I have been a die hard WWE fan for 23 years. Throughout the 90s I was a casual WCW viewer. During the WCW shows I would see some guys who I really wanted to see in the WWF. Of course there was Sting. I thought Stunning Steve Austin would make a great IC champ in the same league as Mr. Perfect (who knew how big he would become?) I thought Harlem Heat would make a nice addition to a weakening tag division. There was one man I wanted to see come to the WWF more than anyone else. That man was Big Van Vader.
Vader caught my attention and captured my imagination more than anyone in WCW. He was such a dominate force and he stood out from everyone else. I was just hoping for the day he would come to the WWF. I pictured him having an epic feud with the Undertaker and them squaring off at WrestleMania X. I imagined what matches between him and Bret Hart would be like. He seemed like a natural fit for WWF. The months and years passed, but no Vader. I knew it would happen someday. On New Years Eve 1995 I was ecstatic to see a Vader vignette on Wrestling Challenge. Vader was coming and would debut in the Royal Rumble! Finally!
I was pumped up for that Rumble. I couldnt wait to see Vader. He came in and made a pretty good impact. Nothing spectacular, but solid. He and Yokozuna were eliminated at the same time and the two exchanged blows on the floor. Obviously Vader had his first WrestleMania opponent lined up. The match was announced, but was changed to a six man tag. This was done either to get more guys on the card or because the WWF didnt think Vader and Yoko could deliver in a singles match at mania. Im leaning toward the former, but I still would have liked to seen Vader in a singles match for his mania debut. Vader would go on to beat Yoko and Razor in ppv matches throughout the spring, but wasnt quite wreaking the havoc I imagined. King of the Ring was forgettable, but Vader was going to get a title match against Shawn Michaels and main event SummerSlam. Now were talking. The SummerSlam match was good, but the ending was kind of a mess. Unfortunately Vader would loose a #1 contenders match to Sid and fall out of the title picture as quickly as he entered it. In early 1997 I finally got the feud with Taker. Too bad Superstars was recently pulled off network television. I didnt have cable yet and was having a hard time following wrestling throughout the first half of 1997. The feud wasnt anywhere near as epic as I hoped it would be. Despite beating Taker at the Rumble and putting on a decent performance at the Final Four ppv Vader found himself in another tag match at mania. It was for the title this time, but didnt really have a big storyline. Vader time was already running out. He jobbed to Ken Shamrock in Shamrocks debut. I know Shamrock was getting an immediate push, but I dont think someone the caliber of Vader should job to a guy in his first match. After that Vader got in some trouble in Kuwait and wasnt seen much throughout the summer. Vader turned face in the fall and that was pretty much the end of my hopes of Vader being a force in the WWF. After a lackluster feud with Goldust Vader jobbed to Kane and missed out on mania all together. After losing to Kane again Vader actually called himself a big piece of shit and said Vader time was over. I actually thought this might light a fire under Vader again. I pictured him winning King of the Ring and challenging Austin for the title as SummerSlam. Turns out I was only dreaming and Vader time was over. He would leave the WWF by October.
So Vader was with the company for about two and a half years. He got one title match on ppv. He never held any titles. He never had a big mania match and never got that feud with Bret Hart I wanted. After having so much success internationally and with WCW Vader was pretty much a bust with the WWF. My question is why. Why did Vince and company drop the ball with Vader? Did they feel he was past his prime? Did Vince just not want to push Vader because he achieved his fame elsewhere? I never understood that. Talent is talent. Regardless of where he was before Vader ended up with Vince. Why not use him? Maybe my hopes were too high and my expectations were unrealistic. I dont think so. I feel if Vader had been given more attention he could have had a memorable run with the WWF.
Sorry I went on for so long. Once I get going its hard to stop. So what do you think? Any other Vader marks out there? Anyone else think the WWF failed with Vader? Im looking forward to read more opinions.
Vader caught my attention and captured my imagination more than anyone in WCW. He was such a dominate force and he stood out from everyone else. I was just hoping for the day he would come to the WWF. I pictured him having an epic feud with the Undertaker and them squaring off at WrestleMania X. I imagined what matches between him and Bret Hart would be like. He seemed like a natural fit for WWF. The months and years passed, but no Vader. I knew it would happen someday. On New Years Eve 1995 I was ecstatic to see a Vader vignette on Wrestling Challenge. Vader was coming and would debut in the Royal Rumble! Finally!
I was pumped up for that Rumble. I couldnt wait to see Vader. He came in and made a pretty good impact. Nothing spectacular, but solid. He and Yokozuna were eliminated at the same time and the two exchanged blows on the floor. Obviously Vader had his first WrestleMania opponent lined up. The match was announced, but was changed to a six man tag. This was done either to get more guys on the card or because the WWF didnt think Vader and Yoko could deliver in a singles match at mania. Im leaning toward the former, but I still would have liked to seen Vader in a singles match for his mania debut. Vader would go on to beat Yoko and Razor in ppv matches throughout the spring, but wasnt quite wreaking the havoc I imagined. King of the Ring was forgettable, but Vader was going to get a title match against Shawn Michaels and main event SummerSlam. Now were talking. The SummerSlam match was good, but the ending was kind of a mess. Unfortunately Vader would loose a #1 contenders match to Sid and fall out of the title picture as quickly as he entered it. In early 1997 I finally got the feud with Taker. Too bad Superstars was recently pulled off network television. I didnt have cable yet and was having a hard time following wrestling throughout the first half of 1997. The feud wasnt anywhere near as epic as I hoped it would be. Despite beating Taker at the Rumble and putting on a decent performance at the Final Four ppv Vader found himself in another tag match at mania. It was for the title this time, but didnt really have a big storyline. Vader time was already running out. He jobbed to Ken Shamrock in Shamrocks debut. I know Shamrock was getting an immediate push, but I dont think someone the caliber of Vader should job to a guy in his first match. After that Vader got in some trouble in Kuwait and wasnt seen much throughout the summer. Vader turned face in the fall and that was pretty much the end of my hopes of Vader being a force in the WWF. After a lackluster feud with Goldust Vader jobbed to Kane and missed out on mania all together. After losing to Kane again Vader actually called himself a big piece of shit and said Vader time was over. I actually thought this might light a fire under Vader again. I pictured him winning King of the Ring and challenging Austin for the title as SummerSlam. Turns out I was only dreaming and Vader time was over. He would leave the WWF by October.
So Vader was with the company for about two and a half years. He got one title match on ppv. He never held any titles. He never had a big mania match and never got that feud with Bret Hart I wanted. After having so much success internationally and with WCW Vader was pretty much a bust with the WWF. My question is why. Why did Vince and company drop the ball with Vader? Did they feel he was past his prime? Did Vince just not want to push Vader because he achieved his fame elsewhere? I never understood that. Talent is talent. Regardless of where he was before Vader ended up with Vince. Why not use him? Maybe my hopes were too high and my expectations were unrealistic. I dont think so. I feel if Vader had been given more attention he could have had a memorable run with the WWF.
Sorry I went on for so long. Once I get going its hard to stop. So what do you think? Any other Vader marks out there? Anyone else think the WWF failed with Vader? Im looking forward to read more opinions.