Jake Roberts Thought Vader Smelled Too Bad To Be WWE Champion

Vader found massive success in WCW and NJPW, winning both company's world titles on three separate occasions throughout his career — however, luck would not be in his corner during his tenure with WWE from 1996 to 1998. "The Mastodon" would not capture any WWE championship gold, with many wondering why he was never able to reach the top of the mountain after his achievements elsewhere. WWE Hall of Famer (and former rival of Vader's) Jake "The Snake" Roberts addressed why he believes WWE was right in never crowning Vader as WWE Champion.

"He smelled too bad," Roberts said on "The Snake Pit." When it was brought up that Vader's ring gear may be the reason behind the stench coming from the big man, Roberts shot that idea down. "Ring gear my ass, it was him. Yeah, big smelly man." Despite his alleged odor, Vader was reportedly set to defeat Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1996, with that never coming to fruition due to backstage politics. Roberts was working behind-the-scenes with WWE around the time Vader wound up not defeating Michaels for the title, and revealed none of the drama between the two men fell on his shoulders. "I didn't have to put up with that."

Even though he never won the big one in WWE, Vader was eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022 during WrestleMania 38 weekend. Unfortunately, Vader would not be alive to receive this great honor, as he passed away in June 2018.

If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit "The Snake Pit" with a H/T to WrestlingInc. for the transcription.