The face of Ben Jordan appears on the screen as he looks down the camera with a smile. Ben is wearing just a plain light blue T-shirt and faded blue jeans.
"Been a while since I've had to do one of these." Ben says with a slight smile "So it's kinda lucky in a way I have cameras all around me. It's a blessing and a curse at times. They catch everything, even the things you don't want them to catch, but it's just the way this thing goes."
Ben runs his hand down his chin.
"The last week, it's caught..." Ben pauses as he taps his chin "Some stuff that gets the old mind thinking a little bit, because to be fair, it's been a quiet week to say the least."
He shrugs and sighs
"For a popular bloke, Jamie Dean has disappeared, Sam Marlowe hasn't even sent me cat video, Evie was last seen heading to Poland, and Markus Raab is currently away, so there's me on me todd, with no one around." He comments with a frown "Most of me messages haven't even been replied to, so God knows what's going on with those lot, but I feel like I've done something wrong here, but no idea what cause no fucker is telling me a thing, but I digress, I'm getting a touch off track here, I did have a point to this."
He wags his finger at the camera.
"My point is this promo you're about to see coming up, is pretty much me, on me own, doing not a lot." He explains "But it worked for the movie Castaway, so it might just work for a wally like me. Anyway, this one is called the Ben Jordan promo without any guest stars. Enjoy."
*******
Sunday night - after Climax Control.
An invitation was made during the show on Monday, an invite to join both Odette Stevens and Evie Baang for a celebratory drink after the show. Being the gentleman that he is, Ben was too polite to turn down the offer from a legend that is Odette Stevens. Yes, he knew Odette for years, but the two had rarely spent any time around each other recently, tonight never changed that.
Ben sits alone, looking around the busy bar room scene as he looks towards Odette with her husband Gabriel, standing at the bar, he turned his head slightly to see Evie Bang uncomfortably speaking to fans, a look of non interest on her face. Ben looked down at the table, his phone in hand as he looked for messages, another from personal to congrats message from the people closest to - or meant to be - about entering the Blast From The Past Tournament, but no, no even the closest people to him had sent him a message. The usual cheery cockney sighed to himself as he put his hand around a beer bottle, lifting it to his lips as he looks around the bar getting busier. He leans back in his chair, looking at the increasing crowd around Gabriel, Odette and Evie, partly glad of the fact he was sitting in a darkened corner. Again he looked at his phone but still nothing.
"For a popular guy, I but have the plague or something." He commented to himself.
He sighs deeply, once again picking his phone up as the sigh turns in to a yawn.
"I gotta get outta here." He tells himself as he taps away on his phone "Just need a hotel around here and I'll be alright."
Tapping away, it doesn't find him long to find a hotel just a short walk away from the bar, causing him to smile, thankfully glad all of a sudden that he travelled light to SCW shows, just a change of clothes in a sports bag, and a few personal items. A few taps with his thumb and Ben was booked in to the five star Island Hotel Newport Beach, just a few minutes away from his current location, a quick tweet later showed his intentions for the night, and Ben picks up the beer, swallowing the rest of it within seconds. His phone buzzes to see a response to his tweet from Evie, Ben's eyes quickly looking towards it before looking across the bar at Evie and giving her just a good night nod before lifting his back from next to his feet, quickly unzipping it and reaching in and pulling out a baseball cap, putting it on to his head and straightening it up. He zips the bag once more and lifts it up, turning around and walking towards the exit of the bar and in to the streets. Turning his head, he sees the name of the hotel light brightly in the Irvine night and starts to walk towards it, the peak of the cap pulled down over his eyes as he moves through the night crowd, some returning home after the SCW show, some moving on for a sample of the nightlife. Ben moves as quickly as he can, trying no to draw any attention to himself as he reaches the doors of the hotel and looks around.
"Bloody hell" He mutters to himself "This is a bit classier than I thought."
He moves towards the reception area but spies a bar to the side.
"I can check in later." He tells himself, trying to convince himself to head to the bar.
The convincing didn't take long as Ben's feet carried him towards the bar, looking around at people dressed in business suits and evening dresses. Ben looks down at the jeans and white trainers that cover his lower body and shrugs.
"I'm sure I'll fit right in." He says with a roll of his eyes and a smile.
He moves towards the bar towards and empty seat and sits down on the red leather upholstery.
"Hmmm, comfy" He says with approval as a barman moves towards him "Southern Comfort on the rocks please."
The barman nods at Ben as Ben reaches to his phone, typing in another tweet informing people of his location should the need arise for them to find him. He knew the fans could see it, and had no problem taking a few minutes out to make their day, but thought it might have tempted some of his co workers to appear. He didn't mind talking business to people he wrestled with and against, and didn't take long for a text message to appear. Ben looks at his phone, hoping it was a message from Jamie Dean or Sam Marlowe to congratulate his entry in to the Blast From The Past, or that they may just be in the area, but he was greeted from a text message from his boss, Hot Stuff Mark Ward.
"Next weeks show, you're facing Joshua Acquin." He reads out loud "You know the drill, don't be late."
The barman places the drink in front of Ben, who quickly picks it up and take a gulp, knocking it back in one go. He points to the glass and the barman turns around, picking up the bottle and pouring a second shot on the remaining ice.
"You look like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders." The barman tells Ben, causing him to look up at him.
"Wouldn't say that mate." Ben responses "But I feel like I'm being punished for something I must have done in a past life."
Ben wraps his hand around the glass and lifts the drink towards his lips.
"Feel like I'm being punished by friends who have done far worse than me. They're meant to be the people around me, but dear God do they get jealous it seems" Ben says lifting the glass to his lips "And lets just say work isn't going the way I wanted it to be either."
Ben shoots the glass back towards his mouth, knocking back the liquid in to his body and places the glass down on the bar. Without a second thought or motion from Ben, the barman refills the glass.
"I'm meant to be Mr Popular, talk to everyone, help everyone, but as you can see..." Ben says as he points his arm out behind him. "I'm not as popular as people think."
He puts his hand around the glass.
"Just feel like this is one of those days I'm just swimming in treacle." Ben says with a sigh.
"What is it you do?" The barman asks "If you don't mind me asking."
"Opera singer." Ben replies with a smile.
The Barman raises his eyebrows towards Ben but Ben raises a hand and smiles at him.
"I kid, I kid." Ben says with a smile "I'm a wrestler, who hasn't wrestled in about two months. I can't remember who my last opponent was or if I won, or anything like that. I work for that company that was ten minutes away in the Bren Center tonight."
"Oh, you work for Sin City Wrestling?" The barman asks
Ben lifts the baseball cap from his head, uncovering his eyes and removing the shadow from his eyes.
"Oh you're Ben Jordan." The barman says with a touch of surprise.
Ben nods his head towards the man and a slight smile appears on his face.
"Yeah, and my friends seemed to have disappeared, I'm booked to wrestle next week and I haven't cut a promo thing in so long, I forgot how to do it." Ben tells him "This is gonna be a more disappointing comeback than when Ricky Hatton got back in the boxing ring against some unknown Ukrainian and got battered."
The barman looks at him blankly, but Ben shrugs.
"Just means I'm gonna be more than a little disappointing." Ben informs him
"I don't think people forget what they're trained to do after a couple of months." The barman says to him.
"Maybe" Ben says with a click of his fingers, causing the scene to freeze.
Ben looks around at the barman just standing in a frozen position, just looking at Ben, Ben turns around, looking at people at tables, none of them moving a single muscle.
"Well at least I still got that." He tells himself. "Might as well get on with this if I remember how"
He clears his throat and turns his head towards the camera.
"Alright people" he says with a cheery smile "I know it's been a while since I've had to sit here and have a rabbit with ya, but hopefully, you'll remember me as Ben Jordan."
He winks down the camera.
"A lot has happened since I got a chance to sit in a random place and address you all." Ben says with a tilted head. "But you lot can't stop talking about that kiss. Let me clear it up for ya, cause I think even me mates are avoiding me lately over it. It happened, me and Eves are not running off together, we're not together, we're mates, all it is too it, so to those who judge and shun, grow up, yeah?"
He takes a deep breath
"Sorry people, had to get that off me chest, but you know that saying, 'you only get to choose to leave my life, you don't have a choice about if you can come back in', it's been in me mind lately, so had to get that off me chest so I could breathe again." He says with a serious look on his face, before quickly changing his expression to a smile. "Moving on, this geezer is getting back in the ring it seems."
Ben puts his fingers around the glass in front of him.
"That's if I can remember how to be a wrestler" He says with a light smile "It's been a while since I got to wrestle, but that's not been any fault of the owners, more to do with me. Now the thought of jumping back in the ring against Joshua Acquin actually gets me a little excited. I've known the guy a long time, he's been out to my place in Cuba for a party, he's actually got a decent brain for how this game works and probably should have more championships to his name than he's actually got. This one is not really a walk over by any sense. The guy is tough and ain't no pushover but I think I got a bit of a point to prove."
Ben takes a sip of the drink and puts it back down on the bar.
"Every singles match I have, I gotta prove I can do it on my own." Ben starts "The most success I've ever had here is with a partner in me corner, when I had Jonesy around, or JD around, before than, I was pretty decent on me own, I had that paddy Mickey Carroll on my side too there, but I ripped it up in the singles ranks too, here, not so much success, but there's only one way to prove myself and that's to go against everyone one on one and see what I can do and come next Sunday, I try and make 2017 my year and get past Joshua."
Ben pauses for just a second before continuing
"Joshua is a challenge." Ben reilliterates "But it's a challenge I will rise to, it's a challenge I'm gonna face head on because I know we got Blast From The Past V coming up, I know the big chance you get winning that thing, I know I have a partner not to let down, whoever she may be, so I'll be looking to step up my game against Joshua to show every bombshell that I'm worth having on their side. I will be victorious on Sunday against Joshua, I will show that I still got what it takes and repay the faith in everyone who has ever drove me on."
He quickly shoots the shot of Southern Comfort back and puts the glass on the bar.
"I know there's so many of you out there willing me on, seeing my popularity much more than I do." He starts "and I appreciate it so thank you, I will not let you down. I will try and show you what you wanna see. Until then people, I'm gonna have another shot of this stuff and go put me feet up. Make sure you tune in on Sunday to see this bloke return to the ring."
Ben winks down the camera.
"Laters people."
With a click of his fingers, the scene starts to move again and the camera fades back to current Ben.
*******
Back to current Ben. Just his face and upper body can be seen on the camera.
"So there you have it people." He starts "Rusty as an old shed door, but doing my best to get you guys interested in watching me in the ring again. I know you're probably thinking that being as that was filmed obviously on Sunday, I might have become popular again, I might have got the congrats or text messages from friends."
Ben slowly shakes his head
"Well I'm standing here on Friday morning and other than hearing from Nat, my phones been silent." He tells the world. "Maybe I'm just not as popular as you guys believe."
He waves his finger down the camera.
"Anyways, you have a blinding weekend and join me on Sunday where me and Josh will be beating each other up for your entertainment." He says with a smile "It will be worth a watch, trust me."
He smiles down the camera.
"Until we meet again..." He starts "Have a good un! Laters people."
The camera fades out.
