Leon White, who rose to fame inside the squared circle of professional wrestling under the name “Vader,” died on Monday after a two-year battle with congestive heart failure.
He was 63 years old.
This sad piece of news was made public by Vader’s son, who wrote the following on his famous father’s Twitter account:
“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.
“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.”
According to TMZ, Vader had undergone open heart surgery this past March and he appeared to be doing well.
However, his health took a turn for the worse over the past few weeks and he was unable to recover.
Prior to breaking into the wrestling industy, Vader was a star football player at the University of Colorado, twice earning All-American honors as an offensive lineman.
The big man was even drafted by the Rams in the thirrd round of the 1978 NFL Draft and played in Super Bowl XIV against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As a professional grapper, Vader was a major attraction around the globe, becoming a three-time WCW heavyweight champ and battling such legends as The Undertaker and Kane in the WWE.
Vader even made television appearances on shows such as Baywatch and Boy Meets World.
Nicknamed The Mastodon, Vader was considered by many to be the best, most versatile wrestler of his size in WWE history.
His heart condition was discovered after he visited two doctors because he was knocked unconscious for over half an hour following a car accident.
In April of 2017, he passed out during a match in Japan due to a head injury and had not wrestled since.
“WWE is saddened to learn that Leon White, better known to WWE audiences as Vader, passed away Monday night at the age of 63,” Tweeted the company after news of Vader’s death went viral.
WWE Diva Paige, meanwhile, simply wrote “RIP Vader” on Twitter, while Bubba Ray Dudley added “RIP BIG MAN.”
Our condolences go out to Vader’s friends, family members and loved ones.
This death comes about two months after the tragic passing of Bruno Sammartino, another WWE legend.
We’ve rundown a number of sad and notable wrestling deaths in the gallery above
May they all rest in peace.