It's time, it's time, it's indeed Vader time! The ultra-intense, super-heavyweight wrestler Big Van Vader (real name Leon White) is being honored by WWE with a posthumous induction into the company's 2022 Hall of Fame after sadly passing away in June 2018. He is the second veteran performer named to this year's HOF class, following one-time rival Undertaker into imminent immortality.The induction comes as a surprise on a couple fronts, as many fans were expecting Undertaker to be the sole entrant into this year's class of WWE inductees, but there has been an overall positive reception to the inclusion of Vader, an inclusion many fans and critics alike felt was long overdue. Several veterans of the wrestling industry, including two of Vader's career rivals in Ric Flair and Mick Foley, went on social media to congratulate the Rocky Mountain bruiser, lauding him as one of wrestling's greatest "big men."Vader's HOF career kicked off in controversial fashion in 1987 with his dominant win over fellow WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki at Japan's legendary Sumo Hall, nearly causing a riot with fans who were shocked at seeing their national hero routed and beaten down so effortlessly. The power, speed, intensity, and intimidation exuded by Vader that night would define his character throughout the rest of his time in Japan and help to steamroll his opposition all over the world, culminating in his arrival to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the early 1990s, where he would claim the World Heavyweight Championship on three separate occasions, defeating legends such as "The Icon" Sting, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, and the ultra-violent Cactus Jack. Vader would then move onto the WWE stage in 1996, linking up with legendary managers such as Jim Cornette and Paul Bearer and combating the likes of Shawn Michaels and Undertaker, even scoring a big win over "The Deadman" at the 1997 Royal Rumble.
Vader's overwhelming presence could never be limited to just the squared circle, as the master of the vaunted "Vadersault" would crash onto the TV airwaves in 1995-96 with appearances on the original Baywatch and a guest role on the hit series Boy Meets World as "Frankie Stechino, Sr.," the boisterous bruiser of a father to Frankie Junior, one of Corey's regular high-school tormentors. Mark Blutman, a former writer for Boy Meets World, took to Twitter to not only offer congrats to Vader, but to thank fans of both the show and WWE for showing how even brief appearances like Vader's could leave such a lasting memory to this day.
For fans and supporters of Vader, the HOF induction for one of the more innovative and athletic "big men" of his era is one that is long overdue, but well-deserved all the same. In that same token, there are many critics who felt WWE should have been more on the ball when it came to the contributions Vader made in and out of the ring, acknowledging him and his legacy before his untimely passing. Nevertheless, it is touching to finally see Vader take his rightful place among the immortal men and women in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Source: 411Mania, Mark Blutman