WWE Hall of Famer Fred Ottman, known to fans as Typhoon, Tugboat, and The Shockmaster, has pulled out of an upcoming appearance while he recovers from eye surgery.
The 70-year-old was scheduled to appear at 80s Wrestling Con in Parsippany, New Jersey, on October 31. In a video posted on Facebook, he said he can’t fly right now.
“Coming at you with some sad news: October 31, I was scheduled at 80s Con up north, and unfortunately I’ve had multiple surgeries on my eyes, and I will not be able to fly for a while, on top of some other stuff,” Ottman said. “And I still got some other things, irons in the fire, so to speak. It’s more than just these cool geriatric shades that I’m wearing here to help with the light right now.”
“But I wanted to let everybody know that I’m sad that I won’t be able to attend. Hopefully everything will be finished up and better on down the road. So, I love ya, just giving you the heads up,” he added.
This comes after Ottman was briefly hospitalized in September. Once he was released, he said he was feeling better, although he had some issues that doctors were looking into. At the time, he didn’t go into further detail.
Earlier this year, he dealt with a gallbladder-related medical emergency. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Ottman and his late tag team partner John Tenta, who wrestled as Earthquake, were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2025 as The Natural Disasters. The team held the WWE Tag Team Championship in 1992.
