6 Ups & 4 Downs From Vader's Legendary Wrestling Career
2. The Champ Is Here
WWE.com
WCW Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader would happily have kicked the f*cking sh*t out of you, all your heroes and even their mates if he wanted to. There were few arguments as convincing for making him kingpin in a fictitious sport, and it's all the more astonishing Vince McMahon didn't make millions from him after finally bagging his signature in 1996 when watching his Atlanta back catalogue.
It's a formula not bettered since Brock Lesnar returned to WWE in 2011. Like 'The Beast', Vader was never better than when he had a deeply sympathetic babyface across from him, but the masked monster could elicit empathy for just about anybody on the roster with the sheer joy he took in pulverising those too weak to do anything about it.
Alongside grizzled manager Harley Race, Vader was a raging bull and seething bully in equal measure, ramping up the intensity for WCW's top babyfaces whenever they'd dare come for his title. Fierce and dominant displays against Cactus Jack, Sting and Ron Simmons were particularly jarring considering the perceived toughness of the trio, but few commanded respect by virtue of their victims' fates quite like the Rocky Mountains monster.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
