WWE News: WWE Legend Collapses In The Ring After Event In Japan, Explains What Happened
Back in November, Big Van Vader revealed that he had less than two years to live, which has had fans worried, but what happened in the ring last night is even more concerning. During Thursday night’s Tatsumi Fujinami 45th anniversary show at Korakuen Hall in Japan, Vader actually collapsed and passed out in the center of the ring. As medical personnel rushed to his side, word began to spread and fans started wondering if his health had worsened quicker than expected.
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that the scare took place as Big Van Vader (real name Leon White) tagged with Keiji Muto and AKIRA to take on Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, and Shiro Koshinaka. The match went on as scheduled and all went through fine, but it was the after-match moments that brought about the frightening incident.
Antonio Inoki was heading to the ring to join in on a ceremony that was going to honor Fujinami after the match. That’s when Vader collapsed. He was flat out on the ring mat with his eyes closed and others moving around him to see if he was alright.
After a short while, Vader regained consciousness and ended up leaving the ring on his own. Not long after exiting the arena, Vader ended up attending a party that was put on by Fujinami’s family and he appeared to be alright.
Word of his collapse in Japan was making the internet rounds and Vader took to social media to clear up any confusion. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew his collapse in the ring had nothing to do with his heart.
last night the first match for Fujinamis 45th anneversary show in Tokyo Sold out Did the opening spot with Fujinami I dropped on my head
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) April 20, 2017
It had absolutely nothing to do with my heart but rather my head&Yes i did collapse in fact I was out cold thank uforld jap Wrest i love it
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) April 20, 2017
More tweets and news started making the rounds and some said that Vader’s passing out came as a result of dehydration. That may have very well been a contributing factor for the 61-year-old WWE legend. Add the fact that he was dropped on his head during the match, and it’s no surprise he passed out.
Of course, fans immediately thought his fainting had something to do with his heart issues, but luckily, it did not.
Wrestling Inc. brought up a quote that Vader made on The Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast last month when he spoke of his health. He actually wishes he hadn’t tweeted about the issues with his heart as it is all anyone thinks or asks him about now.
“I really kind of regret tweeting it out. In other words when I got diagnosed and was told, ‘Leon, you have a bad heart and you have congestive heart failure and we feel your time is limited and you have maybe a couple of years left… two years or less to live.’ I remember getting very angry and said this has gotta be bulls**t because I don’t feel bad and I remember getting extremely angry.”
Big Van Vader says he continues to train hard and work out as he doesn’t want to fall back and do nothing.
While it is true that Big Van Vader has serious heart issues, he insists that his collapsing and fainting in the ring in Japan on Thursday night had nothing to do with that. Vader says it had to do with a move that dropped him on his head and it simply knocked him out, but that was all. The man is 61-years-old and still wrestling, which many believe may not be the best idea considering his heart issues. Still, he’s going to perform as long as he is possibly able to do so.
[Featured Image by WWE]
