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NWA Hall of Famer Nikita Koloff named former WWE star Vader as one of the toughest opponents that he faced during his career.
Koloff was prominently featured on Jim Crockett Promotions as one of the top heels. During his run with the company, he won the NWA World Television Championship, NWA United States Championship and the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. His career was cut short in late 1992 after suffering a herniated disc at Halloween Havoc in a match against The Mastodon.
The wrestling veteran was on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted podcast this week. During the conversation, the Russian Nightmare recalled his last match with Vader. He stated that he had suffered a hernia while trying to Bodyslam the powerhouse. Koloff sldo acknowledged that the former WCW Champion may have been slightly harder to work with inside the squared circle.
"As far as shooters go, just strength-wise, Van Vader, as big as he was, had a reputation for being somewhat reckless. In fact, officially my last match was against him where he injured my neck. I didn't know it till the next day but I had a hernia picking him up for a Bodyslam. You know, big guy, right. He was a tough one, just tough to work with," said Koloff. (From 25:40 - 26:10)
You can watch the full video here:
Vader was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year
The Mastodon was immortalized in history earlier this year when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Other inductees included The Undertaker, the Steiner Brothers, Queen Sharmell, and Shad Gaspard.
His wife Debra and son Jesse inducted the legendary heavyweight into the Hall of Fame, and the WWE Universe applauded in admiration. Jesse mentioned that the legend was a great father and husband in addition to being an entertainer. Jesse and Debra also thanked the fans for making Vader one of the greatest titans to lace a pair of boots.
The bruiser certainly had an unforgettable career inside the ring as he won several championships and competed in plenty of main events.
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