Big Van Vader

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Big Van Vader
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Baby Bull Bull Power Big Van Vader Super Vader Vader
Billed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1]
Billed weight	456 lb (207 kg)[1]
Born	May 14, 1955 (1955-05-14) (age 54) Lynwood, California
Resides	Boulder, Colorado
Billed from	Denver, Colorado Rocky Mountains
Trained by	Brad Rheingans
Debut	January 1985

Leon Allen White (born May 14, 1955)^[2] better known under his ring names Big Van Vader or Vader, is an American professional wrestler. White is best known for his time with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. As a super-heavyweight wrestler capable of significant aerial maneuvers, he was both a face and a heel in several professional wrestling promotions. He is also notable for his highly offensive and dangerous style of wrestling and the injuries he caused other wrestlers.

Contents 1 Pre-wrestling career 2 Career 2.1 American Wrestling Association (1985-1987) 2.2 New Japan Pro Wrestling (1987-1992) 2.3 World Championship Wrestling (1990-1995) 2.4 Independents (1996) 2.5 World Wrestling Federation (First run, 1996-1998) 2.5.1 1996 2.5.2 1997 2.5.3 1998 2.6 All Japan Pro Wrestling/Pro Wrestling Noah (1998-2002) 2.7 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 2.8 World Wrestling Entertainment (2005) 2.9 Independent circuit and Japan 3 Cameos 4 Personal Life 5 In wrestling 6 Championships and accomplishments 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Pre-wrestling career

White was All-American Offensive Lineman in High School, and decided to take a scholarship to the University of Colorado ^{[disambiguation needed]} (after being recruited by over 40 schools) where he then again earned All-American honors and in the process earned an degree in Business Administration. He was picked by his hometown Los Angeles Rams in the 3rd round of the 1978 NFL Draft. He was placed on injured reserve his rookie season but during his 2nd season he was activated for the postseason and played in Super Bowl XIV against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was cut the following offseason and started a career in real estate, according to White himself, it was around this time he gained much of his trademark size. While he made good money, he missed the thrill of athletic competition. And while working out at a local gym, a man spotted him and remembered White from his College Football days and suggested he look into professional wrestling. White agreed and he was soon introduced to American Wrestling Association owner Verne Gagne.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Career

[edit] American Wrestling Association (1985-1987)

Trained by Brad Rheingans, White got his first national exposure in the American Wrestling Association. He went by the moniker "Baby Bull", which he later changed to "Bull Power". White honed his skills during this time, and while his ring persona was somewhat bland, his ring work improved dramatically. He was even given a title match with Stan Hansen for the AWA World Title. He then headed abroad, traveling the world and developing the hard-hitting style with which he is identified.

[edit] New Japan Pro Wrestling (1987-1992)

Originally signed to Shohei Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. White's contract was "traded" to New Japan. This was done after Antonio Inoki asked his long-time friend Baba for White's contract citing that All Japan already had the top gaijin talent (Jimmy Snuka, Stan Hansen, The Funk Brothers, etc.) for years & New Japan needed a monster heel to compete against the native talent. Baba agreed & his rights were sent to New Japan.

Before starting with New Japan Pro Wrestling, White's name was once again changed from Bull Power to "Big Van Vader", and he began to wear a mask (though not the red or black strap for which he is now famous). He was given the name Big Van Vader by promoter Antonio Inoki. The book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels says his new identity was based on a strong warrior of the same name from Japanese folklore.^[3] He was introduced as the crown jewel of the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan stable managed by Takeshi Kitano. After a match in which Riki Chōshū had challenged Inoki only to lose, Vader demanded a match with the already worn-out Inoki, and Vader was victorious. This led the audience to riot and got NJPW banned from the Sumo Hall, which was its home arena; the ban was rescinded in 1989.

Vader went on to feud with other Japanese legends like Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Chōshū over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. His impressive showings and stiffness quickly gained him the respect of the press and the fans. On April 24, 1989, a one night tournament was held for the title. In the first round of the tournament, Vader defeated a young Masa Chono. Fujinami, the man who had the title when it was held up for the tournament, was defeated by Vader in the semifinals. After a final match against Shinya Hashimoto, Vader was declared the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

On May 25, one month after being crowned champion, Vader lost the title to Russian suplex master Salman Hashimikov. Hashimikov dropped the title to Vader's old rival, Riki Chōshū, on July 12. On August 10, he was given an opportunity at Chōshū and the title. He defeated Chōshū and became a two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Shortly after winning the title again, White traveled to Germany, again using the name "Bull Power", to face Otto Wanz for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship. He won the match and, as a result, held the Heavyweight Championship in two separate organizations at the same time. He continued to travel between Japan and Germany defending his titles.

In November, Vader traveled to Mexico to face El Canek in the Universal Wrestling Association for El Canek's UWA World Heavyweight Championship. Despite his rival putting on a good battle, Vader's superior strength and significant size advantage gave him the win. With the victory, he became the first man in history to hold three heavyweight championships in three separate organizations and continents: Europe (CWA, Germany), Asia (IWGP, Japan), and North America (UWA, Mexico).

In February 1990, Vader faced another notoriously dangerous wrestler, Stan Hansen, at an All Japan versus New Japan supercard show. The two exchanged very hard punches, and one of them caused White's right eye to actually pop out of its socket, although it was contained by the swelling in his eyelid. White took the time to take off his mask and push the eye back in the socket before finishing the match as planned.

His success garnered the attention of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which convinced him to work for them while still the IWGP Champion and an active competitor in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

[edit] World Championship Wrestling (1990-1995)

Vader's first match under the WCW banner took place on July 7, 1990 at The Great American Bash, where he defeated Tom Zenk in a little over two minutes. Around this time, Vader began a feud with Stan Hansen in All Japan Pro Wrestling. About two weeks later, Vader went to Germany and defeated Rambo in a tournament final to reclaim the vacant CWA Heavyweight Championship (making Vader a 3-time CWA Heavyweight Champion).

In early 1991, Vader defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to earn himself a third IWGP Heavyweight Title reign. This IWGP Title reign was short-lived. On March 4, Vader lost the belt back to Fujinami. Rambo ended Vader's CWA Heavyweight Championship reign on July 6, 1991. Vader went on to defeat Fujinami for the CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship but, upon his signing of a WCW contract in 1992, the title was declared vacant. At this point, WCW and NJPW were reaching a tentative working agreement. This benefited White, as he could now have his schedule coordinated far more easily. This helped alleviate his difficulty in gaining notoriety in WCW, as his previously infrequent appearances did not allow the audience to see him very often. On March 1, 1992, he and Bam Bam Bigelow (the team named "Big, Bad, and Dangerous") won the IWGP Tag Team Title from Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh. In May, Vader faced Mutoh, now known as The Great Muta, one on one and received a serious knee injury. This injury was a factor that caused "Big, Bad, and Dangerous" to drop the titles to the Steiner Brothers after almost four months as champions. This also signaled a decrease in his NJPW time, as Vader began to focus almost entirely on WCW and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Vader was paired with a manager, former 7-time NWA World Champion Harley Race, and the duo stalked the WCW Champion, Sting, seeking a title opportunity. Vader finally received one on April 12, 1992, but lost after punching out the referee. Sting cracked a pair of ribs in the match after a Vader splash, though he continued to compete infrequently while recuperating. Vader was placed in a feud with Nikita Koloff shortly afterwards.

Vader received a rematch with Sting on July 12 at The Great American Bash. At the close of the match, Sting missed a Stinger Splash (and hit his head on the ringpost as a result). This led to a powerbomb by Vader for the three count, making Vader the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. His reign was short-lived, as a knee injury caused Vader to drop the title three weeks later to Ron Simmons.^[4] Vader was out of action for the fall as he was getting knee surgery. Upon his return, Vader sent Nikita Koloff into retirement and broke the back of jobber Joe Thurman, causing him to become paralyzed for a few hours, in the following weeks.^[5] At Starrcade 1992, Vader lost to Sting in the finals of the "King of Cable" tournament. However, just two days later, Vader defeated Ron Simmons by taking advantage of a shoulder injury to regain the World Heavyweight Championship.

At SuperBrawl III on February 21, 1993, in a strap match which Vader dubbed the "White Castle of Fear", Vader defeated Sting. During the match, however, White sustained a lacerated back and a ruptured artery in his ear that required hospitalization.

On March 11, 1993, Vader lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Sting in London, England. On March 17, Vader was able to defeat Sting and regain the title in Dublin, Ireland. In subsequent weeks, Vader was able to successfully defend his title against Davey Boy Smith, Sting, and Dustin Rhodes.

In late February 1993, White signed an eight-date agreement with the Union of Wrestling Force International (UWFi), where he competed as Super Vader due to legal issues that arose from the Big Van Vader name. By this time, he was simply known as Vader in the United States and Japan. He went on to work with the company for over a year. His greatest triumph under the UWFi banner was a victory in the Best of the World Tournament, which started April 3 and ended August 18, 1994. Vader first defeated Salman Hashimikov and then defeated Masahito Kakihara in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Vader defeated Kiyoshi Tamura and beat Nobuhiko Takada in the finals to win the tournament and the UWFi World Title. He later left the promotion in a financial dispute.

On April 17, 1993, Cactus Jack was able to defeat Vader via countout in a match on WCW Saturday Night.^[6] Foley suffered a broken nose and needed 27 stitches for wounds on his face.^[6] The match was heavily edited for broadcast, as WCW did not wish to show the severe bleeding.^[6] It is shown in full, however, on the DVD collection "Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses" (in which Foley claims the viewer can literally hear his nose breaking due to a Vader punch). In a rematch on April 23, Vader powerbombed Cactus onto the concrete floor outside the ring.^[7] Foley suffered a concussion and temporary loss of feeling in his left hand and leg.^[7] Vader believed he had sent Cactus into retirement, but Cactus later appeared in a series of skits involving his powerbomb-inflicted amnesia and a search for his past (Foley had actually requested time off for knee surgery and to be with his family).

In the meantime, Vader began to feud with a new arrival to WCW, Davey Boy Smith. They met at Slamboree in May for Vader's WCW title, where Vader lost by disqualification when he hit Smith with a chair, though he retained the title. Vader and Sid Vicious then formed a partnership and called themselves "The Masters of the Powerbomb." They faced off with Smith and his new partner, Sting, at Beach Blast in July. The feud was promoted by a series of often-mocked short movies featuring the four wrestlers on a beach and an evil dwarf blowing up a boat.

Finally, Cactus Jack returned for October's Halloween Havoc pay-per-view to face Vader in a Texas Death Match.^[8] Cactus stood up to a series of devastating moves near the end of the match, though Vader was able to win when Harley Race stunned Cactus with a cattle prod that kept him down for the count of ten. On March 16, 1994, Mick Foley lost his right ear in a match with Vader in Munich, Germany; Foley's head became trapped in the ropes, which were under excessive tension, causing the ear to be torn off.^[9]

Vader had originally been scheduled to face Sid Vicious at Starrcade 1993. The real-life dismissal of Vicious after his stabbing of Arn Anderson in England, however, forced WCW to find a quick replacement. Executive producer Eric Bischoff placed Ric Flair in the match, which was to be held in Flair's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. In the storyline, Vader did not take Flair seriously until he agreed to put his career on the line against Vader's title. The match was dominated by Vader, but Flair capitalized on failed interference by Harley Race and Vader's weakened knees to win the match with a rollup to end Vader's third WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign.

Vader continued to feud with Flair until SuperBrawl IV, where Flair once again defeated Vader, this time in a "Thundercage" match. Vader claimed in a shoot interview in late 1998 that he was originally booked by Dusty Rhodes to regain the belt from Flair and then feud with Hulk Hogan (who was imminently joining the company) over the title, but that three days before the event, Flair took Dusty's head booker job and changed the ending of the match to himself retaining the title, a decision that left Vader bitter with Flair for many years.

Vader then feuded with The Boss, defeating him at Spring Stampede 1994. He also faced Sting at Slamboree for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship. Sting requested the match rather than be awarded the title after an injury to his original opponent, Rick Rude, and was able to defeat Vader.

On August 18, 1994, Vader defeated UWFi World Champion Nobuhiko Takada at a sold out Buddukon Hall to win his first UWFi championship.

At Clash of the Champions XXIX, Vader beat Dustin Rhodes and earned the opportunity to face then-United States Champion Jim Duggan. In the Starrcade 1994 title match, Vader defeated Duggan with the aid of Duggan's 2x4 to win his only United States title.

In January 1995, Vader (now alone due to Race having suffered a car accident that put him permanently out of WCW) confronted the World Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan, and informed him that he could not avoid the monster. The two met at SuperBrawl V with Vader managing to kick out of Hogan's leg drop after a count of one. The referee was knocked out before Vader hit the Vader Bomb on Hogan. Ric Flair ran out, made the three count, and attacked Hogan, resulting in Vader's disqualification. A rematch was signed, a strap match for the inaugural Uncensored pay-per-view. Flair once again intervened (this time in drag) and managed to cost Vader the match by getting himself carried by Hogan as he touched all four turnbuckle pads.

Vader was stripped of the United States Championship on April 23, 1995. However, Vader gained another opportunity to win the World Title from Hogan at Bash at the Beach 1995 in a Steel Cage match. He conspired with Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom to gain a psychological edge before the encounter, which Vader lost when Hogan escaped the cage.

He then resurrected his feud with Flair based on his frustration at Flair's constant interference in his title matches and Flair's annoyance at his inability to defeat Hogan. At Clash of the Champions XXXI, Vader defeated Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a 2 on 1 handicap match. Following the event, Hogan grew interested in Vader and asked for his assistance in his developing feud with the Dungeon of Doom. Vader complied but the situation never developed as a week or so later Vader was fired from WCW due to a locker room brawl involving Paul Orndorff.

[edit] Independents (1996)

At Wrestling World on January 4, Vader had his first post-WCW match since coming to WCW, facing the man whose four-year winning streak Vader had ended over seven years ago, Antonio Inoki. Inoki was over fifty years old at the time, but the match lasted nearly 14 minutes of Vader pummeling Inoki. In the end, Inoki got the win.

[edit] World Wrestling Federation (First run, 1996-1998)

[edit] 1996

In the weeks leading up to the WWF Royal Rumble, Vader's debut was heavily hyped (being billed as "The Man They Call Vader"). He made his first WWF appearance as a participant in the Rumble match. He entered at number 13 and eliminated Jake Roberts, Doug Gilbert, one member of the Swat Team, and Savio Vega. He also fought with his stable-mate Yokozuna. Vader was eliminated by Shawn Michaels before he reentered the ring and started assaulting everyone, including Michaels. Vader defeated Savio Vega on the following Monday Night Raw, before assaulting WWF officials. Eventually, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon demanded that Vader cease his attacks, and received a Vader Splash for his efforts. On television, Vader was suspended for his actions (in reality, he needed time off for shoulder surgery).

Jim Cornette "campaigned" for Vader's reinstatement, and when Vader returned, Yokozuna had left Cornette's management. At February's In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage, Vader appeared during Yokozuna's match against The British Bulldog. Yokozuna was about to pin The Bulldog, when Vader attacked him, handcuffed him, and delivered a severe beating. This led to what was supposed to be a one-on-one encounter between Vader and Yokozuna at WrestleMania XII. However, the match became a six-man tag team match pitting Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog against Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts. The stipulation was that if Yokozuna's team won the match, he would have five minutes alone with Jim Cornette in the ring; this never occurred as Vader's team won the match when Vader pinned Jake Roberts after a Vader Bomb.

Vader earned a spot in the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Ahmed Johnson, with help from Owen Hart. The Ultimate Warrior and Goldust fought to a draw, thus giving Vader a bye into the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, he faced Jake "The Snake" Roberts, where he dominated the match. However, Roberts was about to hit him with his finisher, the DDT, when Vader pushed Roberts into the referee in an attempt to escape from the move. The referee declared it intentional and disqualified Vader, and he was eliminated from the tournament. Enraged, Vader attacked Roberts, focusing mainly on his ribs. Later that night, Vader attacked WWF Champion Shawn Michaels after his match. Vader's attack on Shawn earned him a spot in a six-man tag team match at In Your House 9: International Incident. Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog teamed up against Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, and Sycho Sid. Vader pinned Shawn Michaels to win the match for his team.

Vader faced Michaels again at SummerSlam, where Vader won by count-out. Cornette, however, realized that the title could not change hands through a count-out and got the match restarted. This time, Michaels used Cornette's tennis racket and got disqualified. Again, Cornette managed to get the match started over. Finally, Shawn scored a pinfall over Vader.

[edit] 1997

Vader then faced off with The Undertaker in a singles match at the Royal Rumble. During the match, The Undertaker's former manager, Paul Bearer, attacked him and helped Vader win; Bearer then became Vader's new manager. Both men went on to compete in the actual Royal Rumble match, where Steve Austin was eliminated by Bret Hart. However the referees did not see it as they were attending to Terry Funk and Mankind on the floor, allowing Austin to sneak back into the ring and eliminate both Vader and Undertaker, then Bret Hart who was busy eliminating Diesel, and win the Rumble. As a direct result of this, Vader and the other men Austin eliminated, Bret Hart and The Undertaker, were put into the four-way main event of February's In Your House 13: Final Four for the WWF Championship. Vader, after bleeding profusely, was eliminated by The Undertaker.

Paul Bearer then got his two clients, Vader and Mankind, to go after the Tag Team Titles, despite the fact that the two men often brawled between themselves. They failed in their bid to win the tag team gold at WrestleMania 13.

The WWF toured Kuwait in April. While there, Vader and The Undertaker appeared on the television program Good Morning Kuwait. During the interview, presenter Bassam Al Othman asked Vader if wrestling was fake. Vader responded by grabbing him by the tie, using an expletive, and then giving him a hard shove, knocking over chairs and a table in the process, to demonstrate the reality of the sport. Vader was subsequently arrested and charged with assault and using obscene language. He spent ten days under house arrest. In recent interviews Vader claims this incident cost him his push, as he was booked to win the Intercontinental Championship as soon the tour was finished. On Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross conducted an interview with Vader; when Ross asked him a question that he did not like, Vader was ready to attack Ross, but Ken Shamrock came to Ross' aid by delivering a belly-to-belly suplex to Vader.

The two faced off at In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell. Vader lost the match after he submitted to Shamrock's Ankle Lock and left the ring with his nose broken in four separate places and unable to walk for several days. He injured Shamrock in a rematch, winning by count-out. As he walked away from the ring following the encounter, Vader made light of Shamrock's nickname by asking the camera, "Who's the World's Most Dangerous Man now?"

Vader again received an opportunity to face The Undertaker at In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede (the match was originally booked to be The Undertaker vs. Ahmed Johnson, but Vader was substituted into the match after Johnson was injured prior). The Undertaker delivered two chokeslams (one of which was from the top rope) and beat Vader with the Tombstone Piledriver. On the following night's Raw is War, Vader wrestled The Patriot. The Patriot won the match and then went after Bret Hart, who came to the ringside during the match. Vader attacked The Patriot, and then brought him back into the ring, where he went for the Vader Bomb. Bret came into the ring and laid the Canadian flag over The Patriot. Vader got down, picked up the Canadian flag, broke it, and started a brawl with Bret Hart. This turned Vader face and served to bring Vader into the USA vs. Canada feud.

At Survivor Series, Vader was the leader of Team USA, with Goldust, Marc Mero, and Steve Blackman as they faced Team Canada, composed of The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas, and Phil LaFon. During the match, Goldust refused to accept a tag from Vader, and enraged, Vader tossed Goldust into the ring. Goldust then walked out on his team, and Vader eliminated three of Team Canada's four members. However, Team USA lost the match after The Bulldog pinned Vader after hitting him with the ring bell.

[edit] 1998

Goldust and Vader feuded throughout the fall and finally faced off at the Royal Rumble. The match came to a conclusion when Luna Vachon jumped on Vader's back. Vader then delivered a Vader Bomb with Luna on his back to The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust eliminated Vader from the Royal Rumble match later that night (Vader entered at number 30). During a final encounter between the two on Monday Night Raw, Kane interfered and attacked Vader.

The two had their first in-ring meeting at No Way Out of Texas. Vader lost after a chokeslam and tombstone piledriver by Kane and was subsequently attacked by Kane with a large steel wrench. Vader was taken away on a stretcher and injuries kept him off TV for a while. At Unforgiven, a few months later, Vader returned during Kane's Inferno match against The Undertaker. Kane was attempting to leave when Vader appeared and fought him back to the ring to continue his match with The Undertaker, which Kane lost.

Vader and Kane had a rematch at Over the Edge in a Mask vs. Mask match. Vader attempted to use a wrench on Kane (like the one used on him months prior), but Kane still picked up the victory after a tombstone piledriver and Vader lost his mask (though he frequently had it removed during matches and it never covered his whole face).

Subsequently, Vader had a series of losses. Vader was reduced to the status of a jobber to the stars. His final WWF pay-per-view match was a loss against Bradshaw at Breakdown: In Your House in a No Holds Barred match on September 27. He lost to Edge on Sunday Night Heat in his final televised WWF match of the decade on October 11. His last match in a WWF ring was on October 25 at a Madison Square Garden house show in a Triple Threat Match with Mankind and Ken Shamrock.

[edit] All Japan Pro Wrestling/Pro Wrestling Noah (1998-2002)

After leaving the WWF, Vader went to All Japan Pro Wrestling. He formed a team with his old foe Stan Hansen. He mauled then Triple Crown Champion Mitsuharu Misawa in a non-title match, and he and Hansen made it to the finals of the 1998 Real World Tag League, where they were defeated by Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama. At the beginning of 1999, he won the number 1 contendership to the Triple Crown by defeating Kobashi. He then won the (vacant) Triple Crown Title, making him the first man to hold both it and the IWGP title. He would then compete in, and win, the 1999 Champion's Carnival, getting wins over such stars as Jinsei Shinzaki, Akiyama, Akira Taue, Takao Ōmori, Gary Albright, Yoshihiro Takayama, and Johnny Ace, but during the tournament he drew with Kenta Kobashi and lost to Misawa. Vader squared off against Kobashi in the finals, and again got the best of him to win the tournament.

After Vader lost the Triple Crown to Misawa, regained it, and again lost it to Kobashi, he took some time off. When he returned to action, he joined the new Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, where he won the GHC Tag Team Championship with 2 Cold Scorpio.

[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

On February 19, 2003, Vader appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to defend Dusty Rhodes, who was attacking the Harris Brothers. He won a tag team match the next week against the Harris Brothers, albeit via disqualification. He then had problems with Nikita Koloff, whose career Vader ended long ago. However, TNA and Vader soon parted ways.

[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment (2005)

Vader returned to WWE on the October 31 episode of Raw, where Jonathan Coachman announced that Vader and Goldust would be in his corner for his street fight against Stone Cold Steve Austin the next night at Taboo Tuesday.^[10] When Austin decided not to participate, he was replaced by Batista. Vader and Goldust interfered in the match on Coach’s behalf and received spinebusters for their efforts. Batista pinned Coach with the Batista Bomb to win the match. WWE has not approached Vader for a spot since.

[edit] Independent circuit and Japan

White then returned to Japan, wrestling at a WRESTLELAND show. He would also work in the independent circuit as Big Van Vader, including a tag match against Samoa Joe and Dan Maff in Jersey All Pro Wrestling with Mike Awesome as his tag team partner. On May 12, 2007, Vader faced Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake at Spartan Slamfest, a World Wrestling Coalition charity show for Wyoming Valley West School District. The match was held at the Kingston Armory in Kingston, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Cameos

White appeared in the sitcom Boy Meets World as the father of minor character Frankie "The Enforcer" Stecchino, a high school bully who harbored dreams of becoming a poet but felt pressured to follow in his father's footsteps as a wrestler. White's character, who met the Matthews family in various PTA meetings, was portrayed as being obsessed with kayfabe and constantly remaining in character as Vader.

Vader was spotlighted in one episode (Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred-Pound Men) that featured a grudge match against his nemesis Jake "The Snake" Roberts; much humor came from the fact that milksop main character Cory Matthews was intimately familiar with Vader's wrestling history while Frankie, his own son, was not.

White played "Goliath" in the live action version of Fist of the North Star - accredited as "Leon 'Vader' White".

The Fatal Fury character Raiden, also known as "Big Bear", is based on Vader's appearance in Japan. The character Alexander the Grater from Saturday Night Slam Masters also bears a significant resemblance to Vader. Alexander wears a mask very similar to Vader's elephant mask, and his physical appearance and shape resemble Vader greatly.

Vader is a recurring wrestler in the Fire Pro Wrestling video game series in Japan, known as "Saber," (minus the mask) and is infamous for his ability to knock out or "CRITICAL" his opponents with a number of his more powerful attacks.

[edit] Personal Life

Vader has a son named Jesse White, who as of July 2009 is training to be a wrestler under his father's tutelage in Japan.^[11] He originally signed with Oklahoma and was touted for the NFL, but was taken out with a back injury.^[12]

[edit] In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

• Release powerbomb
• Super chokeslam
• Vader Bomb (Corner slingshot splash)
• Vadersault (Moonsault)
• Bearhug
• Chokeslam
• Face Eraser (Standing wheelbarrow facebuster)
• Falling powerslam
• Forearm club
• German suplex
• Lariat
• Punching combination to the opponent's midsection
• Running corner avalanche
• Running powerslam
• Running splash
• Short-arm clothesline
• Spinning backfist
• Vader Attack (Bell clap)

• Managers

• Paul Bearer
• Jim Cornette
• Ric Flair
• Jimmy Hart
• Harley Race
• Col. Robert Parker

• Nicknames

• "Baby Bull" Leon White
• Leon "Bull Power" White
• "The Mastodon" (Bestowed upon by then-commentator Vince McMahon)
• "The Man They Call Vader"
• "The Mountain Man from Colorado"
• "The Man, Who Is the Man"
• "The Rocky Mountain Monster"

• Theme music

• "Mastodon" by Jim Johnston (WWF/E)

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Steve Williams
  • Champion's Carnival (1999)
• Catch Wrestling Association
  • CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • CWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• Impact Zone Wrestling
  • IZW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bam Bam Bigelow
  • Super Grade Tag League (1991) – with Tatsumi Fujinami
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year (1993)
  • PWI ranked him # 27 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scorpio
• Universal Wrestling Association
  • UWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Union of Wrestling Forces International
  • UWFI Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • WCW World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• World Wrestling Federation
  • Slammy Award for Crime of the Century (1996) Assault on WWF President Gorilla Monsoon
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Best Heel (1993)
  • Best Wrestling Maneuver (1993) Moonsault
  • Most Improved Wrestler (1999)
  • Wrestler of the Year (1993)
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Foley, Mick (2000). Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 768. ISBN 978-0-06-103101-4. 

[edit] External links

• BigVanVader.com (fan site)
• Leon White at the Internet Movie Database

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