Brian Damage

Not so long ago, in a Universe not so far away….was a man with a rather peculiar name. It was sort of a cross between Vader and Stan Hansen, not quite either. His name was Hade Vansen. Who was he? What did he do? Everything and nothing.

To tell you his story, you must first understand the WWE. It is a global brand, that thousands upon thousands of wrestlers dream of one day being in. Of the thousands that dream about one day being a WWE Superstar, only a handful get signed. If you are one of the few lucky enough to get signed to a contract, you are not immediately thrust into the spotlight. No, first you must pay your dues. Whatever you learned in wrestling school and the indies is thrown out the window, and you must be re-trained, the WWE style of Sports Entertainment. That still doesn’t guarantee you a spot on the main roster. Many of these “developmental” wrestlers never see a WWE ring. Sometimes they are cut or released. Others quit and return to the indies and some quit wrestling altogether. It’s not an easy road to the top and nor should it be. With the absence of territories , there are only a few competitive wrestling organizations to hone your craft. The developmental system is essential to grow and mature as a potential WWE Superstar. When your name is finally called to “the majors,” you’ll be ready. That brings us to Hade Vansen.

His journey was much like the picture I just painted for you. He was an indie wrestler signed to a contract, sent down to Florida and waited for his call. What makes him a little more special is that he was an indie wrestler from Great Britain. The WWE didn’t have an office in England, so when Hade was signed, it was on a very brief tour of Europe. Only a few were granted a tryout and even fewer were signed from this tour. Hade of course, along with Wade Barrett, Drew Mcintyre and Sheamus. Pretty rarefied air indeed. When he was called to the WWE, it wasn’t by a McMahon, a Levesque, Jim Ross or even John Laurinaitis, but a second generation Hollywood actor who happened to be hired as a writer for the WWE. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the man who gave us such cinematic classics as Scooby Doo: The Movie, Summer Catch, I Know What You Did Last Summer and a host of other nonsensical 90’s teen movies, Freddie Prinze Jr. made the call up. Even though I tease Freddie about his movie choices, he actually had a pretty good idea and story line for Hade Vansen. Freddie was/is a big wrestling fan and had a creative background. His biggest idea involved the young Brit.

Freddie sat down with the rookie and hashed out a very long, detailed plan for his debut. Hade would start out like most newcomers with a series of vignettes or promos. His however, would be cryptic, yet very specific. Hade would cut a series of promos on the Undertaker to air on both Raw and Smackdown for a few weeks. Eventually, Hade would debut, but not alone. He would have a cult with him. Much like Raven’s flock, it would consist of several other wrestlers from developmental that were under Hade’s control. They would repeatedly attack The Undertaker. As Hade himself put it, every week the Undertaker would take out a member of Hade’s “cult” until only Hade was left standing. The culmination was to take place at Wrestlemania 25. Imagine that, a rookie’s first program in the WWE was to be against the phenom, the legend, the very much respected, future Hall of Famer, The Undertaker! Not only a program with the Dead Man, but a match on the biggest stage ever, Wrestlemania. Forget about jumping from the frying pan to the fire, he was going straight to the fire with no layovers.

The entire story line was presented to Stephanie McMahon and not only did she approve it, she loved it. So on the December 12th, 2008 edition of Smackdown, the first of soon to be many promos aired. The vignette was interesting to say the least. It was made to look like Hade hacked into the production truck and put on a pirated promo. Without going word for word, Hade made it known he was targeting the Undertaker and his dark powers. He wanted to be the new phenom of the WWE. It was dark, mysterious, interesting and had potential. But alas, that’s not where this story is headed.

After this promo aired, as legend has it, Vince took a gander at the man who would challenge one of his greatest Superstars and decided, he just didn’t fit the part. Whether it was because he was too small (5’11) or too green, nobody knows for sure. What we do know, is that the entire story line was scrapped. And to make matters even worse, Hade Vansen, not even a month after his debut promo aired, was released by the WWE. That was it, from Penthouse to Outhouse in a couple of weeks time. It was that fast.

So what happened to this man who was chosen to be the Undertaker’s adversary? Well, after his WWE release, decided to retire at the ripe young age of 26. He moved to Los Angeles and became an actor under his real name of Hadrian Howard. He has starred in a number commercials and soap operas. So, the wrestler who jumped straight into the fire and skipped the frying pan, in the end, became nothing more than a flash in the pan. Rest in Peace…Hade Vansen.