Ray Lloyd
Encyclopedia
Raymond M. Lloyd 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.
. His father, Harold, served as a commander with the Georgia State Patrol
for 28 years, while his mother, Lois, worked with the Georgia Driver's License Division prior to her retirement in 2000, and his fraternal twin brother, Ron, is a state trooper. Lloyd graduated from Brunswick High School
in 1982, and played offensive tackle for the football team all four years. In his senior year, he became the school's first All-State player. He also competed for the track and field team, in the shot put
and discus
.
A skilled martial artist
, Lloyd took up Hung Gar
at fourteen, later adding other 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 to the public in 1982. In 1983, he began competing for the World Karate Association in full-contact tournaments, eventually winning the United States 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.
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. He played center
for Valdosta State University
(the same alma mater as former WCW announcer Scott Hudson), under coach Mike Cavan
, and was a teammate of former Atlanta Falcons
linebacker Jessie Tuggle
during his collegiate career.
Lloyd graduated in 1987 with a master's degree in education, 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. He had a chance to enter the NFL that year, but declined due to the players' strike and because he had just gotten his first teaching job.
for two years, during which he was given the ring name "Sugar Ray" Lloyd by Tommy Rich
. Lloyd joined WCW (then the NWA
) for their 1989 Great American Bash tour, in which his debut match was a loss to Butch Reed
in Albany, Georgia
. He recalled in a March 2001 interview with WCW Magazine, "To be in the same ring with a man that big who could move like that was intimidating."
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
. From 1990 to 1991, again as "Sugar Ray" Lloyd, he tag team
ed 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.
Lloyd's second stint in WCW was when he was booked to be defeated by 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. He joined the UWFI
as a guest of renowned shootfighter
Nobuhiko Takada
, and competed against Japanese and American fighters. 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.
profile of 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.
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 slowly walking to the ring, he then engaged in a ritual of standing on a 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. 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. According to Lloyd in a 2000 interview with the Hannibal
Courier-Post, production costs for his entrance amounted to nearly half a million dollars, while the costume and armor, designed by Atlanta-based AFX Studios, cost $35,000. The armor contained the number 126 carved into the breastplate as a reference to his father's badge number. 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
." 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, his debut was delayed indefinitely; 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.
, who was depicted in the new storyline as an Asian pitfighter
who was one of eccentric manager James Vandenberg's collection of "rare oddities" and who had 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.
Glacier defeated Mortis in the pay-per-view debut for both, at WCW Uncensored on March 16, but after the match, Wrath
made his first appearance as Vandenberg's then-unnamed newest charge, and both men double-teamed Glacier. Postmatch assaults by Mortis and Wrath became commonplace after Glacier's Nitro matches, and on the April 21 episode, his helmet was also stolen by the pair after he defeated Ciclope
in less than one minute. His rematch with Mortis at Slamboree on May 18 ended in a disqualification after less than two minutes when Wrath attacked him from behind. Mortis and Wrath then had their way with Glacier for several minutes before he was rescued by Ernest "The Cat" Miller
, who had entered the ring from the crowd.
On June 15, Glacier pinned Wrath at The Great American Bash, 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. The very next night on Nitro, Glacier again defeated 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 and ended Glacier's undefeated streak, WCW promptly shut down the angle due to the creative team's inability to further evolve the characters and the storyline. 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
. He and Miller lost their second consecutive pay-per-view affair in November, to the Faces of Fear
at World War 3, and Glacier capped off the year with a squash at the hands of Bill Goldberg
on December 27.
on January 24 in a rematch alongside Miller against Mortis and Wrath. Glacier and Miller were to fight each other two weeks earlier on the program, but it was called off after Glacier was attacked by Mortis and Wrath offscreen beforehand. However, during the tag match, Glacier turned on Miller, allowing Mortis and Wrath to get the win. This brought the "Blood Runs Cold" angle to an official close as Mortis and Wrath were split up from Vandenberg and moved into the singles ranks. Glacier then spent the next three months on a losing streak, jobbing to the likes of Steve McMichael
, Prince Iaukea, and Lex Luger
on Nitro and Thunder, while feuding on the side with Chris Adams on WCW Saturday Night in a battle of superkick finishers.
Glacier then entered a feud with Perry Saturn, starting with an angle in which he cut a promo on the May 11 Nitro declaring that his Cryonic Kick finisher was his own move and threatened to take out anyone who used it. This prompted a response from Saturn on Thunder later in the week, in which he lambasted Glacier for his in-ring appearance and his claiming ownership of the superkick. Starting with a pin of Sick Boy
on May 18 after Saturn's outside interference was unsuccessful, 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
) entered the ring and took out Saturn with a Russian legsweep, allowing Glacier to get the win, and flashed the Mortis mask to Glacier before leaving the ring. 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.
Glacier suffered a severe knee injury during the main event on Nitro on June 29, in which he lost to then-United States champion
Goldberg for the fourth time in what would be his only title challenge in WCW. 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. He was out until the November 5 Thunder, where he offered his support to Miller, who himself had undergone a heel turn. 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.
On November 16, Glacier, Kanyon, and Wrath reunited for the first and only time since the demise of Blood Runs Cold, when Glacier and Kanyon were scheduled to face each other on Nitro after Wrath fought Raven in the previous match, but Raven's refusal to wrestle, despite goading by Kanyon, saw it called off. Wrath then took out his frustration by pummeling both Glacier and Kanyon inside the ring before their opening bell, but the match commenced nonetheless with Kanyon ultimately scoring the pin. Glacier made his final WCW pay-per-view appearance with a loss to Wrath at World War 3 on November 22, and closed out the year with another series of matches against Saturn on Thunder and Saturday Night, in which Miller's manager, Sonny Onoo, repeatedly interfered.
By early 1999, Glacier was again booked to lose to lower-card opponents 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
. 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. For a short time, Miller came out to Glacier's music and entrance, while Hayashi wore his armor and mask to the ring.
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.
On August 19, Lloyd made his first televised appearance in six months, this time on Thunder in the first of several promos as Coach Buzz Stern, featuring longtime independent wrestler Luther Biggs
. The clips were filmed at the WCW Power Plant
and served to introduce the storyline of Stern choosing the clumsy Biggs as his protege, and aired until the end of September, when Biggs was pinned by Bobby Eaton
in his in-ring debut on Thunder; Stern put Biggs in a postmatch full nelson as punishment. Over the following month, Stern served as Biggs' manager for only three additional matches: a squash loss to Meng
on Thunder, a pinfall victory over Dave Burkhead on Saturday Night, and a match against Barry Darsow
(wrestling as Blacktop Bully) on Worldwide, which Biggs won only after Stern's outside interference. Though the Stern character was inspired by Lloyd's days as a high school football coach prior to his WCW career, and had received buildup in Mark Madden
's weekly WCW.com column, he received an indifferent reception from fans, and after Lloyd himself wrestled his only match as Stern in a November 4 Thunder loss to Eddie Guerrero
, the angle was shelved and both Stern and Biggs were removed from television. Lloyd was one of many wrestlers released by the company on November 21, 1999 as part of a cost-cutting measure.
, 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
(Scotty Riggs), 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.
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. The promos were aired infrequently on Nitro and Thunder, and during Starrcade
. 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.
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
and Bam Bam Bigelow 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 before pushing 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 on camera 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
inside his dressing room.
Lloyd left WCW (which ceased operations six weeks later) permanently and returned to the independent circuit. On April 21, he the won the TCW tag belts with Jorge Estrada. One of the highlights of Lloyd's wrestling career was fulfilling a childhood dream of winning the NWA World tag team titles with Jason Sugarman on December 28, 2002. Sugarman retired shortly after due to a career ending injury. 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, 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. Lloyd also feuded with TNA and IWA
star Ricky Vega
on the Florida independent Circuit in 2008.
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.
program Walker, Texas Ranger
back in 1997, and though he had expressed interest in an acting career in an interview with WCW journalist Chad Damiani the next year, he finally appeared in his first film, a low-budget movie titled Blood Bath, in 2002. He guest-starred in the season finale of the USA Network
series Burn Notice
, which aired on September 20, 2007. Lloyd also 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
martial artist, professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
in the late 1990s under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Glacier.
Early life
Lloyd was born into a law-enforcement family in Brunswick, GeorgiaBrunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
. His father, Harold, served as a commander with the Georgia State Patrol
Georgia State Patrol
The Georgia State Patrol is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. The GSP has statewide jurisdiction with the exception of federal military installations...
for 28 years, while his mother, Lois, worked with the Georgia Driver's License Division prior to her retirement in 2000, and his fraternal twin brother, Ron, is a state trooper. Lloyd graduated from Brunswick High School
Brunswick High School (Georgia)
Brunswick High School is a public high school located in Brunswick, Georgia in Glynn County, Georgia. It is part of the Glynn County School District and opened in 1967....
in 1982, and played offensive tackle for the football team all four years. In his senior year, he became the school's first All-State player. He also competed for the track and field team, in the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
and discus
Discus
Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...
.
A skilled martial artist
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, Lloyd took up Hung Gar
Hung Gar
Hung Ga 洪家, Hung Kuen 洪拳, or Hung Ga Kuen 洪家拳 is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga....
at fourteen, later adding other disciplines such as Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and Kempo
KEMPO
KEPCO may refer to:* Korea Electric Power Corporation, a South Korean power provider* Kansai Electric Power Company, a Japanese power provider...
. His school was owned and taught by a former government agent and a U.S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
, before it closed to the public in 1982. In 1983, he began competing for the World Karate Association in full-contact tournaments, eventually winning the United States 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.
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. He played center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University, also referred to as VSU, or Valdosta State, is an American public university and is one of the two regional universities in the University System of Georgia. Valdosta State is located on a campus at the heart of the city of Valdosta...
(the same alma mater as former WCW announcer Scott Hudson), under coach Mike Cavan
Mike Cavan
-External links:...
, and was a teammate of former Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
linebacker Jessie Tuggle
Jessie Tuggle
Jessie Floyd Tuggle is a former professional American football linebacker who played for the Atlanta Falcons his entire career from 1987 to 2000. He graduated from Valdosta State College in Valdosta, Georgia...
during his collegiate career.
Lloyd graduated in 1987 with a master's degree in education, 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. He had a chance to enter the NFL that year, but declined due to the players' strike and because he had just gotten his first teaching job.
Early wrestling career
Lloyd began his wrestling career shortly after graduation. He was trained by Georgia grappler Fred Avery in a makeshift ring set up in Avery's backyard, and then cut his teeth on the Georgia independent circuitIndependent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
for two years, during which he was given the ring name "Sugar Ray" Lloyd by Tommy Rich
Tommy Rich
Thomas Richardson , better known by his ring name, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, is a professional wrestler. He is best known for his wrestling career in Georgia and Memphis throughout the 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:...
. Lloyd joined WCW (then the NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
) for their 1989 Great American Bash tour, in which his debut match was a loss to Butch Reed
Butch Reed
Butch Reed is an American professional wrestler best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling.-Career:...
in Albany, Georgia
Albany, Georgia
Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...
. He recalled in a March 2001 interview with WCW Magazine, "To be in the same ring with a man that big who could move like that was intimidating."
He moved to Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and worked as an assistant high school football coach in Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
, while participating in Southern Championship Wrestling shows on weekends, where he was further trained by Mr. Wrestling II
Mr. Wrestling II
John "Johnny" Walker , better known as Mr. Wrestling II, is a retired American professional wrestler. As Mr...
and Bob Armstrong
Bob Armstrong
Joseph Melton James is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Bullet" Bob Armstrong. In the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Armstrong held numerous championships throughout the Southeastern United States...
. From 1990 to 1991, again as "Sugar Ray" Lloyd, he tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
ed with Swain as "The Blazers," named such after the Valdosta State athletic mascot. In 1991, Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
held a contest for readers to come up with a ring name for Swain.
Lloyd's second stint in WCW was when he was booked to be defeated by The Great Muta
Keiji Mutoh
is a Japanese professional wrestler who first gained international fame in the National Wrestling Alliance. He is mostly known for his work as The Great Muta in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s, but he has also competed in United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Taiwan...
at a house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
in Atlanta. Following that match, at Muta's request, Lloyd joined Muta on a string of WCW house shows before he moved to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1993. He joined the UWFI
UWF International
Union of Wrestling Forces International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. Although the matches were worked , the UWF-i was very convincing for its time, promoting a more hard-hitting, realistic...
as a guest of renowned shootfighter
Shootfighting
Shootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...
Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He is best known for helping to popularize shoot-style professional wrestling, as one of the biggest stars of the Universal Wrestling Federation and Union of Wrestling Force International in the '80s and '90s. He...
, and competed against Japanese and American fighters. Lloyd returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after UWFI folded in 1996, and during a conversation with friend Diamond Dallas Page
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...
, 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
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, a martial arts practitioner himself, signed Lloyd to a contract.
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 fictionalKayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
profile of 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.
Glacier was also given one of the most extravagant entrances in wrestling at the time, which consisted of blue laser lights
Laser lighting display
A laser lighting display or laser light show involves the use of laser light to entertain an audience. A laser light show may consist only of projected laser beams set to music, or may accompany another form of entertainment, typically a dance concert or other musical performance.Laser light is...
streaming across the arena and synthetic snow falling from the ceiling. After slowly walking to the ring, he then engaged in a ritual of standing on a center turnbuckle
Turnbuckle
A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...
in order to remove his armor and mask, then somersaulting off the buckle and into the center of the ring to perform a kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
routine; this process sometimes lasted as long as two minutes. Moreover, since he was a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, 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
Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)
Sub-Zero is the name given to two video game characters from the Mortal Kombat series. The older Sub-Zero first appeared in the first Mortal Kombat game, being replaced by his younger brother in Mortal Kombat II and the subsequent games...
, his original in-ring costume was a near-duplicate of the video-game version. According to Lloyd in a 2000 interview with the Hannibal
Hannibal, Missouri
Hannibal is a city in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. Hannibal is located at the intersection of Interstate 72 and U.S. Routes 24, 36 and 61, approximately northwest of St. Louis. According to the 2010 U.S. Census the population was 17,606...
Courier-Post, production costs for his entrance amounted to nearly half a million dollars, while the costume and armor, designed by Atlanta-based AFX Studios, cost $35,000. The armor contained the number 126 carved into the breastplate as a reference to his father's badge number. Glacier also wore a blue contact lens in his right eye to top off the outfit, which often prompted comments from WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
analyst Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
, such as "[He's] half man, half Siamese cat
Siamese (cat)
The Siamese is one of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Oriental cat. The origins of the breed are unknown, but it is believed to be from Thailand. In Thailand, where they are one of several native breeds, they are called Wichian Mat...
." 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
New World Order (professional wrestling)
The New World Order was a professional wrestling stable that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling . The group later appeared in the World Wrestling Federation after the purchase of WCW by the WWF...
at the Bash at the Beach
Bash at the Beach (1996)
Bash at the Beach was the third annual Bash at the Beach professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Championship Wrestling . It took place on July 7, 1996 from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida...
pay-per-view that month, his debut was delayed indefinitely; WCW worked this into a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Big Bubba Rogers
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
, who criticized Glacier's hype and the overlong wait for his arrival during interviews on WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
with the Dungeon of Doom
Dungeon of Doom
The Dungeon of Doom was the name of a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling that existed from 1995 to 1997.-Origin:...
. His debut finally occurred on September 9, 1996, when he pinned The Gambler in a prerecorded match on WCW Pro
WCW Pro
WCW Pro was a televised wrestling show presented by World Championship Wrestling. Along with WCW WorldWide, it was part of the WCW Disney tapings...
, 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, it wasn't until March 1997 that Glacier was put into his first long-term feud, with MortisChris Kanyon
Christopher Klucsarits was an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, under the ring names Chris Kanyon and Mortis.-Early career:After college, he began training under Pete McKay Gonzalez, Ismael Gerena and Bobby...
, who was depicted in the new storyline as an Asian pitfighter
Pit Fighting
Pit fighting is a martial art developed in the United States from indigenous fighting methods, namely street fighting.Pit fighting is primarily a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes but also involves basic grappling techniques...
who was one of eccentric manager James Vandenberg's collection of "rare oddities" and who had 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.
Glacier defeated Mortis in the pay-per-view debut for both, at WCW Uncensored on March 16, but after the match, Wrath
Bryan Clark
Bryan Emmeth Clark, Jr. is a American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling.-Early career:...
made his first appearance as Vandenberg's then-unnamed newest charge, and both men double-teamed Glacier. Postmatch assaults by Mortis and Wrath became commonplace after Glacier's Nitro matches, and on the April 21 episode, his helmet was also stolen by the pair after he defeated Ciclope
Manuel Ortiz
Manuel Ortiz Partida is a professional wrestler who is currently wrestling the independent circuit in Mexico, particularly in the Tijuana area...
in less than one minute. His rematch with Mortis at Slamboree on May 18 ended in a disqualification after less than two minutes when Wrath attacked him from behind. Mortis and Wrath then had their way with Glacier for several minutes before he was rescued by Ernest "The Cat" Miller
Ernest Miller
Ernest Clifford Miller is an American actor and former professional wrestler who worked for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment better known by his ring name, Ernest "The Cat" Miller....
, who had entered the ring from the crowd.
On June 15, Glacier pinned Wrath at The Great American Bash, 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. The very next night on Nitro, Glacier again defeated 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 and ended Glacier's undefeated streak, WCW promptly shut down the angle due to the creative team's inability to further evolve the characters and the storyline. 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
Buff Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling between 1991 and 2001, where he was a five time World Tag Team Champion.-Professional wrestling career: Bagwell...
. He and Miller lost their second consecutive pay-per-view affair in November, to the Faces of Fear
Faces of Fear
The Faces of Fear was the professional wrestling tag team of Sione Vailahi and Uliuli Fifita. Vailahi wrestled as The Barbarian, and Fifita wrestled as Haku in the World Wrestling Federation and Meng in World Championship Wrestling . They appeared together several times in the WWF as part of The...
at World War 3, and Glacier capped off the year with a squash at the hands of Bill Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
on December 27.
1998–1999
Despite an undefeated twelve-month singles period from September 1996 to August 1997, Glacier remained entrenched in the midcard ranks. He was booked as a heel for 1998, starting with an edition of WCW Saturday NightWCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
on January 24 in a rematch alongside Miller against Mortis and Wrath. Glacier and Miller were to fight each other two weeks earlier on the program, but it was called off after Glacier was attacked by Mortis and Wrath offscreen beforehand. However, during the tag match, Glacier turned on Miller, allowing Mortis and Wrath to get the win. This brought the "Blood Runs Cold" angle to an official close as Mortis and Wrath were split up from Vandenberg and moved into the singles ranks. Glacier then spent the next three months on a losing streak, jobbing to the likes of Steve McMichael
Steve McMichael
-World Wrestling Federation :After the end of his NFL career, he appeared at ringside in the WWF for Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995 in Hartford, Connecticut. Taylor was wrestling Bam Bam Bigelow and there were several football players at ringside to keep wrestlers from...
, Prince Iaukea, and Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
on Nitro and Thunder, while feuding on the side with Chris Adams on WCW Saturday Night in a battle of superkick finishers.
Glacier then entered a feud with Perry Saturn, starting with an angle in which he cut a promo on the May 11 Nitro declaring that his Cryonic Kick finisher was his own move and threatened to take out anyone who used it. This prompted a response from Saturn on Thunder later in the week, in which he lambasted Glacier for his in-ring appearance and his claiming ownership of the superkick. Starting with a pin of Sick Boy
Scott Vick
Robert Scott Vick is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Sick Boy and as a member of Raven's Flock....
on May 18 after Saturn's outside interference was unsuccessful, Glacier then fought a series of matches against several other members of Raven's Flock
Raven's Nest
Raven's Nest was a professional wrestling stable led by Raven that was present in Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 1997.Later, Raven created other incarnations of the group in World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .-Raven's Nest:Raven's Nest was a large...
. He and Saturn then alternated wins on WCW Thunder
WCW Thunder
WCW Thunder was a professional wrestling show produced by World Championship Wrestling which aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 to March 21, 2001...
, 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
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
and the Flock in various disguises. On the June 4 edition of Thunder, Kanyon (disguised as referee Nick Patrick
Nick Patrick
Nick Patrick may refer to:* Nick Patrick , British actor* Nick Patrick , music producer* Nicholas Patrick, British-born NASA astronaut* Nick Hamilton, wrestling referee whose stage name is Nick Patrick...
) entered the ring and took out Saturn with a Russian legsweep, allowing Glacier to get the win, and flashed the Mortis mask to Glacier before leaving the ring. 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
WCW WorldWide
WCW WorldWide was a syndicated TV show produced by World Championship Wrestling.-Wide World Wrestling:The show began in 1975 , a syndicated one-hour program produced by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Jim Crockett Promotions...
on September 26 was the last match broadcast on the program before its format was changed to a recap show.
Glacier suffered a severe knee injury during the main event on Nitro on June 29, in which he lost to then-United States champion
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
Goldberg for the fourth time in what would be his only title challenge in WCW. 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. He was out until the November 5 Thunder, where he offered his support to Miller, who himself had undergone a heel turn. 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
Terry Gordy
Terry Ray 'Bam Bam' Gordy, Sr. was a professional wrestler who was best known in North America for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.-Career:...
's Oriental thumb spike (dubbed the "Ice Pick"), for a submission victory over Adams.
On November 16, Glacier, Kanyon, and Wrath reunited for the first and only time since the demise of Blood Runs Cold, when Glacier and Kanyon were scheduled to face each other on Nitro after Wrath fought Raven in the previous match, but Raven's refusal to wrestle, despite goading by Kanyon, saw it called off. Wrath then took out his frustration by pummeling both Glacier and Kanyon inside the ring before their opening bell, but the match commenced nonetheless with Kanyon ultimately scoring the pin. Glacier made his final WCW pay-per-view appearance with a loss to Wrath at World War 3 on November 22, and closed out the year with another series of matches against Saturn on Thunder and Saturday Night, in which Miller's manager, Sonny Onoo, repeatedly interfered.
By early 1999, Glacier was again booked to lose to lower-card opponents 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
Al Green (wrestler)
Al Green is a professional wrestler who has performed in North America, Europe and Japan under a variety of gimmicks the most well known being "Rage" , Blade one half of the Master Blasters with Steel and the Dog in World Championship Wrestling at the turn of the millennium.-Career:Green was trained...
. 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
Kaz Hayashi
Kazuhiro "Kaz" Hayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is also the head booker for the company's junior division.-Career:...
and Miller; Onoo convinced the gullible Hayashi to buy the gear for ten times Glacier's asking price. For a short time, Miller came out to Glacier's music and entrance, while Hayashi wore his armor and mask to the ring.
Though Lloyd had not appeared on television following the end of Glacier, he, along with Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
, Alex Wright
Alex Wright
Alex Wright is a German-British former professional wrestler. He wrestled professionally in Germany and Japan before signing with World Championship Wrestling in 1994...
, and other WCW personalities, attended the public grand opening of the Nitro Grill at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino
Excalibur Hotel and Casino
The Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International....
in Las Vegas on May 22, 1999; the restaurant lasted only sixteen months and closed in September 2000.
On August 19, Lloyd made his first televised appearance in six months, this time on Thunder in the first of several promos as Coach Buzz Stern, featuring longtime independent wrestler Luther Biggs
Luther Biggs
Luther Biggs is an American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Disgraceland, who has competed in North American independent promotions including the United States Wrestling Association, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and had a short stint in World Championship Wrestling during the...
. The clips were filmed at the WCW Power Plant
WCW Power Plant
The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school located in Atlanta, Georgia and owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling. The Power Plant, which was developed from a school operated by Jody Hamilton, was in operation throughout the 1990s...
and served to introduce the storyline of Stern choosing the clumsy Biggs as his protege, and aired until the end of September, when Biggs was pinned by Bobby Eaton
Bobby Eaton
Robert Lee "Bobby" Eaton is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag teams, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis...
in his in-ring debut on Thunder; Stern put Biggs in a postmatch full nelson as punishment. Over the following month, Stern served as Biggs' manager for only three additional matches: a squash loss to Meng
Uliuli Fifita
Tonga 'Uli'uli Fifita is a retired professional wrestler and actor, known for his appearances in both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
on Thunder, a pinfall victory over Dave Burkhead on Saturday Night, and a match against Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...
(wrestling as Blacktop Bully) on Worldwide, which Biggs won only after Stern's outside interference. Though the Stern character was inspired by Lloyd's days as a high school football coach prior to his WCW career, and had received buildup in Mark Madden
Mark Madden
Mark Madden is an American radio sports talk-show host in Pittsburgh and also a former World Championship Wrestling color commentator. -Career:...
's weekly WCW.com column, he received an indifferent reception from fans, and after Lloyd himself wrestled his only match as Stern in a November 4 Thunder loss to Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
, the angle was shelved and both Stern and Biggs were removed from 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 RhodesDusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
, Lloyd co-founded Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling was a Southeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Marietta, Georgia. It was founded by retired wrestler and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes in 2000 and, during its three years in operation, held events throughout the...
(TCW) in 2000, which held shows throughout the Southeast and whose roster featured additional WCW castoffs such as Scotty Anton
Scott Antol
Scott Antol is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring names Scotty Riggs and Scotty Anton, respectively....
(Scotty Riggs), Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
, Big Ron Studd
Ron Reis
Ronald Allen "Ron" Reis is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s as The Yeti and Reese.-World Championship Wrestling :...
, and Chad Fortune
Chad Fortune
Chad Fortune is a monster truck driver, former professional football player and former professional wrestler in both WWF and WCW.-Football career:Fortune played tight end at the University of Louisville from 1986-1989...
. Lloyd wrestled under his real name, and was the TCW Heavyweight Champion from July to October 2000, when he was dethroned by Windham.
During WCW's Mayhem
WCW Mayhem
Mayhem was a professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Championship Wrestling and held in the month of November in 1999 and 2000. It is noted for being the first wrestling pay-per-view named after a video game, rather than the video game named after a pay-per-view.- 1999 :Mayhem 1999...
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. The promos were aired infrequently on Nitro and Thunder, and during Starrcade
Starrcade
Starrcade was an annual professional wrestling event held from 1983 to 2000 by the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling as their flagship event equal to WWE's WrestleMania , and featured the largest feuds of the promotion...
. The night after Starrcade, Norman Smiley
Norman Smiley
Norman Anthony Smiley is a British professional wrestler best known for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling...
was seen on Nitro watching a promo on a backstage monitor, then happily reacting to having "a real hero" in WCW.
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
Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso , better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Federation and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts...
and Bam Bam Bigelow 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 before pushing 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 on camera 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
Sean O'Haire
Sean Christopher Haire is an American mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sean O'Haire.-World Championship Wrestling:...
inside his dressing room.
Lloyd left WCW (which ceased operations six weeks later) permanently and returned to the independent circuit. On April 21, he the won the TCW tag belts with Jorge Estrada. One of the highlights of Lloyd's wrestling career was fulfilling a childhood dream of winning the NWA World tag team titles with Jason Sugarman on December 28, 2002. Sugarman retired shortly after due to a career ending injury. 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, and then enjoyed a second reign as TCW Heavyweight Champion.
After TCW folded in 2003, Lloyd made sporadic appearances with Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
, and held a backstage position with TNA Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
. He again wrestled as Glacier as part of Ultimate Christian Wrestling's Ultimate Armageddon Tour 2006, and participated in the CHIKARA King of Trios
King of Trios
King of Trios is a three-night tournament promoted by the Chikara wrestling promotion. The tournament is a different take on the Tag World Grand Prix event that the company is known for annually promoting; in King of Trios, instead of tag teams, there are trios that will compete in six-man tag team...
tournament in Philadelphia on March 2, 2008, teaming with Los Ice Creams as their mystery partner in a first-round loss against Team Mexico. Lloyd also feuded with TNA and IWA
IWA
IWA may refer to:*Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South*Indian Workers' Association*Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada , an autonomous branch of the former International Woodworkers of America trade union...
star Ricky Vega
Ricky Vega
Ephraim Vega is an Puerto Rican American professional wrestler and is best known working Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Machete, and in independent promotions under the name Ricky Vega. Vega was a standout high school football star, and was named to All-Section, All-conference,...
on the Florida independent Circuit in 2008.
He then made a return appearance in the 2009 King of Trios tournament on March 27, 2009, teaming with Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
and D'Lo Brown
D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during...
in another first-round loss, this time against The UnStable of Vin Gerard
Vin Gerard
Vince "Vin" Gerard Durling is an American professional wrestler currently competing in the American-based promotion Chikara.-Equinox:...
, Colin Delaney
Colin Delaney
Colin Matthew Delaney is a American professional wrestler, best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment. He has also wrestled for promotions such as 2CW Squared Circle Wrestling, Chikara, NWA Upstate, Pier 6 Wrestling, Buffalo Championship Wrestling, NWA Empire, LakeShore Wrestling,...
, and STIGMA.
Other media
In addition to wrestling, Lloyd has pursued an acting career in both film and television. He had auditioned (unsuccessfully) for a part on the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
program Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
back in 1997, and though he had expressed interest in an acting career in an interview with WCW journalist Chad Damiani the next year, he finally appeared in his first film, a low-budget movie titled Blood Bath, in 2002. He guest-starred in the season finale of the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
series Burn Notice
Burn Notice (TV series)
Burn Notice is an American television series created by Matt Nix. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless, and, beginning in the fourth season, Coby Bell. The series premiered on June 28, 2007, on USA Network. On April 15, 2010, the show was renewed for its...
, which aired on September 20, 2007. Lloyd also worked as a stuntman at Disney-MGM Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, playing the part of a German flight engineer in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is a live amusement show at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Based on the popular and successful Indiana Jones film franchise, it includes various stunts and live reenacted scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark...
show until November 2004.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Cryonic Kick (Superkick)
- Ice Pick (Thumb choke hold)
- Signature moves
- DDTDDT (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
- Forward somersault leg drop
- Glacier Breaker (Two kicks to the leg followed by two kicks to the midsection and finished with a spinning back kick to the chest)
- Multiple kick variations
- DropDropkickA dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
- Hook
- Reverse roundhouse
- Sweep
- Drop
- Northern Lights suplex
- Palm thrust
- Tilt-a-whirl slam
- DDT
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Sugar Ray"
Karate
- World Karate Association
- Southeastern Super Heavyweight Full Contact Karate Champion
Professional wrestling
- AWA World-1 South
- AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Georgia All-Star Wrestling
- GASW Tag Team Championship (1 time, last) – with R.D. Swain
- Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- GCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with R.D. Swain
- National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA World Tag Team ChampionshipNWA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship is the professional wrestling world tag team championship within the NWA framework.-History:...
(1 time) – with Jason Sugarman
- Peach State Wrestling
- PSW United States Tag Team Championship (2 times, first) – with R.D. Swain
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him # 488 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
- Pro Wrestling World 1
- PWW1 Southern Heavyweight Championship
- Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
- TCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- TCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jorge EstradaJorge EstradaJorge Moraza is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jorge Estrada. He is a former National Wrestling Alliance North American Heavyweight champion and participated in the first televised match of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:Moraza was...
(1), Big Ron StuddRon ReisRonald Allen "Ron" Reis is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s as The Yeti and Reese.-World Championship Wrestling :...
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Film
- Panama City (2011) – Lonnie
- Kerberos (2010) – Big John
- River of Darkness (2010) – Clark Higgins
- Loaded Dice (2007) – Uno
- Popsy (2006) – Bodyguard #2
- Hell's End (2005) – Future Soldier
- A Conspiracy (2003) – Lars Tannin
- Blood Bath (2002) – Thorko
Television
- Tyler Perry's Meet the BrownsMeet the Browns (TV series)Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns is an American sitcom created and produced by playwright, director, and producer Tyler Perry. The show revolves around a senior family living under one roof in Decatur, Georgia led by patriarch Mr. Brown and his daughter Cora Simmons. The show premiered on Wednesday,...
(2009) – Cop - Burn NoticeBurn noticeA burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
(2007) – Nydam