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

1. Chilling Details About The Night He Died

Dark Side Of The Ring Big Boss Man Angela
VICE

Angela says Ray was sitting in front of the TV and complaining about how bad his knees were hurting one evening. He then shouted upstairs that he’d come tuck everyone in around 30 minutes from now - his sister was visiting with kids, and he wanted to say goodnight to the girls. That's when Angela went up to read a bedtime story, then she came downstairs to grab one of the kids a drink.

She saw Ray sitting with his head back, but didn’t think much of it at first. Then, she noticed he was a strange colour. Lacy will never forget hearing her mother scream; she'd just learned CPR that week, so she started chest compressions to try and save her dad’s life. “It’s like I can taste his last breath on my mouth”, she told VICE.“I knew in that moment that my life changed forever”.

On 22 September 2004, WWE icon Ray 'Big Boss Man' Traylor died of a heart attacked aged just 41. Angela pointed out that a lot of his family members had died of heart issues really young, but this obviously still came as a harrowing shock to everyone, especially because Ray had kicked his substance abuse issues and started rebuilding his life.

The final few minutes of his life showed him up as a good family man who wanted to put them first. Then, just like that, he was gone.

What did you think of this week's 'Dark Side Of The Ring'? For more like this, check out 10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe and 10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: TNA (Part 3)!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.