Seated before the assembled reporters and camera is the man himself, attired casually in his sylised HWA ‘Herzensbrecher’ t-shirt, grey jeans and white Con’s, a somewhat tousled look to his hair is capped off with a Breitling watch on his left wrist.
Standing off to his side, is a HWA official, currently pointing at one of the reporters as another sits down, having just finished speaking with Heinrich.
(Tom Franklin): Tom Franklin, Contact Sports Magazine. Have you been training in a similar fashion to Maniac, Heinrich? Have you brought in anyone from outside of the HWA to give you the edge over him?
(Heinrich): No, no I have not.
Pausing for a second to let that sink in, he then continues, launching his words across whatever the reporter was going to ask next.
(Heinrich): And why? Because I don’t need to. You know, I make it a point to sit down at after each event when I get home, and watch the entire show, from start to finish. See what I missed in the heat of the action, see my competition from another angle and so forth. Nothing that Maniac has done since I’ve gotten here, has made he hit the pause, rewind and the play button, in that order… nothing.
(Tom Franklin): He says he’s going to throw moves at you that you’ve never seen before Heinrich, surely that should be some cause for concern?
(Heinrich): Tom, we all say that from time to time. Every wrestler is guilty of it, and every wrestler takes it with a big pinch of salt when his opponent comes out with it. And besides, let’s be honest, who’s to say that I’ve not learnt some new moves that Maniac has never seen, or heard about before, eh? I’ll be wary, and on my toes, but, and I can’t stress this enough, I’d be doing that regardless of who my opponent is. Maniac is getting no special treatment here, and I’ve faced off against higher calibre wrestlers in my time here. Next question please.
As Tom sits down, a brunette several seats away gets the nod to ask her question from the HWA official to the side of the stage.
(Madison Thornton): Madison Thornton, LA Times. Heinrich, putting up your car collection against the ownership of Romano Enterprises doesn’t seem to have had Maniac take the bait, wouldn’t you say?
(Heinrich): *Chuckling* Let’s face it Madison, Maniac was never going to do anything other than withdraw his ‘offer’, regardless of what I put up. I’m sure he thought he’d be scoring some points with that, but y’know, whatever. I called his bluff, put him under the spotlight, and he skulked away.
(Madison Thornton): Thank you Heinrich.
She jots down her last notes as she settles back into her seat, as another reporter rises.
(Bryan Harris): Bryan Harris; Wrestling Entertainment Monthly. Heinrich, do you feel it’s a fair assessment that you’ve got a lot to do to cement your status as the #2 spot in the HWA?
(Heinrich): No, it’s a fair assessment. Yes, to come from being Spotlight champ, which was conceived primarily to give the rookies of the company a chance to cut their teeth, to holding the All-Star simultaneously in the space of a few short months, is unheard of. I was just settling down into my role as Spotlight champ, and I know that I was just starting to come to the fore in peoples minds when they think of the HWA. It’s like if Sauber were to win the Constructors title in next year’s Formula 1 season, or Tottenham Hotspur to win the English Premier League… you know of them, but you don’t know they could do that, if you can see where I’m coming from. It’s a shot from the blue.
He takes a sip of the water set next to his microphone stand.
(Heinrich): Had things gone my way in the earlier stages of my HWA career, people might not be so cynical about my chances, but then again, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now if I hadn’t had my various title matches for the Spotlight interfered in. It’s a two way thing I guess.
(Bryan Harris): Where do you see yourself in a few months time Heinrich, say, by the new year?
(Heinrich): Still holding the belts, or at least, the All-Star, since I hear the Spotlight’s as good as decommissioned… erm, ah… I guess having a good run at Ringmaster would cap things off nicely for this year for me personally. Get some good wins in between of course, and come through whatever soap drama that the HWA will throw up in one piece. *Laughs* The basics really…
Bryan sits down, with Heinrich taking the chance to have another sip of his water while the HWA official points out the next reporter.
(Richard DeLonge): Richard DeLonge; Montana Sports, tell me Heinrich, how’s the nose?
(Heinrich): Fine thanks Richard. A little tender, obviously, but it’s nothing I’ve not suffered before.
(Richard DeLonge): Worried it might be something that Maniac will try to exploit?
(Heinrich): He’d be a fool not to… but again, it’s nothing I’ve not suffered before, having it both happen in the first place, and then having to put myself through the rigours of a wrestling match while it’s still healing.
(Richard DeLonge): Anything to say about his words comparing you and your brother?
(Heinrich): I’m sure I can come up with something…
He smirks somewhat coyly, as he draws laughter from the assembled reporters.
(Heinrich): Neither of us can abide dummkopfs. You act like one, you get treated like one. He comes out with complete and utter nonsense about breaking me in half, beating my face down my throat and having this delusion that HWA is his playground… and perhaps worst of all, insinuating that I’ve got a beer gut…
Once more, laughter ripples around the room.
(Heinrich): … although, then again, I’d probably have to give top spot to him thinking that I want to be him, and have his life… No, Maniac. No I don’t. I don’t want to be the sort of guy that has more personalities than he’s had matches. I don’t want to be the guy who demands that he has a mirror in his locker room just so he can have a conversation with someone that won’t either punch him, or walk away in disgust. I don’t want to be the guy that sits online with a random name generator just so he can give himself another moniker. And I most certainly don’t want to be the guy who has replica belts on-hand, which is just… sad…
He clears his throat, before taking a drink of his water.
(Heinrich): Look, everyone, the only thing I agree with him on is that you win some, and lose some. I know it well. He says he’s better than me, and that he’ll win. I disagree… obviously. Look at the evidence though, and yes, I have momentum going into this match, but Maniac’s choked repeatedly during his ‘big’ matches for a long time now. That he’s had to get Frank Mir to give him some pointers shows how much he’s had to up his game to take me on! I’m not like our World champ who bangs on about ‘respect’, and I don’t want any from Maniac, but what I would like, is for him to take notice of all the people over the past few months who’ve thought it’d be a cakewalk to take me down, and where they are now in comparison to me. Then, to think on what he’s said, and realize how big a fall he’s setting himself up for, because like Fallen, Draconis, and so on, I’ll knock him down…
The scene fades out to commercial, as another reporter stands up to question the Unified All-Star champion.
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