10 Must See Vader Matches
Blood, broken bones, big bumps and blistering battles.
Merely calling Big Van Vader one of "wrestling's greatest big men" doesn't seem like enough now he's gone.
Agile beyond belief for his physical mass, Vader defied size to bump around the ring for smaller opponents or produce dazzling athletic displays against other super-heavyweights; it wasn't uncommon to see Vader perform a Moonsault one minute, then no-sell some strikes the next and shout, "no pain". He was one of wrestling's original bad-asses.
A legend in Japan and for his time in both WCW and the WWF, Vader leaves behind a legacy of great matches, memorable moments (for better and worse) and countless broken bones. It's a measure of the man behind the monster that so many current and former WWE stars paid tribute to him online after news of his passing broke.
It's also hard to shake the feeling that his 1996-1998 run in the WWF should have been better. Even so, some matches from that period do make it into any must see collection of Vader's finest performances. Whilst not an exhaustive look at the man's career, the 10 featured here do show why it was always "Vader Time" when he was around...