The scene opens out onto the HWA Academy and onto the main training room. (Chris): Alright, we are rolling. Welcome all to a very special interview, I’ve been invited here to the HWA Academy and as you can see, across from me is none other than The Baron, Mr Hans von Richtoven himself. Gesturing at Hans, Chris continues with his introduction. (Chris): So Hans, first things first, how are you? How’s Vanessa? We all saw what happened at Havoc there at the weekend, how’s things? (Hans): Danke Chris, nice to be here. Mein gottin ist… she’s doing ok all things considered. Bandages are off now so that’s a good thing. (Chris): That’s good to hear man, glad she’s not any worse. We all feared when we saw you have to take her from the arena. (Hans): Better to be safe than sorry Chris, but she’ll be back on air with Jason at the next show. You’ll hear from her before then, she’s got her podcast to do later this week. (Chris): Good stuff man, good stuff. Right, I’ve got some questions here for you, we’ll rattle through them, I’ll let you get on with things, sound good? Hans nods at this, settling himself back into his chair, getting comfy. (Chris): So, Hans, you’re the former HWA World champ, you’ve held the All-Star title, the Tag-Team title, Intercontinental and then finally the United States title. Quite the resume. You’re the only Quintuple champion in HWA history. Anything you’ve yet to win? (Hans): Ringmaster? Hans chuckles. (Hans): If only because Butch rubs that one in my face whenever we get into an argument over something, be nice to put a stop to that at long last… Shrugging his shoulders, he carries on. (Hans): But besides that? Nein… I mean, Chris, none of the belts are in contention yet, maybe there’ll be something new, who knows? I’ll wait and see, try and get myself into contention for it. (Chris): No news then? Nothing you’re privy to on that front? (Hans): I keep saying, I’m not management. (Chris): Well with what’s been happening in Chicago, now Wichita… I don’t blame you. Hans takes the glass of water of to his side and raises it to his lips, eyebrows raising the only response he gives to Chris’s words there. (Chris): So, the big one, take us back to that World title run you had Hans. With some time now passed, how do you think it stands among the past World champions? (Hans): It was a good run, jah… He gestures towards his interviewer, leaning slightly forward and bracing himself with the other elbow on the arm rest. (Hans): Having it on the line each time I fought was some motivation… (Chris): I can well believe that. For those of you watching who weren’t viewers at the time, Hans, you had a lottery system in place… (Hans): Jah. (Chris): … and you had the names of the entire roster in it, drawing one out and then facing whoever’s name was in the ball. (Hans): That’s it. I could face anyone. No slacking and taking it easy, you had the world title on the line. (Chris): Quite the incentive for someone who might not have been in title contention had it been the more conventional approach. (Hans): Exactly. It was like a cup game, David vs Goliath. I know what I would be like if I had that opportunity, so jah, I relished having to be standing in that squared circle against someone with the bit between their teeth like that. (Chris): Bit theatrical for you though? The whole drawing the names out of a hat kinda schtick, no? Hans laughs, his head tilting back as he leans back into his chair. (Hans): For me, it was. You American’s love your showbiz though, everything has to be all that and then some. (Chris): We don’t do understated, do we? (Hans): Nein, not in your vocabulary. He shrugs his shoulders lightly, conceding. (Hans): You get used to it. (Chris): You had your wife, Vanessa, or rather, partner at the time, you weren’t married then of course, but she was the one that typically drew the names, why was that? (Hans): I didn’t want any more cries of foul than there already was from the usual suspects at the time… not that it worked, but in hindsight, nothing would have. (Chris): You speak of the nWo? (Hans): Jah, so it was to be expected. He shrugs his shoulders gently, at peace with his words and memories those years bring back. (Hans): Da kann man jetzt auch nichts machen. A small smile flits across his face as a memory surfaces. (Hans): I’ve still got the last ball on one of the display cabinets at home, before the tumbler was disposed of, I asked Vanessa to draw one final ball from it. Still there, unopened. No idea whose name would be in it. (Chris): Who had you not faced by that point? Butch Parker? (Hans): Jah, Butch was one… Bryan Deas… He begins to tick off names on his fingers. (Hans): Logan Neilson… mein bruder Heinrich… After a few seconds, he gives up, exhaling loudly through pursed lips and shaking his head. (Hans): Nein, there were a few others…I can’t recall… perhaps I’ll spend time with Michelle and the other younger members of the academy and look through the archives one day. (Chris): Before we touch on one name you’ve not mentioned, you bring up Michelle Learner, you’ve been spending the last few months as one of the HWA Academy coaches. How has that been? (Hans): Jah, it’s been gut, sehr gut. It’s a professional environment but nurturing… Matthew, verzeihung, Red Dragon, has built a good house there. (Chris): How do you feel about the talent that’s sustained HWA these past few years? (Hans): Ich fühle stolz… I feel pride, being able to see the new generation coming through. Whether they stay within the HWA or spread their wings in years to come, the wrestling world will be all the better for those that have been here, holding down the fort. It’s good to see them getting the attention that they deserve now though. (Chris): Have you been able to help them much in your short time? (Hans): Jah. I’ve been able to work with some of them on submission and technical aspects of their skillsets, that’s been enjoyable for me and hopefully beneficial to those that have been working with me. I’d like to think that I’ve been able to help them with support for their lives outside of the ring as well, this is new to many of them, this level of spotlight… it’s tough. (Chris): The wrestling business and public eye certainly is. A brief shuffle of the papers on his lap. (Chris): Now, before we speak of someone in particular, you’re on the roster now Hans, you’re likely to face someone like Matt Miller or Jeremy Branson before long, how do you feel about that? (Hans): Ich bin gespannt, they’d push me to my limits if they’d been on the roster when I was last on it, so jah, I’m older, wiser, strengths in some areas compared to then, weaknesses in others. It’d be quite the test. (Chris): I’m sure it would be Hans, it’s something that the fans are keen to see as well. Another shuffle of the papers, Hans taking the opportunity to sip at the glass of water on the side table next to his chair. (Chris): Now bringing us back to your last tenure in HWA, we haven’t yet talked about one man yet. (Hans): Ah, jah… hmm… (Chris): I presume you know where this is going? (Hans): It’s going where every thread went back then Chris, Senester. (Chris): I can imagine, given what’s happened in your first tenure that revisiting is uncomfortable. (Hans): It is uncomfortable, scheiße but you can’t talk about HWA, let alone my time in it alone without bringing up that man. Pursing his lips, he composes his thoughts briefly, little sign of the emotions bubbling beneath the surface. (Hans): I will say this. That man was the most cerebral individual I’ve ever come across, let alone competitor. (Chris): How so? (Hans): He knew you. He… scheiße… Tapping his forehead, he carries on. (Hans): He could read you. He was under your skin like nobody else could get. And yet… Leaning back into his chair, Hans interlaces his fingers, settling them on his lap. (Hans): He was proud of you, in a perverse way. He pushed you and when you met those standards, he was not shy in giving you the praise he felt you deserved. I recall when he faced me in the ring in the latter stages of my second tenure… I’m not ashamed to say I was fired up, on edge and yet completely unsettled by the prospect of facing him… (Chris): That was the match initiated by Logan Neilson was it not? (Hans): Jah, he had control of the card for that night. I remember having words with him in person for what he’d done, but with hindsight, it exorcized some demons. (Chris): Something you had to go through then? (Hans): Jah, didn’t know it at the time, jetzt tue ich es. (Chris): Now Senester was the one to sign you to the HWA, back when there was the European Tour happening. You debuted in the German event which I’m sure was a special moment for you. Hans nods in agreement with this. (Chris): Take us back to what brought you to the HWA. Your upbringing, compared to a lot of wrestlers in the business, it was fairly smooth sailing, wasn’t it? (Hans): Jah unt nein. I was fortunate to come from a well off background, my moniker, ‘The Baron’ isn’t without merit… that had its issues though. (Chris): How so? (Hans): Well it’s just like the majority of combat sports, it tends to predominantly attract those from less well off backgrounds. It’s a means of escaping that through hard work and dedication to many. They don’t take too kindly at times when in their eyes someone from outside that social strata comes in. I guess you could say it’d be the equivalent of someone from one of the public schools finding themselves attending a private school, their grades may justify their placing there but that’s not how the students feel. (Chris): Like Metallica with Jason Newstead and the hazing he had? (Hans): Jah, as good a way to describe it as any. Taking another sip of his water, he smiles wryly at past memories before carrying on. (Hans): I grew up watching all the pioneers, the foundations of the sport as it grew into the behemoth that it is today. I just knew that it was my calling. Took some convincing when it came to mein vater unt mutti, but once they were sick of the garden furniture being used as a makeshift ring… Smiling yet further as he reminisces, he continues. (Hans): … well, ring is probably a stretch. Fighting pit? (Chris): Thunderdome? Laughing, Hans tilts his head forward in a nod to his interviewer. (Hans): If I’d had the technical skills to build anything higher than chest height at the time, then who knows. I don’t think mein vater was wanting to let me get to that stage though as once they saw mein bruder Heinrich start getting interested, they decided to enrol me properly, perhaps nip it in the bud before things really got out of hand. Maybe let me see sense and that would snap my brother out of it as well for good measure. (Chris): And how did that go? (Hans): I’m here now aren’t I? Seriously though, it was like heaven and hell. I was exactly where I needed to be, this 12 year old child was in his element, it’s just that nearly everyone else didn’t want him there and made it clear from the start. It didn’t matter though, if anything it just made me dig my heels in more and go for it. What was originally training twice a week after school became three days, then four, then a morning on the weekend, then that went into the afternoon. I wanted it more than they did and I put the effort in. Again, with all things, that got me some grudging respect from some and cemented their anger towards me with the others. I can count on one hand the amount of my peers from those days that went on and made it their career let alone life… Patrick Schulz for example… he was one of the nicer ones… Shrugging the shoulders, he pauses for a moment, reflecting. (Hans): … anyway, it always amuses me when you have people berate you for not having as hard a life as they have to get where they are, like they have a monopoly on suffering. We all make sacrifices to come this far, we all walk different roads to get there, who is to say that I’d do any better with someone else's deck of cards or that they’d do better with mine, jah? (Chris): I guess that reflects on your earlier comments about the World title run, that makes a lot of sense. (Hans): Jah, that’s it. (Chris): Well thank you for that Hans, one final thing, from the past and now looking into the future and to your first proper opponent now that you’ve returned to the HWA. You’re booked to face off against Maniac on July 31st at Havoc. Any words for him? (Hans): For Herr Chaos? (Chris): Yes, not forgetting of course his accomplice who will be ringside; I’m speaking of course about Erika Martinez. Someone who’s been making it quite clear that she feels you’ve done a turnabout in your views towards her an… Cutting across him, Hans leans in as he speaks. (Hans): She’s accused a lot of people of a lot of things. The one thing she’s yet to do is reflect on her part in those and see that it’s not been a one way street. (Chris): She feels aggrieved that you seemed to initially understand her reasons for leaving and have now changed your tune though? (Hans): It’s like what I remarking to Herr Chaos a few weeks ago, cause and effect. What caused me to say we were ‘better off’ without her? Ah, that’s right, her verbal assaults on Alexis, Sarah, Matt, Jeremy and so on. She didn’t need to go off on a tirade and start throwing people under the bus… she chose to do that. She burnt bridges, she doesn’t get to then complain about why people on the other side see her as the villain. (Chris): As for what else she’s been saying towards you about… well… Vanessa, you, her… I mean… (Hans): She needs help. And not the help she’s getting from Herr Chaos either. (Chris): Speaking of Maniac, or, as you say, Herr Chaos. He’s coming off a win against Jeremy and Matt who he faced alongside Bryan Deas. Wwhat did you take from that match and how is it going to influence your preparation for yours? (Hans): Herr Chaos walked away thanks to the same reason he’s won his other matches, outside influence or underhanded means. I’ll need eyes in the back of my head and a fertile imagination to plan for whatever tricks either he or Martinez will pull. (Chris): Think you’ll manage? (Hans): Jah. I didn’t hand my contract to Butch just to face Matthew, I could face anyone in the roster. I’m not going to run from anyone. (Chris): Did you have a hand in getting this as the first match back? I mean, you’ve had some heat with yourself and Maniac the past few events, then all of this at the last Havoc? (Hans): Nein Chris, I’ve been clear that I’m not wanting favours from Butch or Wisdom. I spoke to Butch that night once Vanessa had been discharged, vented at him, got vented at in return, think we both needed that given everything that went down… (Chris): Havoc well and truly living up to it’s name… (Hans): … Jah, always. But nein, I didn’t ask for the match. I’m happy I’ve got it. (Chris): Maniac seems to think you’ve been dodging him? Do you think he’ll see it as you putting a brave face on? (Hans): Chris, I’ve not been dodging Herr Chaos. I’ve just been playing some basic mind games with him. He’s quick to pay attention, get obsessed, take offense and demand a match. You can breathe at him in the wrong way and he’ll be on camera later that evening saying that you need to step into that Asylum match of his. He’s had me on his mind the last couple of weeks, everytime he doesn't get the answer he’s after, it unsettles him. If he wants to say otherwise and if he wants to think I’m putting a brave face on, he can be my guest. (Chris): Well I think that about wraps us up for now. Hans, good luck, thanks for sitting down with me. (Hans): My pleasure Chris. (Chris): Once again, Havoc, July 31st, tune in on CBS. The scene fades out as the two men get to their feet, shaking hands as they then do so.
From the camera’s eyes, it’s a room empty of people barring two men currently sitting in a pair of comfy leather chairs across from one another in one of the training rings.
In one seat is Chris van Vliet, the other is Hans ‘The Baron’ von Richtoven.
From off camera, Chris gets a cue, turning to face the camera.
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