On Wednesday, WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley and Sting all commented on Big Van Vader’s passing. You can check out what they said below:
HULK HOGAN:
On Vader’s passing: “Well, number one, it’s a sad day in the wrestling world when someone as talented and as big of a star as Vader passes away. Leon was not only a star domestically, but internationally—his appeal went around the world-it was a great loss today. Such a great human being and a great wrestling star passed away.”
On his friendship with Vader: “He I had a chance to become friends with Leon, probably the last five or six years when I was working on a regular basis. It was funny how it happened because he was such a big star in Japan—he was such a big star overseas—when I got the news I was going to wrestle him, all of the sudden Fumi Saito and all of the Japanese friends of mine started telling me Vader was telling everybody in Japan that he had no respect for me. He said he was going to beat me up ready bad in Baltimore when he saw me. Of course he was hyping it up and working because that was his style. We got in the ring—I was so used to getting beat up Japanese-style that it wasn’t that big of a deal to me—I thought we had a great match. We had a ton of respect for each other after that match—we really did just lay into each other—and we because really good friends. He was nothing but respectful, nothing but kind, never had a bad word to say about anybody. He had a great sense of humor, and he was such a kind and nice man.”
On working with Vader: “I liked working with him, and even though he was really snug in the ring, and he’d really lay it in and ring your bell, he never hurt you. He made sure that you were tough enough to stick with him, but never—I would never go out of the ring and go ‘Oh my God, he hurt me so bad. I can’t wrestle again!’ He made it fun to have that type of heavy handed, heavy artillery type of connection in there. You really felt like you were in a war, so you were proud when you would come out of the ring from working with him. He was the consummate professional, and [his death] is a huge loss.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNpVAVtQxgQ]
MICK FOLEY:
REMEMBERING LEON WHITE
I was preparing to fly out to Denver for an episode of Monday Night Raw in October, 2016 when my wife called to tell me that Leon White had left a few messages on my answering machine. I figured he must have wanted to get together while WWE was in town, and got on my flight, thinking I would catch up with him the next day – that we would grab lunch before the show, or he could come backstage and hang out with some of the guys. But that next day, my wife asked me again to call him, telling me of the urgency in his voice, and how it seemed very important.
As it turned out, Leon wasn’t calling me to have lunch, catch up, or to hang out backstage. He was calling me as a friend, telling me that he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and had been given two years to live.
On Monday night, one year and eight months after telling me of his diagnosis, Leon White passed away, leaving behind him a loving son, a legacy as one of the very best big men to ever grace the ring (the very best, in my opinion) and a great mystery as to why one of the biggest drawing cards of his era has yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
No matter how many times I talked with Leon, the conversation would eventually turn to the Hall of Fame, and I would constantly tell him that no one or no thing, not even his absence from the WWE Hall of Fame could take away from what he had accomplished around the world. He was quite simply one of the biggest stars our business has ever known. He worked hard. He worked injured. He brought out the very best in so many people he faced – including me. On a worldwide basis he was so much bigger and meant so much more to our business than so many people who have gone on to receive far more accolades – including me, including just about everyone.
A few years ago, I was honored to be asked by Leon to write the forward for his book. I did my very best to come up with something that was worthy of the man and his body of outstanding work. I said a lot of the things I really felt needed to be said at that time – and probably need to be repeated now, more than ever.
STING:
Loved working with Leon, loved the friendship I had with him for many years, and especially these last 8 months of his life. He will truly be missed. pic.twitter.com/32cWMdH2yX
— Sting (@Sting) June 20, 2018
