Vader Passes Away at 63

[cero2k]

Source: f4wonline.com

Vader (real name Leon White), a legendary big man wherever he went in pro wrestling, has passed away at 63 years old.

White's son wrote the following: "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. 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."

White underwent successful open-heart surgery in March but still had a long road to recovery ahead of him at that point. He was hospitalized again in April due to pneumonia, which he tweeted was downgraded to bronchitis. He underwent another surgery in May to repair an irregular heartbeat.

Despite years of heart problems, White was active in the ring until 2017 and had been vowing to make a comeback even after his open-heart surgery. He briefly fainted after a match in Japan last year but claimed it wasn't related to his heart issues.

White was a football player before starting his wrestling career in the AWA. With incredible athleticism for his size, he became a star in both Japan and the United States, wrestling for promotions like NJPW, AJPW, Pro Wrestling NOAH, WCW, and the WWF. He also appeared as a character on a few episodes of "Boy Meets World" in the 1990s.

[cero2k]

man, we knew it was coming soon, but still a huge bummer. He is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time.

[DHRainmaker]

RIP to IMO the 2nd greatest big man of all time (behind Undertaker) Big Van Vader he will be missed

[Big Red Machine]

Sad news