with him. Some footage of Traylor holding baby Lacy and telling the camera “this is for when you get older” will tug at the heartstrings.

Overall, it sounds like Traylor was a superb dad, and it’s really nice that side of things was explored on a series known for the worst of wrestling and the biggest character flaws in pro wrestlers. Of course, given the end to his life, there was grim stuff to come as well, but it's awesome that VICE could spotlight Ray as a great dude who just got mixed up in the relentlessness of pro wrestling and couldn't escape.

It took Lacy until adulthood to learn just how beloved her dad is by millions of people. That makes her smile today.