How Will You Be Remembered? 3: Big Van Vader

[Chicago1989]

With me being inspired by IDR with his "Success, Bust, or In-Between" threads, I figured why not create a new series myself..

These "How Will You Be Remembered" threads are about looking back at the careers of legendary wrestlers and giving you guys the opportunity to say what will you remember the most about someone, sort of like a testimonial. Was it their contributions to the wrestling business?, The great matches they delivered?, Their legacy in wrestling?....that's all on you. I'll also give a short review of the career of that certain wrestler as well.

In this third edition of HWYBR?, we're gonna cover the behemoth known as Big Van Vader.

Vader started his wrestling career in the AWA in the mid-80's as "Baby Bull" or "Bull Power". He became a big star instantly, facing Stan Hansen for the AWA Heavyweight Championship. He became "Big Van Vader' in NJPW (New Japan) from '87 to '92. He battled legends like Antonio Inoki, Riki Chōshū, and Stan Hansen. He then debuted in WCW as Vader and was managed by Harley Race. He immediately feuded with Sting for the WCW Championship. He also feuded with Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan for the title on numerous occasions. He left WCW and returned to NJPW to face Antonio Inoki. Managed by Jim Cornette, Vader then debuted in the WWF at the 1996 Royal Rumble. He feuded with Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship several times. He also feuded with The Undertaker, Bret Hart, and Kane as well. After quitting the WWF, He went to All Japan Pro Wrestling and formed a team with Stan Hansen. He won the GHC Tag Team Championships with 2 Cold Scorpio in Pro Wrestling Noah. He debuted in TNA for a short amount of time and returned to the WWE in a match against Batista with Goldust. From there, he decided to retire and wrestle occasionally in the indy scene.

So after dominating in wrestling all over the world, what will you remember the most about Big Van Vader?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Big Van Vader is probably the last great Superheavyweight in professional wrestling. I think he was one of these wrestlers that helped to change what it meant to be a Superheavyweight in pro wrestling. When you look back over the history of SHW men in the business such as Haystacks Calhoun, King Kong Bundy, Yokuzuna and most others, you'll see men that were stars because of their rather freakish appearance and/or their weight alone. Most SHW wrestlers are and always have been pretty terrible athletes with hype that far surpasses what they were actually capable of bringing into the ring.

Vader was different, however. Even though he was well over 400 pounds, he was very athletic. Vader is the first 400+ pound man that I ever saw perform a moonsault. If I think about it off the top of my head, he may possibly the first man over 300 pounds I saw perform that move. He was deceptively fast and agile and, as one might expect, he had tremendous strength. I've seen footage of Vader working out in the past, such as doing the clean & jerk with well over 500 pounds, no mean feat as the world record for such a lift is only somewhere around 580 pounds.

Vader was never really great on the mic, but he had a legitimately intimidating presence about him that carried over well. He was a major star in Europe, Japan, Mexico, the United States, etc. he won some of the most coveted titles in wrestling and had feuds with some of the biggest in the history of the business.

 

[Beitter]

Vader to me will always be remembered for his ability in the ring! Vadar like Bam Bam Bigalow, was a super-heavyweight that used moves like moonsaults, and other aerial moves back when there wasn't really any crusierweights using them! Unfortunatly most of Vadars good work was in WCW, he beat Sting bloody for the WCW heavyweight title at the 1992 Great American Bash, then at that years Starrcade he returned the job to Sting in the "king of the Cable"tournament final which alll in all was a classic! The rubber match was at Superbrawl 3 in a leather strap match! Overall it was prob Vaders best feud and had some great matches to boot! After that he had a feud with Cactus Jack, theyhad a match on TBS that was so violent they cut alot of it out to make it on TV! Mick Foley states that Vader actually broke bones in his face in that match! A week later they fought again this time ending with Cactus being vadar-bombed on the concret floor! Those matches and a few things while he was in the WWF!

All in all I think if Koko B. Ware deserves a hall of fame spot, why doesn't Vadar? I mean Vader actually won matches in the WWF!

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Vader will always stick out in my mind as the ONLY Super-Heavyweight I had ever seen do a complete, successful moonsault. That will always be a mark out moment in my mind.

The guy took the fight to Shawn Michaels back in the day as well. I'll remember his test of strength by carrying HBK on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and then dropping him into the ring. Wish there were more guys like him around.

 

[Mr_billy]

Vader was a thing of nightmares, he was just awesome. Big, powerful, and oh so agile, You never had any idea where he would go next, with a stiff style that mad you go "damn, that's got to hurt!"

 

[hogan is the greatest]

i best remember vader when he returned to wwe and fell and busted his ass getting out of the ring that was hilarious. FAT BASTARD. i would of retired after that to.

 

[Zuper-Man]

Vader will be remembered 2 ways: 1. The former world champion and one of the great big men in pro wrestling or 2. As WWF/E Vader. 1 is all he should be remembered as; intimidating presence, great in-ring ability not only for a big man but for any athlete, his notoriously stiff style, and as a former WORLD champ. 2 is what most people outside of smarks and wrestling purists will unfortunately remember him as; the guy who Kane put out of action and was still punked out when he returned, jobbed to Bradshaw when he was a nobody (b4 even APA!), and who went absolutely nowhere during his tenure with WWF/E. As for me, he will always be Big Van Vader, the former world champion. VADER TIME.

 

[hhhfactor]

Vader will always be remembered for his awesome moonsaults for a man of his size as well as classic matches with Ric Flair, Sting, and Mick Foley. It is a shame that he wasn't better utilized in the WWE. He definitely was a talented superstar.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

i best remember vader when he returned to wwe and fell and busted his ass getting out of the ring that was hilarious. FAT BASTARD. i would of retired after that to.

In the immortal words of the Miz: Really?
I'm not even going to dignify your self-embarrassment much less your inability to be coherent. Vader had more talent in his little finger than people like your hero Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior but didn't get the respect in America that he got in Japan (where he ranks with Rikodozan[pardon my spelling there], Stan Hansen, Antonio Inoki, Mitsuharu Misawa, and a few others as a LEGEND!).

I've gone back and made a giant collection of Vader matches from his time in AWA all the way up till about 2002. Vader also had a decent dropkick that he pulled out every once in a great while. He took Sting, a guy who would press slam his opponents, and tossed him around like a ragdoll. He had vicious matches with the likes of Stan "the Lariat" Hansen (almost lost his eye!) and Cactus Jack (indirectly responsible for Foley's ear being ripped apart). He got to WWF and was always right next to the stars, including giving Kane one hell of a match and being in the angle that wrote Yoko off TV for the last time. Then he wound up getting written out after losing on the C-show to an up-and-coming Edge.

He went BACK to Japan and was given a hero's welcome and had a great match in 1999 against Misawa among others. Most in America hadn't heard much of him from his WWF departure till that atrocity in 2005 that "hogan is the greatest" referred to.

I don't know about others, but I'll be remembering Vader as THE wrestler that, along with Bigelow, broke down the stereotypes of "big men" wrestling.

 

[boozinjedi]

I like most here will remember Vader for the fact that a guy that size shouldn't be able to move like that!!

His moonsault was magnificent to watch...unlike Bam Bam Bigelow's version,which looked like a lopsided cartwheel..Vader's was a full 270 degrees along a single axis,i.e....in otherwords it didn't go off to the side.

A definite HOF vote in my book!

 

[El AlcoHALLic]

Sadly I'm going to remember Vader for that time Kane smashed his face with a wrench.

Just kidding although that was a pretty memorable moment.. I really dug vader in WCW. He was a monster in every sense of the word. He was just going through opponents like a hot knife through butter or a fat kid eating cookies. He just overpowered and destroyed everybody.

I'm also going to remember him for his appearence on Baywatch. That episode promoting Bash at the Beach was great!


Who could forget his role on Boy Meets World? That was awesome.

He had a decent run in 1996 where he was this monster heel, but he just kinda faded away in 97 and never really recovered from that. I wouldve liked to see him have a more dominant role in 1997 but it never happened. I guess Vader time was over in 96.

 

[OHHuDIDNTno]

I will remember vader for the Ram Mask when I was a kid... Watching him and sting have it out regularly every week. Vader really earned alt of respect from me when he left the WWE, In WCW he was the ultimate bad guy and he was an unstoppable force and Kinda like goldberg they both came to WWE and it showed that either of them were unstoppable. They both got brought down to the real world... But all in all good post I like this.....

 

[daddyJ_t]

vader was a monster and a helluva athlete. i loved the feud he had with yokozuna and said wtf when he had a mask vs mask match in wwe. i mean coime on man. give me a break. great career and partially misused in the E

 

[Who is Going to Win]

This guy is awesome, he I think is not only one of the greatest superheavyweights in wrestling but one of the greatest wrestlers in the whole world. He, unlike a lot of wrestlers got off his ass and scouted for new opponents through the Japan scene. I think that is a great quality in a wrestler if they want to fight in more then one company. You have guys like John Cena, Triple H and Randy Orton, and a shit load more, need to start fighting the Japanese talent, becuase feuding with Orton and Cena was pretty cool. Now its getting boring as SHIT!!! Vader kept us entertained and I think it was mostly out of his character and amazing moves that somebody twice less his body weight wouldn`t do.

 

[Post]

This is a great thread.

Vader carried WCW in part of the pre-Hogan era. He was an unstoppable force, a true heavyweight, and a monster.

I will remember him mostly, for making everything look real. People have said that at times he was very stiff, reckless, and inflicted real punishment, but I guess that that can sometimes be expected.

My overall memories of Vader are pleasant and positive. I will remember him as a dominant WCW champ and his feuds with Ron Simmons, Sting, Lex Luger, and Hogan. I will remember him for the "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" match. I will remember that he is the man that helped in tearing off Mick Foley's ear (thus giving Mick a great angle in WWE). I will remember his matches around 1996 with Shawn Michaels.

Lastly, I will remember seeing Vader on the TV show, Boy meets World, where he played a softer version of himself. That was just plain funny!

What time is it? VADER TIME! Who's the man? Who's the man?!!!

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

For me, Vader will be remembered wearing his mask and not wearing it..that man was huge...i will remember him for his feud with sting, kane in the wwe...and I will remember his texas death match with cactus jack at Halloween Havoc...he bled a lot...he is still wrestling now..these wrestlers never call it a day do they......i see him a wwe HOF'er...maybe next year..

 

[ncwriter2908]

Vader will always be remembered as Frankie the enforcers father on Boy Meets World..lol He was funny though. Ok honestly Vader was a great big man. He did the moonsault and did it better than Bam Bam. His mic skills were not great but he had a true mean voice which made him terrifying enough for me. His best war was by far against Sting. I was at SuperBrawl 3 when he fought Sting in the strap match it was nasty. I wish Vader would have turned out to be more in WWE. I think he kind of screwd it up when he got in trouble on the korean talk show. Although his match with HBk was top notch but I am not sure if that was VAder because HBK made Hogan look good also. In any event I will remember Vader for his time in WCW.