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DVD Review: Kayfabe Commentaries with Vader

Posted: Mar 21st 2014 By: CMBurnham

Timeline: WCW 1993 with Vader
Kayfabe Commentaries
www.kayfabecommenaries.com
www.wwnlive.com
$15.00 On-Demand
$20.00 DVD
Reviewed by Joe Babinsack

It's Vader time! that's for sure.

This latest installment of Kafabe Commentaries' awesome Timeline series is all about Leon White, also known as "Baby Bull" or "Bullpower" in the AWA, a man who stomped out his legacy across the world, and is best known as the recipient of one of the best gimmicks (well, most expensive, most anticipated and ultimately well selected) as Big Van Vader.

(Can you imagine if Sid Vicious got that smoking mask?)

Vader, as viewers will learn with more detail, got the gimmick's name after a falling out with New Japan and Antonio Inoki, but obviously "Vader" being more George Lucas than New Japan, there wasn't a lot other than removing "Big Van" from his Japanese name. Vader makes it known that no one cared in Japan, or elsewhere.

There's something about the presence of a 400 pound monster that precludes the need for "BIG".

Ironically, the first impression of seeing Leon White, without the close-fitting mask (as opposed to the HR Giger inspired smoking behemoth of a metal monstrosity) is one of .... well, pleasant older guy comes to mind. Which, going back to his AWA roots, makes that gimmick which transformed a big guy with a lot of bulk and a lot of physicality but with a face that doesn't scream monster, made the whole gimmick of notable success.

One can hardly imaging Leon "Baby Bull" White inspiring that same amount fear, with that pleasant demeanor on display here.

One can hardly not imagine VADER demanding attention on so many levels.

That aspect alone screams for the reason why some gimmicks are good (don't tell Bruno) and some guys do need more than just their appearance to take them to another level.
In the early 1990's, Vader (by any name) was at the pinnacle of his power and his world-spanning Championship reigns. At the time, he dominated Japan, came over to Atlanta, withstood some really odd booking strategies by that guy named Flair, and headlined some huge shows in one of the several precursors to MMA.

Not that White admits to liking to fight, he needed the money.

There are some opinions that are odd, an approach that makes Vader seem a little too concerned about how he addresses the WWE (obviously there's a guy named Jake Carter he's been concerned about his whole life) and then again, Vader's still wrestling, so I'm sure that plays into it all as well.

In some ways, Vader is one of the last Territorial guys around, one of the last guys of whom the label "Old School" can be applied. Vader is removed from Larry Zbyszko to a well, large, degree, and yet his points of references still bring out the concepts of wrestling being about improvisation, playing to the crowd and telling a story in the ring.

One interesting discussion revolves around the "switch spot", that point where the match changes, turning into another story, or distinctly changing direction.

(Of course there are about 50 such points in any typical match today that goes more than 10 minutes).

Anyone with a shred of creativity should be able to build on that concept, but who am I to say that.

Vader talks about his penchant for calling matches at this time, pointing out that he did so with Sting, Inoki and others. The impression I have of the big man is of a solid maker of matches, and his understanding of psychology, storytelling and a general sense of the business shines through on this DVD.

Case in point, his run in 1993, the apparent conflicts with WCW, and his seeming perception that Ric Flairs booking was not exactly in the best interest of the business. (Although Vader says that WCW had a strong run, and a good run, in spite of those decisions.

Yes, there's a sense of Vader playing pleasant.

His recollections of the AWA are interesting, as he points out the vast talent of that late 1980's roster, some of which are arguable, but then again, Scott Hall has been rumored for WWE HOF inclusion, and Shawn Michaels will always be a lightning rod for my derision, in spite of ....
Vader's name dropping does become a theme, as he overplays connections to Steve Austin in that year, but why not, since he did tag with the inevitable "Stone Cold".

But in doing so, he diminishes that awesome combination of Austin & Brian Pillman, which I recall, next to Vader's sheer presence, as the best part of that time frame.

Sure, sure, there's Eric Bischoff around that same time. And he plays into the whole scene with Paul Orndorff, and the infamous fight, which I will leave to the viewer to learn more about.
Vader does have distinct and kind words for Paul, especially in light of that dreaded C word. Yet another theme of Vader's dialogue is his having changed over the years, and with his voice, mannerisms and candor about his personal life, there's an underlying credibility in that which cannot be challenged.

For the Old School crowd, we learn about Harley Race as mentor, manager and instructor. We learn about Bill Watts as WCW decision maker. We learn about about a lot of things that portray Vader as one of the last Old School guys in the business.

For the Hardcore crowd, the obvious discussion is about the Cactus Jack feud, a classic that foretold the daredevil, death-defying, bodily-destructive approach Mr. Foley had to the business. We learn how Foley called some shots and some spots. We learn that Flair may have had a part in scuttling that feud, one that never fully culminated, one that screamed for more matches (even if not for the squeamish, and in many ways thankfully for Foley's brain cells). We learn about what Foley wanted as a direction for his career, and wow, is that scary.
We learn a lot of gory, dangerous and interesting details about Foley's decisions and the lack of input from the "office".

For the modern mavens, we learn about the impact of scripting (Vader talks about "scripting a frown"... which is frightening on so many levels.) IMHO, his concerns about what wrestling became, and what it has lost, is spot-on. We learn about the infamous White Castle of Fear angle with Sting, and a glimpse at what wrestling has become.

For those into the Japanese scene, we learn about Vader's impression of Inoki, his contractual situation with WCW and New Japan, and a glimpse of the Japanese court system. We learn about the UWF and the big main events.

We learn about the man who scared Vader at that time. (Yeah, it would be easy to name that Russian, but then why buy the DVD?)

And for the curious about Vicious, we get the stories about who could have been Big Van Vader, how Vader saved his life, and a curious tap-dance about "limitations".

Towards the end, the stories flow but there's some dodging and "don't knows", but we also know that Leon White was once a bad negotiator and quite politically naive. His friendship with Kevin Nash obviously influenced him. His understanding of the business is apparent, and his politically inspired takes on a lot of things are quite understandable, even if a few things get a bit annoying.

But there's more than enough detail to make up for it, and his Japanese stories, Eric Bischoff stories and talk about booking more than make up for any perceptions of avoidance.
Is Vader the best "Superheavyweight" of all time?

I don't remember Andre doing a Vadersault, or even Big Show, so based on that alone there's a strong case (and a fascinating series of stories surrounding Davey Boy Smith and the first time it happened, and the reaction of Ole Anderson).

What I do know is Vader is the best guy to talk about WCW in 1993, a year that was definitely VADER TIME!!!