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m →‎Early life: This is Ray Lloyd. I did not EVER consider going into the NFL.
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However, when the WKA changed its rules in 1985 to allow kicks from the knee up (they were previously only from the waist up), Lloyd opted to retire from competition in order not to jeopardize his football scholarship by risking injury.<ref name="richinkc"/> He played [[Center (American football)|center]] for [[Valdosta State University]] (the same alma mater as former WCW announcer [[Scott Hudson (wrestling)|Scott Hudson]]), under coach [[Mike Cavan]],<ref name="ross"/> and was a teammate of former [[Atlanta Falcons]] linebacker [[Jessie Tuggle]] during his collegiate career.<ref name="richinkc"/>
However, when the WKA changed its rules in 1985 to allow kicks from the knee up (they were previously only from the waist up), Lloyd opted to retire from competition in order not to jeopardize his football scholarship by risking injury.<ref name="richinkc"/> He played [[Center (American football)|center]] for [[Valdosta State University]] (the same alma mater as former WCW announcer [[Scott Hudson (wrestling)|Scott Hudson]]), under coach [[Mike Cavan]],<ref name="ross"/> and was a teammate of former [[Atlanta Falcons]] linebacker [[Jessie Tuggle]] during his collegiate career.<ref name="richinkc"/>


He graduated in 1987 with a master's degree in education,<ref name="richinkc"/> before which he commented in jest to a local newspaper reporter that he and another teammate, R.D. Swain, planned to become world tag team champions.<ref name="atlanta">[http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A12570 Life after rasslin'] - Atlanta Creative Loafing, 7/3/03</ref> Lloyd considered entering the [[National Football League|NFL]] that year, but changed his mind due to the [[NFLPA#1987 strike and decertification|1987 players' strike]] and because he had just gotten his first teaching job.<ref name="ross"/>
He graduated in 1987 with a master's degree in education,<ref name="richinkc"/> before which he commented in jest to a local newspaper reporter that he and another teammate, R.D. Swain, planned to become world tag team champions.<ref name="atlanta">[http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A12570 Life after rasslin'] - Atlanta Creative Loafing,


==Early wrestling career==
==Early wrestling career==

Revision as of 21:55, 28 March 2010

Ray Lloyd
BornMay 1964
Brunswick, Georgia, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Glacier[1]
Coach Buzz Stern[1]
"Sugar Ray" Lloyd[1]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Billed weight245 lb (111 kg)[1]
Billed fromShorinji Temple, Fukuoka, Japan
Trained byMr. Wrestling II[1]
Fred Avery
Bob Armstrong
WCW Power Plant[1]
Debut1987[1]

Raymond M. Lloyd (born May 1964 in Brunswick, Georgia) is an American martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s under the ring name Glacier.[1]

Early life

Lloyd graduated from Brunswick High School, and played offensive tackle for the football team all four years. In 1982, his senior year, he became the school's first All-State player.[2] He also competed for the track and field team, in the shot put and discus.[2]

A skilled martial artist, Lloyd took up Hung Gar at fourteen, later adding rother disciplines such as Judo and Kempo. His school was owned and taught by a former government agent and a U.S. Marshal, before it closed in 1982.[3] In 1983, he began competing for the World Karate Association in full-contact tournaments, eventually winning the Southeastern Super Heavyweight title. During his WKA stint, he was never knocked out or even knocked down; his only loss came on a disqualification for stalling, which he attributed to nervousness.[3]

However, when the WKA changed its rules in 1985 to allow kicks from the knee up (they were previously only from the waist up), Lloyd opted to retire from competition in order not to jeopardize his football scholarship by risking injury.[3] He played center for Valdosta State University (the same alma mater as former WCW announcer Scott Hudson), under coach Mike Cavan,[2] and was a teammate of former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle during his collegiate career.[3]

He graduated in 1987 with a master's degree in education,[3] before which he commented in jest to a local newspaper reporter that he and another teammate, R.D. Swain, planned to become world tag team champions.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

He moved to Atlanta and worked as an assistant high school football coach in Marietta, while participating in Southern Championship Wrestling shows on weekends, where he was further trained by Mr. Wrestling II and Bob Armstrong.[4] From 1990 to 1991, again as "Sugar Ray" Lloyd, he tag teamed with Swain as "The Blazers," named such after the Valdosta State athletic mascot. In 1991, Pro Wrestling Illustrated held a contest for readers to come up with a ring name for Swain.[5]

Lloyd's second stint in WCW was when he was booked to job to The Great Muta at a house show in Atlanta. Following that match, at Muta's request, Lloyd joined Muta on a string of WCW house shows before he moved to Japan in 1993.[4] He joined the UWFI as a guest of renowned shootfighter Nobuhiko Takada, and competed against Japanese and American fighters.[3] Lloyd returned to the United States after UWFI folded in 1996, and during a conversation with friend Diamond Dallas Page, he mentioned that he was planning to integrate martial arts into his wrestling, which he had been unable to do during the early days of his career. At Page's request, WCW president Eric Bischoff, a martial arts practitioner himself, signed Lloyd to a contract.[4]

World Championship Wrestling

1996–1997

Beginning in April 1996, Lloyd's new ring persona, Glacier, was introduced via a series of vignettes during WCW programming, which featured the tagline Blood Runs Cold. The October 1996 issue of WCW Magazine featured a fictional profile on the character that described him as having gone to Japan to study a fighting style that combined martial arts and pro wrestling maneuvers, with a 400-year-old helmet passed down to him by his master instructor. He was then given the name "Glacier" by his instructor as a symbolization of the power of the elements.[6]

Glacier was also given one of the most extravagant entrances in wrestling at the time, which consisted of blue laser lights streaming across the arena and synthetic snow falling from the ceiling. After he slowly walked to the ring, he then engaged in a ritual of standing on the center turnbuckle in order to remove his armor and mask, then somersaulting off the buckle and into the center of the ring to perform a kata routine; this process sometimes lasted as long as two minutes.[7] Moreover, since he was a fan favorite, he also bowed to the referee and to his opponent after the bell rang. The ring was then enveloped entirely by blue light during the length of the match.

Since Glacier was openly modeled after Mortal Kombat character Sub-Zero, his original in-ring costume was a near-duplicate of the video-game version.[8] According to Lloyd in a 2000 interview with the Hannibal Courier-Post, production costs for his entrance amounted to nearly half a million dollars,[9] while the costume, designed by Atlanta-based AFX Studios, cost $35,000. Glacier also wore a blue contact lens in his right eye to top off the outfit, which often prompted comments from WCW Monday Nitro analyst Bobby Heenan, such as "[He's] half man, half Siamese cat."[10] To further accentuate the character's image, Lloyd, a natural brunette, temporarily bleached his hair blond from April to December 1997.

Glacier was originally intended to debut in July, but due to the coinciding appearance and immediate impact of the New World Order at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view that month, he was pushed back indefinitely, and the lengthy delay drew the ire of fans; WCW worked this into a feud with Big Bubba Rogers, who criticized Glacier's hype and the overlong wait for his arrival during interviews on WCW Monday Nitro with the Dungeon of Doom. His debut finally occurred on September 9, 1996, when he pinned The Gambler in a prerecorded match on WCW Pro, which was also the only match in which he executed his Cryonic Kick finisher off the top rope before it was changed to a standard side kick. Glacier then defeated Bubba on his Nitro debut on September 16, ending the brief feud. The original costume and blue lighting were scrapped, however, after only his fourth match, a pinfall victory on Nitro over Mike Wenner on September 30.

Following a subsequent ten-week hiatus off WCW television, he reappeared on Nitro on December 2, in which he debuted a new ring outfit and entrance music, then pinned Hardbody Harrison in a 60-second squash.

Blood Runs Cold

After spending the beginning of his WCW career in the midcard defeating jobbers, it wasn't until March 1997 that Glacier was put into his first long-term feud, with Mortis, who was depicted in the angle as a pit fighter who was one of eccentric manager James Vandenberg's collection of "rare oddities" and who shared a past history with Glacier. The angle was titled "Blood Runs Cold"; the slogan had not been used since the vignettes from the previous year had stopped airing.

Mortis's first match was a loss to Glacier at WCW Uncensored on March 16, after which Wrath was introduced as his partner, and both men double-teamed Glacier.[11] Postmatch assaults by Mortis and Wrath became commonplace after Glacier's Nitro matches, and on the April 21 episode of Nitro, his helmet was also stolen by the pair after he defeated Ciclope in less than one minute.[12] His rematch with Mortis at Slamboree on May 18 ended in a disqualification after less than two minutes after Wrath attacked him from behind. Mortis and Wrath then had their way with Glacier for several minutes before he was rescued by Ernest Miller, who had entered the ring from the crowd.

Glacier pinned Wrath at The Great American Bash on June 15, after which another beating commenced, this time after he was handcuffed to the top rope by Mortis, who himself had been cuffed to the turnbuckle prior to the match in order to prevent outside interference.[13] The very next night on Nitro, Glacier pinned Mortis and then was attacked for the last time by Mortis and Wrath after Miller again came to his rescue. From then until Bash at the Beach, Glacier wrestled as a tag unit with Miller, mainly in the lower card against luchadors. After Mortis and Wrath finally won their first encounter in the feud at Bash at the Beach on July 13, WCW promptly shut down the angle due to the creative team's inability to further evolve the characters and the storyline.[14] As a result, the backstory between Mortis and Glacier was therefore never revealed, and Glacier's helmet was never returned.

On September 1, nearly a year after he had made his official debut, Glacier was handed his first singles loss by Buff Bagwell.[15] He and Miller split up and after a November pay-per-view loss to the Faces of Fear. He capped off the year with a squash at the hands of Bill Goldberg on December 27.[16]

1998–1999

Glacier had an undefeated twelve-month singles period from September 1996 to August 1997, and performed mostly in Mid-card matches. WCW eventually booked him as a heel for 1998, starting on January 24 when he attacked Miller during a WCW Saturday Night matchup against Mortis and Wrath. He then spent the next three months on a losing streak, losing to the likes of Steve McMichael, Prince Iaukea, and Lex Luger, while feuding on the side with Chris Adams on WCW Saturday Night in a battle of superkick finishers.

He then entered a feud with Perry Saturn, who appeared in a recorded promo on the May 11 edition of Nitro lambasting Glacier for his appearance and his claiming ownership of the superkick. Starting with a pinfall victory over Sick Boy that night after Saturn's outside interference was unsuccessful,[17] Glacier then fought a series of matches against several other members of Raven's Flock. He and Saturn then alternated wins on WCW Thunder, but the most notable aspect of the angle was that Kanyon, who had recently shed the Mortis gimmick, was regularly conducting sneak attacks on Raven and the Flock in various disguises. On the June 4 edition of Thunder, Kanyon (disguised as referee Nick Patrick and actually played by Dale Torborg in the segment) took out Saturn, allowing Glacier to get the win, and flashed the Mortis mask to Glacier before leaving the ring.[18] The feud died down shortly thereafter when Saturn was moved to a new angle involving Raven and the breakup of the Flock. A Glacier-Saturn matchup (won by Saturn) that aired on WCW Worldwide on September 26 was the last match broadcast on the program before its format was changed to a recap show. [19]

On June 29, Glacier suffered a severe knee injury during the main event on Nitro, in which he lost to Goldberg (then the United States champion) for the fourth time in what would be his only title challenge in WCW.[20] He kept the extent of the injury hidden until after the match and left the ring under his own power, but after rehabilitation proved unsuccessful, he underwent knee surgery.[5] He was out until the November 5 Thunder, where he offered his support to Miller, who himself had undergone a heel turn.[21] One week later, he returned to ring action for the first time in over four months, and debuted his new finisher, a version of Terry Gordy's Oriental thumb spike (dubbed the "Ice Pick"), for a submission victory over Adams.[22] Glacier closed out the year by being booked into another series of matches against Saturn on Thunder and Saturday Night, in which Miller's manager, Sonny Onoo, repeatedly interfered.

By early 1999, Glacier lost a series of matches so that WCW could finally kill off the character and allow Lloyd to transition into a new one. This came to a head on February 6, when he was pinned on Saturday Night by Al Greene.[23] Five days later, a series of skits aired on Thunder in which Glacier, tired of his gimmick, sold his armor, mask, and helmet to Kaz Hayashi and Miller; Onoo convinced the gullible Hayashi to buy the gear for ten times Glacier's asking price.[24] For a short time, Miller came out to Glacier's music and entrance, while Hayashi wore his armor and mask to the ring.[25]

Though Lloyd had not appeared on television following the end of Glacier, he, along with Gene Okerlund, Alex Wright, and other WCW personalities, attended the public grand opening of the Nitro Grill at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on May 22, 1999; the restaurant lasted only sixteen months and closed in September 2000.[26]

On August 19, he reappeared on television for the first time in six months, this time on Thunder in several promos as Coach Buzz Stern,[27] with his protege, longtime independent wrestler Luther Biggs.[28] The clips were filmed at the WCW Power Plant and aired on Thunder until the end of September. Though the character was inspired by Lloyd's days as a high school football coach prior to his WCW career, and despite buildup by Mark Madden in his weekly WCW online column,[29] Stern received an indifferent reception from fans. Biggs pinned Bobby Eaton in his in-ring debut on September 30.[30]

Stern served as Biggs' manager for a handful of matches against lower-tier opponents on WCW Saturday Night, usually speaking catchphrases such as "There are two types of people: athletes, and athletic supporters."[31] This lasted for a month, but after Lloyd himself wrestled his only match as Stern in a Thunder loss to Eddy Guerrero,[32] the gimmick was shelved and both Stern and Biggs were removed from WCW television. Lloyd was one of many wrestlers released by the company on November 21, 1999 as part of a cost-cutting measure.

Independent circuit (2000–present)

Along with Dusty Rhodes, Lloyd co-founded Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling (TCW) in 2000, which held shows throughout the Southeast and whose roster featured additional WCW castoffs such as Scotty Anton, Barry Windham, Big Ron Studd, and Chad Fortune. Lloyd wrestled under his real name, and was the TCW Heavyweight Champion from July to October 2000, when he was dethroned by Windham.[33]

During WCW's Mayhem pay-per-view on November 26, a Glacier promo from 1996 was re-broadcast, this time with the tagline "Blood Runs Colder," after which he was openly buried by the announce team.[34] The promos were aired infrequently on Nitro and Thunder, and during Starrcade.[35] The night after Starrcade, Norman Smiley was seen on Nitro watching a promo on a backstage monitor, then happily reacting to having "a real hero" in WCW.[36]

Lloyd returned to WCW in January 2001, and Glacier was now played out in the angle as a superhero parody, with him watching Smiley's back during matches. In separate matches against Mike Awesome[37] and Bam Bam Bigelow[38] on Thunder, an overpowered Smiley lost both times because Glacier took his time coming to the ring in order to interact with fans. He then entered the ring after the fact to pose for the fans, then pushed Smiley out of the way to perform his old kata routine. Though Lloyd never wrestled an actual match, the gimmick was a surprisingly mild success given the past history of the character (a fan during the Awesome match was seen holding a sign that read "Glacier is My Hero"), but the angle abruptly ended and Glacier was not seen again following a skit on the February 7 edition of Thunder in which he was pummeled offscreen by Sean O'Haire in his dressing room.[39]

Lloyd left WCW (which ceased operations six weeks later) and returned to the independent circuit. On April 21, he the won the TCW tag belts with Jorge Estrada.[40] He also won the NWA World tag team titles with Jason Sugarman on December 28, then lost the belts to The New Heavenly Bodies a day later.[41] In 2002, he rejuvenated his Glacier gimmick to team with Big Ron Studd, with whom he won the tag title for the second time in his TCW stint on January 3,[42] and then enjoyed a second reign as TCW Heavyweight Champion.

After TCW folded in 2003, Lloyd made sporadic appearances with Georgia Championship Wrestling, and held a backstage position with TNA Wrestling. He again wrestled as Glacier as part of Ultimate Christian Wrestling's Ultimate Armageddon Tour 2006, and participated in the CHIKARA King of Trios tournament in Philadelphia on March 2, 2008, teaming with Los Ice Creams as their mystery partner in a first-round loss against Team Mexico.[43] He then made a return appearance in the 2009 King of Trios tournament on March 27, 2009, teaming with Al Snow and D'Lo Brown in another first-round loss, this time against The UnStable of Vin Gerard, Colin Delaney, and STIGMA.[43] Lloyd also had a memorable fued with TNA and IWA star Ricky Vega on the Florida Independent Circuit during 2008.

Filmography

In addition to wrestling, Lloyd worked as a stuntman at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, playing the part of a German flight engineer in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! show until November 2004, when a serious knee injury forced him to undergo surgery. He had auditioned (unsuccessfully) for a part on the CBS program Walker, Texas Ranger back in 1997, and though he hinted at an acting career in an interview with WCW journalist Chad Damiani the next year, he finally appeared in his first film in 2003.

Lloyd currently resides in Kissimmee, Florida, where he continues to appear in wrestling shows throughout the Southeast in addition to pursuing his acting career; he filmed a Busch Gardens commercial, and guest-starred in the season finale of the USA Network series Burn Notice, which aired on September 20, 2007.[44]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Karate

  • World Karate Association
  • Southeastern Super Heavyweight Full Contact Karate Champion[1]

Professional wrestling

  • AWA World-1 South
  • AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • GCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with R.D. Swain
  • Peach State Wrestling
  • PSW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with R.D. Swain
  • PWI ranked him # 488 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
  • Pro Wrestling World 1
  • PWW1 Southern Heavyweight Championship[1]
  • Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Glacier profile". OWOW. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  2. ^ a b c Forman, Ross. The Ross Report, WCWwrestling.com, November 14, 1997 (Archived)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Glacier Interview with Rich "RichInKC" Schmick - RichInKC Online, January 29, 1997 (Archived)
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference wcwmag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Glacier Bio and History - Glacier Splash Page, Rowdy Girl's WCW Zone (Archived)
  6. ^ Author unknown. "Blood Runs Cold," WCW Magazine, October 1996
  7. ^ Glacier d. Mike Wenner - WCW Monday Nitro, 9/30/96 (YouTube)
  8. ^ MK Characters Unmasked - Sub-Zero at The Kombat Pavilion
  9. ^ "Glacier" heats up to helping youth - Hannibal Courier-Post, 7/21/2000
  10. ^ Glacier d. Disco Inferno, WCW Nitro Report - DDT Digest, 12/30/96
  11. ^ WCW Uncensored Report, This Week in WCW - DDT Digest, 3/16/97
  12. ^ Glacier d. Ciclope, WCW Monday Nitro Report - DDT Digest
  13. ^ Great American Bash Report, This Week In The WCW - DDT Digest
  14. ^ Ray Lloyd shoot interview. RF Video, 2008
  15. ^ Buff Bagwell d. Glacier, This Week in WCW - DDT Digest, 9/1/97
  16. ^ Goldberg d. Glacier, WCW Monday Nitro Report - DDT Digest, 12/27/97
  17. ^ Glacier d. Sick Boy, WCW Monday Nitro Report - DDT Digest, 5/11/98
  18. ^ Glacier d. Saturn, WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 6/4/98
  19. ^ WCW Worldwide Report - DDT Digest, 9/26/98
  20. ^ Goldberg d. Glacier, WCW Monday Nitro Report - DDT Digest, 6/29/98
  21. ^ WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 11/5/98
  22. ^ Glacier d. Chris Adams, WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 11/12/98
  23. ^ Al Green d. Glacier, WCW Saturday Night Report - DDT Digest, 2/6/99
  24. ^ WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 2/11/99
  25. ^ Disco Inferno d. Kaz Hayashi, WCW Monday Nitro Report - DDT Digest, 2/22/99
  26. ^ WCW Nitro Grill set to close - Las Vegas Review-Journal, 9/28/00
  27. ^ WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 8/19/99
  28. ^ WCW Thunder Report, DDT Digest, 9/2/99
  29. ^ Madden, Mark. Coach Buzz Stern: Hope for Youth of America. WCW.com, August 25, 1999
  30. ^ Luther Biggs d. Bobby Eaton, WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 9/30/99
  31. ^ Luther Biggs d. Dave Burkhead, WCW Saturday Night Report - DDT Digest, 10/16/99
  32. ^ Eddy Guerrero d. Buzz Stern, WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 11/4/99
  33. ^ Glacier Bio - Accelerator3359.com
  34. ^ WCW Mayhem Report - DDT Digest, 11/26/00
  35. ^ WCW Starrcade Report, 12/17/00 - DDT Digest
  36. ^ Norman Smiley reaction to Glacier trailer, WCW Monday Nitro, 12/18/00 - dailymotion.com
  37. ^ Mike Awesome d. Norman Smiley, WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 1/24/01
  38. ^ Bam Bam Bigelow d. Norman Smiley, WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 1/31/01
  39. ^ WCW Thunder Report - DDT Digest, 2/7/01
  40. ^ Jorge Estrada Profile - gerweck.net
  41. ^ Solie's Title Histories - NWA Tag Team Titles - Royal Duncan and Gary Will. Wrestling Title Histories. Reprinted on solie.org.
  42. ^ Wrestling Redux: Ron Reis - Wrestling Redux, 2/21/07
  43. ^ a b King of Trios results - ChikaraFans.com, 3/2/08 Cite error: The named reference "chikara" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  44. ^ Ray Lloyd audition. At one time he was gay for Burn Notice - YouTube, 7/21/07
  45. ^ a b c d World Championship Wrestling (1997-07-13). "Mortis & Wrath Vs. Glacier & Ernest Miller". WCW Bash at the Beach. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |citie= ignored (help)
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