Glacier Reveals Gimmick That WWE Pitched To Him In 2000

Former WCW wrestler Ray Lloyd aka Glacier slowly faded from the spotlight after the end of his WCW run as he didn't appear in any major promotions afterwards until popping up in AEW at All In. But Glacier did have contact with WWE in 2000 and nearly joined them.

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However, he ended up not taking their offer and he explained why when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.

"When we [WCW] were bought out, [WWE] wanted me to send a tape," said Glacier. "I consulted with Terry Taylor about what I should put together and he came up with a great idea, 'If I were you, I would pitch Ray Lloyd in a highlight reel of Glacier to show them some versatility.'"

The WWE really liked his submission and made him a contract offer as well as pitched a gimmick for him. It played into the strong law enforcement background that his family has and he would be doing a state trooper gimmick.

"It was just one of those things where I didn't really wanna get that personal because in the wrestling business they have the power to do whatever they want to do. It was nothing against WWE but it was just too personal to me to put into the wrestling business," revealed Glacier. "And at the end of the day, I ended up turning them down. I was tired of being on the road and it wasn't a great offer because they didn't have to offer anything great at the time because they owned all of the cards."

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The gimmick and the offer, coupled with Glacier having another offer from Dusty Rhodes to help out at his Turnbuckle promotion prompted Glacier to pass on WWE's offer.

"During that time there was a lot of uncertainty with one major power going under and with anybody brought onboard, you won't really sure what they were gonna try and do with you. Because of the other things that were a little more certain for me, I went the other way and I don't regret it," stated Glacier.

"The decision to work alongside Dusty for those four years was life-changing. I tell anybody to think of who your childhood hero is and put yourself in my shoes. I had my childhood hero asking me to be his right-hand guy. That goes beyond words to how thrilled I was to be in that position."

Glacier recently took part in a comedy event in which he told old wrestling stories from his years on the road. He talked about what his favorite story to tell is.

"One of my favorite stories I tell all the time is when I broke in in April of '87 right after I finished playing college ball in Valdosta, Georgia," said Glacier. "I was making my way through the indie scene in Georgia and I had a good friend in Atlanta that I was visiting. This was in the summer of '88 and I go into a local sports bar to meet up with my friend.

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"I was waiting on him and thank God he was running late because in walks two of my childhood heroes, outside of my parents, in The American Dream Dusty Rhodes?and Evel Knievel!"

Glacier said that he talked to Knievel for an hour and a half at the bar and how he advised him to pursue his wrestling dreams.

"Not long after that I moved to Atlanta to pursue my wrestling dream and everything worked out pretty good," stated Glacier.

The name of the comedy event is Tall Tales and Glacier explained how he became involved with it.

"A good friend of mine, Johnny Swinger, he still lives in Atlanta and we've been friends forever. He first contacted me a couple of months ago when they were getting things going," Glacier said before noting that Buff Bagwell and Raven have also done the show.

"He asked me if I would be interested in doing it and once he explained it, I said, 'Heck yeah ? we can sit around and talk about wrestling!?' It was a lot of fun; it was a great crowd and great atmosphere. It's for a great cause with Project Lunchbox and there were 4-5 comedians that warmed the crowd up so by the time we got up there they were primed and ready. We shared some good, ol' fashioned wrestling stories with them."

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He then talked more about Project Lunchbox and how it's helping kids in the Atlanta area.

"I was a school teacher for 14 years and the Project Lunchbox charity that the Tall Tales benefit, it's ProjectLunchbox.com and it's to raise money so children, who are in certain situations where maybe they don't eat a healthy meal on the weekend, Project Lunchbox makes sure they have lunches and food so they don't go hungry," said Glacier.

"The money that's donated and has been raised in the Atlanta community stays in the Atlanta community. It's just a great charity to be a part of and I'm thrilled and honored that they asked me to be a part of it.

"Being a teacher, no one wants to see a child go hungry. So this is a great charity and all proceeds to back into the community to help some kids who need it and can really appreciate it."

Glacier recently participated in the comedy event Tall Tales from the historic old city jail of Hampton, Ga., now known as Jailhouse Brewing Company. The event helped to raise awareness for Operation Lunchbox's mission to feed hungry students in the local community. More information about Tall Tales and their upcoming shows please visit www.Facebook.com/TallTalesPod.

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Glacier's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Glacier discusses his relationship with the Rhodes Family, his AEW status, nearly joining WWE in 2000, his role in AEW's Casino Battle Royal, Operation Lunchbox and more.

You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.

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