WWE legend Big Van Vader tells fans he has less than 2 years to live
Wrestling fans everywhere were shaken by news that WWE legend and WCW World Heavyweight champion Big Van Vader dropped on Twitter Tuesday.
The wrestling star, who has been suffering from congestive heart failure, revealed that he only has two years left to live.
“Told by 2 heart Drs that my heart is wore out,” the 61-year-old wrestler, whose real name is Leon White, tweeted. “I have been given less than two yrs to live I am only now allowing this as part of my reality.”
Told by 2 heart Drs that my heart is wore out Ihave been given less than two yrs to live Iam only now allowing this as part of my reality
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) November 15, 2016
White added that his heart was worn out from both wrestling and football.
Hundreds of people replied to White on Facebook and Twitter to express their condolences, including fellow famed wrestler Mick Foley.
Given the news, Foley is now pushing for White’s name to be added to the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame inductees.
“Leon is dying. He has been told by doctors that he may have less than two years left to live,” Foley wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. “His legacy is so important to him, and he has told me that being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame would mean so much on both a personal and professional level.”
Though White is well known for his lengthy career as a professional wrestler, he frequently reminds fans that he was pro football player, too.
Before he joined the World Championship Wrestling in 1990, White played two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams in 1978 and 1979, according to Entertainment Tonight. He played in Super Bowl XIV with the team at the end of his second season (the Rams lost to the Steelers). His time in the NFL was cut short due to a knee injury.
But the wrestler is most proud of his time on WWE in the late ‘90s, where he perfected the “first ever 400-pound moonsault,” a professional wrestling aerial stunt. He briefly returned to WWE in 2005.