"He got lucky that night" - Jim Ross reveals WWE almost fired a big superstar for refusing to lose

WWE has had many larger-than-life characters over the years. Plenty of these characters were given special booking treatment to preserve their image as "top guys."

While there were a select few who were protected by the writing team, many wrestlers, for varied reasons, were not given the privilege of avoiding losses.

During a recent episode of the "Grilling JR" podcast on AdFreeShows.com, Jim Ross opened up about Vader's reluctance to lose in the WWE (then WWF) back in 1996.

Big Van Vader faced The Ultimate Warrior at an unusually high-profile house show in Rosemont on June 9, 1996. To this day, their match is remembered for a controversial reason.

Vader didn't want to lose to Warrior because he wanted to protected his image as monster heel. The former WCW champion even walked away mid-match, only to return after he was threatened with a release backstage. Vader then walked away from the match for the second time, and the bout ended in a count-out win for The Ultimate Warrior.

Jim Ross explained that while Vader, real name Leon Allen White, was an incredibly gifted performer, the legendary star was apparently convinced that losing at a WWE house show would hurt his status in Japan.

Jim Ross spoke about the Japanese influence on some of the more prominent WWE wrestlers and how it affected their booking choices.

"So, Leon is lucky that night he didn't get fired. And a lot of bookers in less tenuis times would have said, 'Well, see, you're done.' You can't lose; we can't win. So, you figure that out. I think we had the WCW thing going on, bubbling and bubbling. Leon might have been out. That would have been a terrible loss because he was a killer heel and got over and all that good stuff. But the Japanese influence on some of those guys. They actually believed that losing at a house show, for example, in Rosemont, would be detrimental to their Japanese career."

" I find that absurd," said Ross. "Really, I find it absurd. Are we kidding each other? But Leon was lucky. He got lucky that night. And I'm not saying that his match was not good, or he didn't have a reason for being defiant, or he wasn't easy to work with, but on paper, from a promoter's standpoint, Vader vs. Warrior had some sizzle."

The AEW announcer explained that he found it absurd that Vader thought doing jobs on the WWE live event circuit would affect his perception in Japan.

Vader is inarguably one of the greatest foreign heels in Japanese wrestling history, and as noted by JR, the legend was lucky enough to retain his WWE job that night in Rosemont.

"If you wanted to protect your money, you should not have come here" - JR on Vader joining WWE

Vader in WWE

Jim Ross also recalled how he was responsible for bringing Vader into WCW earlier in his career. He stated that despite Vader's disappointing WWE run, he personally loved the former IWGP Champion's monster heel persona.

"Leon was very gifted, as we know, and I was always a big proponent of Leon because I was one of the persons responsible for bringing he and Hansen into WCW back in the day," Ross added. "So, I always loved the big monster heel persona. But Leon is one of those guys that was easily convinced that if I do jobs, it's going to hurt me in Japan."

Jim Ross then argued that Vader's stance made no sense because contracts with a no-defeat clause were totally out of the question for many companies.

"Screw Japan," Ross continued. "I mean, come on...Oh Japan, this in Japan, and that, you know. If you wanted to protect your money, you should not have come here, if that's a concern of yours. Because you know you're not going to get booked for signing a contract that says I never lose."

Despite his lackluster WWE run, Vader is still an all-time great and there has been a long-running campaign to get the late, great trailblazer into the WWE Hall of Fame.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.