WWE Hall of Famer reveals how he earned the respect of Vader
Former WWE superstar and producer Road Dogg has spoken about his matches with the late great Vader and how he gained respect of the big man in the ring.
As a member of D-Generation X, Road Dogg enjoyed a wealth of success during his wrestling career, having faced off against opponents like The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Undertaker. One opponent that Road Dogg struggled to gel with in the ring at first was Vader, as the former WWE Tag Team Champion found his style very stiff.
Speaking on his podcast Oh… You Didn’t Know?, Road Dogg revealed that he initially asked his brother how to wrestle against Vader.
"I worked with Vader on a couple loops and finally I called my brother, Steve, who worked with him in Japan and I said ‘man, he’s beating my brains out. I said ‘how do you do that? Carry his bag? What do you want me to do?’ He said ‘you’ve got to punch him in the head as hard as you can.’ I said ‘wait, what? Big Van Vader, you want me to punch him in the head as hard as I can?’ He said ‘yeah, I promise you, if you get his respect physically, it’ll be easy smooth sailing." H/T Wrestling Inc
.@WWE remembers the life and legacy of the incredibly agile Mastodon that was Big Van Vader. https://t.co/6GkyupIYAI
After a conversation with his brother, Road Dogg stated how punching Vader square in the face led to the two of them having better matches.
"I backed all the way to the opposite turnbuckle and put my hands up and just looked at him and I was saying, ‘hey man, I’m sorry but if I’m getting my b*tt beat, I might as well get some punches in.’ My brother was not lying, it was smooth sailing from then on. Every match, even later in that match, it was better. Every match after that it was, ‘hey man, what do you want to do?’ He was a good guy, he really was, but you just had to get to know him." H/T Wrestling Inc
Known for his bruising but also surprisingly high-flying style in the ring, the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion is remembered as one of the best performers of his generation.
Vader was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year
In what was a stacked lineup that included the likes of The Steiner Brothers and The Undertaker, Big Van was deservedly inducted into the Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend in Dallas this year.
With the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion sadly passing away, the role of honoring his career fell onto the shoulders of his son Jesse and his widow Debra.
"If there is a Hall of Fame for being a father... you were in it a long time ago." ❤️
#WWEHOF #Vader https://t.co/NabSkCrCGU
Despite having predominantly earned his wrestling stripes in promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling and WCW, Big Van will always be revered by those both in and out of WWE as a wrestling icon.