Big Van Vader
Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 – June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) during the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest super-heavyweight professional wrestlers of all time.
Big Van Vader | |
|---|---|
Vader in 1997 | |
| Born | Leon Allen White May 14, 1955 Lynwood, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 18, 2018 (aged 63) |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado |
| Spouse |
Grace Connelly
(m. 1979; div. 2007) |
| Children | Jake Carter |
| Ring name(s) | Baby Bull Bull Power Big Van Vader Leon White Vader |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Billed weight | 450 lb (204 kg) |
| Billed from | Boulder, Colorado, U.S. "The Rocky Mountains" |
| Trained by | Brad Rheingans |
| Debut | 1985 |
| Retired | August 26, 2017 |
|
American football career | |
| No. 75 | |
| Position: | Center |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Bell (Los Angeles, California) |
| College: | University of Colorado |
| NFL draft: | 1978 / Round: 3 / Pick: 80 |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
White performed as a monstrous wrestler, and he was capable of aerial maneuvers: his diving moonsault was voted the "Best Wrestling Maneuver" of 1993 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) readers. Among other accolades in WCW, Mexico and Japan, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, the UWA World Heavyweight Championship once, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship twice, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, and won the battle royal main event of the 1993 Battlebowl pay-per-view (PPV). He headlined multiple PPV events for the WWF and WCW. Vader was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022.