[vanderhevel]

I always thought wwf was at a shortage for legit heels back then, and a guy like vader who was a believable beast should have certainly have had at least one beastly ass title reign.

I would have had him beat shawn michaels for sure, go on a rampage for a long time, only to have him lose to shawn eventually. He was totally squandered in wwe and never really accomplished much in the company, i think he is one of the top 10 wasted talents in wwf history. how about you? would you have had him beat shawn or win the title in another fashion. or do you feel he wasnt wasted.

 

[dave 1981]

Re: WWF Vader

The plan was for Shawn Michaels and Vader to feud from SummerSlam in 1996 all the way through to Thursday Raw Thursday in February of 1997 but depending on who you believe it didn't happen. Some say Shawn Michaels refused to drop the WWE title at SummerSlam whilst some believe Vince McMahon simply changed his mind on putting the title on Vader but wanted him to still look strong which is why Michaels/Vader ended the way it did.

It was poor booking really that messed Vader's run in WWE up as after debuting him as a monster at The Royal Rumble in 1996 and continuing that for a couple of months through til just after WrestleMania 12 they never really sustained any momentum with him which could be down to either the fans not taking to him like it was thought they would do or because he was ex WCW and not a Vince McMahon creation. They kind of used Vader as a jobber to the main guys like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and The Undertaker and then even Sid Vicious as well and then turned him face which was the death knell for Vader as a star in WWE.

 

[Mike Zybyszko]

Re: WWF Vader

WWE completely fumbled the ball on the Vader character. He should have had a significant title run as a nigh unbeatable monster. You could then finally have Michaels pull out the win. Vader has blamed his demotion to mid card jobber to the stars on an incident he had with a talk show host in the Middle East.

 

[Phil_Mc_90]

Re: WWF Vader

When you see Vader for the first time you think unstoppable monster and that's how they should have booked him during his run imo, him beating Michaels for the title then dominating the company before building to a long anticipated rematch with Michaels where he would finally lose would have drawn a lot of money

 

[jonoaries]

Re: WWF Vader

Vader's booking up until summerslam was fine in my opinion, he beat razor, destroyed gorilla monsoon, he even pinned hbk in the 6-man tag and I think the iron was hot for vader to take the strap at summerslam.

I think it was a great match but it didn't help anyone long term. Vader should have gotten the strap at Summerslam and carried it until Wrestlemania and dropped it to Bret, Undertaker or HBK.

For me however the death knell was losing to Sid at the Buried Alive PPV. I felt like he was done at that point, yeah he beat Undertaker at the Rumble but I didn't see him as a monster anymore after he got chokeslammed.

I don't like the "unstoppable heel" gimmick because it almost forces people to be one-dimensional but Vader being close to unstoppable would have been fine.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Re: WWF Vader

Being a big Vader fan, I was pretty disgusted with how the WWF treated Vader

 

[Makdafi]

Re: WWF Vader

Yeah WWF really dropped the ball on Vader. But with WWF they have a track record of bringing in bad asses from NWA/WCW and dropping the ball on them in the end. Road Warriors, Goldberg,Steiner,etc. Ultimately the problem beyond politics, is the WWF/E product and it's cartoonish nature.

 

[That Guy]

Re: WWF Vader

I was very young around the time the WWF had Vader in the main event throughout 96\97, I remember it but too young to really appreciate it, I was more of a Michaels fan. But as I got older and saw old tapes, I became a huge Vader fan. I agree he should have gotten a lengthy heel run, only to loose it to Michaels later on in the year, and in his run he could have had great matches with the likes of Bret, Shawn (obviously), Taker, Foley & even maybe Goldust (who was massivly over at the time, he had many main event matches)

 

[666_The_Game_666]

He was fine until Summerslam 1996 then Shawn cried cos Vader was stiff in the ring and they pretty much killed his push and he never got to that level again. His 1998 Run is awful he does jobs every week on Raw and is nowhere near the threat he was in 96

 

[just1988]

You can put Vader's failed WWF run down to the Cliq and their dislike for him. This was right at the time when they had all the power in the WWF and used it to sabotage various people's careers such as Shane Douglas and Jean Pierre LaFitte.

 

[tducey]

Yeah, Vader was mis-used in the WWE. They should of had him go over Michaels at Summerslam 1996 and had a great feud ala the Vader/Sting feud in WCW in 1993.

 

[the modern myth]

I liked Vader but always felt that he was mishandled in WWF. He was a monster!

 

[Chismo]

My favorite big man ever. I heard a story that Shawn Michaels changed his mind DURING their SummerSlam title match, and decided not to job, lulz.

 

[bmp487]

I always thought wwf was at a shortage for legit heels back then, and a guy like vader who was a believable beast should have certainly have had at least one beastly ass title reign.

I would have had him beat shawn michaels for sure, go on a rampage for a long time, only to have him lose to shawn eventually. He was totally squandered in wwe and never really accomplished much in the company, i think he is one of the top 10 wasted talents in wwf history. how about you? would you have had him beat shawn or win the title in another fashion. or do you feel he wasnt wasted.

These are exactly my thoughts on Vader in the WWF. Shawn, however, fucked it up (and took money out of his own pocket, really). As other ppl have already said, Shawn didn't like Vader because of his stiffness, and probably also because he wasn't politicking with him backstage. It's sad, because I am a huge fan of HBK the wrestler/entertainer, but not a fan of the person.

 

[Dusty Roids]

good thing he went to japan and dominated over there. atleast the japanese respected the big man.

vader once said that shawn michaels was like a teddybeer in the ring. fuck man most stories I red about the kliq make them out for total pussies backstage.

Also vader vs shamrock is a must see, 2 stiff workers.

 

[chazparks]

Why did he leave WCW?

Vader vs Goldberg

 

[Makdafi]

He left WCW after the Paul Orndorff fight. I believe Bischoff was going to fine him for the fight, or cut his pay(it's been awhile since I've watched the Vader shoot). And Vader decided to go elsewhere because of it.

If memory serves me correct Vader said ultimately he made less by leaving than he would have by staying in WCW and accepting being reprimanded for the Orndorff fight.

 

[8 Pound Gecko]

I remember by the end he jobbed to Hawk fuckin' Bradshaw. Fuckin idiots fpalm

 

[badmanbigelow]

Re: WWF Vader

When you see Vader for the first time you think unstoppable monster and that's how they should have booked him during his run imo, him beating Michaels for the title then dominating the company before building to a long anticipated rematch with Michaels where he would finally lose would have drawn a lot of money

I agree. That is exactly what should've happened, and it's unfortunate that it didn't.