10 WWE Big Men Who Were Surprisingly Good Wrestlers
2. Vader
Vader’s story almost mirrors Bam Bam’s, though he acquired considerably more success in Japan than the Jersey native. Considered among the greatest gaijin wrestlers of all-time, Vader was never able to mirror his Japanese success in the United States (particularly in WWE), but nobody can take anything away from his wrestling ability.
Vader was the perfect monster. A huge, imposing walrus of a man, he attacked with full force, had a great look, and is widely regarded as one of the stiffest wrestlers in the sport’s history. Everything Vader did looked like it hurt like hell, and the infamous “eye-popping” incident with Stan Hansen in 1990 speaks volumes of his unparalleled toughness.
Vader wrestled like a video-game character. He could chop, slam, and throw you around the ring, or he could take to the top rope and squash you with a moonsault or Vader Bomb. Politics and bad booking prevented him from reaching the top in WWE, but Vader was always within touching distance of the gold, and always presented as one of the roster’s biggest threats.
Sadly, he goes down as one of the biggest “could’ve been” stories in American wrestling history. Rightly remembered as a legend in Japan, Vader should’ve been equally successful on the other side of the Pacific. He was a sensational, one-of-a-kind professional wrestler and we may never see his like again.