6 Ups & 4 Downs From Vader's Legendary Wrestling Career
1. Kuwait Just A Second There, Pal
A brilliant and yet unsettling kayfabe protectorate several years after the mask had already formally slipped, known locker room nice guy Vader turned his gimmick up to 11 when he felt the integrity of his industry challenged by an unsuspecting 'Good Morning Kuwait' presenter during the company's tour of the country in 1997.
After being fed a relatively typical question about the legitimacy of pro wrestling (with the dreaded other 'f' word uttered by the host in the line of question), Vader snapped as if the interviewer Bassam Al Othman was Sting himself. "Does that f*cking feel fake" yelled Vader, tipping over the table to reach out and grab the terrified host by the throat.
The response followed a diplomatic answer from then-WWE Champion The Undertaker, but Vader wanted the time for his own violent response. It was a costly error. The incident resulted in 'The Mastadon' being detained in the country, briefly jailed before being released and forced into paying a laughably small $164 fine. The whole scene was unnecessarily ugly, and permanently derailed any further upward momentum Vader had earned as a topliner.