Leon White

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Leon Allen White United StatesUnited States
Leon White as Vader, 1996

Leon White as Vader, 1996
Data
Ring name Bull Power
Baby Bull
Big Van Vader
Vader
height 190 cm
Fighting weight 170 kg
birth Lynwood May 14, 1955
USA CaliforniaCalifornia
death June 18, 2018
Denver USA ColoradoColorado
Announced from Boulder , Colorado
Trained by Brad Rheingans
debut January 1985
Leon White
Position (s):
Center 		Jersey number (s):
75
born on May 14, 1955 in Lynwood , California
died on June 18, 2018 in Denver , Colorado
Career information
Active : 1978 - 1979
NFL Draft : 1978 / Round: 3 / Pick: 80
College : Colorado
Teams
Career statistics
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards

Leon Allen White (born May 14, 1955 in Lynwood , California - June 18, 2018 in Denver , Colorado ) was an American wrestler . In the 1990s White was one of the most successful wrestlers and was best known by his ring names Big Van Vader and Vader . He was considered one of the few super heavyweights who, despite their enormous weight, mastered acrobatic fighting maneuvers.

Career

Sporty background

Before Leon White appeared as a wrestler, he had trained as a boxer in his school . He also played on the school's football team and was one of the few who could be used in both attack and defense. After graduating from high school, he was an American football professional. He played from 1978 and 1979 with the Los Angeles Rams .

Wrestling career

White began his wrestling career with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in January 1985 under the name Baby Bull , which was quickly changed to Bull Power . In his wrestling career, White repeatedly emphasized his background as a boxer: His powerful and almost seamless punching attacks were feared by his opponents.

At the beginning of his career he often performed abroad. In 1986 White worked for Otto Wanz and his Catch Wrestling Association (CWA), whose Heavyweight Championship he held from March to July 1987. Because of his performance, he was offered a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling in late 1987 , which he accepted.

Commitment in Japan

Before White started at New Japan Pro Wrestling , promoter Antonio Inoki gave him his new ring name Big Van Vader , which is derived from a manga character . In this role, White wore a mask for the first time, a characteristic that he retained from then on. Vader was introduced as a heel and fulfilled that role well. On one occasion he brought the audience up in such a way that the wrestling promotion was banned from the event hall by the operator.

After gaining some respect from fans and the press, Vader was sent to a tournament for the IWGP Heavyweight Title on April 24, 1989, which was played in a single wrestling event. Vader consecutively defeated Masa Chono , previous title holder Tatsumi Fujinami and Shinya Hashimoto, and received the title. He lost it after a month to Salman Hashimikov , a wrestling Russian. After Hashimikov had lost the title to Vader's permanent opponent Riki Choshu , Vader won it back from Chosu on August 10, 1989. After the match, White traveled back to Germany to win a CWA title match against Otto Wanz. His success abroad also made White interesting for American wrestling promotions. The Promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) also took him under contract.

World Championship Wrestling

1990-1992

White in his usual role as masked heel “Big Van Vader” made his debut at WCW in 1990, but was also still under contract in Japan and Germany. He won the heavyweight title of his German and Japanese employers a third time and also a heavyweight title in Mexico, but then at least stopped the appearances for Otto Wanz, while his American and Japanese employers agreed on a cooperation, which among other things White made it easier to reconcile his contractual obligations on two continents. In 1992, White suffered a knee injury in a tag team match in Japan that forced him to take a break. After this had healed, he concentrated on his work at WCW.

1992-1993

Vader received a title match for the WCW Heavyweight Title against Sting on April 12, 1992 , which he won after he accidentally broke his opponent's ribs. He did not receive the title because he had knocked the referee unconscious as planned by the doctorate. In a rematch a few months later, Vader received the title after Bordon, who appeared again as "Sting", was injured again. Vader had to give up the title after three weeks, however, because he had injured his knee again and had to undergo surgery. After his return, the WCW used Vader's reputation as a wrestler who actually injured his opponents in the context of several storylines . Vader was still one of the top stars of the WCW, so that he received the WCW Heavyweight Champion title several times.

1993-1994

A feud between White aka Vader and Mick Foley aka Cactus Jack led to several notable arguments that affected the entire wrestling business. On April 6, 1993, Foley defeated Leon White by counting out. This match (and the rematch that followed) was one of the most brutal the WCW had staged: In the first, it was agreed between the two that White Foley should cause swelling under one eye , but he fractured Foley's nose and injured him numerous times which had to be sewn with 27 stitches. Bloodshed was forbidden in what was then the WCW and so the match had to be cut considerably for broadcast; nevertheless, it paved the way for more brutal types of matches such as streetfight or ultimate matches. In the rematch on April 21, 1993 White cleared the rubber mat outside the ring and Foley had to put up with a power bomb on the cement floor of the hall. But Foley suffered a serious neck injury that threatened him with permanent paralysis. Foley recovered from the injury and continued the feud with White until an auricle was partially torn off due to an accident during a match with White on a tour of Germany of the WCW in Munich in 1994.

The promotion then placed Vader in a lengthy feud with Ric Flair , who won the WCW Heavyweight title from Vader in 1993. Vader meanwhile received the inferior WCW International World Heavyweight title, which he was allowed to keep for several months. The promotion had Vader then deny two title matches against Hulk Hogan , which did not lead to title changes. A storyline that was supposed to lead Vader to Hogan's side was discarded. White was fired for attacking wrestler Paul Orndorff in the locker room .

World Wrestling Federation

White quickly found a new employer in WCW's main competitor, the World Wrestling Federation . He made his debut in his usual role as "Vader", announced by several short recordings in other programs, in the Royal Rumble in 1996. The storyline stipulated that he should blindly attack opponents and officials, disqualified and given him leave as a punishment, in fact White had the A break needed to be operated on for a shoulder injury.

The promotion finally prepared a title match between Vader and Shawn Michaels . This match on August 18, 1996 at SummerSlam 1996 did not end, as intended by the storyline, with Michael losing the title. Vader initially won by counting out , but this could not change the title. After a restart, Michaels provoked a disqualification, which also prevented him from losing the title. A second restart followed, after which Michael defeated Vader with a grab hold.

Vader then had several feuds in the WWF with Undertaker , Goldust , Mankind and Kane . White's career was interrupted by a brief stint in a Kuwaiti prison in April 1997 after his interviewer asked him if there was a wrestling show in an interview for Kuwaiti television. White pushed the interviewer through the scenes to demonstrate the show, which earned him a charge of assault. This incident, as well as several injuries, resulted in White's expiring contract not being renewed in 1998.

Occasional appearances (1998-2018)

White continued his career for some time in Japan, where he won other wrestling titles. In 2003 he appeared for a short time on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , in 2005 again on World Wrestling Entertainment, where he stumbled in a show in front of an audience and fell so badly that colleagues had to help him up. White was still active for smaller promotions; for a long time he was featured in the current roster of IWA East-Coast Wrestling .

On June 11, 2012, White returned to the WWE for two appearances. He first played a match against Heath Slater at RAW, a few weeks later he appeared again at the RAW anniversary show with other legend wrestlers.

In December 2012 he made three appearances for All Japan Pro Wrestling on their anniversary tour. In 2013 he made sporadic appearances for smaller leagues.

Health problems and death

White was diagnosed with heart failure in 2016 and given an additional life expectancy of about 2 years. However, White continued to work as a wrestler and pushed his health problems down. In May 2018, he had an operation and developed pneumonia . White died on June 18 of that year as a result of his illness.

successes

title

  • Union of Wrestling Force International
  • 1 × UWFI Heavyweight Champion
  • 3 × CWA Heavyweight Champion

Awards

  • 1993 WCW Strongest Arm Tournament winner
  • 2002: # 54
  • 2001: # 48
  • 2000: # 11
  • 1999: # 18
  • 1998: # 65
  • 1997: # 46
  • 1996: # 14
  • 1995: # 7
  • 1994: # 4
  • 1993: # 2
  • 1992: # 15
  • 1991: # 33

Web links

Commons : Leon Allen White  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Player profile Leon White with the Colorado Buffaloes
  2. ^ Profile on cagematch.net
  3. ↑ familytreelegends.com: Leon Allen White
  4. ↑ Christian Bruhns: Wrestling legend Big Van Vader passed away. Announcement on power-wrestling.de, June 20, 2018. Accessed June 20, 2018
  5. ↑ Match history on cagematch.de
personal data
SURNAME White, Leon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES White, Leon Allen (full name); Big Van Vader; Vader
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Lynwood , California
DATE OF DEATH June 18, 2018