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

This is amazing to see.

Ray’s widow Angela kept all of Boss Man’s old props, including his ring gear, night sticks and even the ball and chain he used earlier on in his run. VICE did a wonderful job of splicing in footage of those props in use as the family gushed about how important all of these items are to them personally.

Angela: “I just loved that man so much, so I wanted to keep everything”. She'd even secretly stored a picture of Ray in her high school locker, which was unbeknownst to him, then they started dating. Yep, she was smitten before he'd even asked if she'd like to go on a date, 'cause Angela recalled how Ray (as a large guy even then) stood out amongst his classmates.

Being able to sit down and pore over all of this wrestling history would be a real treat for any grappling enthusiast. Genuinely. It's crazy to think that the night sticks he used were real and probably hurt when he was thumping various stars with them, and his blue ring attire looks so garish and cartoonish up close without someone wearing it; that would've been deliberate, and it definitely fit the larger than life era of late-80s/early-90s WWF action.

It's really sweet that Angela held onto all of this swag over the years. She can't part with it. Lacy couldn't look through any of it for around a decade after her dad's death, but she's surely glad that there are so many mementos from Ray's life and career.