6 Ups & 4 Downs From Vader's Legendary Wrestling Career
1. Kuwait Just A Second There, Pal
WWE.com
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.
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
