#91: Vader

Real Name: Leon Allen White

Other Aliases: Big Van Vader

Biggest Fans: Joe Reardon & Joe Timmins

"The Man They Call Vader" is one of the most fearsome superstars in recent memory, just ask Bassam Al Otham the Good Morning Kuwait interviewer who Vader assaulted after he asked if wrestling was fake (it isn't). That altercation cost the "big, stinky Kodiak bear" (Jim Ross's words, not mine) $164 in fines. But it taught the rest of the world that this 450-pounder was not a man to be trifled with.

Leon White was originally intending to embark on a football career. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1978 as a center. Unfortunately, he would never end up making a snap in the NFL due to a knee injury. But in a story that isn't particularly unique amongst professional wrestlers, this failed football star was spotted at a gym and convinced to begin a career in sports entertainment. This career really took shape in Japan, where White would develop his new identity as Big Van Vader, taking the name from a warrior in Japanese Folklore. In New Japan Pro Wrestling, Vader would go on to become a 3-time Heavyweight Champion over the five year period he spent abroad. He also captured their tag team titles with his partner Bam Bam Bigelow.

Vader had actually been signed to a contract with World Championship Wrestling since 1990, but had mostly stayed wrestling with New Japan for the first couple years of that contract. In 1992, though, WCW thrust him into a feud with Sting for the World Heavyweight Championship. He eventually got the best of Sting, winning the belt, but could only hold onto it briefly, losing it to Ron Simmons and then undergoing knee surgery. Vader wasn't through, though, as he'd claim the title on two other occasions. Vader was a major force in WCW through 1995, striking legitimate fear in the hearts of his opponents with his track record of inflicting devastating injuries on his opponents: he broke Sting's ribs, Mick Foley's nose, and the back of a no-name jobber (who was paralyzed for hours). When you got into the ring with Vader, your odds of going out on a stretcher were very high.

In 1996, Vader joined the WWF, although he was already a major superstar, at the Royal Rumble where he eliminated four of the participants in the Rumble. Vader immediately feuded with all of the WWF's biggest names: Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and more. Unfortunately, the WWF didn't use Vader as effectively as other promotions had, and the only thing he ever won was a Slammy Award for his attack on Gorilla Monsoon. The remainder of his career would be split between wrestling in Japan, making brief appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and making brief appearances in the WWE.

Vader also made many memorable guest appearances on Boy Meets World in the mid-1990s, playing a character based on his own wrestling persona. Leon White is currently a high school football coach, terrifying teenagers on football teams across Colorado.