JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On this episode we’re joined by Fred Ottman who was just inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Ottman gained fame early in his career when he joined WWF (today it’s WWE) as the character Tugboat and teamed with Hulk Hogan. A few years after that Ottman teamed up with another star Earthquake (the late John Tenta) to form the team The Natural Disasters.
That team was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame over WrestleMania Weekend.
But Ottman’s most famous thing to ever happen on camera came as his Hall of Fame career was wrapping up. He had left the WWF for rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Ottman was slated to debut as a new monster character called “The Shockmaster”. Unfortunately for Ottman, during his debut where he was supposed to confront stars like Ric Flair and Sid Vicious, Ottman Tripped.
And he didn’t just trip, his helmet fell off exposing his face and ruining his character. The flub has been widely regarded as the biggest mistake in wrestling history and viewed several million times.
But now Ottman, who’s semi-retired and on the convention circuit has embraced what happened and still travels with the Shockmaster helmet. There have even been toys made of the character and he discusses the backstory in-depth on this episode.
Also on this episode we’re joined by friend of the show, Jacksonville’s Victoria Crawford as she discusses her experiences in Las Vegas for WrestleMania and a guest spot on TNA.