Big Van Vader Leon Allen White ( May 14 , 1955 ) better known by his ring name s Big Van Vader or Vader , is an American professional wrestler . White is perhaps best known for his time with New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , World Wrestling Federation and All Japan Pro Wrestling in the 1990s . A super - heavyweight wrestler capable of significant aerial maneuvers as well as power moves , he was both a face and a heel in several professional wrestling promotion s . He is a thirteen time world champion , having held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times . , CWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times ) , UWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time ) . Vader is the only wrestler to hold World Heavyweight titles on 3 continents . Football . White was an All - American Offensive Lineman in High School , and decided to take a scholarship to the University of Colorado ( after being courted by over 40 schools ) where he again earned All - American honors and in the process earned a degree in Business Administration . He was picked by his hometown Los Angeles Rams in the 3rd round of the 1978 NFL Draft . He was placed on injured reserve his rookie season but during his second season he was activated for the postseason and played in Super Bowl XIV against the Pittsburgh Steelers . He was cut the following offseason and started a career in real estate . Professional wrestling career . American Wrestling Association ( 1985 – 1987 ) . While working out at a gym , White was spotted by a man who remembered him from his college football days who suggested he look into professional wrestling . Trained by Brad Rheingans , White got his first national exposure in the American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) . He went by the moniker " Baby Bull " , which was later changed to " Bull Power " . White honed his skills during this time , and his ring work improved significantly . He was even given a match with Stan Hansen for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship . New Japan Pro Wrestling ( 1987 – 1992 ) . White actually was originally signed by All Japan Pro Wrestling . After consideration , Giant Baba traded his contract over to New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) in 1987 . White ' s name was once again changed , from Bull Power to " Big Van Vader " , and he began to wear a mask ( though not the red or black strap for which he is now famous ) . His new identity was based on a strong warrior of the same name from Japanese folklore . He was introduced as the crown jewel of the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan stable managed by Takeshi Kitano . After a match to which Riki Chōshū had challenged Inoki , only to lose , Vader demanded a match with the already worn down Inoki , and was victorious . This led the pro - Inoki audience to riot , resulting in New Japan being banned from the Sumo Hall , which was its home arena ; the ban was rescinded in 1989 , when New Japan did their first show back in Sumo Hall on February 22 . After winning the final match of an eight - man tournament against Shinya Hashimoto , Vader was declared the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion . On May 25 , one month after being crowned champion , Vader lost the title to Russian suplex master Salman Hashimikov . Hashimikov dropped the title to Vader ' s old rival , Riki Chōshū , on July 12 . On August 10 , Vader was given an opportunity at Chōshū and the title . He defeated Chōshū to become a two time IWGP Heavyweight Champion . Shortly after winning the title again , White traveled to Europe , again using the name " Bull Power " , to face Otto Wanz for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship . He won the match and , as a result , held the Heavyweight Championship in two separate organizations at the same time . He continued to travel between Japan and Europe , defending his titles . In November 1989 , Vader traveled to Mexico to face El Canek in the Universal Wrestling Association for El Canek ' s UWA World Heavyweight Championship . He defeated Canek for the title , holding it for approximately one year . In February 1990 , Vader faced Stan Hansen at an All Japan versus New Japan supercard show . The two exchanged very stiff punches , and one of them caused Vader ' s right eye to actually pop out of its socket , although it was contained by the swelling in his eyelid . Vader took the time to take off his mask and push the eye back in the socket before finishing the match as planned . Vader ' s success garnered the attention of World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) , who convinced him to work for them while still the IWGP Champion and an active competitor in New Japan . Vader ' s first match in WCW took place on July 7 , 1990 at The Great American Bash , where he defeated Tom Zenk in a little over two minutes . Around this time , Vader began a feud with Stan Hansen in All Japan Pro Wrestling . About two weeks later , Vader went to Europe and defeated Rambo in a tournament final to reclaim the vacant CWA World Heavyweight Championship ( making Vader a three - time CWA World Heavyweight Championship ) . In January 1991 , Vader defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to earn himself a third IWGP Heavyweight Title reign . This reign was short - lived and on March 4 , Vader lost the belt back to Fujinami . Rambo ended Vader ' s CWA World Heavyweight Championship reign on July 6 , 1991 . Vader went on to defeat Fujinami for the CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship but , upon his signing of a WCW contract in 1992 , the title was declared vacant . At this point , WCW and NJPW were reaching a tentative working agreement . This benefited Vader , as he could now have his schedule coordinated far more easily . This helped alleviate his difficulty in gaining notoriety in WCW , as his previously infrequent appearances did not allow the audience to see him very often . On March 1 , 1992 , he and Bam Bam Bigelow began teaming and won the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh . In May , Vader faced Mutoh , now known as The Great Muta , one on one and suffered a legitimate knee injury . This injury was a factor in he and Bigelow dropping the title to WCW World Tag Team Champions the Steiner Brothers after almost four months as champions . This also marked a decrease in his NJPW tenure , as Vader began to focus almost entirely on WCW and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . World Championship Wrestling ( 1990 – 1995 ) . Vader was originally signed with World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) in 1990 , but was only used sparingly until 1992 . When he began working for WCW full - time , Vader was paired with a manager , Harley Race , and received a shot at Sting ' s WCW World Heavyweight Championship on April 12 , 1992 , but lost by disqualification after punching out the referee . Sting suffered a pair of cracked ribs and a ruptured spleen in the match after taking a splash from Vader , though he continued to compete infrequently while recuperating . Vader was placed in a feud with Nikita Koloff shortly afterward , while Sting recuperated . Vader finally received a rematch with Sting on July 12 at The Great American Bash , which he won to become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion . His reign was short - lived , as he re - injured his knee , forcing him to drop the title three weeks later to Ron Simmons , who substituted for Sting , who was attacked by Jake Roberts earlier that night . Vader was out of action after the " Clash of the Champions " in September as he underwent knee surgery . Upon his return at Halloween Havoc , Vader sent Nikita Koloff into retirement and broke the back of enhancement talent Joe Thurman ( in a legitimate accident ) , paralyzing him for a few hours . At Starrcade , Vader lost to Sting in the finals of the " King of Cable " tournament . Two days later , Vader defeated Simmons by taking advantage of a shoulder injury of Simmons ' s to regain the World Heavyweight Championship . On March 11 , 1993 , Vader lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Sting in London , England . Six days later , he regained the title in a rematch in Dublin , Ireland . In subsequent weeks , Vader successfully defended the title against Davey Boy Smith , Sting , and Dustin Rhodes . In late February 1993 , White signed an eight - date agreement with the Union of Wrestling Force International ( UWFi ) , where he competed as Super Vader due to legal issues concerning the Big Van Vader name . By September 1993 , he was simply known as Vader in the United States . He worked with UWFi for over two years . His greatest triumph under there was a victory in the Best of the World Tournament , which started April 3 and ended August 18 , 1994 . Vader first defeated Salman Hashimikov and then Masahito Kakihara in the quarterfinals . In the semifinals , Vader defeated Kiyoshi Tamura , and beat Nobuhiko Takada in the finals to win the tournament and the UWFi World Title . He later left the promotion after a financial dispute . On April 17 , 1993 , Cactus Jack defeated Vader via countout in a match on " WCW Saturday Night " . Foley suffered a broken nose and needed 27 stitches for wounds on his face . The match was heavily edited for broadcast , as WCW did not wish to show the severe bleeding . In a rematch on April 24 , Vader powerbombed Cactus onto the concrete floor outside the ring . Foley suffered a concussion and temporary loss of feeling in his left hand and leg . Vader believed he had sent Cactus into retirement , but Cactus later appeared in a series of skits involving his powerbomb - inflicted amnesia and a search for his past . In the meantime , Vader began to feud with a new arrival to WCW , Davey Boy Smith . They met at Slamboree in May for Vader ' s WCW Title . Vader lost by disqualification when he hit Smith with a chair , though he retained the title . Vader and Sid Vicious then formed a partnership and called themselves " The Masters of the Powerbomb " . They faced off with Smith and his new partner , Sting , at Beach Blast in July . Cactus Jack returned for October ' s Halloween Havoc pay - per - view to face Vader in a Texas Death match . Cactus stood up to a series of devastating moves near the end of the match , though Vader won when Harley Race stunned Cactus with a cattle prod that kept him down for the count of ten . On March 16 , 1994 , Foley lost his right ear in a match with Vader in Munich , Germany ; Foley ' s head became trapped in the ropes , which were under excessive tension , causing his ear to be torn off . Vader had originally been scheduled to face Sid Vicious at Starrcade . The real - life dismissal of Vicious after his stabbing of Arn Anderson in England , however , forced WCW to find a quick replacement . Executive producer Eric Bischoff placed Ric Flair in the match , which was scheduled in Flair ' s hometown of Charlotte , North Carolina . In the storyline , Vader did not take Flair seriously until he agreed to put his career on the line against Vader ' s title . Vader dominated the match , but Flair capitalized on failed interference by Race and Vader ' s weakened knees to win the match with a rollup and end Vader ' s third WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign . Vader continued to feud with Flair until SuperBrawl IV , when Flair once again defeated Vader , this time in a " Thundercage " match . Vader then feuded with The Boss , defeating him at Spring Stampede . He also faced Sting at Slamboree for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship . Sting requested the match rather than be awarded the title after an injury to his original opponent , Rick Rude , and defeated Vader . At " Clash of the Champions XXIX " , Vader beat Dustin Rhodes and earned the opportunity to face the United States Champion Jim Duggan . In the Starrcade title match , Vader defeated Duggan with the aid of Duggan ' s 2x4 to win his only United States title . In January 1995 , Vader ( now alone after Harley Race suffered a car accident that put him permanently out of WCW ) confronted the World Heavyweight Champion , Hulk Hogan , and informed him that he could not avoid the monster . The two met at SuperBrawl V with Vader managing to kick out of Hogan ' s leg drop after a count of one . The referee was knocked out before Vader hit the Vader Bomb on Hogan . Ric Flair ran to the ring , made the three count , and attacked Hogan , resulting in Vader ' s disqualification . A rematch was signed , a strap match for the inaugural Uncensored pay - per - view . Flair once again intervened ( this time in drag ) and managed to cost Vader the match by getting himself carried by Hogan as he touched all four turnbuckle pads . Vader was stripped of the United States Championship on April 23 , 1995 for multiple violent offenses . However , Vader gained another opportunity to win the World Title from Hogan at Bash at the Beach in a Steel Cage match . He conspired with Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom to gain a psychological edge before the encounter , which Vader lost when Hogan escaped the cage . He then restarted his feud with Flair , based on his frustration at Flair ' s constant interference in his title matches and Flair ' s annoyance at his inability to defeat Hogan . At " Clash of the Champions XXXI " , Vader defeated Flair and Arn Anderson in a 2 on 1 handicap match . Following the event , Hogan grew interested in Vader and asked for his assistance in his developing feud with the Dungeon of Doom , by asking him to join him , Randy Savage , and Sting for WarGames . Vader complied but the storyline never developed as , shortly after , Vader was fired from WCW after he was involved in a locker room brawl with Paul Orndorff . Return to NJPW ( 1996 ) . At Wrestling World on January 4 , Vader had his first post - WCW match , facing the man whose four - year winning streak Vader had ended over eight years ago , Antonio Inoki . Inoki was over fifty years old at the time , but the match lasted nearly 14 minutes before Inoki got the win . World Wrestling Federation ( 1996 – 1998 ) . Debut ( 1996 ) . In the weeks leading up to the WWF Royal Rumble , Vader ' s debut was heavily hyped on TV ( he was billed as " " The Man They Call Vader " " ) . He made his first WWF appearance as a participant in the Rumble match . He entered at number 13 and eliminated Jake Roberts , Doug Gilbert , one member of the Swat Team , and Savio Vega . He also fought with his ally Yokozuna . Vader was eliminated by Shawn Michaels before he reentered the ring and started assaulting everyone , including Michaels . Vader defeated Vega on the following " Monday Night Raw " , before assaulting WWF officials . Eventually , WWF President Gorilla Monsoon demanded that Vader cease his attacks , and received a Vader Splash for his efforts . In storyline , Vader was suspended for his actions ( in reality , he needed time off for shoulder surgery ) . Jim Cornette campaigned for Vader ' s reinstatement , and by the time Vader returned , Yokozuna had left Cornette ' s management . At February ' s In Your House 6 : Rage in the Cage , Vader appeared during Yokozuna ' s match against The British Bulldog . Yokozuna was about to pin The Bulldog , when Vader attacked him , handcuffed him , and delivered a severe beating . This led to what was supposed to be a one - on - one encounter between Vader and Yokozuna at WrestleMania XII . However , the match became a six - man tag team match pitting Vader , Owen Hart , and The British Bulldog against Yokozuna , Ahmed Johnson , and Jake Roberts . The stipulation was that if Yokozuna ' s team won the match , he would have five minutes alone with Cornette in the ring ; this never occurred as Vader ' s team won the match when Vader pinned Roberts . Feuding with Shawn Michaels ( 1996 ) . Vader then attacked WWF Champion Shawn Michaels after one of Michaels ' s matches . Vader ' s attack on Michaels earned him a spot in a six - man tag team match at . Vader , Owen Hart , and The British Bulldog teamed up against Michaels , Ahmed Johnson , and Sycho Sid . Vader pinned Michaels to win the match for his team . Vader faced Michaels again at SummerSlam , where Vader won by count - out . Cornette , however , realized that the title could not change hands through a count - out and got the match restarted . This time , Michaels used Cornette ' s tennis racket and was disqualified . Again , Cornette managed to get the match started over . Finally , Michaels scored a pinfall over Vader . Feuding with The Undertaker ( 1997 ) . Vader faced off against The Undertaker in a singles match at the Royal Rumble . During the match , The Undertaker ' s former manager , Paul Bearer , attacked him and helped Vader win ; Bearer then became Vader ' s manager . Both Vader and Undertaker went on to compete in the Royal Rumble match , during which Steve Austin was eliminated by Bret Hart . However the referees did not see this , as they were attending to Terry Funk and Mankind on the floor , allowing Austin to sneak back into the ring and eliminate both Vader and Undertaker , then Bret Hart , who was busy eliminating Fake Diesel , and win the Rumble . As a result of this , Vader and the other men Austin eliminated , Bret Hart and The Undertaker , were put into the four - way main event of February ' s for the WWF Championship . Vader , after bleeding profusely , was eliminated by The Undertaker . Bearer then persuaded his two proteges , Vader and Mankind , to go after the Tag Team Title , despite the fact that the two men often brawled between themselves . They failed in their bid to win the tag team gold at WrestleMania 13 . Feuding with The Hart Foundation , Goldust , and Kane ( 1997 – 1998 ) . Vader again received an opportunity to face The Undertaker at but was defeated . On the following night ' s " Raw is War " , Vader wrestled The Patriot . The Patriot won the match and then went after Bret Hart , who came to ringside during the match . Vader attacked The Patriot , and then brought him back into the ring , where he went for the Vader Bomb . Hart came into the ring and laid the Canadian flag over The Patriot . Vader got down , picked up the Canadian flag , broke it , and started a brawl with Hart . This turned Vader face and served to bring Vader into the USA vs . Canada feud . At Survivor Series , Vader was the leader of Team USA , with Goldust , Marc Mero , and Steve Blackman ( replacing the injured Patriot ) as they faced Team Canada , composed of The British Bulldog , Jim Neidhart , Doug Furnas , and Phil LaFon . During the match , Goldust walked out on his team . Team USA lost the match after The Bulldog pinned Vader after hitting him with the ring bell . Goldust and Vader feuded throughout the fall and finally faced off at the Royal Rumble , in a match which Vader won . Goldust eliminated Vader from the Royal Rumble match later that night ( Vader entered at number 30 ) . Kane and Vader had their first in - ring meeting at . Vader lost after a chokeslam and Tombstone piledriver by Kane and was subsequently attacked by Kane with a large steel wrench . Vader was taken away on a stretcher and was kept off of TV for a while . At , a few months later , Vader returned during Kane ' s Inferno match against The Undertaker . Kane was attempting to leave the match when Vader appeared and fought him back to the ring to continue the match , which Kane lost . Vader and Kane had a rematch at in a Mask vs . Mask match . Vader attempted to use a wrench on Kane ( like the one used on him months before ) , but Kane picked up the victory and Vader lost his mask . Subsequently , Vader had a series of losses and was reduced to the status of a jobber to the stars . After considering retirement , Vader instead negotiated his own release from the WWF so he could once again wrestle in Japan . His final WWF pay - per - view match was a loss to Bradshaw at in a No Holds Barred match on September 27 . He lost to Edge on " Sunday Night Heat " in his final televised WWF match . His last match in a WWF ring was on October 25 at a Madison Square Garden house show in a Triple Threat Match with Mankind and Ken Shamrock . All Japan Pro Wrestling ( 1998 – 2000 ) . After leaving the WWF , Vader went to All Japan Pro Wrestling . He formed a team with his old foe Stan Hansen , with whom he made it to the finals of the 1998 Real World Tag League , where they were defeated by Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama . At the beginning of 1999 , he became the number 1 contender to the Triple Crown by defeating Kobashi . He then won the ( vacant ) Triple Crown Title on March 6 , 1999 by defeating Akira Taue . He then won the 1999 Champion ' s Carnival . After Vader lost the Triple Crown to Misawa on May 2 , he regained it on October 31 . He then again lost it to Kobashi and took some time off . Pro Wrestling Noah ( 2000 – 2002 ) . When he returned to action , he joined the new Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah , where he won the GHC Tag Team Championship with 2 Cold Scorpio . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , return to WWE , and retirement ( 2003 – 2006 ) . On February 19 , 2003 , Vader appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) to defend Dusty Rhodes , who was fighting with the Harris Brothers . He won a tag team match the next week against the Harris Brothers via disqualification . He then began a feud with Nikita Koloff , whose career Vader ended long ago . However , TNA and Vader soon parted ways . Vader returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on the October 31 episode of " Raw " , where Jonathan Coachman announced that Vader and Goldust would be in his corner for his street fight against Stone Cold Steve Austin the next night at Taboo Tuesday . When Austin decided not to participate , he was replaced by Batista . Vader and Goldust interfered in the match on Coachman ' s behalf and received spinebusters for their efforts . Batista pinned Coach with the Batista Bomb to win the match . Vader left the company soon after and returned to compete in Japan . Vader returned to Japan , wrestling at a Wrestleland show . He also worked in the independent circuit as Big Van Vader , including a tag match against Samoa Joe and Dan Maff in Jersey All Pro Wrestling with Mike Awesome as his tag team partner . On May 12 , 2007 , Vader faced Brutus " The Barber " Beefcake at Spartan Slamfest , a World Wrestling Coalition charity show for Wyoming Valley West School District . The match was held at the Kingston Armory in Kingston , Pennsylvania . Return to wrestling ( 2010 – present ) . After wrestling his last match in 2007 , White began working as a high school football coach . On April 29 , 2010 , White made a one - night return to wrestling under his Vader ring name at the event Vader Time 5 ~ Return of the Emperor ~ . At the event , he teamed with his son Jesse and former tag team partner Scorpio to successfully defeat Makoto Hashi , Tamon Honda and Tatsumi Fujinami in the main event . In the aftermath of the 2011 natural disasters in Japan , Vader and his son Jesse wrestled on special tribute cards for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Zero1 . Vader made his in - ring return to the United States on January 28 , 2012 . He defeated Arik Royal and Adam Page in a handicap match at WrestleReunion : Los Angeles . On May 11 , 2012 at Resistance Pro ' s event A Small Deadly Space , Vader defeated Jay Bradley . On the June 11 , 2012 episode of " Raw " , Vader made his first WWE appearance in nearly seven years , where he defeated Heath Slater in a singles match . On July 23 on the 1000th episode of " Raw " , Vader and several other legends prevented Slater from leaving in his match against Lita , which she won . On December 7 , 2012 , Vader returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling , teaming with Keiji Mutoh and Kenso to defeat Bambi Killer , Franz Dynamite and Mazada in a six - man tag team match . On June 24 , 2015 , Vader returned to television on TNA Impact Wrestling for a singles match against Bram on Destination America Television . Vader won the match via disqualification after Bram used a ring wrench to hit Vader in the head . Matt Morgan then entered the ring to save Vader and take out Bram . Media . Video games . The " Fatal Fury " character Raiden , also known as " Big Bear " , is based on Vader ' s appearance in Japan . The character Alexander the Grater from " Saturday Night Slam Masters " also bears a resemblance to Vader . Alexander wears a mask very similar to the mastodon mask Vader would wear prior to entering an arena in the 1980s and early 1990s , and his physical appearance and shape resemble Vader greatly . Vader appears as a downloadable legend in WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 , he can be downloaded into the game as well as other legends . Personal life . While in Kuwait during a WWF tour in April 1997 , Vader appeared on the television program " Good Morning Kuwait " . During the interview , the host asked Vader if wrestling was fake . As a result , Vader flipped over the table they were sitting at and assaulted the host , while using foul language . In December , Vader was fined $ 164 for the incident . As of July 2009 , White is training his son Jesse White to become a professional wrestler in Japan . Jesse originally committed to the University of Oklahoma and was touted for the National Football League , but was taken out with a back injury .