The scene opens inside Pure Gym, in Cardiff, shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday 7th October. The focus of the camera is on an exercise bike, which at present is being used by Simon Jones; Simon is wearing a pair of navy blue shorts and a grey t-shirt.
As Simon pedals away, Natalie McKinley soon appears; Natalie - who is wearing a pair of black leggings and a white crop top - approaches Simon, and greets him with a smile.
Natalie: 'Good morning, Simon!'
Continuing to pedal, Simon looks in the direction of Natalie's voice, to see the Welsh bombshell now stood beside him.
Simon: 'Good morning.'
Natalie: 'How was Colombia?'
With Simon having only returned to the UK the day before, this is the first time that Natalie has seen her friend since Climax Control was staged in Santa Marta.
Simon: 'The weather was warm, and my match went my way.'
Simon gives a slight shrug.
Simon: 'I can't complain.'
Natalie: 'I've seen the line-up for High Stakes; you're in a different match to the one that I was expecting to see you participate in.'
Simon: 'Yeah, it's not the match that I was expecting, either. It's fine, though; I've got a great chance to continue to build momentum, by picking up a third consecutive win - which I am very confident of doing.'
Natalie: 'And having Connor Murphy as your partner?'
Simon: 'I could have done a lot worse - I feel sorry for Joshua Acquin, what with him being lumbered with Desmond Knight as a tag team partner.'
Simon's pedaling slows to a stop; remaining seated on the bike, he then shifts his whole body, turning to face Natalie.
Simon: 'If I had been included in the match to crown the new Tag Team Champions, it would have been quite a change from Summer XXXTreme - from being in the main event that night, to being in the opening match at High Stakes.'
Natalie: 'It would have been what you wanted though, wouldn't it? To be given a shot at the tag team titles, I mean.'
Simon nods.
Simon: 'Yes, it would have been. But you know how I like to say that, good things come to those who wait? I guess I'm just going to have to wait a little longer to get what I want.'
Simon then clambers off the exercise bike, and stands opposite Natalie.
Simon: 'This match at High Stakes will at least give me the opportunity to win another tag team match with yet another different partner.'
Natalie: 'How many are you up to now?'
Simon scratches his forehead.
Simon: 'If I remember correctly, following my win with Despayre against Blaque Hart Bruce Evans and Sean Jackson, two months ago, I have now won tag team matches in SCW with eight different partners. In addition to that, I think I've won the last ten tag team matches that I've competed in.'
Natalie: 'It's an impressive record.'
Simon: 'I'm pleased with it, but I won't be completely satisfied until I've got a reign as one half of the SCW Tag Team Champions to my name.'
Natalie: 'Well, as long as you continue to win each of the tag team matches that you're placed in, your time as champion will come - eventually.'
Simon: 'That's my plan; no matter how long it takes, and no matter who I have to team with, I will get my hands on one of those belts.'
There is a brief silence, that is quickly broken by Natalie.
Natalie: 'When you are finally given a shot at the titles, I wonder who your partner will be.'
Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'Your guess is as good as mine.'
Simon then cracks a half-smile, before jokily suggesting something to Natalie.
Simon: 'How would you feel about donning a mask and a full bodysuit?'
Natalie laughs.
Natalie: 'I suppose that would be one way for me to get back inside the six-sided ring; obviously I would need to bind my chest, but it could work.'
Natalie then laughs again, as does Simon.
Simon: 'On the subject of you returning to the ring, I saw what you tweeted last night; you're off to Japan, then?'
Natalie nods her head.
Natalie: 'As you're aware, my shoulder is fully healed now, and so I want to get back in the ring. And with me not being any nearer to getting Christian to allow me to set foot in SCW again, I needed to find another promotion to work for.'
Simon: 'But Japan, though? Couldn't you have found somewhere a bit closer to home?'
Natalie: 'Sure I could have. But this is a chance for me to visit a country that I've never been to before - a chance to experience a different culture, and to perform in front of a completely different set of fans; it's an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.'
Simon: 'Okay. I'm just concerned about you, is all; you haven't been out of the country since we got home from Summer XXXTreme - not since you started receiving treatment for your addiction.'
Natalie sighs.
Natalie: 'I promise you, Simon, that I won't let me wrestling in Japan interfere with the treatment for my addiction. Besides, the shows are only every other week, so I'll still be at home most of the time.'
Simon: 'Good. Because I don't want you to suffer a relapse.'
Natalie: 'Don't worry about me, Simon - I'll be fine. You just focus on winning your match at High Stakes.'
Simon nods his head, but the uncertainty in his tone of voice suggests that he is not entirely reassured.
Simon: 'Okay, Natalie.'
And as Simon's thoughts turn to resuming his workout - to continue his preparations for High Stakes V - and with Natalie about to commence her own workout, the scene fades to black.
The scene opens inside the living room of the house that is owned by Simon and Jacqueline Jones, in Cardiff, on the evening of Thursday 15th October. Simon is sat opposite the camera, on a black sofa; he is wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, and a red t-shirt.
Simon smiles at the camera, before he then begins to talk.
Simon: 'We're just a couple of days away from one of the most important nights of the year in SCW. Some people believe that High Stakes is SCW's biggest show of the year; others think that tag belongs to Blaze Of Glory. But whatever your opinion, whichever one you think is paramount, they are definitely the two biggest events on the SCW calendar, and I am unbeaten at both of them - and this Sunday, I aim to maintain that record, by being successful in my tag team match against Joshua Acquin and Desmond Knight.'
Simon nods his head.
Simon: 'Of course, this isn't the tag team match that I had been hoping I would be competing in at High Stakes V - I think everyone knows that I had wanted to be a part of the match to determine the new SCW Tag Team Champions.'
Simon lets out a small sigh, before continuing.
Simon: 'When Christian Underwood announced that there would be a fatal fourway match to crown the new champions, I will admit that I was disappointed to miss out on being involved in that match. However, after the trials and tribulations of two months ago, when Summer XXXTreme remained - of the ones that I have appeared on - the only SCW supercard at which I have failed to win a match, my match at High Stakes will at least give me a great chance to return to my usual way of winning on the big stage. And it is a chance that won't go to waste.'
Simon then sighs again.
Simon: 'Am I frustrated at not being involved in the match for the tag team titles?'
Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'Yeah, a little bit. I'm not going to speculate as to why the powers that be chose to overlook me, but come Sunday night, any lingering frustration that I have, will get taken out on Joshua Acquin and Desmond Knight.'
Simon smirks.
Simon: 'All I can do is keep winning matches - more specifically, tag team matches - and I'm sure that eventually, I'll get my shot at those titles. To find the last time that I was on the losing side in a tag team match, you have to go back to November of two years ago - twenty-three months without losing a tag team match.'
Simon leans back against the sofa.
Simon: 'Okay, granted, I took a leave of absence from SCW for thirteen months, so it's really more like ten months without losing a tag team match, but it's still - I believe - an impressive record. And it's a record that won't come to an end at High Stakes.'
Simon rubs his chin, before continuing.
Simon: 'Coincidentally, my last loss in a tag team match, came in a match in which the tag team titles were at stake; back then, I had little interest in the titles, and was surprised to be given a shot at them, whereas now, when I actually want a shot at the titles, I'm being denied that opportunity - yeah, the irony isn't lost on me.'
There is a brief pause, before Simon speaks again.
Simon: 'Alright, that's enough lamenting what might have been. Now it's time for me to focus on the task at hand - that being the match pitting me and Connor Murphy against the duo of Joshua Acquin and Desmond Knight.'
Simon looks up at the ceiling momentarily; he then looks back to the camera, and continues.
Simon: 'I know that plenty of people dislike The Nobodies, but they have yet to give me a reason to have any ill will towards them, and so I don't have any issues at all with having Connor Murphy as my tag team partner for this match. Last week, Connor told Pussy Willow that he won't let me down, and that's good enough for me; I'm confident that on Sunday evening, Connor and I will make for a successful pairing, before he then turns his attention back towards the roulette title.'
Simon sits up straight.
Simon: 'So onto my opponents for Sunday, and after our one-on-one match two weeks ago, at Climax Control, there is a quick renewal of hostilities for Joshua Acquin and I. I don't really have much to add to what I said prior to that match, as nothing much has changed in the intervening period; the match two weeks ago went in my favour, as will the match this Sunday.'
Simon again pauses to think for a moment, before he continues.
Simon: 'I felt that Joshua performed below par in our previous encounter, and I hope to see better from him this time around. However, having said that, he could put in the best performance of his career this Sunday, and it still won't count for anything, as he is hindered by having Desmond Knight as his tag team partner - Joshua has well and truly drawn the short straw.'
Simon then leans forward, towards the camera.
Simon: 'I'm not going to hold back on how I feel about Desmond Knight. I pity Joshua Acquin, as Desmond Knight is the worst tag team partner that he could possibly have been given. Desmond Knight is a man that shouldn't even be on the SCW roster - he doesn't belong here. Having been given an SCW contract, Desmond Knight is yet to show the remotest sign that he deserves it - and that comes as no surprise to me.'
Simon shakes his head.
Simon: 'Des...may I call you Des?'
Simon pauses for a moment, as if to allow time for an answer; he then continues.
Simon: 'Des, you remind me of a few other deadbeats that I've seen come and go during my time in SCW: Dante Mephisto, Damian Cruise, Sebastian Stone, G...'
Simon pauses.
Simon: 'Wait - that's not right.'
He then chuckles.
Simon: 'I've just realised that I made a mistake there. Thaddeus Stone was the name of the character that was in SCW - Sebastian Stone was a bloke that my friend Natalie McKinley encountered last year, during her stint wrestling on the East Coast of the US; he had a similar name to Thaddeus Stone, and the same gimmick, so you can see how I could get the two confused.'
Simon chuckles again, before resuming.
Simon: 'Right, so, Dante Mephisto, Damian Cruise, Thaddeus Stone - plus Sebastian Stone - and Gabriel Cross: they're all wasters, Des, just like you - none of them deserved the opportunities that were given to them, and neither do you.'
There's no sign of laughter now, Simon's smile having been replaced by a scowl.
Simon: 'You know, while others like to criticise Mark Ward, or Christian Underwood, I try to avoid doing so, but I have to call into question a recruitment policy that has allowed that lot to walk through the doors of SCW.'
Simon glances down at the floor, before looking back to the camera.
Simon: 'I'm going to bring this to a conclusion now, Des, because I don't want to have to say much more about you - I'm normally a mild-mannered guy, but your presence in SCW annoys me, and talking about you is making my temper rise. A moment or so ago, I mentioned Sebastian Stone - someone that won't be familiar to many people in SCW, but I'm sure it's a name that you recognise. I also mentioned that that my friend Natalie McKinley encountered him on the East Coast of the US. Now, as I'm sure you're aware, Des, Natalie and Sebastian Stone were opponents in a one-on-one match - a match that Natalie won, and after which, Sebastian Stone was never seen again in that promotion. Well, Des, this Sunday, not only am I aiming to win the match that you and I will be competing in, I'm also aiming to emulate what Natalie did to Sebastian Stone, by sending you packing from SCW.'
Simon stares fiercely at the camera.
Simon: 'You're not welcome in SCW, Des - make the most of what time you have left here. I'll see you at High Stakes.'
And as Simon continues to glare towards the camera, the scene fades to black.