15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Vader
12. Antonio Inoki's Original Vision For The Gimmick
Do you know the original vision for the Big Van Vader character? Leon's son Jesse was on hand to lay it all out if not. He described what Japanese wrestling great Antonio Inoki hoped to accomplish by introducing the new gimmick on his cards. All he needed was the perfect candidate to fill the role, which is where Leon White came in.
Big Van Vader was supposed to be a samurai warrior who owned an island. Whilst protecting his territory, he fought to the death with another samurai warrior. Running out of opponents, he had come to rule pro wrestling and have fun fighting. The character was in place before Vader went to Japan in 1987, and was even based on a mythical person from Japanese folklore.
That's deep.
VICE managed to find footage of some early blueprints for Vader's look. Sketches included the iconic head piece that spewed steam up into the air and generally made White look scary during his entrances. The helmet was remotely controlled by somebody sitting close by, according to Jim Cornette, and it wasn't something many fans had ever seen before. Production values hadn't been a major concern in the Japanese grap game, put it that way.
Vader was an anomaly then, and he could live up to the warrior billing once the bell sounded too. His notoriously stiff style worked out well in Japan, and Inoki was pleased that his vision for Big Van Vader had come to fruition. This international success was the break Leon had been looking for. It was certainly better than being battered by Bruiser or Hansen, but old habits die hard...