Fred Ottman says he has been released from the hospital, four days after he was admitted and had to cancel a convention appearance in Fort Myers.
The WWE Hall of Famer, known to fans as Typhoon, Tugboat and The Shockmaster, gave the update in a video posted to his Facebook page.
“This is Fred Ottman, aka Tugboat, Typhoon, The Shockmaster, the Big Bad Dude, big steel man, and they released me from the hospital. Okay, they still got a lot more stuff to investigate and get me along the way better, and I can’t go into any detail. I’m not going to go into any detail.”
Showing his arm: “Okay, look at the colors. The colors. Look at there. Oh boy. But they’re still investigating some things and seeing what’s going on. My orthopedic and my primary.”
He told followers he is doing better. “I’m just letting you know I’m better. I’m only a little ugly, not a lot of ugly. Okay, so I’m just sharing that with you. But God bless you, and thank you for all the people that were keeping me in their thoughts and prayers and everything like that. One day at a time. It’s been a rough, rough year. God bless. See ya.”
Ottman did not say what put him in the hospital, what the bruising is from, or how long he was admitted. He has not named a condition at any point this week.
Ottman, 70, announced Thursday that he had been taken to the emergency room and then admitted, and that he would miss the SWFL Super Card Show in Fort Myers, which ran Friday through Sunday. In that video he apologized to the promoters and to fans, and said he would speak with them once he heard from doctors.
The “rough, rough year” he refers to covers a run of health problems going back to last fall. Ottman had vascular surgery in September 2025. In January he was hospitalized in St. Petersburg, Florida for roughly 30 days after his gallbladder ruptured, a situation he described at the time as life-threatening, and he was discharged on February 9. He underwent a follow-up surgical procedure later in February and began a lengthy recovery at home.
Ottman wrestled for WWE from 1989 to 1993 as Tugboat and then Typhoon, holding the WWF Tag Team Championship with Earthquake as The Natural Disasters. He moved to WCW in 1993, where his debut as The Shockmaster at Clash of the Champions XXIV became one of the most replayed moments in wrestling history. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with Earthquake as The Natural Disasters in 2025.
He remains a regular on the convention circuit in Florida and has continued signing appearances between hospital stays this year.
We wish Fred Ottman a full recovery.
