If you’ve been following our weekly “Into the Vault 1998” series, you’ll know we’re at the end of Vader’s run in WWF—mercifully. The Mastodon was in the company for just two years during the Attitude Era but the second half of that stint was nothing to write home about.
You could say that the decline became evident in the second half of 1997 and that 1998 was pretty much a lengthy spiral as evidenced by his pay-per-view run. Mind you, there was also the issue of Vader’s weight during his WWF stint.
While he would have a return to form after leaving the company, Vader should’ve been a bigger deal during his run there. I mean, he was put in the WWE Hall of Fame this year but it had to be on the weight of his WCW run and not his time in WWE because it just wasn’t an impressive two years at all.
During the New Generation period, Vader didn’t need salvaging. He just needed to be used exactly as he was in WCW. The guy even had a good mouthpiece in Jim Cornette, being a part of his Camp Cornette faction.
Salvaging Vader in the Attitude Era
Now, the Attitude Era is a different story. Whereas no backstory or build was necessary during the New Generation—wrestlers just came in as a bodyguard or a monster. Jack Tunney was the commissioner just prior and Sgt. Slaughter just continued his policy of allowing anyone into the company.
With the Attitude Era, guys at the top had progression of their stories. There was a reason they were there. Even The Undertaker who had been there before the Attitude Era had a backstory with the introduction of Kane.
So, Vader was probably going to need something extra besides being big, powerful, and deceptively athletic. WWF had big guys who were all of that—like Kane and Taker. As he was, The Mastodon was probably hard to write into the Attitude Era with all that was going on.
Perhaps he would’ve benefited from the Goldberg treatment and wouldn’t need a backstory but he had already lost a match in his first year with the company. If anything, he could’ve gone the Mankind route.
Up until his “I Quit” match against The Rock, Mankind had never been forced to submit. Vader could’ve gone unpinnable or he could’ve been unbeatable in cage matches or bull rope bouts—anything to make his run and character memorable in the WWE. Something that was distinctly Vader in the company.
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