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Remember Jim Dotson? Even if the name isn't familiar, almost every WWE fan from the Attitude Era knows who he was. Whenever there was a big angle during the Attitude Era, Dotson was there behind the wrestlers, managing the crowd.
Jim Dotson worked for WWE between 1995 and 2001 as head of protective services.
Dotson played college football for Univ. of Middle Tennessee, During his time in college, Dotson became a fan of pro wrestling although life eventually led him into the world of bodybuilding, even winning the Mr. Tennessee title.
After working security at a Hank Williams Jr. concert, he entered the world of protective services full time. After graduating, he opened his own security firm in Nashville. Around this time, Dotson met a young wrestler trying to make it in the business named Mark Calaway, better known to fans today as The Undertaker.
Dotson and Taker remained friends after Taker went north to join the then-WWF. In the mid-90's, as Vince continued expanding, he realized he needed more security and Undertaker recommended his good friend Dotson from back in Nashville. The rest is history.
Within a year, Dotson rose to director of security for the entire WWF. At this time, Vince was flirting with the idea of transforming the massive Dotson into a wrestler, although Dotson himself was against the idea.
Seeing dollar signs in his director of security, WWF cameras picked up Dotson more often. Whenever the cameras focused on action near the fans, Dotson could be seen in the background doing his job.
Despite Vince's efforts of converting him into a wrestler, segments even showed tension between Dotson and Steve Blackman although nothing came of it, Dotson was more interested in protecting the wrestlers and staying behind the scenes. Although he was just a security guard, fans during the Attitude Era definitely knew Dotson and he was often bombarded for autographs.
Despite being popular with the fans and the boys in the back, Dotson was forced to leave his post in 2001. His appearances had grown more sparse in the preceding months which had been attributed to debilitating migraines. Dotson never recovered from the migraines and was forced to resign.
Dotson's migraines later caused him to be classified as legally blind. He lived in his hometown of Nashville till he passed away in 2015.
During J and J Security's run with Seth Rollins in 2015, their Twitter bio read that they were trained at the Jim Dotson school of security, a tribute to a man as symbolic of the Attitude Era as some of the wrestlers themselves.
Jim Dotson never wanted fame. He was an unsung hero more concerned with protecting wrestlers and their families.
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