On August 18, 1996 WWF’s 9th annual SummerSlam took place in front of 17,000 fans at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. In the main event, WWF Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels (with José Lothario) took on Vader (with Jim Cornette). Vader had originally won the match twice, first by countout (after he press-slammed Michaels onto the guard rail) and then by DQ (when Michaels struck Vader repeatedly with Cornette's tennis racket), but because WWF championships can only change hands by pinfall or

On January 22, 1996 Vader made his WWF Monday Night Raw debut taking on Savio Vega at the Stockton Civic Auditorium in Stockton, California. After winning the match, VADER continued his assault on Vega and then focused his attention on the ref. Interim WWF President Gorilla Monsoon tried to intervene as well and got a Vader Bomb for his troubles. Vader’s assault was finally vaulted by Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. | Davenport Sports Network