The Life and Career of Big Van Vader
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
- Leon White, better known as Big Van Vader, was a special athlete. He looked like a monster but was capable of delivering graceful high flying moves, and his intimidating presence made him a star wherever he traveled to. He worked stiff, as many of his opponents would find out. With this in mind, old school wrestling fans have a special place for Vader. He was entertaining for sure.
A career than spanned over 30 years saw Vader reach some dizzying highs in NJPW and WCW along with some extreme lows, but when all is said and done, Vader was a success in the wrestling business, even if he didn't ever win the Heavyweight Championship in Vince McMahons WWE.
This mini documentary from Wrestling Bios looks at Vader's introduction and education in wrestling during his time in the AWA, his rivalry with Stan Hansen, his work in NJPW and the infamous Antonio Inoki match, his return to the USA to work for Ted Turner's WCW, his debut at the WWF Royal Rumble 1996, his feud and match with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam 96, and his slow decline in the WWE that resulted in him asking for his release.
As mentioned in the video, here is Vader on the international TV show, causing a scene: • WWF UNDERTAKER AND VAD...
#wwe #documentary #wrestling - Спорт
“Leon White never needed Vince McMahon to turn him into a legend”....well said 🖖👏🖖
Neither did Sting and Ric Flair
A lot of guys are legends in the business. A lot of them Vince didn’t create or own. But most stars that the casual fan knows about, are Vince McMahon creations.
I guess the ultimate reason why Vader ain't in the Hall of Fame is cause he wouldn't kiss Vince's ass like the rest did.
Of course he did! What could this overweight Buffalo achieve on his own!
@@guccianddodul Vader is a Legend
I was honored to meet Leon White a few months before he passed away; he was one of the nicest people I have met in the business. I mentioned to him that I would continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers. A few hours later, I was eating dinner and he was eating three tables next to me. He saw me and motion for me to come over. I sat down with him and we talked about his career and his football days. As we finished I shook his hand and told him it was nice to talk with you. The next day we saw each other, and he had a line of people to meet him and talked with him. The last day at the convention, I went to say by to him, and he shook my hand and gave me a free autograph.
I still have it to this day, and it states "Thanks for listening." Leon " Van Vader" White
After reading your story and seeing Vader's interviews, I get the impression that he was this big ol' teddy bear. It's nice that u had such a touching interaction with him before his passing.
Vader and Bigelow should have already been in the Hall of Fame. It's a shame. They contributed so much to wrestling.
Agreed!
Absolutely. Two of the best big guys to ever compete
I mean where does it end? Just let everyone in.
Vader doesn't need the HoF or WWE. He's a WCW legend. May he rest in peace.
A legend in Japan too.
WWE hof is a joke anyway . Vader is a legend of pro wrestling and had awesome career and great memories
I Agree
@@johnaustin209facts
He is in the HOF
Tv is dead . UA-cam is where it’s at , thank you for the great content 👌
Agreed. All I watch on TV is sports and reruns of old shows.
TVs been dead for years my phone and laptop are my TVs now
@@julezjohn5785 sorry I’m a year late with my reply but I’m exactly the same, Sport and reruns
@@becausegang7266 No prob bro! We all have lives! lol
I can't believe people still pay for cable TV......
That eye popping story is amazing. He sounds like the toughest man ever!
I remember seeing the match years ago. It is quite gruesome.
Time. It's Time. It's Vader time... One of my all-time favorite wrestlers.. 🤘
Bam Bam and Vader were insane athletic big guys
Yes indeed they were both truly a one of a kind special talent and as well very humble individuals also!
Freddie Batista Jr. Yeah bam bam was super humble when he snitched on Matt Osbourne for smoking weed so he’d get fired and Bam Bam wouldn’t have to put him over. Super humble move.
Yokazuna by far bro lol
Yokazuna by far bro lol
*Bam Bam and Vader were insane athletic big guys*
This, pretty much Agreed!
"Shawn should have acted like a professional."
Well now don't start asking for the impossible to happen.
Vader should have got up and whooped his ass and taken the belt without giving shawn a chance
Stiff as hell and even hurt would finish a match. Truly appreciate the heart he put into the business. Great talent as a big man and is dearly missed. He is the only reason I watched WCW as a kid in the early 90's.
Loved Big Van Vader as a kid! When he debuted on WCW programming for the first time with his Awesome, Iconic helmet, I instantly became a Vader fan for life! His matches with Antonio Inoki, Stan Hansen, and Sting were Epic! I'll never forgive the way Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels treated him, which was a damn shame! RIP.
I was working as a cashier in high school at a toy store. Vader's wife came through my line and asked me if I knew who he was. We had a brief conversation about Vader and wrestling.
I got to meet big van Vader two times. He was so down to earth and extremely friendly.
I saw him in Murfreesboro at a house show in '91 against Sting. I remember being afraid of him when he walked down the aisle...he and Cactus Jack.
Heard he was a big teddy bear
That's because the two of you weren't in a wrestling ring lol.
I got to meet Vader very close to his passing he was in rough shape but I waited to see him
Stop lying
One of the best monsters of all time and he was way before his time. He didnt need to win the wwf title to be considered one of the best of all time.
But he should've been
Vader's extravagant head piece, that would shoot smoke out of its trunk was the coolest thing in ring attire. Every bit as iconic as Flair's robe's. I know it don't really have anything to do with wrestling, but it kind of does. Vader's appearances on "Boy Meet's World" are some of favorite episodes, of the series. It showed just how much depth the "Cory" character was actually given, making him a wrestling fan, which helped me to relate to him just that little bit more.
Thanks for all the hard work.
Didnt get due respect in wwe at all. Under rated . Brilliant job mate
Yep Damn shame what Vince did to this man
Yea that sucked.
Wwe needs to pull their heads from down south and put that amazing man in the hall of fame
Out of all of the names out there doing wresting videos, you have fast become my favorite man! Top quality Every. Single. Time!
Big respect to Big Van Vader. Thank you for immortalizing him WB.
I wish he had went into detail about what he wore to the ring. The big demon elephant looking thing that sprayed steam out. It looked badass and it was unique to him. Where did this come from and why did he stop using it later in his career?
Dang!! He was a tough guy, popped his own eye back in and continued the match!!!!WOW!!!
Ikr! I can take a beating but I'd have been freaking like a little girl if my eye popped out 😂
Maybe my favorite big man. As a kid I was legitimately scared when he would come on and truly worried for Sting. That helmet he wore out with the steam was awesome and not used enough. I also think that 91-93 WCW belt should have been his. Sorry for the long post but I’m a huge fan.
That's what happens when a wrestler is booked to have that believability people legit thought Vader was crazy one of the main reasons modern wrestling sucks is there is very few that you watch and believe it's legit and not just a gimmick
I liked sting the most but idk why I liked seeing Vader beat him up 😂😂😂
Big Van Vader was quite possibly the greatest big man in wrestling. Legend. R.I.P
For the last 24 years, starting at age 8, when I first saw Vader wrestle in person, I was affected in a very lasting manner. Since that fateful day, whenever someone asks me, regardless of who, or in what setting, what time it is, I have a Tourette’s like, involuntary response of “IT’S TIME!!! IT’S VADER TIME!!!!”. Needless to say say, it’s cost me several jobs, 7 girlfriends, 2 wives, and led to 3 arrests for assumed drunk/disorderly conduct charges.
Amazing quality content!! You keep outdoing yourself! This has become one of my favourite channels.. I can't wait for you to do Big Sid
Sid's "master and ruler of the world" promos were slightly underrated I think. A hugely entertaining promo guy as well as a power-bomb machine.
@@neilsun2521 Realtalk bro!!
I have video on my channel of what I found out was Vaders last match. I got to see it live and record it and met him for photos/autograph before the show. Very very nice person. He showed up unexpected in another segment of the show too was just so happy to be with his friends Steamboat & Mr. Wonderful. Always been a fan and it's always VADER TIMEEEE!!!! Thank you for this video. Just so happy when more people promote Vader.
Your videos are absolutely phenomenal! Please keep up the amazing job! Thank you for making them! I listen to them on my way to work and on the way home.
RiP Vader Time ! Grew up watching him he was a monster
Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow, Ken Shamrock, Owen Hart and British Bulldog all need to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
Leon White was a football teammate and High School friend of my oldest Brother. This was in Bell, California. When he was with the LA Rams and first started with Bullpower White, I remember my brother mentioning it but I didn’t really believe it until he showed me his old yearbook. Kinda random but I was a few years behind members of Slayer and Cypress Hill at South Gate High, City next door to Bell, California. Cool man.
*Correction;* Big Van Vader regained the WCW World title from Ron Simmons on December 28th of 1992 at a house show. This was prior to WCW trip to Japan where Vader wrestled there as the newly crowned 2-time WCW Champion again in early January of 1993
Leon White will always be remember for being on Boy Meets World. Good job on that show Vader.
I remember as a kid seeing that helmet and scared the bejeezus out of me! Loved it, I was a big kid growing up so I related with him.
Aye. Me too!!!
Same here brother. I was a fat kid who worshiped wrestlers and then I see vader at bash at the beach and I’m like wait a min ..
One of the greatest big man's too ever steps into a ring...his legend will lived on rip....
With no doubt, Vader was one of the best Big Man of all time!
.R.I.P. big man he was a brilliant wrestler WWE seriously unde rated him. Another great video wrestling bios.
Thank you. Vader was amazing and his bouts were legendary.
Big Van Vader was one of the best wrestlers in New Japan pro wrestling and WCW . 3 times WCW world Heavyweight champion. 3 times NJPW World Champion he still a wrestling legend and my book he will be in the WWE Hall of Fame soon
Vader was always one of my favorites and the fact he was never put to good use in the WWE never sat well with me, the end of this video hit me hard.
Vader is an unsung hero when Arn Anderson stabbed Sid Vicious with a pair of scissors and Sid was literally bleeding to death about to die while other wrestlers sat around amused Vader was the only one to step in and plug Sid's wound up with his fingers until paramedics could arrive so not only did Vader save Sid's life but he also saved Arn Anderson from going to prison for murder. He was a real hero in my eyes more so then if he had won a meaningless WC belt.
I loved when he came out in the mammoth armor and shot smoke out of it, that was badass.
Vader had a level of toughness on par with:
Foley getting hung in the ropes and losing an ear (and finished the match),
Sabu taping together his bicep tear (and finished the match),
Foley getting his teeth knocked out, by a falling chair (and finished the match),
HHH tearing both quads (and finished the match),
and even HBK continuing to, wrestle for months, after breaking his back on the casket.
Hell,
Sin Cara ended a match, abruptly, because he broke a finger.
Another one: Animal was dropped on his face by Warlord, shattering his orbital (eye socket). He finished the match, then did the bench press challenge the next day, getting rammed face first into the weights, all before going to the hospital! They had to reconstruct his face by going up through the roof of his mouth and in through the eye socket at the same time. Crazy...
I love listening to Wresling Bios watch all the videos the way the way you talk and how thorough and eloquently spoken you are with the history of wrestling and Congrats to Vader for making the WWE Hall of fame 2022 RIP Big Van Vader WCW legend and he was in WWF in the 1990s keep up the great work 👍🏼👍🏼🔥🔥🔥🤘🏼🤘🏼
Loving your videos , please keep up the amazing work bud
Great video. If I had to rate it, I'd give it an A+. I really enjoyed learning about Big Van Vader. I think he would have made a great WWE champion in 1996/97.
Paul Orndorf knocked him out - glad you covered that! That must have been one hell of a punch!!
Wwe at most times including now don’t know how to use the talent that they have anymore. Vader was a prime example of that. God rest his soul he truly was an amazing wrestler especially at his size.
Vader clocking Ken Shamrock in their IYH match is a moment I'll never forget cause Ken had it coming and Vader is that damn tough
Vader is lucky that he got to go around with Hansen. I think that alone helped build his no nonsense character.
I grow up looking at wcw I miss them guys rest in peace vader and many more Legends
ITS TIME !! ITS TIME !! IIIITS TIME TO CHILL AND WATCH ANOTHER GREAT EPISODE OF WRESTLING BIOS !!!
90's kid right here :) vader was a legend!!
Vader's the reason I watched WCW back in the early 90's
ITS VADAR TIMEtimetime!!!
I loved him! He was somebody I would NOT want to fight!
Let’s see today’s wrestlers have a match with a Broken nose and popped out eye
"b b b but Finn Balor is a legend" - Meltzer / Alvarez etc
I can't even lie man if I was wrestling someone and saw them pop their eyball back in I would put him over asap just to stop
Cena would do it and that's not even me trolling
You kidding me, cramps would take a wrestler out nowadays
JohnACorp782 cena doesn't get the respect he deserves and I must say it took me a long time to appreciate him I do even more so today than I did in the past simply because how badly wwe are missing him he proved meny times he wasn't afraid of a little rough play
Been watching these bios for a while. You got a subscriber in me bro. Appreciate all the videos.
I dunno why, but this story made me more sad than the other "life of" bio's on this channel. Vader was a guy who had it all, but his attitude seemed to keep him from grabbing the highly sought after "brass rings", and getting the proper push in the pinnacle of all wrestling organizations. Here was a guy with the look, the big size that gave him that wow factor, athleticism that you never saw from big men back then with the exception of bigelow. He was skilled on the mic, and everyone knew him everywhere he went. When i first saw him appear in WWF, before the days of the internet and rumors, when wrestlers changing companies was actually a true surprise, I was ecstatic, I couldn't believe it. The fact they had him come in and feud with Yokozuna, the other intimidating big man, was a good move, because win or lose, no matter what, it got him over. Just like with Roddy, and Hennig, Rude, and many others who never won the big one, and grabbed that brass ring, it's sad because they will never have the legacies that Warrior, and Savage had, it's really sad because these men were so damn talented.
Ran into Vader and Dustin Rhodes at a 7/11 after a house show. Both were quite friendly.
The First time I saw Big Van Vader on TV with his mask, he scared the hell outta me as a kid! But as I watched him wrestle and move around the way he did for a guy his size, I became a Vader fan! Thank God New Japan, WCW, and All Japan knew how to use him to his full potential. He was Phenomenal! RIP.
The man was fearsome back in the day.
It’s Time! It’s Time! It’s Vader Time!!! One of the heroes of my childhood. Vader was second to none. I’m a Shawn Michaels fan as well, however his treatment of Leon made me lose some respect for him. Any other issues aside. Thank you for the awesome video.
Man as a wrestling fan I really appreciate these videos they are awesome ty.
Vader is in my top 5 dead or alive. RIP to a legend. *Its Time!*
Everytime i think you can't do a better one..you do one like this..wow keep up the great work..look forward to the next
904 J-ville
Duuuuuude. Another one? Nice. 💪
Surprise!
Do the useless killer bees
If you read Mick Foley's book he makes it very clear he asked Vader to break his nose to make him bleed. He also came up with the idea of Vader power bombing him on the concrete.
Well done!! Vander was so scary to me as child watching!!
Vader is a legend regardless remember him fondly in WcW and his short stint in WWF plus his cameo in Boy Meets World... Great upload..👍👍👍
I totally marked out when he showed up on Boy Meets World!
Shame we never got vader vs lesnar. It could have happened during lesnars debut years and if vader was in good shape back then it would have been a good passing of the torch match
Great job buddy. You're videos are really awesome. Keep up the good work. I enjoy listening to these at the gym.
How the hell do u pump these out everyday. Much respect
Leon White was the best big man of all time! R.I.P. Mr. White.
ITS TIME!!! ITS TIME!!!! ITS WRESTLING BIOS TIME!!!!!!
Vader was a monster and could move so well for a big man. Lol, you can’t train that type of explosiveness. You’re just born with that kind of bone structure, mass, and agility. Most guys at that weight can’t tie their shoes and Vader was doing top rope acrobatics! RIP.
Vader and Bret hart are the two most earliest memories I have of wrestling on a day that my father who was a terrible person to live with took me out of school early and bought me some toys and played with me and let me watch wrestling. That's the only time my father was ever a dad to me. I love that memory.
The only pro who could plausibly be a character on Boy Meets World
I really wanted a little story or history of the Vader headgear, would love to get a hold of one.
Good idea
I remember watching royal rumble 98 and I'm sure he was the last man to enter the rumble. Its still my favourite rumble. I loved the fatal four way in your house, Vader, Bret Hart, Undertaker and Steve Austin. Vader should of got up after shawn michaels shouted at him and took out hbk eye and see would he wrestle after that. Great video 👍
The man...
The myth...
The Legend, they call Vader
It baffles me that Vader or Bam Bam are not in the hall yet. 🤷🏽♂️
I'm shocked
Or never won the major title with Vince.
Probably something to do with Shawn.
Those jokers were not meant to be!
Vader deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame and GOD bless his soul!!!
These videos are ace. Keep em coming!
I recommend his UWFI matches mainly vs Takada. Basically worked MMA fights. Good stuff.
I remember how impressed I was as a kid seeing Vader in wcw. He was their Andre to me. I was very excited when he showed up in WWE.
One of my favorite wrestlers to watch growing up
Just great content brother. I've been enjoying every minute lately
Vader is FINALLY getting into the WWE Hall Of Fame 2022!
Nice job on this bio, bro; and a nice reminder for guys like Shinsuke Nakamura whom Vince has just trashed that we fans know the legacy and the talent and frankly do not buy into much the WWE is pushing as top tier talent.
saw William Regal in this one in one of the pics next to Vader, maybe do a vid on Regal soon? Keep it up!
It's time it's vader time u are a legend I love vader so sad he passed away he was a beast
Vader was the beast
Great wrestler, we respected, destined for greatness. Uh oh here comes Shawn. How many times have we heard this story.
Vader won the U.S. title from Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Yeah, Austin took it off Rhodes, traded it with Steamboat, and then for no reason got squashed by Duggan. Then Vader took it, good catch.
@@stevenfellsilentuponpredic1583 Ricky steamboat end up getting injured when he worked with Austin... He vacate the title
@@joshuathomas390 hmmm ok, i tried, before my time lol
@@stevenfellsilentuponpredic1583 you was on point with it tho
@@joshuathomas390 right on
So many pros and cons with this guy, if only he had been able to stop working long enough for DDP to help him...who knows, but it would have been worth the effort!
Whoever developed Vader's character was pretty genius in my book- they recognised the Geigeresqueness of an amorphous blob and DAMN made him into art!
Thank you very much I really enjoyed this video. As a school kid/young man watching WCW BIG VAN VADER v's THE BRITISH BULLDOG and STING were matches that made my heart pound, he should of never joined wwf sorry I mean wwe and they don't deserve him in the hall of fame.
Love the videos - Great way to spend some time with a coffee before work, keep it up!
Great wrestler, great memories.
I've been watching your videos for a couple days now and really enjoy them. Seeing a lot of my favorites from when I first started watching wrestling.
I've said this before on one of Vader's shoot interviews or w/e. I think Vader didn't get over in the WWE because nobody in the WWE wanted to work with him because he kept hurting everyone. I mean it's well documented what a stiff worker he was. I guess alot of WWF stars at the time didn't wanna go home banged and bruised up every night. I also heard Bret say that Vadar was "high maintenance", or well Cornette said that but still, ....combine all of this and this is why he didn't get over or well his opponents didn't want to get him over.
He claims "they didn't let Vadar be Vadar" maybe but should that really mean that he had to hurt people every night. Juxtapose his run with Taker who was pretty much always booked super strong and like he was unstoppable, but yet he didn't hurt anyone, at least not to my knowledge. ........
Bret said he hated working with Vader because he wound up being hurt every match. Personally, I wish he would've knocked Shawn's head off after SummerSlam.
@@patrickdoran180, I don't remember Bret saying it but I wouldn't be surprised, he said something like that about Berg recently, sadly Bret is still bitter about alot of things from his pro wrestling career. As far as Vader knocking Shawn's head off, doubtful, you're underestimating how much clout HBK had back in 1996, if Vader or anyone for that matter would have so much as touched Shawn, they would have been fired on the spot as Shawn had Vince's ear at the time since he was the Champion.
Leon (Vader) was a stiff worker from what I hear but that wasn't going to work in the WWF and I heard that nobody wanted to work with him as I said already. I'd say Leon should have learned from Bret who was the "excellence of execution", he made his matches look realistic but didn't hurt anyone, and that was the entire point but some guys don't get it I guess.
You should definitely do a dusty Rhodes video. He deserves it forsure, especially with all that's going on with aew
RIP Vader 🙏.