Vader breaking Joe Thurman's back

[Fartsauce]

So I downloaded the footage of this match from DVDR the other day and I was horrified. I'd always read about this incident and seeing the footage for the first time and it's pretty goddamn brutal. Vader is clearly pissed off the entire match and just stiffs the fuck out of this poor guy. The chokeslam and bomb were the most brutal from Vader i've ever seen. Vader doesn't even touch the guy as he is pinned down and appears to be checking him out and feeling a bit remorseful immediately after the match. Anyone ever see this? Thoughts? I'm not exactly sure of the rules in regards to posting video links but if i'm allowed, maybe i'll post a rapidshare or a yousendit later in the day.

[zyn081]

I'm not exactly sure of the rules in regards to posting video links but if i'm allowed, maybe i'll post a rapidshare or a yousendit later in the day.

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For every folder check the pinned rules and theres also the http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?act=boardrules link.

[Hunter's Torn Quad]

I remember this vividly. It was definitely one of the most brutal bumps you'll see. They hyped up showing the tape of this on a year-end edition of Worldwide that year, with Bill Watts and Tony Schiavone calling the action. Vader was really upset by what happened, and according to Sting he was crying in the back over it, because he was afraid he had ended the Thurman's career.

[Ripper]

Eh. till this day I still think that it was Thurmans fault. i think he just took the chokeslam funny and then took the powerbomb the same way.

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

I'm not familiar with this, can someone post the backstory?

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski]

It's on Vader's official site, last time I checked.

 

Vader was the World champ and he was wrestling a handicap match against two jobbers. Vader wrestlers jobber #1 and then jobber #1 tags in Joe Thurman. Vader wrestles Thurman. He chokeslams him awkwardly and then paralyzes Thurman with the powerbomb.

[Carnival]

I wanna see this.

 

Did the guy end up being ok? Or what happened to him?

[Jingus]

He eventually regained the use of his legs, according to Foley's version in Have A Nice Day, but I'm pretty sure his career was over.

 

They used to call the old WCW house shows "Vader's Roadkill Spree" from his tendency to murderdeathkill whatever poor jobber he was facing.

[nl5xsk1]

It was pretty damn painful to watch the decision makers trot out jobbers all the time, knowing that Vader was going to stiff the piss out of them.

 

The little money that the enhancement talent made was NOT worth it against Vader.

[Dangerous A]

That run in WCW in the early 90's reeks of unprofessionalism. I could see in the mid-late 80's where he was still a bit green and not knowing his own strength or how to control how hard his strikes were, but when they put the title on him in WCW, he should've known better. Now, I also do know that Vader genuinely felt bad when he hurt people, but there are just too many instances where it looks like he took liberties with people.

 

At least in his late 90's-2000 All Japan and NOAH run, the guys who worked on top with Vader gave it back to him because in All Japan, there is an understanding that I'm going to work snug with you, but it's expected for you to give it right back to me, or else the match looks like a squash. With his work in the U.S., that wasn't the case.

[Ripper]

But seriously, look at the video. The guy just took the Choke and the Powerbomb funny. he didn't lay out. He tried to land on the upper back to make it look impactful and fucked himself up. Yeah, Vaders strikes looked a little stiff, but hey, the dude that tagged out didn't seem to be smarting from it with his shitty selling.

[nl5xsk1]

Dangerous A, I agree with you that it was pretty unprofessional ... but I don't think he was doing anything different than what he'd done in Japan. He'd learned to wrestle much stiffer after his time in Japan, and just carried it over to the US.

 

Plus, I always thought that the Steiners were worse ... they were every bit as bad when it came to stiffing people and they had no Japanese experience to use as an excuse.

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

Vader's website is very funny.... you need to read the opinions and Fights sections

[Coffin Surfer]

The only person I've seen Vader really brutalize in the U.S. was Foley and we all know who's idea that probably was. Maybe Flair but I wander how much of it was welcomed at the time, notice that Vader doesn't make him bump for any of his more brutal high impact moves either.

 

I don't recall seeing Vader getting wrecklessly stiff with Sting, Smith, or even Dustin(in their 94 match at least). Most of those matches is Vader taking the majority of the big bumps and letting himself get stiffed, especially in the Superbrawl match with Sting. Vader loved to play pinball for smaller guys. Evidentally he wasn't that out of control.

[Dangerous A]

But seriously, look at the video.  The guy just took the Choke and the Powerbomb funny.  he didn't lay out.  He tried to land on the upper back to make it look impactful and fucked himself up.  Yeah, Vaders strikes looked a little stiff, but hey, the dude that tagged out didn't seem to be smarting from it with his shitty selling.

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I'm not talking about just this with these jobbers, I'm talking about the body of his work. He seemed to be taking liberties with guys early on and didn't straighten it out until his 96-98 WWE run, where if he tried that crap, he'd have gotten canned earlier than he did. At first, I can buy that he's green, but after instance after instance, you have to wonder if he was taking advantage of guys bodies.

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

The only person I've seen Vader really brutalize in the U.S. was Foley and we all know who's idea that probably was.  Maybe Flair but I wander how much of it was welcomed at the time, notice that Vader doesn't make him bump for any of his more brutal high impact moves either. 

 

I don't recall seeing Vader getting wrecklessly stiff with Sting, Smith, or even Dustin(in their 94 match at least).  Most of those matches is Vader taking the majority of the big bumps and letting himself get stiffed, especially in the Superbrawl match with Sting. Vader loved to play pinball for smaller guys.  Evidentally he wasn't that out of control.

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Vader has a list of injuries he caused to other guys and it includes Bulldog's broken nose, and a story about how he was stiffing the piss out of Flair and refused to let up unless Flair started giving it back to him. Vader has a sour opinion overall of Flair it would seem.

 

 

www.bigvanvader.com

[Coffin Surfer]

Vader has a list of injuries he caused to other guys and it includes Bulldog's broken nose, and a story about how he was stiffing the piss out of Flair and refused to let up unless Flair started giving it back to him.  Vader has a sour opinion overall of Flair it would seem.

 

 

Most of that list is shooting the shit, just look at the wording.

 

Do you know what caused the nose break in the Smith match? Vader was swinging at him in the corner, none of them connecting, he's pulling them or aiming them above his head until Smith ducks his head for some reason and walks into his forearm as he's bringing it up. A miscommunication, not a stiff shot. The monster that he is, Vader lets up and stalls while Smith recovers.

[Guest Fishyswa]

What exactly happened to him? He was moving his limbs afterwards and didn't seem in too bad of shape.

[Hunter's Torn Quad]

Vader didn't take liberties with anyone. As was said by nl5xsk1, he learned to work a stiff style in Japan, and that was the style he brought to the US because that is what WCW wanted. Wrestlers working against Vader knew that he worked stiff, but he also worked relatively safely: like William Regal once said in description of his style, "I hit hard but in very safe places".

 

Wrestlers like The Steiners and The Nasty Boys were just as stiff and/or reckless as Vader, and they are have taken liberties with jobber talent at times, and at one point one of the Nasties, I think Saggs, got into a legit scuffle in the ring with a jobber over how reckless he was being.

[Guest Gary Busey]

Going to http://www.bigvanvader.com/fights.htm you can see his "real life" fights.

 

I'd love to see the Ken Shamrock match where Shamrock messed Vader up so badly, he asked audibly for Shamrock to ease up. There's a clip of it on the site.

[Jericholic82]

Going to http://www.bigvanvader.com/fights.htm you can see his "real life" fights.

 

I'd love to see the Ken Shamrock match where Shamrock messed Vader up so badly, he asked audibly for Shamrock to ease up. There's a clip of it on the site.

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Is that the one from IYH:Cold Day In Hell (Shamrock's WWF debut match)?

[Ced]

The way Thurman took the chokeslam and powerbomb bumps is asking for trouble. Somebody should've told Joe that landing feet over head then somehow rolling onto his stomach was not a good way to take a high impact back bump. Makes it vicious as hell though.