I don’t think wrestling fans talk about Nelson Frazier enough when talking about the elite big men in WWE history. Was he one of the greatest workers of all time? No, of course not. But, he was one of those versatile guys that had the ability to get over and connect with the fans no matter what he was given to work with. He portrayed a whole host of characters – Mabel, Viscera, Big Vis or whatever you wanna call the love machine gimmick during which he humped people, and then, Big Daddy V.
From the mid-1990s through the late 2000s, Frazier always had a spot on the card. Those early days with Men On A Mission in the tag team scene were always a lot of fun. Of course, as a child of the 90s, I remember him winning the King of the Ring tournament, and getting that WWF Championship feud against “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel (for better or for worse). Then, he joins the Ministry of Darkness alongside the Undertaker, but didn’t do much more than serve as extra muscle. The ‘world’s largest love machine’ bit was a lot of fun, but let’s be real – that gimmick and reeling in a lot of championships.
But, when Big Daddy V showed up on ECW back in 2007, I thought it was a game changer for Frazier:
That gimmick, in my opinion, had real main event potential – it got Frazier over as this big mean nasty tough guy at a time when new villains were popping up and being fed to John Cena left and right. That man should’ve run roughshod all over ECW before going up to the main roster and being an unstoppable force all the way to the WWE Championship. Frazier had reached that ‘this man’s been doing it for so long, he deserves a run‘ territory by this time, and it looked like Big Daddy V could’ve been the ticket to make that happen.
And yet, it didn’t. I don’t know why it didn’t click – maybe people couldn’t take him seriously after doing the love machine stuff for so long? Maybe the pairing with Matt Striker didn’t work – okay, I’ll say it. It was pretty damn weird. Striker…..just isn’t the best.
Or, maybe it was the embattled relationship Frazier had with WWE. He had a reputation for being a bit reckless in the ring. Not to mention, he was fired, brought back, released, brought back, and fired again – there was always an off-and-on nature in his relationship with the WWE. Maybe the right people just never got behind Big Daddy V.
Frazier died in February of 2014, after suffering a heart attack. His widow Cassandra Frazier went after WWE, filing a lawsuit and claiming that concussions and CTE, concealed by WWE, ultimately led to his death. That lawsuit was dismissed.
Regardless of whether or not he ever won a WWE Championship, Frazier is, at the very least, a bona fide WWE Hall of Famer in my book. It’s just a shame to me that Big Daddy V didn’t really take off like he should’ve.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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