Fred Alex Ottman (born August 10, 1957) is an American retired
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
. He worked for the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
from 1989 to 1993 under the
ring names Tugboat and Typhoon. As the former, he played a key
babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
ally of
Hulk Hogan. As the latter, he turned
heel to form
The Natural Disasters
The Natural Disasters were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Earthquake (John Tenta) and Typhoon (Fred Ottman) who worked in the World Wrestling Federation between 1991 and 1993. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship once.
Formatio ...
with
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
and held the
WWF Tag Team Championship
The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...
.
In 1993, he debuted as The Shockmaster in
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
and immediately fell over, losing his mask on live television while his teammates broke character and laughed. This
botch hurt his career, and is now generally regarded as the worst debut in wrestling history, but he was able to capitalize on its notoriety after his in-ring retirement.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1984–1988)
Ottman was trained by
Boris Malenko and got his start as Sigfried the Giant in February 1985, for
Championship Wrestling from Georgia
Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...
. He later wrestled for
Texas All-Star Wrestling and the
Continental Wrestling Association as Big Bubba.
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1988–1989)
In September 1988, Ottman wrestled on the
Gordon Solie
Gordon Solie (born Francis Jonard Labiak, later Jonard Pierre Sjoblom, January 26, 1929July 27, 2000), was an American Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestlin ...
-hosted TV shows of
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
as a heel called Big Steel Man, managed by
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wre ...
. He feuded with
Dusty Rhodes
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...
, among others. He defeated Rhodes for the
NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...
on May 13, 1989.
World Wrestling Federation (1989-1993)
Tugboat (1989–1991)
Ottman made his first appearance in the WWF in June 1989 in a dark match under the
ring name Big Steel Man with
Slick as his manager. He wrestled three more dark matches that summer, defeating Paul Roma and Boris Zukhov, and losing to
Mr. Perfect. That September, his name was changed to Tugboat Tyler, then Tugboat Thomas, as he portrayed a
fan favorite on house shows, defeating the likes of
Barry Horowitz
Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Early life
Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled ...
,
The Brooklyn Brawler
Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promot ...
and
Boris Zhukov
James Kirk Harrell (born December 13, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Boris Zhukov ...
.
He debuted on WWF television on the January 27, 1990 episode of ''
Superstars'' under the Tugboat Thomas moniker and defeated
Iron Mike Sharpe
Michael Sharpe (October 28, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known as "Iron" Mike Sharpe. A second-generation wrestler whose father and uncle ( Mike and Ben Sharpe) also competed in the profession, Sharpe w ...
. His ring name was soon after shortened to Tugboat. His costume consisted of a red striped shirt, white pants, and a sailor's hat. Part of his gimmick included miming pulling the cord of an airhorn and making a "Toot-toot" noise, like a horn of a ship. On the May 20 episode of Wrestling Challenge, Hulk Hogan made a promo explaining that he personally trained Tugboat and brought him to the WWF. Following Tugboat's win on that very same show Hogan came out into the ring and raised his arm, showing his full support. Tugboat railed for fans to send encouraging letters to Hogan after Hogan was brutally attacked by Earthquake. Tugboat aided
Hulk Hogan in his feud with
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
and "Canada's Strongest Man"
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano (; August 6, 1948 – March 10, 1993) was an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Dino Bravo ().
After training under Gino Brito, he started his career in Montreal in the 1970s, w ...
. This coincided with a substantial push that saw Tugboat emerging victorious on television against numerous opponents. He made his pay-per-view debut at that November's
''Survivor Series'', where he teamed with Hogan,
The Big Boss Man
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as wel ...
and
Hacksaw Jim Duggan to face the team of Earthquake, Dino Bravo,
Haku and
The Barbarian. Tugboat was eliminated when he and Earthquake fought to a double count-out, and Hogan went on to be the sole survivor. Tugboat was the first true test of
The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...
, who defeated him in numerous matches between December 1990 and March 1991.
Tugboat received a shot at
Mr. Perfect's Intercontinental Championship on the May 5, 1991 episode of ''
Wrestling Challenge
''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
'', but was unsuccessful.
Natural Disasters (1991–1993)
In May 1991, Ottman teased a
heel turn by eliminating Hulk Hogan in a battle royal on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's ''
Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX
''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American professional wrestling television program that is produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United St ...
''. Ottman completed the turn on the June 15 episode of ''
WWF Superstars
is a wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcades in 1989. It is the first WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the same title were released by LJN for the original Game Boy. Techn ...
''. Tugboat and
The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, ...
were facing The Nasty Boys and Earthquake in a six-man tag team match when Tugboat attacked his teammates, allowing Earthquake to hit the Earthquake Splash on Bushwhacker Luke and pin him. On the June 17 episode of ''
Prime Time Wrestling'', Earthquake's manager, Jimmy Hart, reintroduced Ottman as Typhoon, and he and Earthquake became known as
The Natural Disasters
The Natural Disasters were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Earthquake (John Tenta) and Typhoon (Fred Ottman) who worked in the World Wrestling Federation between 1991 and 1993. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship once.
Formatio ...
.
As part of the character change, Ottman began wearing a red, white and black singlet with a tidal wave on the front and "Typhoon" in black letters under it (to match the design on Earthquake's wrestling gear, seismograph lines and "Earthquake" in red letters across the middle).
The Natural Disasters dumped Hart and turned into fan favorites in early 1992, feuding with Hart's new top team,
Money Inc. ("Million Dollar Man"
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...
and
Irwin R. Schyster). On April 17 they won the SWS Tag Team Championship defeating
George Takano
, born June 23, 1958, is an American-Japanese retired professional wrestler better known under the ring name . He was also billed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a masked wrestler persona. He worked for various Japanese and American wres ...
and Shunji Takano in Yokohama, Japan when WWF had a partnership with
Super World of Sports
Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong".
History Formation
In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wr ...
. In July the Natural Disasters defeated Money Inc. to win the
WWF Tag Team Championship
The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...
. They lost the title to Money Inc. three months later.
After Earthquake took a leave of absence from the WWF early in 1993, Ottman wrestled in singles matches before leaving the company in early summer. He worked house shows against Terry Taylor in the spring. He also put over a returning Bam Bam Bigelow in a series of house shows, and twice on televised Raw shows. He wrestled two televised matches against Yokozuna, losing one by pinfall and winning the other by disqualification. His final match saw him defeat
The Predator in a house show match in Tampa, FL on July 18.
World Championship Wrestling (1993-1994)
The Shockmaster (1993-1994)
After departing from the WWF, Ottman found himself at the center of one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history as The Shockmaster. He had signed with
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
(WCW) and was to make his debut in a match alongside the
fan favorite team of
Sting,
Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...
and
Davey Boy Smith
David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...
in the upcoming eight-man War Games match against the
heel team composed of
Sid Vicious
John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...
,
Big Van Vader,
Kane and
Kole at
Fall Brawl.
On "A Flair for the Gold", an
interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
segment hosted by
Ric Flair, in front of a live audience at ''
Clash of the Champions XXIV
''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...
'', Sting and Smith were confronted by Sid and Harlem Heat, demanding to know the identity of their new partner. Sting exclaimed, "All I have to say is, our partner is going to shock the world, because he is none other than the Shockmaster!" The camera then zoomed in on a section of the set where two torches set off a small pyrotechnics explosion in front of a
sheetrock
Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...
wall. With a new costume consisting of a ''
Star Wars''
Stormtrooper helmet painted purple and covered in silver glitter, a pair of jeans and a large, black, puffy vest, Ottman attempted to make a dramatic entrance by crashing through the wall.
While making his entrance, Ottman tripped over a piece of lumber that was framing the set, causing him to fall forward through the wall with his helmet falling off and sliding across the floor. His face accidentally exposed, he scrambled to put the helmet back on as Vicious, restraining laughter, exclaimed "Oh, God!", while Flair could also be heard saying "Oh no" under his breath. Ottman donned the helmet and got back on his feet, shifting his weight and dusting his hands off in an attempt to shrug off the gaffe while Harlem Heat's
Kole asked, "Who is this motherfucker?" and Smith exclaimed "He fell flat on his arse! He fell flat on his fucking arse!". Both of these comments were audible to the live audience and television viewers, but were
bleeped
A bleep censor is the replacement of a profanity or classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ) in television and radio. It is mainly used in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong ...
in future showings of the footage by
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
. Ottman then began gesturing toward his would-be opponents several seconds before a menacing gravelly off-screen voice (provided by
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...
, who could be heard laughing before speaking) started to threaten Sid and Vader. Sid Vicious, remaining in character, reacted in rage to Shockmaster, and the broadcast focused on Vicious for the duration of the voiceover. The announcers said nothing as the segment ended.
Dusty Rhodes
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...
later claimed, on an episode of WWE 24/7's "Legends of Wrestling" show, the piece of lumber previously wasn't there during a successful practice run and it was later put there by
David Crockett
David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of ...
without informing Ottman. WWE, on its official website, wrote, "There is a case to be made that The Shockmaster's debut at WCW ''Clash of the Champions XXIV'' is the greatest of all time – albeit for all the wrong reasons." The organization has also described the incident as "one of the most unintentionally funny moments in sports entertainment history,"
and "a debacle many still consider one of the worst gaffes in the history of sports-entertainment." While Ottman was initially displeased with the turn of events, he now finds humor in the incident.
Despite generating no crowd reaction, WCW tried to continue with the
angle
In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle.
Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles a ...
, repackaging The Shockmaster character as a
klutz in a series of pre-recorded promos (featuring Ottman in different attire, without a mask and using his own voice). It was this version of the character that went on to appear as planned in the main event of Fall Brawl, teaming with Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Davey Boy Smith in the War Games match. His ring attire for his match was a plain white shirt, jeans and a white construction worker's helmet, very different to the character in its infamous debut. He entered last into the match and actually gained the victory for his team by forcing Kole to submit to a bear hug.
This version of the character remained reasonably popular with live crowds and continued to appear at the final three pay-per-view events of the year. At
Halloween Havoc
Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October.
It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...
he teamed up with
Ice Train and
Charlie Norris
Charles Norris (born October 21, 1965) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993. He spent the majority of his career in Minnesota-based Pro Wrestling America (PWA), w ...
in a six man tag match against
Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat was a professional wrestling tag team composed of two brothers, Booker and Lash Huffman (better known as Booker T and Stevie Ray). The team achieved their greatest success in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where they won the WCW ...
(
Kole and
Kane) and
The Equalizer. The Shockmaster again scored the victory for his team by pinning Kole. Next at
Battlebowl he took part in the Lethal Lottery tournament and was drawn to team with
Paul Orndorff
Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Cham ...
to face the team of bitter rivals
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...
and
Lord Steven Regal. Steamboat and Regal imploded and Shockmaster was able to pick up the win for his team after Steamboat hit Regal. In the Battlebowl Final
battle royal
Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
Shockmaster was eliminated around the half way point by the Nasty Boys. In the final pay-per-view of the year
Starrcade
Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1 ...
he faced
Awesome Kong
Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ri ...
(accompanied by
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
). After both attacked the Shockmaster at the start of the match, bizarrely
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
actually wrestled instead of his partner and the Shockmaster picked up a quick victory over him. This would be his final major appearance for the company and he departed in January 1994. He was also known as Uncle Fred. However, he did make a brief appearance on the March 12, 1994 episode of ''
WCW Saturday Night
''WCW Saturday Night'' is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarn ...
'', when Mean Gene Okerlund visited the set of Hulk Hogan's tv series
Thunder in Paradise
''Thunder in Paradise'' is an American action-adventure TV series from the creators of ''Baywatch,'' which stars Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a direct-to-video feature film ...
.
In 2009,
Shawn Michaels,
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...
, and Dusty Rhodes appeared on a segment of ''
WWE Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
'' to discuss the DVD release of ''The Rise and Fall of WCW'' when Triple H brought up the subject of the Shockmaster's debut. During that segment, the WWE recreated the Shockmaster's stumbling through the wall, with
Santino Marella
Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974) is a Canadian judoka and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is known for his 11-year tenure with WWE where he wrestled under the ring name Santino Marella. He is the founder of and instructor at Battle Ar ...
portraying the character and
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...
providing the voice.
On February 22, 2016, Ottman returned as The Shockmaster for an episode of the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
show, ''The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness''. On the show, The Shockmaster was given the opportunity to redeem the famous debut incident by walking through the show's banner.
World Wrestling Federation (1994)
Ottman returned to the WWF as Typhoon in May 1994, taking the place of his former partner Earthquake in house show matches against
Yokozuna
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the on ...
after Earthquake left the WWF. Typhoon made his return to television on the June 25 episode of ''Superstars'' (taped May 25), defeating
Quebecer Pierre. He then primarily lost matches to Yokozuna on television and at house shows before departing in August.
Late career (1994–2001)
After leaving the WWF in August 1994, Ottman, still using the Typhoon name, began wrestling on the independent circuit in the
East Coast. In December 1995, he went to Japan to compete in a one-night tag team tournament, held by
WAR
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. He teamed up with
Shinja and advanced to the semi-finals, before losing to
Genichiro Tenryu and
Ultimo Dragon
Ultimo may refer to:
* Ultimo, New South Wales
* Ulten, comune in Italy, Italian name ''Ultimo''
* Ultimo (Marvel Comics), comic books character
* Ultimo (brand), Scottish designer lingerie brand
* ''Karakuridôji Ultimo'', a Japanese manga
* ...
. In March 1996, he wrestled a tour of Malaysia for the National Wrestling Alliance feuding with King Kong Bundy.
By the late 1990s, he was wrestling primarily in Florida, where he competed for FOW and WXO. In WXO, he was given a Gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmick where he was too big to get out of his own car. He lost to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn on November 7, 1997 in Gainesville, Florida. On May 27, 2000 as Typhoon he defeated One Man Gang and The Harris Brothers, Ron Harris in a 3 way match for Wrestling In Ashwaubenon independent show in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.
Ottman was one of the participants in the 20-man Gimmick Battle Royal match at WrestleMania X-Seven as Tugboat, and was eliminated by his former partner, Earthquake (wrestler), Earthquake. He retired soon thereafter.
Return to wrestling (2009)
On September 5, 2009, Ottman returned to the ring as Tugboat losing to Martin Nolte at DWA 10 years event in Uelzen, Germany. He return to North America on November 21 as Tugboat defeating Jason Static at ECPW in New York City. He once again retired.
Other media
In 1992, he appeared as Typhoon (along with Earthquake) in the SNES version of the video game ''WWF Super WrestleMania''. The Disasters were absent from the Sega version. On February 23, 2016, he appeared as downloadable content for ''WWE 2K16''. He appears along with Earthquake in ''WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18'' as well. In 2K18, the Shockmaster helmet (slightly modified as to avoid any copyright disputes with the Star Wars license) and the Typhoon singlet are available in the game's attire creation suite, and can be worn by any character in the game.
On a two-part episode of the 1994 TV series ''
Thunder in Paradise
''Thunder in Paradise'' is an American action-adventure TV series from the creators of ''Baywatch,'' which stars Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a direct-to-video feature film ...
'', Ottman played a palace guard named Yussef. He is also parodied in the 2014 RPG Lisa: The Painful, LISA as Shocklord.
On a two-part episode of the 1998 TV series ''Mortal Kombat: Conquest'', Ottman played Z'dak, in the second episode his name was featured solely in the credits though.
Personal life
Ottman retired from wrestling after WXO folded in 2001. In 2007 he lived in Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland, Florida and worked as a safety manager for Gaffin Industrial Services, a building cleaning service. He also coached the Little League Baseball, little league team of his two sons, Berkley and Beau, and daughter, Bailey.
Berkley currently serves as the timekeeper for the WWE. He is the brother-in-law of pro wrestler
Dusty Rhodes
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...
.
He is one of the two uncles of Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes, the other being Jerry Sags.
Championships and accomplishments
*
Continental Wrestling Association
**AWA International Heavyweight Championship (AWA International Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time)
**AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (AWA Southern Tag Team Championship#Title history, 2 times) - with Jerry Lawler (1 time) and Goliath (1 time)
*
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
**
NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...
(NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time)
*International Wrestling Association
**IWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**IWW Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
[cite web, url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=285838]
*
Super World of Sports
Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong".
History Formation
In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wr ...
**SWS Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
*Universal Superstars of America
**USA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
**
WWF Tag Team Championship
The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...
(List of World Tag Team Champions (WWE), 1 time) - with Earthquake
* ''Dave Meltzer#Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Wrestling Observer Newsletter''
** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Worst Gimmick, Worst Gimmick (1993)
(as The Shockmaster)
See also
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The Natural Disasters
The Natural Disasters were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Earthquake (John Tenta) and Typhoon (Fred Ottman) who worked in the World Wrestling Federation between 1991 and 1993. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship once.
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottman, Fred
1956 births
American male professional wrestlers
Living people
Masked wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Virginia
Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
AWA International Heavyweight Champions
NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions