When people discuss the best professional wrestler of all time, the argument is usually a combination of Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock or any combination of the six with a few other names sprinkled in for good measure. However, the conversation regarding the best big man ever usually circles around the orbit of The Mastodon, Big Van Vader.
Vader — AKA Leon White — was a tremendous star in New Japan and later WCW. He had classic matches against the likes of Stan Hansen, Flair, Cactus Jack, Sting, and even Hogan. But by the time Vince McMahon and the WWE got their hands on him, for a litany of reasons he was never used to the full potential he could have been. For a similar litany of reasons, the best big man of all time is also the most wasted big man in WWE history.
Vader Had A Big WWE Debut
The Man They Call Vader made his grand debut, sans incredible smoking head piece (which one would’ve thought the WWE would have loved to get their hands on for merchandising purposes) at the 1996 Royal Rumble. He mauled several men before being eliminated by the eventual winner, and Vader’s eventual SummerSlam opponent, Shawn Michaels. Following his elimination, he cleared the ring and assaulted everyone. One night later on Raw after decimating Savio Vega, President Gorilla Monsoon tried to get Vader to stop before getting physical with the Mastodon. In response, Vader laid out the beloved Monsoon; something that was never done before since Gorilla became a commentator and authority figure. He was indefinitely suspended for his heinous actions; in reality he needed time off for shoulder surgery.
His SummerSlam Match Against Shawn Michaels Hurt His Push
Shortly before WrestleMania XII, Vader returned and destroyed the now babyface Yokozuna in the process, setting up their showdown as part of a six-man tag team match. Shortly after, he was part of another six-man, at In Your House: International Incident, and had pinned WWE champion, HBK in the process.
This was supposed to be the beginning of a big feud with Michaels over the WWE title. When the big match happened, for some reason, whatever Vader was trying to do with HBK wasn’t working and a visibly annoyed Michaels screamed at the big man during the match. Even more perplexing was that Vince McMahon allowed Michaels to do it without any sort of reprimand. The program was cancelled and Vader’s spot was given to Sycho Sid.
Vader's WWE Career Could Have Been Great
As it had been stated over the years, clearly Big Van Vader was groomed to become WWE champion, at least between Survivor Series and the 1997 Royal Rumble. There have been all sorts of stories that have circulated over time as to why that all changed — everything from Shawn Michaels' poor attitude and temper tantrum, to Vader’s stinky ring gear and stiff work rate. In early 1997, the big man was able to have a strong showing at the Rumble as one of the final four, and later he once again had his working boots on during the In Your House Final Four event. But between the aforementioned reasons and not losing the weight he was expected to, Vader never got back to the heights that he was at ruling WCW as its monster heel champion. Most likely, he had next to zero support from the front office, since during one his final appearances after losing his mask to Kane (you know, the mask he practically ripped off every single match.), Vader declared himself a fat piece of excrement, only he used the four letter synonym. It also probably didn’t do him any favors to accost a Kuwaiti talk show host and embarrass himself, the company, and in some ways the USA in the process.
Despite the weight, the situation in Kuwait, Michaels, smelly gear, and who knows what other issues that plagued Vader’s run in WWE, if The Chairman doesn’t want to make you the monster fans think you are, then you’re not going to be the kind of monster fans know that you could be. The once mighty Vader was no more.
Even more perplexing is the late great’s surprising omission from a worthy Hall Of Fame induction. One of his last WWE appearances was inducting former rival Stan Hansen into the hallowed halls; many fans thought that The Mastodon was sure to be next. But alas, not only had he passed away two years after inducting Hansen, he never got his just due — “his flowers” — in the parlance of our times. The big man deserves his ring, dead or alive. So just like Mick Foley once tried to do — #VaderForWWEHallOfFame.