Alignment: Villain
Faction: Shadow Axis
Albert Mannheim started as a professional wrestler in the nineties. Working independent federations as a jobbing face, Albert’s ‘Alpha Male’ gimmick took off when he turned heel. Becoming the bad-boy who insulted the male crowd while wooing female fans, he signed with the country’s biggest promotion and hit the big-time. Albert was regarded as a good worker by his peers, and quickly developed one feud after another.
During his rise in popularity, Albert befriended Miles ‘Mayhem’ Maxwell, working many matches together and becoming two of the biggest stars in the promotion. Ten years later though, and their stars had waned. No longer headliners and occupying B and C-shows, they lost their contracts and were reduced to working lesser federations.
Albert loved wrestling and could not see success in another line of work, so after a couple of years around the independent circuit he welcomed Miles’ plan to get back on top – to form their own promotion as main-eventers.
The two wrestlers called in every favor they were owed and invested everything they had in a pay-per-view launch. The were betting everything on one show spring-boarding them back the top of the sport. It was a disaster, the card derailed by the crashing arrival of Scion and Battle Engine, the failure of the event sealed by Miles’ on-camera meltdown. Albert was devastated.
Creditors quickly beset the old friends, their insurance insufficient against losses and lawsuits from the pay-per-view company and audience members. Their salvation came in the shadowy form of a man named Guile, who introduced himself avatar of a trickster god. Albert knew in that moment that Guile was speaking truth about what he offered, but had little doubt there would be a price to pay.
Guile’s proposal was simple – incredible power for the wrestlers, to enable revenge on Scion. Their price that they play the part of super-criminals as an extension of their ring personas, and that they would one day repay Guile with a great favor. Miles accepted straight away, but Albert was not so sure. He wanted time to consider, but Guile’s offer was one-time only, and this was the moment. At the urging of his friend, Albert reluctantly agreed.
Alpha Male and Mayhem were transformed that night, with new-found physical prowess to match their larger-than-life ring characters. Albert was surprised at how quickly he adapted to his new role, changed into another kind of heel. With each job he squirreled away money, building a war-chest to one day escape the life Guile had pushed them into. Albert began hatching a plan to eventually extricate his friend and himself from Guile’s due, and until then they deal with devils like Tyrant and the Shadow Axis.
“Can you Alphamaniacs smell what the Alpha Male is cooking? Woo! Oh yeah!”
Alpha Male – Covenant of Justice #14