Leon White

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Leon Allen White (born May 14, 1957), better known under his ring names Big Van Vader or Vader, was one of the most successful professional wrestlers of the 1990s. He is famous for being one of the few super-heavyweight wrestlers capable of significant aerial maneuvers. He has long been considered a premier monster heel in the pro wrestling world.

Contents

Early years

After failing a tryout with the Los Angeles Rams, Leon White headed for the Midwest, where he joined the American Wrestling Association. He first used the name Baby Bull, which he later changed his name to Bull Power, as White disliked being called a baby. He headed abroad, traveling the world. It was in New Japan Pro Wrestling that he earned his first taste of fame. Given the name Vader by promoter Antonio Inoki (no connection to Darth Vader; "Vader" was a manga character created by Go Nagai, who had also created the Jushin Liger anime), he was introduced as the crown jewel of the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan stable managed (in the storyline) by Takeshi Kitano. After a match in which Riki Choshu had challenged Inoki only to lose, Vader demanded a match with the already worn-out Inoki, and thoroughly destroyed him. This led the audience to cause a riot which banned NJPW from the arena, the Sumo Hall, which was its home arena (the ban was rescinded in 1989). The TPG storyline was scrapped because of this and NJPW and Kitano parted ways, but Vader was kept, as he had made a powerful statement. He would feud with Tatsumi Fujinami and Choshu over the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, winning the title three times. He would also win the European CWA's and the Mexican UWA's World titles, thereby becoming the first wrestler to hold three world titles from three different regions at the same time.

World Championship Wrestling

Vader's first match took place on July 9 1990 at the Great American Bash. Vader faced Tom Zenk and crushed Zenk in under two minutes. This made the fans take notice but Vader did not skyrocket in WCW as he had in Japan.

Around this time, Vader began a feud in with Stan Hansen, the best foreigner in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Hansen was a powerhouse much like Vader and their feud would lead to some of the most violent matches in Vader's career. The most famous episode in Vader's legendary Japanese career would result from the first match the two had together. It took place at the New Japan vs. All Japan Supercard at the Tokyo Dome and Vader received several stiff punches to the face from Hansen. As a result, his right eye came out of its socket, although it did remain under the eyelid. Vader finished the match despite the injury.

The level of violence in his matches with Hansen were taking their toll on Vader and he eventually had to drop the CWA Heavyweight Championship back to Otto Wanz on June 30 1990. Later that year, on August 19, Vader also dropped the IWGP Heavyweight Title back to Riki Choshu. December 9 saw Vader losing the last of his three titles, again to the man whom he had dethroned, as El Canek relieved him of the UWA Heavyweight Championship. Vader also began wearing a new mask around this time.

About two weeks later Vader went to Germany and defeated Rambo in a tournament final to reclaim the vacant CWA Heavyweight Championship (making Vader 3-time CWA Heavyweight Champion). In early 1991, Vader defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to earn himself a third IWGP Heavyweight Title reign.

The IWGP Heavyweight Title reign was short-lived, however, when on March 4 Vader lost the belt to Fujinami. Rambo ended Vader's CWA Heavyweight Championship reign on July 6 1991. Vader would go on to defeat Fujinami for the CWA Intercontinental 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 Vader as he could now have his schedule coordinated far more easily. His difficulty getting acknowledged in WCW was the fact that he had such a busy schedule due to participation in wrestling organizations on four continents.

On March 1 1992, he and Bam Bam Bigelow won the IWGP Tag Team Titles as the team "Big, Bad, and Dangerous" 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 would also signal a decrease in his NJPW time as Vader began to focus almost entirely on WCW, the World Heavyweight Championship and one man in particular.

Sting

Vader was paired with a manager, 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 and Vader was put into a rivalry with Nikita Koloff while Sting recuperated.

Vader didn't seem to be able to defeat Koloff and after some time Sting returned and a rematch was signed. The match took place on July 12, 1992 at The Great American Bash. At the close of the match, Sting missed a Stinger Splash which led to a powerbomb by Vader for the three count. Vader was the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

However, Vader lost the title three weeks later to Ron Simmons. Vader was unable to regain the championship from Simmons in subsequent rematches. Vader would be out of action for the fall as he was getting knee surgery. Frustrated, Vader would return and send Nikita Koloff into retirement and break the back of Joe Thurman in the following weeks. At December's Starrcade, Vader and Sting would lock horns again in the finals of the King of the Cable tournament. Sting won the match but Vader would go on to defeat Ron Simmons two days later by taking advantage of a shoulder injury and regain the World Heavyweight Championship.

With Vader as World Heavyweight Champion, Sting came knocking on the door again. Vader and Sting wrestled each other on many occasions, but the most memorable and brutal encounter was at SuperBrawl III in a Strap Match. Vader won the match but not without injuries; he sustained a lacerated back and a ruptured artery in his ear that required hospitalisation, but Sting was also bleeding.

In late February an announcement was made that Vader had signed an eight-date agreement with the Union of Wrestling Force International (UWFI, shoot fight), where he competed under the guise of Super Vader. His greatest triumph under the UWFI banner was when he won 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 semifinal Vader defeated Kiyoshi Tamura and in the final he defeated Nobuhiko Takada to win the tournament and the UWFI World Title. Takada was able to regain the title on April 20 1995.

On March 11 1993, Vader lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Sting in London, England. However, 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 the British Bulldog, Sting and Dustin Runnels, however, his next big challenge came in the form of a hardcore legend.

Cactus Jack

On April 6 1993 Cactus Jack was able to defeat Vader via count out. However, Cactus suffered a broken nose and needed 27 stitches for wounds on his face. In a rematch on WCW Saturday Night on April 21, Vader powerbombed Cactus onto the concrete floor outside the ring. Cactus was seriously injured and nearly paralyzed. Vader believed he had sent him into retirement.

Cactus returned for October's Halloween Havoc pay-per-view to face Vader in a now-classic Texas Death Match. After Vader performed about a half dozen moves that would permanently injure most men, Cactus Jack continued to stand up. The match ended when Harley Race stunned Cactus with a cattle prod that kept him down for a count of ten.

Vader is best known for his match against Mick Foley (Cactus Jack) in Munich, Germany. During the match Foley lost his right ear (quote: "I can't belive I lost my fucking ear; BANG BANG"). Vader cries when he hurts anyone badly, and even wanted to ride with Mick to the Hospital.

Ric Flair

Vader faced Ric Flair in a Title vs. Career match at Starrcade in December. Ric Flair won and ended 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.

At Clash of the Champions XXIX Vader earned the opportunity to face the United States Champion, Jim Duggan—who'd previously dethroned Steve Austin for the title—at Starrcade 1994, by defeating Dustin Rhodes. If Vader defeated Duggan, being the holder of the U.S. Championship would make Vader the number one contender for Hulk Hogan's World Heavyweight Championship. After defeating Rhodes, Vader began beating him after the bell until Duggan himself came to save Rhodes, hitting Vader in the process. In the Starrcade match, Vader defeated Duggan.

Hulk Hogan

Vader (now alone due to Race having suffered a car accident that put him permanently out of WCW) confronted the new 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 managed to hit the Vader Bomb on Hogan. Ric Flair ran out and made the three count and stomped on Hogan. This resulted in Vader being disqualified.

A rematch was signed, a strap match, for Uncensored. However, once again Flair intervened and managed to cost Vader the match by getting himself carried by Hogan as he touched all four turnbuckle pads. The illogicalness of that can be forgotten as the match-up was non-sanctioned from the start (Although the rules of a strap match say nothing of having to carry your opponent, simply that you have to touch all four turnbuckle pads, so Hogan did in fact win without too much confusion of the issue.)

One month later, at Slamboree, Vader and Flair teamed up against Hogan and Randy Savage. Flair was pinned by Hogan.

After more violent attacks on wrestlers and officials, Vader was stripped of the United States Championship on April 23 1995. The problem was that, without that belt, Vader would no longer be number one contender for Hogan's World Title. Hogan did, however, give Vader another opportunity to win the title at Bash at the Beach in a steel cage match. Vader lost when Hogan escaped the cage.

Flair became frustrated with Vader's inability to defeat Hogan and Vader became frustrated with constant losses due to Flair's continual interference. 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.

Paul Orndorff/Post WCW

During an encounter backstage in which Vader had reportedly showed up late for work, comments from Orndorff ignited a brief fight that had apparently been brewing for some time. Accounts of this notorious real-life altercation generally claim that the upper hand was held by Orndorff, who'd practically "begged Vader to start something" as tensions grew [link]. The two were separated in short time. Afterwards, Vader was soon released from World Championship Wrestling, and used the time off to heal previous injuries.

On January 4, 1996, Vader had his first post-WCW match, facing the man whose four-year winning streak Vader had ended over seven years ago, Antonio Inoki. Inoki was over fifty years old and Vader managed to make a decent match that lasted nearly 14 minutes of Vader pummeling Inoki but Inoki got the win.

World Wrestling Federation

The Royal Rumble

Vader was strongly hyped in the weeks leading up to the 1996 WWF Royal Rumble. He made his first WWF appearance as a participant in the Rumble match. He entered at number 13 and fought with Yokozuna (even though they were both managed by Jim Cornette). Vader did not win the Royal Rumble. He snapped upon being eliminated by Shawn Michaels and re-entered the ring, assaulting everyone including Michaels.

Yokozuna

Vader appeared on Monday Night Raw the night after the Royal Rumble and defeated Savio Vega. He then began to assault WWF officials. Eventually, then-WWF President Gorilla Monsoon came down to the ring, demanded that Vader cease his attacks, and received a Vader Bomb for his efforts. On television, Vader was suspended for his actions; in actuality, however, he was taking time off to have surgery to correct a shoulder injury.

During Vader's leave, Yokozuna left the services of Jim Cornette. Cornette "campaigned" for Vader's return and it worked. At February's WWF In Your House 6, during the Free For All match, Vader appeared and Cornette announced that he would make an impact. He did so during Yokozuna's match against the British Bulldog. Yokozuna was about to pin the Bulldog when Vader attacked Yokozuna. Vader would end up handcuffing him and attacking him viciously.

This led to what was going 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 "The Snake" Roberts. The match came to a close when Vader pinned Jake Roberts.

The next day, Vader defeated Yokozuna by count-out in a one-on-one match when Yokozuna sustained a leg injury. While Yokozuna healed, Vader took on Razor Ramon at the WWF In Your House subtitled "Good Friends, Better Enemies." Vader defeated him. At In Your House "Beware of Dog (Part 2)," Yokozuna returned to face Vader in a rematch. Vader once again got the best of him.

King of the Ring

Vader earned a spot in the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Ahmed Johnson with some help from Owen Hart and Goldust. The Ultimate Warrior and Goldust fought to a draw and, thus, gave Vader a bye into the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, he faced Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Vader dominated the match but Roberts was about to hit him with his finishing move, the DDT. Vader pushed Roberts in an attempt to escape from the move but Roberts hit the referee. The referee declared it intentional and disqualified Vader. He was eliminated from the tournament. Enraged, Vader attacked Roberts, focusing mainly on his ribs.

The same night, Shawn Michaels, the WWF Champion, faced off against the British Bulldog. After Michaels defeated the Bulldog, Vader entered the ring and attacked Michaels.

Shawn Michaels

Vader's attack on Shawn at the King of the Ring did not earn him the title shot he wanted but it did get him into a six-man tag team match at In Your House "International Incident." Vader, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog teamed up again. This time the opponents were Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and Sycho Sid. Vader pinned Shawn Michaels to win the match for his team.

Holding a pin-fall victory over Michaels helped Vader greatly in his quest to get a title match against the champion. He got the match at SummerSlam in August. Vader beat Michaels brutally in the match, eventually getting him counted out. However, Cornette realized that the title could not change hands through a count-out and got the match re-started. This time, Michaels used Cornette's tennis racket and got disqualified. Again, Cornette managed to get the match started over. Finally, Shawn scored a pin-fall over Vader and Vader's title hopes were diminished.

Several backstage sources say that Vader, originally, was booked to win the title from Michaels, but HBK changed his mind at the last minute, and he retained the belt. Allegedly, Vader would have defended (and finally lost) the title in a feud with Sycho Sid, but the plan was cancelled.

Closing Out '96

At In Your House "Buried Alive", Vader was put in a number one contendership match with Sycho Sid. Sid won the match and would go on to defeat Michaels at Survivor Series in November.

Following outside interference by Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vader scored a pinfall victory over Bret "The Hitman" Hart on December 30.

The Undertaker

The Undertaker hit Jim Cornette with his Tombstone Piledriver, leaving Vader with no manager. The Undertaker and Vader were scheduled to face off at the Royal Rumble 1997.

During the Royal Rumble match, the Undertaker's former manager, Paul Bearer, attacked him and helped Vader win. Bearer then became Vader's new manager. Later that night, Vader would be in the Rumble match. The result was unprecedented.

The Final Four

At the Royal Rumble, Vader entered as the 28th participant. He was eliminated by Steve Austin; however, Austin had already been eliminated by Bret Hart. The problem was that no referees saw the elimination and, therefore, it "never happened."

As a direct result of this, Vader and the other men Austin threw out of the ring after being eliminated, Bret Hart and the Undertaker, were put into the first Final Four match in WWF history. The match would be for WWF Heavyweight Championship. Vader, after bleeding profusely, was eliminated by The Undertaker.

European and Tag Team Gold

Vader then entered the tournament for the new European Title, beating Rocky Maivia but losing to the British Bulldog. Because the Bulldog was wrestling on home turf, he was seen as a face and was thus favored by the fans over his stablemate.

Then Paul Bearer got his two clients, Vader and Mankind (formerly Cactus Jack), to go after the Tag Titles, despite the fact that the two men would often brawl between themselves. They failed in their bid to get the tag team titles at WrestleMania XIII. But then during a simple tour of Kuwait, things changed a bit.

Good Morning Kuwait

The WWF toured Kuwait in April 1997. Vader and the Undertaker appeared on a television program. The presenter of Good Morning Kuwait asked Vader if wrestling was fake. Vader responded by grabbing the presenter, Bassam Al Othman, by the tie, using an expletive and then giving him a hard shove, knocking other chairs and a table over in the process. This was Vader's manner of getting the presenter to respect the work the wrestlers do in the ring.

Vader was subsequently arrested and charged with assault and using obscene language. Vader then spent ten days under house arrest. When he returned to the US, a press conference was held in New York, during which Vader said that he would not apologize to Othman. He then accused Othman of extortion. The WWF said that Othman had agreed to drop the charges for $35,000, but then upped it to $400,000.

The situation was used as an angle. After a match on Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross conducted an interview with Vader. Ross asked him a question that he did not like and Vader was ready to attack Ross. Ken Shamrock came to Ross' aid by delivering a belly-to-belly suplex to Vader.

The two faced off at In Your House "A Cold Day in Hell." In one of the rare examples of Vader being arguably manhandled, Vader lost the match after he submitted to Shamrock's Ankle Lock and left the ring with his nose broken in four separated places. He was unable to walk for several days, but eventually evened things with Shamrock by injuring him in a rematch. As he walked away from the ring following this encounter, Vader made light of Shamrock's nickname by asking the camera, "Who's the World's Most Dangerous Man now?"

Vader received an opportunity to face the Undertaker at In Your House "Canadian Stampede!" Undertaker delivered two chokeslams (one of which was from the top rope) and beat Vader with the Tombstone Piledriver.

The Hart Foundation

At 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 into a face. It also served to bring Vader into the USA vs. Canada feud.

Vader and the Patriot teamed up to face off against The British Bulldog and Bret Hart in a Flag Match. However, Bret and the Bulldog won.

At Survivor Series, Vader was the leader of his team, Team USA, against the Hart Foundation, Team Canada. Things did not go properly when Goldust refused to accept a tag from Vader. Enraged, Vader tossed Goldust into the ring. Goldust merely walked out on his team. Vader still tried his best and single-handedly eliminated three out of Team Canada's four members but Team USA still lost the match after the Bulldog hit Vader with the ring bell.

The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

The following night, Vader asked Goldust what he was thinking last night. Goldust claimed he had a broken hand. Vader responded in typical fashion, and powerbombed Goldust. A few weeks later, The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust as he was calling himself now was wheeled out to ringside by a nurse, but it was just a pretext to allow Luna Vachon, the nurse, to toss alcohol in Vader’s eyes. This helped cost Vader the World Title shot he was getting later that night.

Shortly before Christmas, The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust came to the ring dressed as a Christmas tree to recite a poem, but suddenly 'Santa Claus' came to ring and he smacked The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust with his sack. Santa turned out to be Vader.

The two finally faced off at the 1998 Royal Rumble. The match came to a conclusion when Luna jumped on Vader's back and would not let go. Vader then delivered a Vader Bomb with Luna on his back to The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust.

However, that was not the end as The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust eliminated Vader from the actual 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.

Kane

The week after Kane's attack on Vader, Vader attacked Kane with a fire extinguisher when Kane was attempting to inflict further pain and damage on a wrestler.

The two had their first in-ring meeting at No Way Out of Texas. Vader lost and was subsequently attacked by Kane with a large 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 his (Kane's) "half-brother", The Undertaker. Kane was attempting to leave when Vader appeared and fought him back to the ring to continue his match with The Undertaker. Kane would go on to lose the match.

Vader and Kane had a rematch at WWF Over the Edge, this time a Mascara contra Mascara match. Vader attempted to use a wrench just like the one Kane used on him months prior but it was to no avail as Kane still picked up the victory and Vader lost his mask. After the match, Vader said, "I made the biggest mistake of my life. Maybe Vader time is over. I'm a piece of shit... A big fat piece of shit."

Downward Spiral

After this, Vader turned face and had a series of losses to lesser wrestlers. Reports suggest that the WWF was upset with his physical condition. WWF Commentator and then Director of Talent Relations Jim Ross also hinted to his personal hygiene being one of the factors in his fall from grace. This is because Vader was a superstitious person and believed in not washing his ring gear because it would allow him to put on a good match. His WWF contract expired on October 25, 1998 and was not renewed. He lost to Edge on Sunday Night Heat in his final WWE match.

All Japan Pro Wrestling

Vader then went to All Japan Pro Wrestling. He came in and formed a team with, of all people, his old foe Stan Hansen. And Vader seemed to regain that edge he had lost. He mauled the then All Japan Champion Mitsuharu Misawa. He and Hansen made it to the finals of the Real World Tag Title Tournament. At the beginning of 1999, he won the number 1 contendership to the World Title by defeating Kenta Kobashi. He would then go on and win the (vacant) Triple Crown Title, making him the first man to hold both it and the IWGP world title. He would then compete in, and win, the 1999 Champion Carnival, getting wins over such stars as Jinsei Shinzaki, Jun Akiyama, Akira Taue, Takao Omori, Gary Albright, Yoshihiro Takayama and Johnny Ace, but during the tournament he drew with Kenta Kobashi and lost to Misawa. In the finals Vader squared off against Kobashi, and again got the best of him, to win the tournament.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

But after he lost, then regained, then lost the Triple Crown title, he left for some time off. When he returned to action, he joined the new Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he won the Pro Wrestling NOAH GHC Tag Team Championship with 2 Cold Scorpio. In Japan, Vader was the monster he wanted to be. But he wanted to try one last time in North America…

NWA-TNA

On February 19 2003, Vader suddenly appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to defend Dusty Rhodes. Although he was beating someone up, namely the Harris Brothers, his decision to defend Dusty seemed totally random. 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. But TNA and Vader did not agree with each other, and they parted ways.

Dream Stage Ent./Hustle-1

Vader signed a contract with Dream Stage Entertainment, and has thus far competed on a Hustle-1 event.

World Wrestling Entertainment

On August 29 2005 it was announced that Vader had signed a deal with the WWE Legends program.

On October 31, 2005, Vader (Introduced as Big Van Vader by Jerry Lawler) appeared on WWE RAW as a heel to assist Jonathan Coachman as his back-up along with Goldust in his feud with Batista. However, in an embarrassing turn of events, Vader legitimitely stumbled and fell to the floor upon exiting the ring, visibly cursing as he was helped up by Coach and Goldust. Vader also appeared very overweight, and way past his prime.

Vader went on to accompany Coach and Goldust at Taboo Tuesday on November 1 as The Coach went against Batista in a match of the fans' choosing. The choices were a Street Fight, a Verbal Debate or an Arm-Wrestling Contest. Street Fight won by a landslide and Vader's role became that of a hired hand to do nothing more than physically assault Batista sufficiently enough for The Coach to score the pinfall victory. This would not come to pass, however, as both Goldust and Vader became victims of Batista's spinebuster and Batista went on to defeat The Coach. Vader has not made an appearance with the WWE since Taboo Tuesday.

Wrestling facts

Nicknames

"Baby Bull" Leon White
Leon "Bull Power" White
"The Man They Call" Vader
"The Bull Of The Woods"
"The Mastodon"

Finishing moves

Avalanche Chokeslam (Chokeslam to an opponent seated on the top rope)
Vader Bomb (Powerbomb)
Vadersault (Moonsault)
Vader Crush (Japan) / Vader Bomb (USA) (Corner slingshot splash)

Signature moves

Face Eraser (Standing wheelbarrow facebuster)
Vader Attack (Bell clap)
Chokeslam
Big splash
Running avalanche
Short-arm clothesline
Lariat
Falling slam
Bearhug
Spinning backfist
Combination punches to the gut of the opponent
Football tackle

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

Quotes

"It's time, it's time, it's Vader time!"
"No pain!"
"I fear no man and I feel no pain!"
"Who's the man? IT'S TIME! IT'S GOT TO BE TIME!!"
"It's time, it's time for the pain game!"

Championships and accomplishments

World Championship Wrestling

*3-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion

*1-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion

*Winner 1993 WCW Strongest Arm Tournament

All Japan Pro Wrestling

*2-time AJPW Triple Crown World Heavyweight Champion

*1-time AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champion(with Steve Williams)

New Japan Pro Wrestling

*3-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion

*1-time IWGP World Tag Team Champion (with Bam Bam Bigelow)

Pro Wrestling NOAH

*1-time Pro Wrestling NOAH GHC Tag Team Champion with 2 Cold Scorpio

Other championships

*1-time UWFI Heavyweight Champion

*3-time CWA Heavyweight Champion

*1-time IZW Heavyweight Champion

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

*PWI ranked him # 27 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003

*PWI ranked him # 36 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Bam Bam Bigelow.

*Vader won the PWI Wrestler of the Year Award in 1993.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 1996)

*1993 Wrestler of the Year

*1993 Best Heel

*1999 Most Improved Wrestler

Championship Succession

Cameos

Vader 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. Vader was portrayed as being obsessed with kayfabe and constantly remaining in character; his introduction to the series was his arriving at a Parent-Teacher Association meeting fresh-faced and in formal business attire but being unable to restrain his voice from a shout or refrain from threatening other attendees with violence, until teacher George Feeny threatens to reveal his (fictional) real name, "Leslie Stecchino" (his first name is elsewhere in the series given as his real-life name "Leon" or as "Frankie Sr.").

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, in which repeated, more-or-less accurate references were made to Vader and Jake's rivalry and many of Vader's signature moves, including the Vader Bomb; much humor came from the fact that milksop main character Cory Matthews was intimately familiar with Vader's wrestling history while his own son was not.

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.

Vader played one of the bad guys (named "Goliath" for those curious) in the live action version of Fist of the North Star - accredited as "Leon 'Vader' White".

External links

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