At approximately age 19, Big Bubba Blackwell was involved in an aggravated assault stemming from an argument at a powerlifting or strongman meet. After being outlifted and taunted, Bubba struck the other man with a chain. He was sentenced to several years in prison, derailing his early life path.

While incarcerated, Bubba behaved responsibly. He kept his head down, earned his GED, and prepared himself to re-enter normal life. After his release, that path never materialized. Employers were unwilling to give a massive man with a felony assault record a chance.

The only work consistently available to him involved hard physical labor or bouncing—jobs centered on lifting heavy objects and physically removing people.

Bubba met Roy “The Enforcer” Harris at a toughman contest. Bubba had never trained to use his fists. Roy had no formal training either, but years of experience breaking up fights. Roy dominated the bout in terms of strikes landed, but could not knock Bubba down.

After the fight, Roy approached Bubba and told him he had “a hell of a jaw” and might be able to make decent money wrestling. Roy handed Bubba a phone number written on a scrap of paper—the number of the man who had trained Roy as a wrestler.