6 Ups & 4 Downs From Vader's Legendary Wrestling Career
5. Eye-To-Eye
Known as much for his gentle temperament off-screen as his fiery persona with the cameras on, Vader's hard-man aesthetic was, effectively, an underrated aspect of his work. Most colleagues referred to him as a "teddy bear" behind the scenes, and the shower shoes sh*tkicking he took from Paul Orndorff betrayed the fabulous monster within he was capable of channelling.
As was the relatively relaxed approach he had to his eyeball popping out midway through a match with Stan Hansen.
A wayward strike from Hansen during their NJPW/AJPW inter-promotional clash for Vader's IWGP Heavyweight Title forced Vader to release a right armbar and hurriedly remove his mask in something of a panic. Gasps and screams could be heard as he addressed the rising swelling underneath - those unfortunate fans were the first to see an eye socket almost entirely swollen over as Vader frantically tried to push his eye back in.
In the spirit of the brawl, Hansen gave his foe little time to address the matter before peppering him with punches dangerously close to the hot-spot. The referee threw the contest out after the pair simply couldn't be separated. Vader's fortitude was utterly remarkable, considering. The "teddy bear" was still hard as f*ck.