"He was stiff, I'll give you that" - Former Intercontinental Champion recalls his experiences with Big Van Vader (Exclusive)
Former WWE Superstar Ahmed Johnson recently spoke about his memories of the newest inductee into the Hall of Fame, Big Van Vader.
The super heavyweight hailing from The Rocky Mountains made headlines after defeating legendary wrestler Antonio Inoki in Japan in a controversial bout. During the early 90s, the Mastodon brought his destruction to WCW, winning three World Heavyweight Championships. Vader also had a short stint with WWE where he main evented SummerSlam 1996 against Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship.
Speaking on this week's episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSkripted podcast, the former Intercontinental Champion mentioned that Vader was always nice to him. He acknowledged that the Mastodon did land some hard shots in the ring but always meant well outside of the squared circle.
Here's what Ahmed Johnson had to say about the Mastodon:
''You know a lot of people give him a bad name, but he was always cool with me man. You can always judge a man by the way he treats you, and he treated me good. He was stiff, I'll give you that. But as a person, he meant well. I mean, he treated me with the utmost respect. So, great dude if you ask me." (from 12:35 onwards)
You can watch the full video here:
Several superstars reacted to Vader's induction to the WWE Hall of Fame
This past week, several former and current superstars along with the fans celebrated the announcement that the three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion would be inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
VADER IN HOF!
Congratulations to the family of @itsvadertime on the well deserved (overdue, in my opinion) induction of Leon White into the #WWEHOF
My matches with Vader were some of the best and wildest of my career. https://t.co/njjr2aqzG9
With his imposing size and unbelievable agility, Vader was more than just a great “big man.” In front of the camera, he was Vader, behind the camera, Leon White was respected by his peers.
For his accomplishments and much more, proud to say he’s in the #WWEHOF! twitter.com/WWE/status/150…
When I was a kid, he terrified me.
As I grew older, I learned to appreciate what an amazing physical anomaly he was.
In FCW, I had the pleasure of learning from him, as I held the Tag Titles with his son.
Finally. It’s time. It’s Vader Time. 🖖
#WWEHOF
Well deserved honor. One of the business best big men. twitter.com/wwe/status/150…
It was also previously announced by WWE that The Undertaker will also be inducted into this year's Hall of Fame by none other than WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
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