The scene opens to show the inside of Smuggler's Cove, a tiki bar in San Francisco, very late into the night, on Sunday 23rd February. Smuggler's Cove is a mile and half away from the War Memorial Gymnasium - the venue where Climax Control was staged earlier in the evening - and it has clearly been a busy night for the staff, the vast majority of the chairs that are in view being occupied. The identities of all of the patrons that can be seen are unknown - with the exception of one individual: Simon Jones.
The focus of the camera is centred on Simon, who is wearing dark blue jeans and an untucked black shirt. An almost-empty glass - containing the remnants of an indiscernible drink - sits on the bar, in front of Simon.
Simon's concentration is currently on a mobile phone, which he is holding in his right hand; Simon swipes the screen of the phone with his thumb, to scroll through whatever it is that he is reading - soon after doing so, his eyes and mouth simultaneously become wide open. Simon blinks, and then closes his mouth; he glances quickly to his left, then to his right, before looking towards the glass. With his left hand, Simon picks up the glass, and raises it to eye-level; after peering at the contents of the glass for a moment, he places it back on the bar. Simon then turns to his right, and opens his mouth again - although this time he does so to speak, rather than in an expression of surprise.
Simon: 'Excuse me.'
Simon is attempting to get the attention of a man that is to the right of him - but his attempt is unsuccessful, as the man is looking away from Simon, engrossed in a conversation with a woman that is sat to his right; Simon leans towards the man, and - increasing the volume of his voice slightly - tries again.
Simon: 'Excuse me.'
This time Simon has better success, as the man breaks off his conversation, and turns around to look at Simon.
Man: 'Yes?'
Simon: 'I'm sorry to interrupt you, and I promise not to take up much of your time.'
Simon extends his right arm towards the man, and with his left index finger, he points at something on the phone.
Simon: 'Would you mind reading that aloud for me, please? I think the alcohol must be affecting my vision, playing tricks on my mind.'
Man: 'Sure.'
The man turns his head to look at the phone.
Man: 'It says, "SCW Heavyweight Championship; Giani Di Luca versus Simon Jones."'
The man looks back to Simon.
Simon: 'That's what I thought it said - I guess my drink hasn't been spiked, after all. Well, thank you anyway - and I assure you that I won't bother you again.'
The man nods, and then returns to his conversation with the woman next to him; Simon turns and stares straight ahead, in the direction of the camera. He puts the phone down on the bar, next to his glass, then raises his his now-free hand, and covers his face with it; with his index finger and his thumb, he rubs at his left eye and his right eye respectively. Simon then takes his hand away from his face, and as a broad grin begins to form, the scene fades to black.
The scene fades in to show the interior of Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport, in Las Vegas, the following morning. Numerous travelling passengers can be seen traipsing around the airport's concourse, but one man in particular is more conspicuous than most: sat on a bench - which is positioned against the wall on the right-hand side of the shot - is Simon Jones' confidant, Jason O'Neil, who is wearing black jeans, a plain red t-shirt, and a stingy brim leather fedora.
With both hands, Jason is holding open a copy of the Las Vegas Review-Journal - and he is so preoccupied with reading the newspaper, that he does not notice Simon approaching him from the opposite side of the shot; Simon is still dressed in the same clothes that he was wearing the previous night, and his eyes are now somewhat bloodshot. As Simon moves nearer to Jason - and with Jason still unaware of Simon's arrival - he calls out to his friend.
Simon: 'Waiting for me?'
This causes Jason to look up from the newspaper, and in the direction of Simon.
Jason: 'I presume that's a rhetorical question.'
Simon: 'It is - unless you really are waiting for someone else.'
Jason: 'No, just you.'
Simon walks towards the bench, and takes a seat, to the right of Jason; Simon then turns to look at Jason, who folds up his newspaper, and drops it onto the floor, to the left of the bench.
Simon: 'I wasn't expecting a welcoming committee - I've not been gone that long.'
Jason turns to look at Simon.
Jason: 'Don't you need to go to baggage claim?'
Simon: 'No; you know me - I travel light.'
Simon raises both of his arms in the air.
Simon: 'What I have on my person, is all that I took with me; I've been away from home for less than twenty-four hours, attending a show on which I did not have a match - I didn't need anything other than the clothes that I'm wearing, and my phone and my wallet.'
Simon then lowers his arms.
Simon: 'I didn't even stop in a hotel.'
Jason: 'And how was San Francisco?'
Simon: 'It was likeable - well, the part of it that I saw. By which I mean that the bar I went to - after the conclusion of Climax Control - was nice.'
Simon turns away from Jason, and gazes towards the floor.
Simon: 'I stayed at the bar until quarter past one, when it closed for the night. Then, I headed to the airport, where I bought a copy of Sports Illustrated, and read about Michael Sam, José Fernández, Roy Hibbert and others, while I waited for my flight back to Vegas.'
Simon turns to look at Jason again.
Simon: 'Why are you at McCarran International Airport, at half past seven on a Monday morning? It can't simply be that you're here to greet me, surely? That's the sort of thing that I would expect Jacqui to do, not you - there must be more to it than that.'
Jason: 'I'm here because of the match that you will be competing in, six days from today - you know, your match against Giani Di Luca, for the SCW Heavyweight Championship.'
Jason smiles; as Simon smiles back at him, Jason continues.
Jason: 'It goes without saying, how much you want to win that match, and regain the title. So that's why I've brought myself here, at this time in the morning: you only have a limited amount of time to prepare for the match, and with what's at stake - and also, bearing in mind that Di Luca beat you in your only previous one-on-one encounter - we need to make the best use of the time that we have to get you ready, from now until the opening bell next Sunday, keeping wasted time to a minimum, to optimise your chances of being victorious. And we can start by getting you in the gym, to do some cardio work.'
Simon: 'The gym, Jase - are you serious? Look at me - look at my eyes; I'm cream crackered - aside from the very short nap that I had on the plane, I've not gotten any sleep since Saturday night; the only place that I want to go right now is home.'
Jason: 'Home?'
Jason raises his eyebrows.
Jason: 'What do you think Giani Di Luca is doing at this moment, to prepare for your match next Sunday? Do you think he is at home, in bed? Or is he working like a champion, either pushing himself hard in the gym, or sparring with Spike Staggs?'
Simon: 'Knowing Giani, yeah, he probably is at home, in bed - or if not, in a hotel bed - either sleeping off a hangover, or cosying up to his other half. Or both. And I wouldn't blame him - all I feel like doing at present, is getting comfortable with my wife; as much as I want to win on Sunday - and regain the title - in my present state, that's far more appealing to me than going to the gym.'
Jason: 'Well, I know that I didn't achieve the success I had in my career, using up my time - time that could be spent working in the gym, or practicing in the ring - by lying at home in my bed, with my wife.'
Simon frowns.
Simon: 'But you've never been married - in fact, in all of the time that I've known you, you've never even had what could be classed as a long term relationship.'
Jason sighs; he then glances around the terminal building, before looking back to Simon.
Jason: 'Where were you, when you received the news about the match?'
Simon: 'I was at that bar, that I mentioned. The announcement was quite the surprise for me - a pleasant surprise, of course, but a surprise nonetheless; there wasn't a mirror, for me to be able to see myself in, but I imagine that my eyes were so wide with surprise, that they were almost as big as Anna Sloan's eyes.'
Now it is Jason's turn to frown.
Jason: 'Who?'
Simon: 'You know, one of the curlers, who won bronze at the Olympics.'
Jason: 'Oh yeah; blonde, right?'
Simon: 'Correct.'
Simon sighs, as he shakes his head.
Simon: 'Trust you to remember who Anna Sloan is because of what she looks like, rather than because of what she achieved.'
Jason: 'Hey, if your country had never won a medal at the Winter Olympics, you'd struggle to summon up any interest for the games, too. In Sochi, Ireland was represented by all of five athletes - only one of whom was actually born in Ireland; one of the five - a male snowboarder - is from San Diego, of all places, for goodness sake!'
Simon: 'San Diego, huh? I wonder if he's a fan of SCW.'
Jason: 'Well, if he is, then next Sunday he'll get to watch you defeat Giani Di Luca, to regain the SCW Heavyweight Championship.'
Simon: 'Yeah, hopefully.'
Simon leans back against the bench.
Jason: 'Why were you so surprised to find out that you'll be facing Di Luca on Sunday? You've been entitled to a shot at the title for six months, ever since you lost the thing, at Summer XXXTreme II. Plus, if I remember correctly, barely two weeks ago, you claimed that you were the only credible challenger in SCW left for the Heavyweight Champion.'
Simon: 'I don't think that's exactly how I phrased it.'
Jason: 'Never mind the details.'
Jason waves his right hand, in a dismissive gesture.
Simon: 'I assume you were pleased to discover that I'll be challenging Giani for the title next weekend.'
Jason: 'Pleased? In six days, one of my closest friends has the opportunity to be a Heavyweight Champion, again - of course I'm pleased about it!'
Simon: 'No, see, what I meant was, while I was willing to bide my time, you didn't want me to wait - you wanted me to exercise my right to a return match for the title as soon as I possibly could. And although I may not have asked for the match, you certainly got your wish.'
Jason: 'Yeah, you're right about that; I know you like to say that, good things come to those who wait, but I've grown tired of waiting - I want to see you back in possession of the SCW Heavyweight Championship. And I'm sure Jacqui does, too.'
Simon leans forward.
Simon: 'Absolutely - although she's not been as vocal about it as you have. I still would've preferred to wait a little longer, though - the timing isn't ideal.'
Jason: 'How isn't it ideal? You've won your last four matches, and five out of your last six, with the only loss coming when you struck Kain with a chair - at the risk of sounding like a broken record, you need to take advantage of this momentum, while you can. Look at the man that will be your opponent on Sunday, Giani Di Luca: unlike you, he lost his last match - alright, Emma Rose was the one that was pinned, but Di Luca was still on the losing side. And so right now, of the two of you, the momentum is in your favour - allied with the right preparations for the match, you can ride this wave of momentum that you're on, and have it carry you all the way back to the heavyweight title.'
Simon turns to look straight ahead, away from Jason.
Simon: 'I know that - and I know that that is another reason why you didn't want me to wait any longer - but I would have liked at least to wait until after my participation in the Blast from the Past tournament had come to an end.'
Jason: 'Well, on the subject of what's "ideal," all being well, on the second day of the month, you'll start March by winning the Heavyweight Championship, and then, on the second from last day of the month, you'll end March by winning the Blast from the Past tournament. Or, worst case scenario, you lose this Sunday, then recover to go on to win Blast from the Past, and earn yourself another shot at the title.'
Simon turns back to face Jason.
Simon: 'I think you'll find that the worst case scenario would be that I fail to win either the title, or Blast from the Past.'
Jason: 'Why not win both?'
Simon: 'Easier said than done - not that it's going to stop me from trying.'
Jason: 'Well, I'd like to see some physical evidence of your efforts to try to win.'
Jason gets up from the bench, rising to his feet.
Simon: 'Where are you going?
Jason: 'I'm going to the gym - and I don't care what you say, you're coming with me.'
Simon: 'You're not going to have me train like Rocky Balboa again, are you?'
Jason: 'In hindsight, that wasn't one of my better ideas, so no, there won't be a repeat of that. I told you I wanted to start your preparations for Sunday's match by having you do some cardio work, and I was serious - if you're serious about wanting to regain the Heavyweight Championship, you'll forget about your bed, and get your arse on the treadmill; once you win the title, then I'll let you rest, as much as you want.'
Simon stands up.
Simon: 'Okay. But I warn you, if I pass out from exhaustion, bang my head on the treadmill, and have to withdraw from the match due to a concussion, I'm going to hold you responsible.'
Jason: 'That's fine; should that happen, I'll just have to make sure that I record the incident - so that I can post a video of it on YouTube later, for everyone to laugh at.'
Simon quickly gives Jason a mock glare, before the pair head off to exit the terminal; as they walk away, and disappear from view, the scene fades to black.
The scene opens inside the living room of Simon Jones' home in Las Vegas. Sat opposite the camera, on a brown leather sofa, is the man himself; Simon is wearing navy blue jeans, and a white Bradford Bulls jersey. Simon's attention is currently drawn away from the camera, as he is looking down at Matilda, his baby daughter, who he has in his arms; Matilda is wearing a predominantly white bodysuit, with a pink trim, printed on which, also in pink, are the words "Blues Princess."
Simon raises his head, to look at the camera, and begins to speak.
Simon: 'It's been nearly two months since my wife gave birth to our first child, so I thought it was about time that I appeared on camera with my daughter, for the world to see.'
Simon looks towards Matilda again.
Simon: 'As I'm sure everyone watching this is aware, on Sunday, I'll be challenging Giani Di Luca for the SCW Heavyweight Championship. The last occasion when I competed as a challenger, in a match for that particular title, was of course back in June, against Jordan Williams - a match that I was successful in. At that time, my wife was around nine weeks pregnant - this Sunday, it will be nine weeks since Matty here, was born.'
Simon looks up at the camera.
Simon: 'So if I was to win this Sunday, and usher in my second reign as the Heavyweight Champion, there would be somewhat of a nice symmetry about it: from being the new champion and an expectant parent last June, to new champion and proud father this March - I like the sound of that. I expect Giani Di Luca to do everything that he can, to prevent that from happening, but since Matty was born, I've won every match that I've been involved in - and on Sunday, I intend to continue that run; Matty may be far too young at present, to comprehend what I do for a living, but I want to give her things to be able to look back on, in the years to come, and to give her reasons to be proud of her Dad.'
Simon looks at Matilda once more.
Simon: 'Right, madam, thank you for being so well behaved; I think it's time now for you to go to your Mum.'
Simon raises his head, and looks to his right, as he lifts up Matilda; from that direction, a pair of feminine looking arms - those of Jacqueline Jones - come into view, and Simon passes his daughter, to his wife.
Simon: 'Thanks, love.'
Simon watches as Jacqueline - together with Matilda - retreats out of view; he then turns to face the camera.
Simon: 'As I sat in a bar in San Francisco last Sunday night, a couple of hours after Climax Control had finished, and I pored over the matches that had been scheduled for the following week's show, I expected to see one of two things: either that I would be in one of the quarter-finals, in the Blast from the Past tournament, or, that I would have a week off. But the powers that be obviously had other ideas for me - and not for the first time: remember what happened in November? I issued a challenge to Casey Williams, but instead I was put into a match in which Casey was my tag team partner - rather than my opponent - with the two of us challenging the then-champions - Despayre and Rage - for the tag team titles. This time, the match that I was surprised to find myself scheduled to compete in, will - as I've already mentioned - see me challenge Giani Di Luca for the heavyweight title; hopefully I'll have greater success in this surprise match, than I had in the previous one.'
Simon quickly glances off to his right again, before looking back to the camera.
Simon: 'Had I indeed found myself with another week off from action in SCW, it's possible that I would have accepted an offer to make a guest appearance elsewhere, so as to keep myself match fit, and maintain my sharpness; another week off would have meant a gap of three weeks for me between matches in SCW, and the last time that I had a rest period of that length, on my return to action, I lost my next match - which is something that I can ill afford to have happen, when Brandi Shotze and I take on our next opponents in the Blast from the Past tournament. But while Brandi and I do have to wait another week to resume our partnership, come our quarter-final in Blast from the Past, there shouldn't be any issues whatsoever with my sharpness - thanks to the match that I have ahead of me this Sunday. And, despite what Jessie Salco might think, I'm not worried at all about Brandi suffering from ring rust - in the first round of the tournament, she reminded everyone what she is capable of, with her being the one that earned our team the win, when she pinned Lizzie Short.'
Simon smiles wryly.
Simon: 'Enough about the prospects of myself and Brandi Shotze in Blast from the Past - that can wait until next week, for deeper discussion. The only other thing that I want to add now, as far as relates to the tournament, is a realisation that occurred to me, earlier this week: should Brandi and I reach the semi-finals - and I don't plan on having our participation in the tournament end there - then that would result in me competing on all four SCW shows during the month of March, starting this Sunday. And given that I've competed on four out of the last five shows, by the end of next month, I may well be in the position of having competed on eight out of the last nine shows - I think I could be about to earn myself the title of hardest working man in SCW; my work ethic has long been something that I've prided myself on - with what is set to come, hopefully that is something that will stand me in good stead. I just hope that the SCW fans do not get sick of seeing me in the ring so frequently - especially as if I leave Irvine as the new Heavyweight Champion, then they can expect to see even more of me.'
With his right hand, Simon rubs his chin.
Simon: 'Thinking about it now, had I indeed been given another week off in SCW, perhaps it would have been daft for me to accept an offer for a one-off match elsewhere - putting aside the heavyweight title match for one moment, just my participation in the Blast from the Past tournament could mean me having to compete on three consecutive shows, which would be a big enough ask. So perhaps having a three week gap between my first round match and my quarter-final - without volunteering for another match in between the two - wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, after all.'
Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'However, this time last week, when I was still contemplating offers from elsewhere for a guest appearance - in the event that I wasn't required in SCW this weekend - the one that piqued my interest the most, was an offer from a UK-based promotion, to appear in an open invitation battle royal. And you should all know exactly how well myself and open invitation battle royals fit together. The match in question would have presented me with the chance to compete in my home country, for the first time in over ten and a half years - and it would also have given me the opportunity to win five thousand pounds.'
With his right hand, Simon reaches into the pocket of his jeans, and pulls out two red dice, which have white dots; Simon stares at the dice, as he continues to speak.
Simon: 'The five grand would have covered my expenses for the trip, whilst still leaving me a couple of thousand pounds richer. Now, there's no guarantee that I would've won the match, and claimed the five grand - I would've been taking a gamble. But I would've backed myself to be successful, just as I did back in May - the last time that I took a gamble in my wrestling career - when I took a trip to San Diego, and returned to my then-home in Canada, as the number one contender to the SCW Heavyweight Championship.'
Simon looks towards the camera.
Simon: 'And I find it hard to believe that any gamble will ever give me a larger payout than that; five thousand pounds is all well and good, but the SCW Heavyweight Championship - that's priceless. So while I would have liked to be able to set foot inside a ring on British soil, that can wait - perhaps until the SCW world tour - because instead of five thousand pounds, the match that I'll be in this Sunday will provide me with a much greater incentive to be victorious: six and a half months on from Summer XXXTreme II, I finally have the chance to regain the SCW Heavyweight Championship.'
Simon lowers his eyes slightly, gazing at the dice again.
Simon: 'Now, I say "finally," but that makes me sound like I've been getting impatient - which couldn't be further from the truth; far from hammering on the doors of Mark Ward, Christian Underwood, and Erik Staggs, I've been biding my time, waiting my turn. Last month, when Giani Di Luca wanted every man on the roster of SCW to tell him why they should be given a shot at the heavyweight title, he was met with near-silence in response - the only response that Di Luca got, was from me, as I told him that I didn't want a match against him for the title, at that point in time. I guess, though, that the men in charge feel I've done enough waiting. I just hope that, having waited patiently for my return match for the title, I don't now blow the opportunity - something that I'm working hard to try to avoid.'
The camera zooms out, as Simon leans forward, and rolls the dice, onto the floor of the living room; he rolls a one and a three.
Simon: 'How apt.'
Simon's attention returns to the camera.
Simon: 'The match this Sunday will be the fourth time that myself and Giani Di Luca have been opponents, and while he may have gotten the better of me in our two most recent matches, the first time we crossed paths, I was the last man standing - so I think it's time for me to even the score. That first meeting was the match in May that I referred to earlier - the gauntlet battle royal that I won, to become the number one contender to the Heavyweight Championship; with nine other men having already been eliminated, Di Luca and I were the final two left in that match - so having already had to overcome him once, on my way to winning the heavyweight title first time round, perhaps it's appropriate that, if I'm to win the title for a second time, I'll have to go through Di Luca again.'
Simon gets up from the sofa; the camera zooms out further, so that he remains fully in shot.
Simon: 'As I mentioned a couple of minutes ago, my first reign as SCW Heavyweight Champion came to an end at Summer XXXTreme II. Around six weeks ago, a few days after I had won my first match of the new year, pinning Goth - the man that Giani Di Luca beat to win the Heavyweight Championship - Kenny Chisholm made reference to the six pack challenge at Summer XXXTreme - the match in which I lost the title - and said that the odds in that match were unfair for any defending champion. While you'll never hear me use the number of opponents I had in that match as an excuse, I will admit that I'll probably find a one-on-one match to be more agreeable. My only previous one-on-one encounter with Giani Di Luca may have gone the way of my opponent, but, having slain the giant that is Casey Williams, I'm now in a better place emotionally than I was then. And having learned from the mistakes that I made before and during that match in November, I'm confident that, come Sunday, I'll be able to produce a different outcome.'
With his right foot, Simon kicks the two dice away, knocking them out of view.
Simon: 'The match on Sunday gives me the chance to create personal history: prior to now - for varying reasons - I've never had the chance to regain a title that I'd previously lost; of all of the titles that I've held during my career, no title has meant as much to me as the SCW Heavyweight Championship - so it will be fitting if that is the first title that I win for a second time. I also have the chance to create a piece of SCW history, as if I do become the Heavyweight Champion for a second time, of the men that have held the title more than once, I will have gone the longest between title reigns.'
Simon retakes his seat, on the sofa.
Simon: 'In April, when SCW embarks upon its tour of Africa, together with my wife and daughter, I'll be going home to the UK, to base myself there for the duration of the tour. While I'm there, the rest of my family will be able to see Matty for the first time. But there's another thing that I hope to be taking with me - something else that I plan on being able to show to my friends and family: the SCW Heavyweight Championship; for the past six and a half months, my goal has been to regain that title - on Sunday, I aim to accomplish that goal. Giani Di Luca, you've already managed to defend the heavyweight title successfully, twice - two more times than I did, during my reign as champion - but Sunday will be one title defence too far; I want that title back.'
Simon looks down at the floor for a moment; he then looks back to the camera, and continues.
Simon: 'I know that many of the wrestlers on the roster of SCW like to spout catchphrases, or puns. Well, I'm not one for catchphrases. And the only pun that I can recall using since I arrived in SCW, was a play on the name of my finisher, when - prior to my match at Into The Void II - I told Jordan Williams that I was going to send him and his reign as Heavyweight Champion, "Into Oblivion." But, as I won that match, perhaps the pun did work - to some extent. So I'll try another one.'
Simon stands up again.
Simon: 'Giani Di Luca, on Sunday, your reign as the SCW Heavyweight Champion will reach its Climax - and then, the title will be in my Control.'
Simon sighs.
Simon: 'That's the best I could come up with at short notice. This Sunday, hopefully my performance in the ring will be better than my puns; see you all then.'
As Simon stands staring towards the camera, the scene fades to black.
