WWE Hall of Fame 2022: Vader
Growing up as a pro wrestling fan, the wrestlers who always scared me the most are the ones who were hard hitting monsters. At time I started watching pro wrestling, there was no better hard-hitting monster then Big Van Vader. The first matches I remember watching Vader in were in 1993 against Cactus Jack on WCW Saturday Night. As I got older, I began to research more about Vader, and I wasn’t surprised to find out just how great he was in Japan. While In Japan, he captured championships in All Japan, New Japan, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. One of the most feared tag teams that I remember hearing about was Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow. They held the IWGP Tag Team Championships and had a two-year run as a tag team.
Vader showed up in WCW in 1991 and started working full time with the company in 1992. During his time with WCW, he feuded with likes of Cactus Jack, Sting, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on three separate occasions and won the WCW United States Championship. He also won Battle Bowl in 1993, which is a personal favorite mine. Vader departed WCW in September 1995 and returned to Japan briefly. Many people thought Vader disappeared from the States when it came to pro wrestling, but fans would soon find out where is next destination would be.
For weeks leading up the Royal Rumble in 1996, WWE began airing vignettes for “The Man They Call Vader.” He would make his debut for the WWE in the Royal Rumble Match and showed his path of destruction from the start. He feuded with likes of Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Kane. Vader’s run in WWE last a little over two years. He was there at a time when the company was in a major shift and transition, but that didn’t stop him from doing great things and making an impact. When I look back on Vader’s time in WWE, the most memorable moment for me was his confrontation with Gorilla Monsoon the night after his debut in the Royal Rumble. No one had gotten physical with Monsoon in years, but that night he took out the legend and put him on the shelf for several months.
After WWE, he returned to Japan to team with the Stan Hansen and Dr. Death Steve Williams. His full-time career began to wind down around 2003, but would often make appearances in WWE, Impact Wrestling, and various independent promotions. In 2016, he had a Twitter Beef with Will Ospreay, which led to a match between the two at RevPro in the U.K. One of the fun things I enjoyed most about Vader were his appearances on Boy Meets World. His interactions were extremely entertaining and fun. He fit right in with what going with the stories on the show at the time. Sadly, Vader passed away at the age of 63. He is praised and respected for being one of the greatest big men of all time and someone who was a force in the ring. At WrestleMania Weekend, it’s not just Vader Time. It’s Hall of Fame Time for “The Mastodon” Big Van Vader.
