TSC Evaluation #12: Vader

[Tommy Fits]

It was a long time ago so I can't remember him on the mic much. But he could legit go in the ring especially for a big man. And in wcw he had a legit aura about him, had little me shook believing he was an unstoppable monster. plus he had the GOAT cameo on boy meets world

8/10...if his wwf run didn't go so poorly he would be a 9

 

[TheAlbionist]

9.

I dunno what it is keeping me off giving a 10 tbh, but it seems reckless to be handing those out.

Image - GOAT... straight up no-frills, no-supernatural, human MONSTER. Didn't need a Deadman/Giant/Monster gimmick... he was a monster in the sense that he was a huge and fukking unhinged MAN. He had a brain that he actually used. His mask alone used to put the shyts up me and he was one of the few wrestlers I'd switch promotions to watch... he was definitely the first thing that made me watch a WCW show. And it was ONLY so I could see him vanquished. Which he wasn't. I was genuinely scared of him in a way that other monsters of the time didn't really manage.... only early 'Taker came close really.

Some genuine 5* performances to his name too, which you can't say for that many monsters. Had true success with crowds all over the world - dude wasn't a product of the marketing, the marketing was a product of HIM.

Whenever I've seen him interviewed he's seemed like (in rasslin terms at least) a pretty decent, grounded sort of guy.

They simply do NOT make them like Vader anymore.

 

[PYRRHUS 88]

-Mic work/promos: Stereotypical, "wrestler yells inarticulate threats in a gruff voice" 101. 5/10

-Personality/gimmicks: On the one hand, he was an imposing figure and as such, carried an air of menace. On the other hand, his character always struck me as being mentally handicapped. Like a big brainless ogre stomping around the squared circle. "It's Vader time" is a pretty stupid catchphrase. Even his mask sucked to me (I usually like masks). It didn't really make him more mysterious (you could still see his face quite plainly), it just seemed to squash his own nose for no reason. 4/10

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds): I'm not gonna act like I've watched a ton of his matches. They were usually fast-forward status for me. Matches against Sting and Foley stand out as being not terrible. I saw more of him in WWF and his matches were boring as fukk. The feud I remember the most was against Goldust. I wouldn't call it a favourite. I'll give him some props for doing a pretty decent moonsault, but overall his ring work is not my cup of tea. 6/10

Overall, I'll round up and give him 6/10

His legacy is undeniable, but I've never been interested in this type of wrestler.

 

[puppetmaster]

The Compton OG gets a 9.

Believability is huge in wrestling, few carried it better than Vader when he was in his prime.

 

[King P]

One of my favorite big men ever. 8

Speaking of Vader, dude announced his heart is failing him and he only has a couple more years left

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

-Mic work/promos

• 6 - usually had a manager and there are a lot of better promo guys in the biz...I think he is overrated here.

-Personality/gimmicks

• 8 - outstanding monster heel, but id say sid was as good, Brock was better.

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds)

• 9 - a goat brawler who KNEW how to draw heat in matches and was incredibly convicning

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores)

• 8 - barely. I want to say 7 honestly. I like him but there examples of others doing what he did better and people forget that.

 

[Homer Simpson]

IM NOTHING BUT A BIG FAT PIECE OF shyt



LOOK AT ME IM SO BIG

 

[patscorpio]

-Mic work/promos - give him 7..simple but effective.."its vader time".."i fear no man, i feel no pain"..his taunts

-Personality/gimmicks - full monty when dude was rocking the smoking mask; 9 without...he was a unique big man...its almost hilarious when i go on youtube and i see clips of him before the vader gimmick..looking like a generic big man

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds) - full monty...one of the sport's all time great big men...a unique and powerful moveset...so gotdamn stiff and the moonsaults (busting it from second and top rope)..amazing..he had some ridiculous matches in wcw/japan..the matches with sting, flair, and cactus jack...he even managed to have rare above average matches in wcw with the likes of hogan, bossman (RIP), and jim duggan (underrated brawl)..showed some flashes in the wwe too (vs taker @ canadian stampede; vs ken shamrock, 4 way match)

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores) - his later years in WWE unfortunately are a stain in his career due to various factors but an all time great...a solid 9

plus he was the first to see the talent in the GOAT known as 2 cold scorpio and gave him his first break

 

[patscorpio]

-Mic work/promos: Stereotypical, "wrestler yells inarticulate threats in a gruff voice" 101. 5/10

-Personality/gimmicks: On the one hand, he was an imposing figure and as such, carried an air of menace. On the other hand, his character always struck me as being mentally handicapped. Like a big brainless ogre stomping around the squared circle. "It's Vader time" is a pretty stupid catchphrase. Even his mask sucked to me (I usually like masks). It didn't really make him more mysterious (you could still see his face quite plainly), it just seemed to squash his own nose for no reason. 4/10

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds): I'm not gonna act like I've watched a ton of his matches. They were usually fast-forward status for me. Matches against Sting and Foley stand out as being not terrible. I saw more of him in WWF and his matches were boring as fukk. The feud I remember the most was against Goldust. I wouldn't call it a favourite. I'll give him some props for doing a pretty decent moonsault, but overall his ring work is not my cup of tea. 6/10

Overall, I'll round up and give him 6/10

His legacy is undeniable, but I've never been interested in this type of wrestler.

at this

 

[daboywonder2002]

9. Dude just had had it all. Move sequence, moonsault, splash, powerbomb. That mask he had when I first saw him in WCW.

 

[PYRRHUS 88]

at this

Had to keep it real. I wasn't gonna give him a high grade just cause I'm supposed to. As a kid during the Attitude era, he was trash to me.

Maybe if I had seen more of his non-WWE work I'd hold him in higher regard

 

[CM_Burns]

Promos- 4. Totally generic. Nothing stands out here.

Star Quality- 8. He had a very strong presence as a monster heel. His look, but most importantly how powerful and quick he was in the ring gave him a huge presence where his interviews didnt.

Ring-9. Great worker. Tons of great matches with a lot of believability to them. People have mentioned the obvious classics and a few others, one I havent seen mentioned is his match vs Bulldog at Slamboree 93. Just watched it for the first time recently, great power match.

Overall-9.

 

[mrken12]

Had to keep it real. I wasn't gonna give him a high grade just cause I'm supposed to. As a kid during the Attitude era, he was trash to me.

Maybe if I had seen more of his non-WWE work I'd hold him in higher regard

Honestly I really would prefer that people who vote have seen enough of his work to give a fair assessment. In a lot of cases people who base their evaluation solely on someone's WWE career will rate them unfavorably.

 

[patscorpio]

 

[patscorpio]

-Vader with the mink cape

real talk...his swag levels were super high with that shyt on