(RNN) – WWE/WCW wrestling star Big Van Vader has died at age 63, according to his family.
“It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my father, Leon White, passed away on Monday night (6/18/18) at approximately 7:25pm,” a tweet on the Big Van Vader account said.
“Around a month ago my father was diagnosed with a severe case of Pneumonia. He fought extremely hard and clinically was making progress. Unfortunately, on Monday night his heart had enough and it was his time.”
Vader was a cultural phenomenon on both sides of the Pacific, scoring huge fan bases in both the United States and Japan.
He performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which later became the WWE, and All Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s and 2000s.
White began his professional sports career in the NFL, playing for the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. He retired after eight seasons due to a ruptured kneecap.
It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my father, Leon White, passed away on Monday night (6/18/18) at approximately 7:25pm. pic.twitter.com/dP4CNaMuXa
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) June 20, 2018
Around a month ago my father was diagnosed with a severe case of Pneumonia. He fought extremely hard and clinically was making progress. Unfortunately, on Monday night his heart had enough and it was his time. pic.twitter.com/hJYjumvxjH
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) June 20, 2018
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