20 Secret Highlights Of WCW That WWE Won't Tell You About
4. Big Van Vader Was The Best Monster Heel Ever
WWE has a specific strategy when it comes to monster heels: they debut strongly, spectacularly crush a couple jobbers, then defeat mid-card faces for 6-12 months en route to being defeated and emasculated by the top face and being thrown in the garbage. It dates back to the reigns of Bruno Sammartino, and continues to this day. Hulk Hogan especially thrived on this style of booking, and he brought it to WCW with him.
Before Hogan's arrival, though, WCW was built around long-term heel champions, and the greatest of these was Big Van Vader. When he debuted, Vader didn't just "make an impact" by beating up Sting or whatever. He cracked Sting's ribs and ruptured his spleen en route to a DQ finish, then beat Sting decisively in the rematch to become world champion. Vader lost to Sting a few times, sure, but it was a true rivalry, with both wrestlers trading wins, losses and injuries for the duration of the feud. Vader was also on hand to wreck the likes of Cactus Jack, Nikita Koloff, Davey Boy Smith, and the dreams of children. Vader was kind of the best, you guys.