Goody Bag 46: The Man They Call Vader

AWA World Title Match: Stan Hansen v Leon White: From AWA TV on April 8 1986 (taped March 13) in Las Vegas Nevada. Feeling out process to start, as Verne Gagne flirts with a fan over at the announce table. Vegas, baby! White dominates with a headlock, but Stan manages to wrestle free, only to miss an elbowdrop. That allows White to go back to the headlock, as the announcers hype up WrestleRock. Stan escapes the headlock and throws some kicks, but Leon responds in kind, and it's back to the darn headlock again. Stan slugs free and takes control of things with a wristlock, as the announcers recommend that we travel to Egypt and study the tombs, which depict these same holds being uses thousands of years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they picture these two guys, because this match feels like it's been going on for thousands of years. Stan gets sick of wristlocking him, and just starts stomping on the hand instead, then pulls White to the outside to smack the hand into the steps. Post, but Leon reverses, and he starts chopping the champ out there. Stan sends him into a row of chairs, but White is fired up, and slugs back. Inside, Leon whacks him with a backelbow, and starts blitzing him with shoulderblocks. Elbowdrop gets two, and a headbutt leads to a cross corner whip, followed by an avalanche for two. Another corner whip, but this time the avalanche misses, and Stan hooks a leveraged pin at 13:28. Not much as a match, but it was interesting to see White working such a radically different style than what we'd come to know him for. ¼*

King Kong Brody v Leon White: From AWA TV, listed by WWE Network as May 18 1986, though I can't find independent confirmation on the date and venue. Brody attacks as White is climbing into the ring, and beats on his knee with a chair until the referee can stop it. Brody hammers him with chops in the corner from there, but White reverses a cross corner whip, and throws a shoulderblock. Chops from Leon, but he hits boot while trying a charge, and Brody goes after the knee again. White keeps coming back, but the knee slows him down at every turn, and Brody stomps the part until the referee stops the match at 3:50. This sounds more interesting in hindsight and on paper. ¼*

WCW World Title Lumberjack Match: Big Van Vader v Ricky Steamboat: From WCW Saturday Night on October 16 1993 (taped September 28) in Atlanta Georgia. Vader powers him around to start, and dumps him to the outside for the heel lumberjacks to get some shots in. Back in, Vader goes to town in the corner, and man, Steamboat was born to sell that kind of abuse. The champ with a short-clothesline, but Ricky picks himself up, so Vader starts teeing off in the corner again, then avalanches the Dragon. Another clothesline leaves Steamboat holding Vader's leg to keep from collapsing, and he falls into the corner to balance himself, still telling the monster to bring it. Vader obliges, and dumps Ricky back to the outside after some more abuse in the corner, leading to a standoff between the heel and face lumberjacks. Back in, Vader hits a vertical suplex for two, and a clothesline sends Steamboat over the top again. This time Vader dives out after him, but Ricky dodges, and the champion crashes into the guardrail. Steamboat hammers on him as they head back in, so Vader tries to bail, but the babyface lumberjacks won't let him get past the apron. He uses his weight to bust through, but they quickly force him back in anyway, where Steamboat puts the boots to him. DDT sets up a splash, and the Dragon adds another one for good measure! He muscles Vader up for a DDT off the middle rope, and it's figure four time, but the champ gets the ropes. Ricky keeps coming with chops, so Vader tries an avalanche, but Steamboat sidesteps! He throws kicks until Vader is barely standing, and a side suplex puts him down for two. Splash gets two, so Vader bodychecks him down to buy time, then hits a bodyslam. That leads to a 2^nd rope flying clothesline, and the monster gets a chinlock on to ground his challenger for a bit. Samoan drop gets two, but Steamboat dodges a splash, and goes up with a flying tomahawk chop. Standing dropkick leads to a flying bodypress, but it only gets two. Another flying tomahawk hits, but a charge in the corner to stopped with a boot, and Vader starts slugging. Steamboat slugs back, and manages to control the monster into the corner, but can't do much with the big man once he's got him there. That allows Vader to fire off a clothesline, and a side suplex follows for two. Steamboat gets fired up and unloads, but he's battered, and it takes only a single shot from Vader to knock him to the outside, where he's at the mercy of the heel lumberjacks. Ricky tries a slingshot sunset flip on the way back in, but Vader blocks. He hammers on his challenger, so Steamboat tries another sunset flip, and this time Vader counters with a sit-down splash. Bodyslam sets up the Vaderbomb, but Steamboat manages to move, and he dives off the middle rope with a flying double stomp! Bodypress sends both men tumbling over the top, and Ricky hustles back in to leave Vader to deal with the lumberjacks alone - only to get jumped by Sid Vicious with a powerbomb! That allows Vader to hit a splash, and he retains at 18:55. Hell of a match, with both guys having tremendous chemistry, and throwing a lot at the wall here. This was PPV quality stuff, flirting with four-stars the whole way, and probably would have made it with a better finish. *** ¾

Big Van Vader and Steve Austin v Ric Flair and Arn Anderson: From WCW Saturday Night on November 13 1993 (taped October 11) in Atlanta Georgia. This is supposed to be Flair and Sid Vicious teaming, but the Colossal Kongs help Vader attack Sid before the match, and Arn is substituted in. And that actually marked Sid's last TV appearance for this run before the infamous fight with Anderson in Europe that resulted in his termination. Big brawl to start, as everyone is fired up following the attack on Sid. Kind of ironic that it's Arn jumping in and defending Sid's honor here. The crowd loses their minds as the brawl goes all over the place, including Vader press-dropping Flair across the guardrail, before missing a charge against it, and getting beat on with a chair. Meanwhile, Anderson manages to get Austin in an abdominal stretch in the ring, and he passes to Flair to throw chops, as Vader recovers from the beating on the floor for a bit. The Horsemen go to work on Austin, but Steve gets away from Flair long enough to tag, and Vader is still pissed about the chair shots earlier. He tees off on Ric in the corner, but Flair turns the tables, and backelbows Vader down following a cross corner whip. Over to Arn for a 2^nd rope flying axehandle, but Anderson gets powered into the heel corner, and double teamed. Flair rushes in to save though, and the Horsemen clean house. I don't know if they were plants, but I'm always impressed by how many legitimately attractive women you can see in the crowds for these early 90s WCW tapings. Certainly more than the WWF ever had, that's for sure. Based on some of these crowds, you'd think their target audience was made up entirely of hicks and women in their twenties. Inside, Flair tries to stick and move with Vader, but gets vertical superplexed for two while trying a dive. Over to Austin with a vertical suplex for two, and a corner whip sets up a backdrop, but Flair starts chopping at him before Steve can continue. Ric with a cross corner clothesline, but Steve cuts off the tag, and forces Flair into a slugfest. Ric controls and hits an inverted atomic drop to buy enough time for the tag, and Anderson hustles in with a kneedrop. The crowd is just on fire here. Arn goes up to the middle for a dive, but Steve lifts his boot to block, and that's enough for the tag. Vader comes in with shots in the corner, leading to a short-clothesline from the world champion. Bodyblock connects, but Arn blocks an avalanche, and manages to drop Vader with a side suplex. Clothesline sends him over the top, and Anderson drops him front-first across the rail out there. Back in, Arn unloads in the corner, and actually manages a rotating spinebuster, but Austin comes in to prevent a pin. That allows Vader to whack Arn with a clothesline, and Steve tosses the Enforcer to the outside, then snaps his throat across the top rope as Anderson tries to climb back in. The heels cut the ring in half on Anderson, and I'm thinking they must have been using those applause signs to get the crowd to respond how they want them to, because they're just way to hyped up here. That, or they spiked the sodas with rum. Honestly, if today’s fans weren't such cynical jerks, I'd recommend bringing that idea back. It may not be 'real,' but then not much about this sport is. And it looks great on TV. Anderson manages to fight Austin off with a catapult and a hotshot, but he's in the wrong corner, and can't tag before getting cut off by Vader. Vader takes him upstairs for a superplex, but Arn bites him in the face to block, and he fights for the tag, but Vader cuts it off again. Bodyblock creams Arn, and Steve tags in to vertical suplex him. 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop gets two, but Austin gets crotched while trying a knucklelock, and Arn finally gets the tag - only for the referee to miss it! Great tag work here. Vader goes to town on him in the corner ahead of a Samoan drop for two, and he ties the Enforcer up in a mat-based abdominal stretch. Arn fights Austin off and gets centimeters from a tag, but Steve cuts him off yet again, and Vader dives off the middle with a flying bodyblock. That's enough to bring Flair in even without a tag, but Vader quickly thumps him, and the referee sends him back out. Arn is selling his ass of here too, barely able to answer the ten count between shots. Vader with a bodyslam for two, and a DDT gets two. Steve with his own bodyslam to set up a flying splash for two, but Arn starts striking at the leg to buy time, but he just can't make the damn tag! Steve uses a bearhug on him, but Arn slugs free, and nearly tags before getting cut off yet AGAIN. That allows Vader an elbowdrop for two, and the heels try a rocket launcher, but Anderson dodges! Tag! Tag! Tag! Flair comes in hot, and Roseanne Barr the door! Side suplex sets up the Figure Four on Austin, but Colonel Robert Parker rakes Ric's eyes to save, and Steve unloads with rights as he gets loose. In comes Vader for the Vaderbomb, but Arn pulls Ric out of the way, as TV time runs out, and we don't get a finish at 31:37 shown! Apparently, it ended as a no-contest a few minutes later, but damn them man. Awesome match, with plenty of time, and amazing tag team psychology. ****

Heath Slater v Vader: From Monday Night RAW on June 11 2012 in Hartford Connecticut. Vader is a surprise opponent, after Slater cuts a promo mocking WWE legends, and repeatedly says it's 'Slater time.' This marks Vader's first WWE match since 1998, and his last for the promotion. Vader goes to work in the corner, but Slater slugs back, so Vader clotheslines his scrawny ass down. Vader with more clotheslines and an elbowdrop for two, followed by a vertical suplex for two. Slater fires back, but can't get any traction, and a bodyslam attempt gets him toppled for two. Belly-to-belly slam sets up the Vaderbomb, and that's it for the kid at 3:17. Nothing as a match, but an enjoyable bit of nostalgia. DUD