- Fred Ottman
Fred Ottman made his first appearance in WWF in 1989 as "Big Man Steel" just once, with Slick as his manager. He joined the WWF full time that September, wrestling first as Tugboat Tyler on house shows, then as Tugboat Thomas (later Tugboat) upon his TV debut in January 1990. His character developed a close friendship with then top face in the company, Hulk Hogan. He then assisted Hogan in his feud with John "Earthquake" Tenta. Tugboat soon became a fan favorite.
In 1991, a televised 6 man tag-team match where Earthquake teamed with the Nasty Boys taking on Tugboat and The Bushwhackers. Midway through the match, Tugboat turned on his partners and joined Earthquake in laying The Bushwackers out cold. After the heel turn Tugboat changed his name to Typhoon and together with Earthquake, they became known as “The Natural Disasters”, one of the heaviest tag-teams in the world. The Natural Disasters eventually won their first WWF tag team championship in the summer of 1992.
In 1993 Earthquake and Typhoon began showing signs of dissention in the ranks, most noticeably at the 1993 Royal Rumble as Typhoon was eliminated by Earthquake. The Disasters’ feud never came to fruition as the Earthquake left the WWF very early in 1993.
Typhoon made a few appearances on Monday Night RAW in the months that followed, including in the TV match debut of Doink the Clown, before leaving the WWF to join WCW in July 1993.
- The Shockmaster incident
In late 1993, Ottman would find himself the victim of one of the most embarrassing moments in wrestling history. Ottman was to make his WCW debut match as The Shockmaster alongside Sting, Dustin Rhodes (Goldust), and Davey Boy Smith (British Bulldog). He would be their mystery partner in the upcoming eight-man tag match against the heel team of Sid Vicious, Big Van Vader, and Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) at Fall Brawl.
As a build up for the match, Sting and Davey Boy Smith were interviewed on a live "A Flair for the Gold" talk show hosted by Ric Flair. Soon they were confronted by Sid and Harlem Heat and an infamous incident would then take place.
When Sting and Smith were about to unveil their mystery partner. Sting would say, "All I have to say is... our partner is going to shock the world because he is none other than... The Shockmaster!" The camera zoomed in on a particular section of the set where two torches set off a small pyrotechnics explosion in front of a sheetrock wall. The Shockmaster was supposed to make his entrance by crashing through that wall in his new attire, consisting of a 'Star Wars Stormtrooper' helmet painted silver and covered in glitter, a pair of jeans, and a long black vest.
As the camera was in for a close up, the upper part of his body broke through the wall, but the rest of his body did not, causing Ottman to fall through the rest of the wall. He slid across the floor, and his helmet rolled off long enough for audiences to see who it was while he scrambled to put it back on. Even the announcers were speechless. However, Flair was heard to say "Oh, God!" at what happened, and shortly afterwards Davey Boy Smith was heard saying "He fell flat on his arse! Fell flat on his f**king arse!"
Despite this, The Shockmaster resumed his entrance as if nothing had happened, and he continued walking up to Sid and Harlem Heat. The interview is generally considered one of the most laughable in wrestling history, with the Shockmaster verbally threatening the heels with, "They call me The Shockmaster. You've ruled the world long enough, Sid Vicious. Get ready! Come on, you want a piece of me? You want a piece of me? Come and get me. Come after me, Sid! I'm ready." The audience was dumbfounded, giving no reaction whatsoever and the heels were clearly trying to stop themselves from laughing while he delivered his threat. The Shockmaster's voice was a prerecorded tape that was provided by Ole Anderson. Anderson used the same voice effects as he did for another infamous WCW angle, the Black Scorpion.
- The Aftermath
Dusty Rhodes, later claimed that a 2x4 was placed on the bottom of the wall, which wasn't there on a successful rehearsal, which caused Ottman to fall through as opposed to crash through. He also joked that young Cody Rhodes was watching with friends and cringed asking "I Think that was Uncle Fred".
Later, WCW attempted to salvage the incident by introducing a new character called the "Super Shockmaster." Also portrayed by Ottman, this was intended to be the Shockmaster's nephew, who would then refer to the Shockmaster as "Uncle Fred." After that point, the Shockmaster was portrayed as a klutz until the character was eventually abandoned.
Ottman's shocking on-screen WCW debut as “The Shockmaster” is considered to be one of the most unintentionally funny moments in sports-entertainment history. While he was furious at the time, Fred is able to look back on that night and share a laugh with millions of wrestling fans.
A now retired Ottman says "I was part of the most infamous moment in wrestling history. They put me in a Storm Trooper mask which they painted and covered in glitter, I couldn’t see a thing. I got to the wall and put my hands up like a double axe handle and bust through. The top broke perfectly, but the bottom didn’t give. The momentum took me through the wall and to the floor".
Links:
1) The Shockmaster incident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqCfGRdwZsU (Thanks to DominatorRKO)
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