The scene opens to show Simon Jones lying alone in a king size bed - which is covered in plain white bedding - in his room at the Atrium Hotel in Irvine; Simon - who appears to be fast asleep - has stayed here overnight, following Climax the previous evening, at Crawford Hall. The room is currently in a darkened state, as the brown curtains - which can be seen in the background, opposite the camera - are drawn together; positioned on the far side of the bed - next to the curtains - is an orange armchair, while a nondescript framed picture hangs on the red-painted wall, centred above the bed. On either side of the bed is a nightstand, both of which have a lamp on them; there is another lamp on the floor, on the far side of the bed, in between the armchair and the curtains.
On the nightstand that is nearest to the camera, in addition to the lamp, there is also an alarm clock and a mobile phone. It is the phone that breaks the silence, as it bursts to life, filling the room with sound of the intro of "I Need a Dollar" by Aloe Blacc; woken from his slumber, Simon rolls in the direction of the nightstand and extends an arm, reaching out to grab the phone; he taps the screen of the phone, and then pulls it towards his ear.
Simon: 'Alright, love?'
Having accidentally put his phone on loudspeaker, in his sleepy haze, the voice of the person that has called Simon is able to be heard - the voice is that of Jacqueline Jones.
Jacqueline: 'Good morning, hun.'
Simon replies in a less cheery tone than the one with which his wife greeted him.
Simon: 'Morning.'
Jacqueline: 'Oh, you sound tired - did I wake you up?'
Simon: 'Yeah, you did.'
Jacqueline: 'Sorry.'
Simon attempts to stifle a yawn, as he replies.
Simon: 'It's okay, I...'
Simon's voice trails off, and a moment of silence follows, before Jacqueline speaks.
Jacqueline: 'What?'
Simon: 'I've just realised that, when I answered the phone, I must have put you on loudspeaker, by accident - I wondered why you sounded louder than normal.'
Simon yawns again.
Simon: 'Never mind, I'll leave it like this for the rest of the call; getting to hear the sound of your voice is worth being woken up for - and having you on loudspeaker almost makes it feel as though you're in the room, here with me.'
Jacqueline: 'You saft sod.'
Simon replies in a mock apologetic tone.
Simon: 'Sorry for missing my wife. Anyway, how are you this morning?'
Jacqueline: 'I'm good, thanks - although I'm missing you too, of course.'
Simon: 'How's Matty?'
Jacqueline: 'She's fine; she slept through most of the night, until she woke me up about twenty minutes ago. And how about you - how are you the morning after the night before?'
With his free hand, Simon rubs his eyes.
Simon: 'I feel great - a bit sore, but after what I achieved last night, I'm more than willing to put up with any physical discomfort.'
Jacqueline: 'That's your own fault, for putting yourself through a table.'
Simon: 'I was simply pulling out all the stops, doing what I needed to, to regain the title. After seeing what Giani Di Luca withstood at December 2 Dismember, when he beat Goth to win the title, I knew that it was going to take something extra for me to get the better of him - which is why I did, what I did; it was another gamble that paid dividends.'
Simon then puts his hand behind his head, and leans back against a pillow.
Jacqueline: 'I know I already told you this last night, but, I'm proud of you, Simon.'
Simon: 'Thanks, Jacqui; I'm not sure you'll ever truly be able to appreciate just how much your support means to me - without you, I definitely wouldn't have gotten where I am in my career.'
Jacqueline: 'Well, you're welcome; just doing my job.'
Simon smiles contentedly.
Jacqueline: 'On the subject of things that we spoke about last night, did you go to sleep with the heavyweight title next to you in your bed, as you said you would?'
Simon: 'Sort of - in the end, I decided to copy what Jenny Jones did a few weeks ago, when she slept with her Olympic medal under her pillow.'
Simon takes his hand from behind his head, and reaches across to push the pillow that is on the far side of the bed, onto the floor, to show the SCW heavyweight title; Simon then picks up the title, and holds it above his head, for him to look at.
Simon: 'It's almost as pretty as you, Jacqui - almost, but not quite.'
Jacqueline: 'Should I be jealous?'
Simon lowers his arm, placing the title back on the bed, next to him.
Simon: 'No; if it comes to the crunch, I'll choose you - always you.'
Simon then uses his free hand to lift the duvet up off himself, and folds it over onto the other side of the bed - in the process revealing that the sole item of clothing he is wearing, is a pair of dark grey briefs; Simon sits up, then turns in the direction of the camera, dangling his legs over the edge of the bed, and resting his feet on the floor.
Jacqueline: 'What was all that noise?'
Simon: 'Just the sound of me getting up.'
Jacqueline: 'With how tired you sound, I would've expected you to want to get some more sleep.'
Simon: 'As much as I'd like to, I can't lie in bed all morning - I need to get myself to a gym.'
Simon rubs his eyes again.
Jacqueline: 'A gym? After the match that you had yesterday, shouldn't you have a day off today, to rest up?'
Simon: 'That's a pleasant thought, but I can't - I've got another match next Sunday, remember? I don't plan to do as strenuous a work out as usual, but still, I need to prepare for my quarter-final match in the Blast from the Past tournament, against Gene Banton Junior and Amy Marshall - there's no rest for the wicked.'
Jacqueline: 'What time did you say your flight back to Vegas is?'
Simon: 'My flight is scheduled to leave John Wayne Airport at half past seven this evening.'
Jacqueline: 'So besides going to the gym, what else are you going to do between now and then?'
As though forgetting that his wife is unable to see him, Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'I don't know; I've got my laptop with me - I'll probably end up killing time on that.'
Jacqueline: 'By studying your opponents?'
Simon laughs.
Simon: 'I was thinking more along the lines of, by playing Football Manger - but if Jason asks, yeah, tell him that I've been studying my forthcoming opponents. Seriously though, there's not a whole of studying for me to do; I'm not going to be in the ring with Amy Marshall - and as for Gene Banton Junior, he's only had two matches so far in his career. Based on how cocky he is, Junior doesn't seem like the type to study his opponents, which is a good job for me, as otherwise I'd be at a distinct disadvantage - I mean, this year alone, I've been in five matches already.'
Jacqueline: 'Well, you just do what you need to do, to make sure that the outcome of your sixth match of the year is the same as the outcome of the other five matches.'
Simon: 'Now you even sound a little like Jase.'
Simon grins.
Jacqueline: 'He'd probably take that as a compliment!'
Simon: 'Yeah.'
Simon stands up, and runs his hand through his hair.
Simon: 'Oh, I just remembered, prior to the show last night, one of the guys in the merchandise department gave me a gift for Matty.'
Jacqueline: 'Ooh, what is it?'
Simon walks around the bed, and towards the far side of the room.
Simon: 'It's a bodysuit. The bloke that gave it to me said that forcing a baby to wear Birmingham City merchandise was cruel and unusual punishment - although I got the feeling that he had been told to say that, by a certain Millwall fan. Anyway, the bodysuit that he gave to me has a similar colour scheme to the Blues Princess one, but on this one it says, Future Bombshell Champion.'
Jacqueline: 'Now there's a thought - Matilda following in your footsteps, by becoming a wrestler.'
Simon turns around, and walks back in the direction of the camera.
Simon: 'Who knows, a couple of decades from now, maybe she will. And should that indeed be the career-path she wishes to follow, then I know that you'll give her as much support as you've given me, throughout my career.'
Jacqueline: 'Absolutely. But never mind what may or may not happen, twenty years from now, you just concentrate on doing what you need to do to get ready for the match you have in six days, so that you can win that, and continue to give your daughter reasons to grow up to be proud of you; I'll let you go, so that you can get to the gym.
Simon sits down on the corner of the bed.
Simon: 'Okay, Jacqui. Give Matty a kiss for me, please.'
Jacqueline: 'Will do. I love you.'
Simon: 'I love you too.'
Jacqueline: 'Bye.'
Simon: 'Bye.'
Simon takes the phone away from his ear, taps at its screen, and then places it on the bed; a second or two passes before Simon rises to his feet again, and as he does so, the scene fades to black.
The scene fades in to show the same hotel room as earlier, which - with the curtains having been opened - is now bathed in sunshine. Simon, who is now clean-shaven and dressed - in a pair of light blue jeans and his navy blue "I Know What I Am" t-shirt - is sat on the bed, with the focus of the camera centred on him.
Simon's attention is currently towards the SCW heavyweight title, which is also on the bed, to the right of him; Simon turns away from the title, to face the camera, and begins to speak.
Simon: 'It's barely twelve hours since I won the gold that is sitting next to me, and unlike when I won the title the first time, at Into The Void II, the reality of what I achieved last night has already sunk in. Back in June, after I defeated Jordan Williams, it took me a few days to appreciate the magnitude of what I had accomplished, whereas this time, it's been much easier to accept - there hasn't been any sense of surprise. Now, that's not to say that I expected to beat Giani Di Luca, it's just that, having won the title once before, I already knew what it felt like to be the champion - which was a feeling that I wanted back; and now, I'm glad to say, I've got it back.'
Keeping his gaze fixed on the camera, Simon reaches to the side of himself, to pat the title.
Simon: 'A few months ago, when I was reflecting on a heartbreaking last gasp loss for England against New Zealand, in a Rugby League match, I opined that, if you earn your living through sport, or even if you're just a fan, the moments of euphoria that we get to experience, make the moments of heartache that we have to endure, all worth it. And although I'd already had a good start to the year, prior to what happened last night, I can't help but cast my mind back to the dark days that followed Summer XXXTreme II, after I lost the title: remember at the beginning of September, when I failed to appear at a show, and lost a match by forfeit? Remember when I went over five months without winning a singles match? Looking back, it's hard to believe that I went through that, but now that I'm the SCW Heavyweight Champion for a second time, it really was all worth it; the challenge now is to ensure that I do not let the title slip from my grasp as easily as I did first time round.'
Putting his fingers under the title, Simon clutches at the belt.
Simon: 'And having regained the Heavyweight Championship, I now want to do the SCW double; before I have to contemplate the first title defence of my second reign, I want to add another accomplishment to my list of my achievements; alongside my belt, I want to be able to put a trophy - in other words, following on from the triumph that I had last night, my sights are now set on winning the Blast from the Past tournament.'
Simon releases his hold on the title, and moves his hand away from the belt.
Simon: 'But I'm not getting carried away, I'm not thinking about being in the final of the tournament just yet - I'm taking it one step at a time. For myself and my partner - Brandi Shotze - the first step came fifteen days ago, when we won our opening round match, against Jimmy Ringo and Lizzie Short. Next week comes the second step that we have to climb, with our quarter-final against Gene Banton Junior and Amy Marshall.'
Simon reaches into the pocket of his jeans, and pulls out a mobile phone - his attention remains focused on the camera, however, as he just holds the phone in his hand.
Simon: 'I haven't used my phone to take a look at the odds, but I would expect - and this is not to do a disservice to our opponents - the bookies to have Brandi and I down as the favourites to win this particular match. However, there's a couple of bad omens, which hint at a different outcome. Firstly, the previous round saw the then SCW Heavyweight Champion - Giani Di Luca - eliminated from the tournament; now that I'm the champion, I need to make sure that I don't suffer the same fate as my predecessor. And secondly, in July last year, after winning the heavyweight title, my next match in the six-sided ring ended in defeat; what type of match was that? A mixed tag team match.'
Simon sighs.
Simon: 'I've commented in the past that, if you look hard enough, you can find coincidences or omens anywhere, but it really is crucial for me that the match against Gene Banton Junior and Amy Marshall does not go the same way as the match I was involved in eight months ago, against Gabriel and Odette Ryder. And not simply because I have to win if I want to progress in the tournament. As I alluded to earlier, my first reign as SCW Heavyweight Champion came to an abrupt end, in my first title defence - and now that I'm the champion again, I'm sure some people are already questioning how soon it will be before my second reign is over; a loss on Sunday will only add fuel to such questions.'
Simon quickly glances down at the phone in his hand, before looking back to the camera.
Simon: 'So, two omens that indicate a loss might be on the cards for me, and two reasons why I need to win; I will, of course, be working hard to avoid the former, and achieve the latter - although it will be easier said than done. As I've already mentioned, the team that will be attempting to eliminate myself and Brandi Shotze from the Blast from the Past tournament, is the duo of Gene Banton Junior and Amy Marshall. I think that there's a lot to be admired about Amy - and I don't mean in a perverted way. At times, she seems to have confidence issues - not unlike myself - but just as my morale is high at present, following her recent stint as the Bombshell Roulette Champion, Amy seems to be in a more positive frame of mind than she was a few months ago. Whatever happens in our match on Sunday, one thing that is for certain is that one former Bombshell Tag Team Champion is going to get the better of another - I just hope that, at the conclusion of the match, Brandi is the one that has the bragging rights.'
Simon puts the phone back into the pocket of his jeans.
Simon: 'Before I move on to discuss the other half of our opponents for this Sunday - the half of the team that I'll actually come into physical contact with - I just want to take a moment to pay tribute to Brandi Shotze; we may have only had one match together so far, but already she has shown her value. You see, while last night I may have hit the heights of becoming SCW Heavyweight Champion, fifteen days ago, in our first round match in Blast from the Past, I was a bit below par. Fortunately, the same could not be said for Brandi, as she was able to cope with whatever Lizzie Short threw at her, on her way to getting the pin that sent our team into the second round. So thanks, Brandi; hopefully next weekend, I'll be able to make a greater contribution for our team.'
Simon glances over his shoulder, in the direction of the now exposed windows, before turning back to face the camera.
Simon: 'In retrospect, if I was going to have an off-day in the Blast from the Past tournament, then the first round was probably the best place to have it. Ideally, you would want to maintain a high level of performance throughout every round of the tournament - but that's not always going to be possible. Take Usain Bolt, for example. When he is competing at the Olympic Games, or the World Championships, he doesn't run world record times in the early rounds - he doesn't even always break the ten second mark. But come the final - with the exception of the World Championships three years ago, when he was disqualified for a false start - he peaks when it matters most, and takes home the gold. So while I am expecting a better performance from myself this weekend, compared with the one of fifteen days ago, if I don't perform quite as well as I did last night, as long as I still do enough to help my team get the win, then I won't be too downhearted - if Brandi and I do go on to reach the final of Blast from the Past, at Blaze Of Glory III, then that's where you'll see me really kick it into high gear.'
Simon stands up.
Simon: 'So, time for me to talk about the male of half of the team that will be opposing myself and Brandi Shotze on Sunday. I'll start by saying that I'm uncertain as to how I should address him; Gene? Geno? Banton? Bants?'
Simon frowns.
Simon: 'I'll go with Junior.'
Simon puts his hands on his hips.
Simon: 'With Junior having only had two matches so far in his career, it's difficult for me to form much of an opinion of him, as I have so little to go on - one thing that is obvious about him, though, is his arrogance. One of Giani Di Luca's nicknames is, "The Reflection Of Perfection." And after getting a win against Di Luca, I'm sure that some wrestlers would then be tempted to refer to themselves as, better than perfection - or something along those lines. Now, I'm the sort of person to do that - but Junior seems like he is.'
Simon takes his hands off his hips.
Simon: 'I get the feeling that as far as Junior is concerned, anything that I say about him is going to go in one ear, and out of the other; not because he's stupid - although his twin sister, or his father might argue otherwise - but because he's so cocky that he's probably not going to pay proper attention to what I say. And that could be to his downfall: while Junior is thinking of ways to try to impress Amy Marshall, I'll be pondering ways to defeat Junior. Because I may not be better than perfection, but - despite what little I know about him - I'm confident that I am better than Gene Banton Junior.'
Simon nods his head.
Simon: 'I believe the thing that could give me the edge is my versatility - my ability to adapt to different situations; I may not know much about Junior now, but on Sunday, I'll learn about him as the match develops, and in turn, I'll be able to decide what tactics are best to use to give me the best chance of victory. Perhaps the best example of my versatility is the variety of different ways in which I can win a match; my preferred finisher is a move I call Into Oblivion, but I've not used that since last June - since then, I've utilised a variety of other moves, and still managed to be successful. So that's what you're going to be up against on Sunday, Junior - I don't just have one way of beating you, I have several.'
Simon sits back down on the bed.
Simon: 'Recently, the move that I've found myself using the most often, is a move I refer to by the name, "Future Shock." You know, Lizzie Short also has a move in her repertoire that she refers to by that name - same name, different move, but still, I don't know whether I should be flattered, or disparaged. To be fair to Lizzie, at her age, she's probably more suited to having a move of that name than I am. I mean, I was twenty-one when I first started using my "Future Shock," but I'm thirty-four now - perhaps it's time I renamed the move.'
Simon rubs his chin.
Simon: 'How about, "Back To The Future?" It's a bit corny, admittedly, but I think it works.'
Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'Anyway, back to the pressing matter - and I think it's about time for to bring this to a close, as I have to check out of the hotel soon. Junior, I'm aware that you're a student at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Well, I suggest that you study as hard as you can, for the test that awaits you this Sunday - although regardless of how much you study between now and then, it still probably won't be enough to provide you with all of the knowledge that you need to be successful; it's okay, Junior, you might not pass the test, but I'm sure that you will at least learn something. See you in Bakersfield.'
As Simon sits staring at the camera, the scene fades to black.
