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Sabu, whose real name was Terry Brunk, recently passed away at the age of 60, and the WWE star will be sorely missed by fans of American professional wrestling. The sad news found many reactions from fans on social media.

The Death Of A Popular Wrestler

The news of Terry’s death was reported by ESPN on May 11, 2025. The outlet noted that the news comes just “weeks after Sabu competed in a retirement match during WrestleMania weekend in Las Vegas.” The cause of death is still unknown at this time, but fans are very sad to hear about the wrestler.

The wrestler even used barbed wire – US Tonight – YouTube

The famous character went hard at the sport, and fans will recall him from Extreme Championship Wrestling (Ecw). He signed with WWE in 2006 as part of their relaunch of the brand. His unique style of fighting was always entertaining. Sabu would do some extreme stunts while competing,...

On Tuesday April 8 2025, Vice broadcasts Dark Side of the Ring!

Big Van Vader Season 6 Episode 3 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Dark Side of the Ring,” titled “Big Van Vader,” promises to take viewers on a deep dive into the life of one of wrestling’s most memorable figures. Known for his imposing presence and unique skills, Big Van Vader made a significant mark in the wrestling world. This episode will explore not only his achievements in the ring but also the personal struggles he faced outside of it.

Vader’s iconic look and powerful wrestling style set him apart from many of his peers. Standing out as a true wrestling monster, he captivated audiences with his athleticism and larger-than-life persona. However, the episode will also highlight the challenges he encountered in managing his anger, both in his professional career and personal life.

As the story unfolds, viewers will gain...

Vice TV’s “Dark Side of the Ring” continues its exploration of professional wrestling’s hidden histories this Tuesday with an episode dedicated to the larger-than-life figure of Big Van Vader. Known for his imposing size and ferocious in-ring persona, Vader was a force to be reckoned with in the world of sports entertainment. But behind the […]

Dark Side of the Ring: Big Van Vader...

Vice Sports' hit docueseries Dark Side of the Ring returns with 10 new episodes making up its sixth season. Ahead of the Season 6 premiere on March 26, all 10 episode subjects were confirmed with a pair of official posters.

Shared on X, the posters reveal the order of the subjects that will be covered in Season 6 of Dark Side of the Ring. The season will kick off with Mick Foley's famous Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker, which saw the former risking great bodily harm by getting thrown from the top of a steel cage through a table onto the concrete below. New episodes will be released every Tuesday at 10 p.m. following the premiere on March 26. The posters can be viewed below.

The first poster also highlights the other episodes making up the first half of the season. They include episodes about Ludvig Borga, whose real name was Tony Halme,...

The story of World Championship Wrestling is one of an amazing rise but then a tragic fall that was hard to watch. While the American wrestling promotion spent much of its early days as second best, WCW figured itself out at a time when the World Wrestling Federation was destroying itself in the ’90s. WCW rose up and became what seemed like an unstoppable force before tripping on its own success while WWF recovered from its mistakes and regained traction. Having lost all that momentum, WCW did itself no favors by spending the next several years making every single bad decision possible. They absolutely could not get a win if they tried.

Now the dead promotion is considered a cautionary tale and a pile-on for jokes about the Shockmaster, David Arquette, the Fingerpoke of Doom, Hulk Hogan being humped by a giant mummy, the fumbling of Steve Austin, Judy Bagwell on a forklift,...

Antonio Inoki, whose most famous moment on the world stage was an unorthodox exhibition match against boxing champion Muhammad Ali that aimed to settle which sport could beat the other, died Friday in Japan. He was 79 and no cause of death was released.

Inoki was considered a combat sports trailblazer, but also was a successful entrepreneur and politician in his native Japan, where he was one of the country’s most famous people.

In wrestling-mad Japan, Inoki was considered its most important star, selling out countless arenas and stadiums from the 1970s and on. He was also the first Japanese wrestler to win the WWF championship and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.

But all that was a prelude to the Ali exhibition on June 26, 1976, when Inoki took on the champion in a bout that was a precursor to today’s mixed martial arts matches.

In addition...

WWE wrestler Vader, whose real name was Leon White, passed away on Monday. He was 63. World Wrestling Entertainment and one of the star's children announced the news online on Wednesday. Vader is one of almost 100 professional famous wrestlers, including about 50 WWE stars, who have died in the past decade under the age of 65. "It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my father, Leon White, passed away on Monday night (6/18/18) at approximately 7:25pm," read a tweet on Vader's account, alongside a photo of his dad smiling and holding a beer. "Around a month ago my father was diagnosed with a severe case of Pneumonia," the person added....

WWE legend Big Van Vader has died following complications from congestive heart failure, TMZ reports. He was 63 years old.

Vader, whose real name was Leon White, passed away on Monday night. According to his official Twitter account, he was diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia, from which he ultimately never recovered:

It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my father, Leon White, passed away on Monday night (6/18/18) at approximately 7:25pm. pic.twitter.com/dP4CNaMuXa

— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) June 20, 2018

Around a month ago my father was diagnosed with a severe case of Pneumonia. He...

WWE and WCW legend Vader — also known to audiences as Big Van Vader — died Monday after a battle with pneumonia.

The professional wrestler, whose real name was Leon White, was 63.

White’s son posted the following to his father’s Twitter account on Wednesday:

It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my father, Leon White, passed away on Monday night (6/18/18) at approximately 7:25pm. pic.twitter.com/dP4CNaMuXa

— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) June 20, 2018

Around a month ago my father was diagnosed with a severe case of Pneumonia. He fought extremely hard and clinically was making progress. Unfortunately, on Monday night his heart had enough and it was his time. pic.twitter.com/hJYjumvxjH

— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) June 20, 2018

Also Read: WWE Releases Wrestler Big Cass

Vader also had a memorable three-episode arc on the ’90s sitcom “Boy Meets World,” when White played Frankie Stecchino Sr., the...

Ex-WWE superstar Vader has died ... after a two-year battle with congestive heart failure. He was 63.  Vader's son broke the news on social media, saying, "Around a month ago my father was diagnosed with a severe case of Pneumonia. He fought extremely hard and clinically was making progress. Unfortunately, on Monday night his heart had enough and it was his time." Vader had undergone open-heart surgery back in March and seemed to be doing well...

Ex-WWE superstar Vader is doing so well after his open-heart surgery in March, he's showing off the scar ... and even cracking jokes about it! Vader -- real name Leon White -- had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure back in 2016 and said doctors told him he only had two years to live. Well, here we are ... two years later and Vader is still kicking! "They had me but I Kicked out 2," Vader said on social media over the weekend.

Mick Foley honored the wrestling prowess of Big Van Vader in a tribute posted on Friday. Following the news that Vader, whose real name is Leon White, has been told he only has two years to live, Foley asked his permission to publish the foreword he wrote for Vader’s upcoming book. He began by explaining that he had become a good guy, or babyface, during his WCW days, but the fans did not have symptahy for him because his Cactus Jack character was supposed to thrive on and enjoy pain. Also Read: Former WWE Wrestler Big Van Vader Says He Has 'Less.

WWE legend Big Van Vader has informed his fans that he has less than two years to live.

The 61-year-old wrestler tweeted the news to his 32,000 followers on Monday, revealing that doctors diagnosed him with congestive heart failure.

Read: Mma Fighter Kimbo Slice Dies at 42

"Told by two heart doctors that my heart is wore out," he wrote. "I have been given less than two years to live. I am only now allowing this as part of my reality."

Vader, whose real name is Leon White, added that all his years in football and wrestling contributed to his illness.

Prior to joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1990, Vader played two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams in 1978 and 1979. He won Super Bowl Xiv with the team at the end of his second season, but was forced to retire due to a knee injury.

Pics: Stars We've Lost in Recent Years

After about five years in the WCW...

Former WWE pro wrestler Big Van Vader announced that he has been given less than two years to live. Vader, whose real name is Leon White, broke the news to fans on his official Twitter account late Monday night. “Told by 2 heart Drs at this time that my heart is wore out from football & wrestling I have 2 yrs to live , conjestive hesrt failure reality,” he wrote. Before breaking into pro wrestling, White was a football standout. He played center on his high school team and was recruited by a number of top colleges, eventually joining the squad...

WWE.com

Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader has reportedly been offered a fight by an unnamed mixed martial arts promotion in the U.S.

Details are vague, but the sixty year old, real name Leon White, is apparently weighing the offer, which is being reported as a $5,000 to show sort of deal (there would potentially be a win bonus on top of that). While no organization was named, rest assured it was not the Ufc, or likely even Bellator Mma – though they have shown interest in signing on pro wrestlers in the past, and have been linked to both Alberto Del Rio and Bill Goldberg at various times.

That said, it’s unlikely that any major Mma outfit would want to take on the risk inherent in having a sixty year old man compete in a cage fight, which will likely eliminate Bellator, and even the Wsof, as possibilities.

WWE.com

Commonly known as ‘The Man They Call Vader’, Leon White was once one of pro wrestling’s premier big men. Alongside other monstrous men like Bam Bam Bigelow, Vader was deceptively agile, and amassed a body of work that deserves exploration. Working in Japan and North America, ‘Big Van’ Vader was a revelation inside the ring.

Incredibly, despite his menacing demeanour and overall intimidating personality, Jim Cornette once said that Vader was more akin to a cuddly teddy bear away from the squared circle. It’s that kind of rumour and statement that this article focuses squarely on.

A former 3-time WCW World Champion, Vader also held gold in both All Japan and New Japan Pro Wrestling. A 3-time Iwgp Heavyweight Champion, the man was also a Triple Crown Heavyweight Champ twice in Ajpw. During his main tenure with the then-wwf from 1996-1998, he’d shockingly ever hold a title.

WWE.com

The wrestling world was enormously shocked this week with news of the sudden death of Jim “Ultimate Warrior” Hellwig.

It’s amazing to consider that his career in the WWF could have taken such a different path had he gone to Japan as a headliner. Eerily, his speech at the 2014 Hall of Fame and subsequent Monday Night Raw contain numerous dark premonitions about his life. His impressive win record over top opponents is unlikely to be matched again. Most surprisingly, his lawsuits have uncovered a secret 1997 WWF deal that almost brought Warrior into the Attitude-era mix.

Here are the four incredible secrets and facts about The Ultimate Warrior’s career.

4. Ultimate Warrior’s Nearly Had A Completely Different Career In Japan

WWE.com

The Ultimate Warrior only had two matches in Japan. However, he nearly had an entire career.

In 1987, New Japan Pro Wrestling wanted to create a fresh foreign star.