Last week, WWE insider @WrestleVotes tweeted that Fred Ottman and John Tenta, collectively known as the Natural Disasters, would be part of the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame class. Yet, as WWE has not made an official announcement as of this writing, some fans aren’t convinced that the claim is factual. However, any doubts have now been put aside, as Ottman, known best to fans as Tugboat, Typhoon, or even The Shockmaster, has confirmed he is Hall of Fame-bound during an interview with Bill Apter.
68-year-old Ottman broke into the business in 1984, and after working for several territories, including the Continental Wrestling Association and Texas All-Star Wrestling, he signed with WWE in 1989. Initially, he debuted as Big Steel Man with Slick as his manager, but he was soon renamed Tugboat Tyler, then Tugboat Thomas, and finally just Tugboat.
From there, it’s understood he was considered for the WrestleMania VII main event spot against Hulk Hogan, which eventually ended up going to Sgt. Slaughter. Still, WWE had substantial plans for Ottman, and after aligning him with Tenta, known at the time as Earthquake, he became Typhoon, and together they worked with the likes of the Legion of Doom, Bushwhackers, Beverly Brothers, and Money Inc., which saw them win the WWE World Tag Team Championships in 1992.
