Chase Tatum

William Chase Tatum (November 3, 1973 – March 23, 2008) was an American professional wrestler and actor, best known for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling, road manager for OutKast and as an actor, in the 2007 film Who's Your Caddy?.

Chase Tatum
Tatum in the 2007 film Who's Your Caddy?
Birth nameWilliam Chase Tatum
Born(1973-11-03)November 3, 1973
Atlanta, Georgia
DiedMarch 23, 2008(2008-03-23) (aged 34)
Atlanta, Georgia
Cause of deathAccidental Drug overdose
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Chase Tatum
Billed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Billed weight260 lb (120 kg; 19 st)
Trained byWCW Power Plant
DebutMarch 1998
RetiredJuly 28, 2007

Career

Professional wrestling

At age 19, Tatum won the Mr. Georgia bodybuilding competition.[1] In 1998, he signed with the Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling promotion. Working as a personal trainer,[2] a person who worked for WCW reportedly encouraged Tatum to try out.[3] After beginning his career as a jobber, he debuted on the March 14th episode of WCW Saturday Night with a loss to Bill Goldberg.

A year or so later, Tatum became a member of rapper Master P's No Limit Soldiers and feuded with The West Texas Rednecks.[4] In 1999, he faced such wrestlers as Curt Hennig on an episode of WCW Thunder and WCW Television Champion Rick Steiner on WCW Monday Nitro. He lost both matches but wrestled Mikey Whipwreck to a draw on the August 23 episode of WCW Monday Nitro.[5] That would be his last WCW match.

Tatum worked for Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California in December 2000. On December 20, he lost to the Prototype who was a young John Cena.[6]

He returned to wrestle one more at Innovate Pro Wrestling match on July 28, 2007, where he was in a 4 way won by EZ Money.[7]

Tatum's wrestling career lasted less than three years and left him with severe back problems which required back surgery. Without any health indemnification, he developed a dependence to analgesics.

Post-wrestling

In 2007, Tatum appeared in the comedy film Who's Your Caddy? alongside rapper Big Boi of Outkast. He also worked as a road manager and personal assistant for the band, and relished his time with them as he got to travel with the members and see Paris, Germany, and Japan.[4][8]

Death

Tatum was found dead at his home in Atlanta, Georgia's Buckhead neighborhood after an apparent accidental drug overdose, on March 23, 2008. His father states that Tatum was planning to enter a rehab facility to help overcome his addiction.[4]

See also

References

  1. "The Associated Press: Former Wrestler Found Dead". 2008-03-30. Archived from the original on 2008-03-30. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  2. "Former Pro Wrestler Found Dead in Home". wltx.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  3. "Chase Tatum Death". Wrestler Deaths. 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  4. "Chase Tatum dead at 34". SLAM! Wrestling. 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  5. Cawthon, Graham. "WCW Ring Results: 1999". The History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  6. "Events Database - Ultimate Pro Wrestling". Cage Match.
  7. Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com (in German). Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  8. "Former WCW wrestler Chase Tatum (34) passed away from an apparent drug overdose". Archived from the original on 2008-04-06.
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