Between the Ropes with Hannibal Frost

Hi there, this is Jack Dawson, with HOWrestling.com. I recently sat down for an interview with one of HOW’s newest signees, Hannibal Frost.

Enjoy!

 

As the Between the Ropes theme song hits, Jack Dawson sits behind his large wooden desk waiting to kick things off.

Jack Dawson: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Between the Ropes and I am your host, Jack Dawson!

The studio audience claps and cheers with enthusiasm.

Jack Dawson: Tis the season for all things ICONIC!

The studio audience cheers grow louder.

Jack Dawson: That’s right ladies and gentlemen, in just a few short weeks we will be ending this miserable year 2020 with HOW’s biggest show as the card is stacked from top to bottom. We have the ICON and World champions headlining the event in a clash for the ages, the grudge matches of the century, matches staked on pride and honor, as well as the Invitational Battle Royal where the winner names their HOFC group in the DeNucci Cup.

A giant smile forms over the host’s face as he’s giddy just thinking about it.

Jack Dawson: I’m pretty excited to see the return of the HOFC format in HOW. It’s unique and more interesting than something claiming to be Raw and Underground.

The audience chuckles a bit by the statement.

Jack Dawson: Last time, we talked to the Game Master himself, Conor Fuse, and this week’s special guest is none other than HOW’s newest signee, Hannibal Frost.

Hannibal Frost walks into frame, his shy smile the only thing we see under his aviator shades and cowboy hat. He politely nods to Dawson and shakes his hand, before taking his seat opposite the host.

Jack Dawson: Welcome to the show Mr. Frost.

Hannibal Frost: It’s good to be here, even if I’m not much for talking a big game.

Jack Dawson: Why is that?

Hannibal Frost: Just better at the fighting part, I guess…

Jack asks curiously at the nervous sounding Hannibal Frost.

Jack Dawson: You nervous Mr. Frost?

Hannibal gives Jack a wry, knowing smile.

Hannibal Frost: Kinda’ weird, right? Ask me ‘what’s my favorite genre of music’, and I’ll talk your head off for a week. Ask me about myself… and I’d rather trip headfirst into a bear trap.

Jack chuckles and tries to make Hannibal Frost more at home.

Jack Dawson: Look, pretend it’s just you and I right now. Forget the people in attendance and just relax.

Frost takes a deep breath to calm himself, briefly turning to acknowledge the audience before forgetting they exist entirely.

Jack Dawson: Better?

Hannibal Frost: The fact that you’re a cute fella’ will help me focus.

Jack seems a bit taken aback, momentarily flushing a deep pink before continuing with the interview.

Jack Dawson: Now, HOWrestling.com broke news of your signing not too long ago. When you first arrived what was your impression of the Best Arena and the people inside?

Hannibal Frost: You know, in all the companies I’ve worked for, I’ve never been asked that question. Too many fragile egos, maybe. My first impression of HOW had some mixed feelings going on. Par for the course with that, really. I never look at it as a glass half empty, glass half full kinda’ situation. The truth is in the facts, in the liquid. You can argue semantics all you want, but at the end of the day, you can measure the amount of liquid in the glass and get the truth. I’m still measuring High Octane Wrestling.

Jack Dawson: I heard that Mr. Best gave you the welcome basket full of lube, condoms, and a copy of Road Trip Tips For Lonely Drivers, when you went to see him your first night here. What did you think of the gift and what did you want to talk to Mr. Best about?

Hannibal Frost: Driving down a deserted highway, by yourself in a rental car… sometimes it’s like staring into the abyss. It’s also really boring. I was happy to have new ways to entertain myself. As for Mr. Best, it’s a tradition of mine to try and talk with the boss on my first night. Helps with the, ah, measuring process.

Jack nods at Hannibal’s statement.

Jack Dawson: Before we get into your debut match in High Octane Wrestling, give the fans who might not know you a little bit of information about yourself. What companies have you wrestled in? What are some of your biggest accomplishments? Biggest matches? Etc. Being a fifteen year veteran of this industry I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell.

Hannibal Frost: I can work with that first question. I’ll take any chance I can get to talk about the last company I wrestled for. That company deserves to be remembered.

Jack Dawson: We’ve got time for one, maybe two anecdotal references.

Frost lifts an eyebrow above the rim of his shades, chuckling lightly.

Hannibal Frost: And I bet that’s pushing it, huh? Full Metal Wrestling. A minimum thirty-five person roster at all times. Three bi-weekly shows, by three different brands. Over ten years of quality content, and some of the best talent I’ve ever seen. I don’t say it for me, I say it for them. The fact that I held every title in that company and was one of the last FMW Heavyweight Champions is neither here nor there…

Jack Dawson: See, you snuck a little something in there. Congratulations, you can be just as conceited as the rest of us.

Frost tips his hat to Dawson.

Hannibal Frost: I gave it my best shot.

Jack Dawson: Sounds like an impressive resume, and that is probably why Mr. Best signed you to a contract, but these fans have seen supposed legends and great champions come through these doors and get their asses handed to them and they take their ball and go home. What makes you different?

Hannibal Frost: Hmmm… you know, win or lose, I love to fight. And I’ve won enough in the past to make me think I might be able to do it again.

Jack Dawson: Moving on to your debut match against a former multiple ICON and Tag champion, Darin Matthews.

Frost nods as he awaits the question.

Jack Dawson: Were you nervous at all when you saw you were going to face him? How did you prepare for him?

Hannibal Frost: The universe has a knack for putting us where we need to be, when we need to be there. Going into the match, it looked like Matthews was in that phase where it’s ‘do or die’ for his career. When things seem their darkest, people tend to glow their brightest, or, you know, some fairytale shit like that-

Jack Dawson: I see.

Jack replies as he cuts Frost off.

Jack Dawson: What was with the shaking of the hands?

Jack asks and Hannibal looks confused.

Jack Dawson: Why did you make it apparent you showed Darin sportsmanship or respect out there?

Hannibal splays his palms wide, his face feigning confusion.

Hannibal Frost: I didn’t know good sportsmanship was such a foreign concept around here. Well, I take that back, there are assholes everywhere, right? I’ve been in this business a long time, and I’ve worked for more than a few companies. High Octane isn’t an outlier. You’ve got the ones that just love a good fight, and you’ve got the ones that love making people miserable.

Frost laughs to himself.

Hannibal Frost: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the wrestling industry is the perfect place for making people miserable. The wrestling industry, and politics.

Jack Dawson: Speaking of miserable, how did you feel after your debut match with Darin Matthews? I imagine your ‘first match’ being your ‘first loss’ is a little hard to swallow.

Hannibal Frost: I like to think I swallowed it just fine.

Jack opens his mouth to comment, but Frost stops him with a pointed gesture.

Hannibal Frost: I know, and just don’t.

Frost shakes his head with a sigh before continuing.

Hannibal Frost: It was a good match. Darin needed me to bring out something better in him, and I needed him to show me what I can do better. Now I know just how hard I need to bring it.

Jack Dawson: And how hard would that be?

Hannibal Frost: Pretty hard, Jack. Pretty hard. I’m not old, but I ain’t young either. It takes a little more effort to keep up these days.

Jack Dawson: Would that explain your obsession with the Ankle Lock? ‘The Ankle Lock! You can even do it lying down!’

Hannibal Frost: Obsession?

Jack checks his notes.

Jack Dawson: I do believe so, yes.

Hannibal Frost: Um… it’s a great move? And it has nothing to do with how much I enjoy napping. It actually has everything to do with tapping. It forces the opponent to make a choice. Do you love fighting, or do you love winning? If you love to fight, you’ll tap, because you’ll respect that you’ve been bested and you know you’ll need that ankle for another fight next week. If you love to win… well, you’ll sacrifice anything for that W. Even if it means sacrificing a part of your body you need to do your job.

Jack Dawson: So you’re saying people shouldn’t have a need to win?

Hannibal Frost: It’s not about what you need, it’s about what you love. I need oxygen, but I don’t have emotional feelings for oxygen.

Jack Dawson: I hope oxygen isn’t finding out this way…

Hannibal Frost: You can ‘need’ to win all you want, but that shouldn’t affect the love you have for what you’re doing.

Jack Dawson: Beating the shit out of people?

Hannibal Frost: Exactly. You should love to beat the shit out of people first. Whether you win at it is it’s own thing off in the corner.

Jack Dawson: Are you one of those people that doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone? Just gotta’ prove it to yourself, right? While I do admire that, it’s definitely not something that lends itself to a successful wrestling career. Something else that doesn’t lend itself to a successful career is trying to make a point over trying to win your match. Do you think going for the submission cost you in any way?

Hannibal Frost: No. That was my mistake for underestimating Darin Matthews. Believe me, my method looks a lot better when I win, which I intend to do starting at ICONIC.

Jack Dawson: You weren’t officially booked, so…

Hannibal Frost: The Battle Royal. With that many people, the word ‘fair’ won’t come within three hundred yards of that match. I don’t love a ring full of swingin’ fists, but I do love a challenge. The Battle Royal is the perfect kind of challenge to test myself at one hundred percent.

Hannibal pulls his sleeve back in surprise and holds his forearm up.

Hannibal Frost: Oh snap, I’ve got goosebumps. See?

Jack leans over and sees the goosebumps.

Jack Dawson: Well, you aren’t the only one excited for the biggest pay per view of the year. ICONIC promises to be one of the most important, polarizing nights in High Octane history and I’d like to thank our guest for coming onto the show.

Hannibal nods to Jack as the crowd cheers and claps. He feigns surprise, like he forgot they were there, before waving at them.

Hannibal Frost: Thank god for the applause sign.

Jack Dawson: And with that we will see you all at ICONIC!!!

Jack says with an enthusiastic wave as the scene fades.