Mick Foley On Vader Going Into WWE Hall of Fame, What It Would Mean to Vader

Vader is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022, and Mick Foley discussed what that would have meant to Vader in a new video. Foley posted a new video talking about Vader’s upcoming induction at next Friday’s Hall of Fame ceremony and you can see some highlights below:

On Vader’s WWE Hall of Fame induction: “In my opinion, ‘It’s time! It’s time! It’s about damn time.’ Wow, I’m so happy for Leon’s family. And in a sense I’m happy for myself too, because whenever I was asked about the WWE Hall of Fame and who should be in there, the number one name I gave — it used to be Chyna and Vader. Chyna’s in there now with DX. That’s another argument for another time, if she should get in there on her own. But I always thought the most glaring omission was Vader.”

On Vader’s time in WWE not turning out the way it should have: “I don’t think he had the run he should — it’s not a matter of thinking, I know he did not get the run he should have had in WWE. That was a case of the company trying to fix something that wasn’t broken. And I know, because I rode with Leon quite a bit in my early days in WWE… he would mention to me how aggravating — he wouldn’t mention that, he would talk about it at length how aggravated he was that he was being forced to do things that he did not think were in the Vader character. I remember him saying, ‘I’m Vader and I’m running away? Literally running laps around the ring uh against the Ultimate Warrior.'”

On what Vader’s potential would have been in the Attitude Era: “So I just think if they had kept — if Vader had come along during the Attitude Era? Oh my goodness. he’d be up there in all that merchandise and memorabilia along with Austin, Taker, Rock … Kane, Triple H, and and me. I think he was — oh man, he was one of the biggest drawing cards of his era.”

On Vader’s feelings around the Hall of Fame: He should not have needed the WWE Hall of Fame to legitimize his career, but he thought he did. And that was the conversation he and I had over and over the last two years that he was alive. And I would tell him, ‘Leon no one can take away from you what you have done. You don’t need a Hall of Fame to do that.’ And it was almost like you could sense the words were going in one ear and leaving the other, because he had placed such importance on being part of the WWE Hall of Fame.

“Now he’s in, deservedly so. My heartfelt congratulations to Leon’s son, to everyone who loves him. He brought out the best in people, I know he brought out the best of me. To me, he was the greatest working big man of my generation. Put him in that argument, saying maybe ever. He did things that were thought to be unthinkable. No one even thought about a 400 pound man doing a moonsault, because it was not thought to be possible and he proved them wrong.”

On his matches with Vader: “Man, I loved working with him. I wouldn’t say they were fun matches but they were great. I can say, he would bring out something in me, and man we would leave the audience with the feeling that this guy, meaning me, he can hang with that guy. Leon was like a brick wall, and you could knock him down but you had to work hard at it. With his help, with his help. If you didn’t, he’d crush you. But if you were willing to put in the work and suffer the consequences, he would make you better than you’d ever been before. He did that for a lot of people.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Mick Foley with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.