Rumor about Shawn Michaels derailing opponent's career is untrue, WWE legend says
Shawn Michaels became one of WWE's top singles competitors in the 1990s. Although The Heartbreak Kid was notoriously difficult to deal with in those days, John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) does not think he derailed Vader's career.
Vader, real name Leon White, worked for WWE from 1996 to 1998 after making his name in Japan and WCW. In 1996, his storyline with Michaels ended early after a disappointing match between the two at SummerSlam.
On the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL shot down rumors that Michaels' backstage complaints led to Vader's WWE run going downhill:
"Much more to it than that. It was derailed way before that. We didn't get the same Vader. The Vader that was there [in WCW] in '91, '92, the Vader that had those incredible matches with Sting, where it looked like he was just killing him, those matches were awesome. I thought they were some of Sting's best matches. I thought they were some of Vader's best matches. That Vader in Japan, that guy was one of, if not the greatest, big man of all time." [31:41 – 32:04]
Michaels defeated Vader in the SummerSlam 1996 main event to retain the WWE Championship. The feud was supposed to lead to matches at Survivor Series 1996 and the 1997 Royal Rumble. However, according to creative team member Bruce Prichard, plans changed after Michaels criticized his opponent.
JBL on Vader's struggles before joining WWE
The SummerSlam match is best remembered for Vader failing to kick out of one of Shawn Michaels' pinfall attempts. Another incident saw Michaels kick his in-ring rival in the head after a miscommunication over an elbow drop.
JBL believes other issues, including Vader's real-life fight with Paul Orndorff in WCW, caused the powerhouse wrestler to lose confidence:
"Whatever happened with Shawn in the ring at SummerSlam, we did not get the same Vader. That had more to do with it than anything else." [32:18 – 32:27]
In the same episode, JBL recalled how Vader "hated" working with a legendary wrestler in WCW.
Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
