The Cauliflower Alley Club today announced the passing of Rick Bognar, who performed for FMW in Japan as Big Titan, for the WWF as the 'fake" Razor Ramon brought in by Jim Ross in 1996. The CAC's announcement reads:
The CAC would like to pass our condolences to the family and friends of Rick Bognar aka Big Titan from FMW and “Fake Razor Ramon” in the WWF. Per his brother, Rick passed away suddenly at the age of 49 back on the 20th of September. A great motivational speaker after he left wrestling; he will be sorely missed.
Bognar broke into the business working in the Canadian independent scene in the late 1980s. His primary run in the business was in Japan, working as Big Titan for Atsushi Onita’s Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, after Ricky Fuji helped him get into the company.
Bognar as Titan teamed regularly with the late Mike Awesome and was part of a Canadian-themed stable with Fuji and Dr. Luther. He and Awesome (wrestling as The Gladiator) were the first FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions while Bognar had a short two week run as the FMW World Martial Arts Champion as a transitional champion, beating Onita but losing it a short time later to Tarzan Goto.
After his FMW run, Bognar slid over to Genichiro Tenryu’s Wrestle and Romance (WAR), competing as a m ember of the Fuyuki Gun stable led by Kodo Fuyuki.
As Big Titan, Bognar made several appearances in 1996 in the original Extreme Championship Wrestling, including beating Sabu protégé Judge Dreadd during the Big Ass Extreme Bash weekend. He would then appear on a TV taping in Allentown, PA under the ring name “Slice N’ Dice Ramirez” basically playing a parody of Scott Hall’s Razor Ramon persona.
Whether it was meant to be a tryout for WWE or not, the ECW bout ends up getting Bognar as job with the WWF. In September 1996, the Monday Night War is on with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash having jumped to WCW to help launch the NWO storyline, tipping the scales strongly towards WCW’s side. WWF was furious about the unspoken implication that their wrestlers had, at their behest, come to invade WCW, to the point that WWF files a trademark infringement lawsuit over the illegal usage of Halls’ Ramon character and Nash’s Diesel persona.
This leads to a segment at the Great American Bash 1996 PPV where Hall and Nash, interviewed by Eric Bischoff, state that they not with WWF and they are there of their own accord, before attacking and powerbombing Bischoff through a table.
WWF sought to prove that they owned their characters and it was the characters, not the performers who mattered. Jim Ross, in the midst of a failed heel turn, announced he would be bringing Razor and Diesel to Raw the following week. This leads to tons of speculation (and business for 900-number hotlines) at that time before Bognar comes out playing the role of Razor and the future Kane, Glenn Jacobs shows up as the new Diesel.
The gimmick died an immediate death, with the audience not accepting the idea. Bognar worked for several months in the role, all the way through the January 1997 Royal Rumble. He competed at the 1996 Survivor Series and with Jacobs, challenged Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith for the WWF Tag Team Championship at the In Your House 12 PPV.
While Jacobs would be repackaged as Kane in October 1997, becoming one of the longest running performers in WWF/WWE history, Bognar would exit once his WWF deal expired.
Bognar would then head to New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was placed in the NWO Japan stable (playing off the idea of Scott Hall in the actual NWO), competing through April 1999. A neck injury against Shinya Hashimoto began to limit what he could do in the ring, setting the stage for his exit.
Outside of pro wrestling, Bognar appeared on Disney’s Honey I Shunk the Kids: The Series in 1998 playing a barbarian and went on to write Wrestling with Consciousnes
Boom.. Feel that burn, WWE. :
