Hans Schnabel

Hans Schnabel, also spelled Hans Sabel and Hans Shabel in some areas was an interesting villain, as he did the arrogant German routine BEFORE World War 2. As early as the late 1930s he was doing this in the Ohio/West Virginia area, before heading westward.

In Arizona, he was seen at intervals in the 1940s, both on his own as a single and as a tag team partner with a "brother" named Fritz.  During the war, it was a wonder he escaped from arenas alive.

Brother Fritz, by the way, was the journeyman wrestler, Frank Jares.

Awesome in appearance, he often wore a long, flowing cape and looked like something from a Universal vampire film.

In the ring, he was recognized as a savage brawler, again long before fights spilling unto the arena floor and up the aisle were commonplace.

In many regards, he was a true pioneer among the heels.

A photo of him and brief notations about his career appear in the Wrestling in Akron book out by Arcadia. Though he appeared around the USA, he was especially pushed in the Midwest.

Long before Arizona had the Von Steiger, Karl Von Brock, Fritz Von Goering or Sergeant Shultz, they had this man, spreading chaos throughout the arenas of Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and more.