10 Wrestlers Who VANISHED When WWF Became WWE
3. Big Boss Man
The real-life Ray Traylor tragically passed away in 2004 at the age of just 41, and the Big Boss Man had already spent nearly two years out of the wrestling mainstream by the time of his death.
Having spent six months out with an injury, Boss Man returned to action towards the tail end of 2001, competed at the 2002 Royal Rumble, briefly formed a tag team with Mr. Perfect, and then found himself as a solo act on Sunday Night Heat. The four-time Hardcore Champion's last WWE match came in May '02 - losing to Tommy Dreamer, again on Heat - before injury struck once more.
Out of action again, Big Boss Man ended up seeing out his WWE days helping to train young talents in Ohio Valley Wrestling, and was released as 2003 rolled around. Unfortunately, that was it for Ray Traylor in regards to competing on a mainstream platform, although he would wrestle some dates for IWA Japan up until his passing.
If things played out differently, one has to imagine that Big Boss Man would've eventually been brought back by WWE in some capacity down the line. Sadly, that never came to be, for Traylor would pass away on 22 September 2004 due to a heart attack.