Big Van Vader
| Big Van Vader | |
|---|---|
Vader at Raw 1000 in July 2012
|
|
| Birth name | Leon Allen White |
| Born |
May 14, 1955 Lynwood, California, United States |
| Residence | Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado |
| Spouse(s) | Grace Connelly (m. 1979; div. 2007) |
| Children | 2; including Jake Carter |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Baby Bull Big Van Vader Bull Power Leon White Super Vader Vader |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Billed weight | 450 lb (200 kg) |
| Billed from | "The Rocky Mountains" |
| Trained by | Brad Rheingans |
| Debut | 1985 |
| No. 75 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Center |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | May 14, 1955 |
| Place of birth: | Lynwood, California |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Bell High, Los Angeles, CA |
| College: | Colorado |
| NFL Draft: | 1978 / Round: 3 / Pick: 80 |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Leon Allen White (born May 14, 1955), better known by his ring name Big Van Vader, or simply Vader, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. White most notably performed for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) during the 1990s and 2000s.
White wrestled as a super heavyweight wrestler capable of aerial maneuvers such as the Vadersault, which was voted as the "Best Wrestling Maneuver" for 1993 by Wrestling Observer readers. Among other accolades in WCW and Japan, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (the first non-Japanese holder) and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, 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. Although he never held a championship in the WWF, White challenged for all of the promotion's heavyweight titles, including multiple WWF Championship matches on pay-per-view and cable television. White was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996.
...
Wikipedia