The camera opens up with Ben Jordan sitting in a chair, his eyes bright as he smiles down the camera just to the left of him. He's wearing blue jeans, and a white T-shirt, tight to show off his physique. His hair is slightly curled and day old stubble rests on his face.
"Alright people." Ben says with a nod "It's that time again where we do a little introduction thingy here cause last week, we did it!"
A look of pride covers his face.
"We got through another round of Blast From The Past." He starts "We got to being one step closer, so again this week, you get to have a little insight to my adventures, this time in the lovely city of Boston."
Ben shuffles slightly in his chair.
"Been a decent week here so far." He says sincerely "I've seen the new Fast and Furious film with Eves, and made her buy me a burger at Wahlburgers. I got to sit and have a chin wag with a lot of new people and introduced them to something they ain't seen before and I woke up on a bench."
He shrugs his shoulders.
"Legit, a bench." Ben says with a firm nod "And Sammi just got in to town today, so no doubt, the pace on this week will not be slowing down. In fact, it's about to get a lot more interesting. Now I know you heard me say about waking up on a park bench, I know that's the story you want to see, I know ya wanna hear it and I'm all about giving you good people what you want so shall we see what happened?"
Ben points to the camera and the scene switches to...
*******
The birds are singing on this sun filled Boston morning, as the sun beats down on a grassy area. Joggers run along a foot path, their hearts racing as they lift their pace, music thumping down their ears. The camera turns around to see a man in a silver suit on a bench, his black shirt is opened at the top and his head pushed backwards, facing the sky. The man moves his head forward to show the face of Ben Jordan, his eyes covered by sunglasses. His head turns from left to right, only his eyebrows lower as he tries to get used to his unfamiliar surroundings. Ben runs his thumb and finger across his brows, looking confused as the camera moves closer.
"Coulda gone with the movie story, or the burger thing, but if this is being seen right now, this was the one I chose to air." Ben says to the camera as he lowers his sunglasses and winks at it "Forth wall broken."
He pushes the sunglasses back over his eyes and continues to look around the area.
"Where the bloody hell am I?" He mutters to himself "And more to the point, how the hell did I get here?"
He breathes deeply as he watches more joggers run past him.
"Never can remember these details without coffee." He says slowly.
As if by magic, an arm appears to his right, holding a cup of coffee in between painted nail. Ben smiles as he looks at the camera and then to the person holding the cup. Ben takes the cup from her hand - Do you know many men who wear bright pink nail varnish?
"I don't but Jamie might know a few" Ben randomly says "I mean, ummm, thanks."
Ben raises the cup to his lips and takes a sip out of the coffee and looks down the camera.
"Probably worked out this is gonna be a silly promo by now, right?" He comments with a wink.
Ben leans back on the bench, holding the cup between both hand, looking around the area again.
"Ok, we got some coffee..." He says trailing off. "If I knew I was gonna get that, shoulda probably asked for a cookie too."
Ben looks to the side of him in the direction the coffee came from.
"No cookie?" He says with a disappointed look.
He looks back towards the camera.
"Nope, no cookie people." He says through a sigh "Ah well, on with the promo!"
He takes a deep breath.
"Seriously though." He starts "How did I end up here... I remember..."
TWELVE HOURS EARLIER....
Walking down the street, Ben Jordan strolls alone, the silver suit and black shirt in much better condition than it will find itself in say.... Twelve hours time? Call it a guess. His polished black shoes click along the pavement as he steps along, a cheery look on his face.
"I could murder a pint right now." He tells himself as he slowly strolls.
His eyes dart around the street, looking for something to take an interest in and one sign stands out to him just a few doors down, the word "cheers" written on it and an arrow pointing down.
"Must be fate." He says to himself.
Ben walks towards the stairs, walking down and peering through a window in the door, he pushes it open and steps inside. Ben looks around at the wooden tables, worn through age, and wooden barstools around the square bar in the middle of the room. He sees a few customers sitting around the establishment and walks inside. He moves towards the bar and sits on a seat, gaining the attention of the man behind the bar.
"What can I get ya pal?" The man asks Ben.
"Pint of lager please mate." Ben replies.
The man leans back slightly, hearing Ben's accent for the first time, before moving towards the beer taps and placing a glass under.
"You're sure not from around here." He says, a second man moving towards them.
"Nah." Ben starts. "I'm from England."
The man places the beer in front of him and Ben reaches in to his pocket, putting down a note in front of him.
"Well I'm the owner of this place." He tells Ben "I'm Sam Malone, this is Woody."
"I'm Ben Jordan." Ben says with a cheery introduction.
"Good to meet ya, Ben." Sam says
Woody moves closer to Ben as Ben puts his hand around the glass.
"Do you know The Queen?" Woody asks in his slow tone.
"I do." Ben responds "I was playing poker with her just last week."
"She seems more like a Go Fish kinda lady." Woody tells Ben.
Woody turns away to serve another customer and Sam moves back towards Ben.
"You have to excuse Woody." He tells Ben "He was dropped on his head as a baby... and a toddler... and a teenager.... and an adult.... And last week."
Ben smiles as he picks up his beer and starts to drink it back. He places it on the bar and looks at Sam.
"It's all good." Ben tells him "People get paid to drop me on me head too."
Before the conversation and continue, a short waitress appears holding a tray and moving towards the bar, looking at Ben up and down as she places the tray on the bar.
"Hubba hubba!" She says "I know I wanted a surprise for my birthday Sam, but you didn't have to get this for me."
"I didn't get him for you, Carla." Sam responds.
"Who's the hunk of man meat?" Carla says, pointing a thumb towards Ben.
"This is Ben." Sam tells her.
Ben stands up, towering over Carla.
"I don't care where he's from, just put a bow around his neck and send him to the back room." She tells Sam.
"Heal Carla! Heal!" Sam tells her. "Don't you have table to wait?"
"Sure, but I wanna play with my present first!" She says.
Carla jumps in the air and wraps her arms around Ben's neck, holding on tight to him as Ben looks around confused.
"CARLA!" Sam shouts out, causing the waitress to release her hold on Ben and drop to the floor.
"Fine!" She says slowly "But don't you be going anywhere."
With a point to Ben, she picks up the tray and moves away from the bar.
"Bunch of characters you got around here." Ben says with a smile as he picks up his beer.
Ben takes a gulp of his beer, and drains half the glass.
"You don't know the half of it." Sam tells him as another man enters the bar.
The man wearing a postal uniform sits at the end of the bar and looks across towards Woody who serves him a beer, quickly putting it in front of him. Ben picks up his own beer and takes another mouthful. The man looks across at Ben.
"Eh, Woody." He starts "Who's the new guy?"
"That's Ben, Mr Clavin" Woody tells him "And he plays poker with the Queen."
"Eh" He says "She always looked like the Go Fish kinda gal to me."
He walks over to Ben, putting out a hand.
"Cliff Clavin" He says "Mail man."
"Ben Jordan." Ben responds with a handshake "Wrestler."
"Funny story about wrestling." Cliff tells Ben "My great grandfather invented it?"
"He did?" Ben asks with a smile
"Wrestling gators." Cliff tells Ben "Also invented gator handbags."
Ben smiles thoughtfully at him.
"Well thank you to your great grandfather for giving me a chance to work." Ben says humouring the man.
Another man walks in to the bar, prompting everyone to turn around and shout out.
"NORM!"
The heavy set man in the grey suit walks past Ben, moving to the end of the bar and taking a seat, sitting down as Woody moves towards him.
"How's a beer sound, Mr Peterson?" Woody asks
"I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in." The man replies as he takes a seat.
Sam turns back to Ben as he walks away.
"Sorry about Cliff." Sam says to Ben with a sympathetic tone.
"It's all good mate." Ben says "Believe me, I know a lot worse."
"Who's Shakespeare over there?" The man asks Woody.
"Oh that's not Shakespeare Mr. Peterson, that's Ben." Woody says "Everyone know's Shakespeare doesn't drink in here"
As Woody walks away, Sam points Ben towards the man and beckons Ben to meet him. Ben stands up and moves towards the man.
"This is Ben from England." He tells the man. "Ben, this is..."
"Norm.." Ben says cutting him off.
"See, I told you Sammy that they've heard of me in England." Norm says before picking up his beer and draining it off.
"Lemme buy you a beer" Ben offers.
"This guy is my new best friend!" Norm tells Sam as he goes off to pull more beer.
"How about we get some shots in?" Ben asks.
"This isn't the wild west." Norm tells Ben.
"You're right." Ben starts "More like an eighties sitcom."
Ben turns and winks at the camera before turning back towards Norm.
"I mean shots of alcohol." Ben says to Norm.
"I don't know what that means but if your buying, I'm drinking." Norm tells Ben.
FAST FORWARD TWELVE HOURS.
The camera cuts to Ben exiting the park, his suit jacket straightened up as he turns left to walk along the road.
"So that's what happened!" Ben says "Always good meeting new people."
He continues to walk down the street looking down the camera.
"You never can have enough of good people in your life." Ben says with a nod "And manners cost ya nothing."
He starts to walk down a few steps and put his hand on the door.
"It's always nice to go somewhere where everybody knows your name..."
He winks at the camera and pushes the door open and one words can be heard behind it from various voices.
"BEN!"
*******
The camera cuts back to Ben sitting in the chair he was in while doing his introduction. He smiles down the camera.
"See, woke up on a park bench." He starts "Met some good people and introduced them to shots. That bit was a bit of a mistake."
He smiles down the camera.
"Now I'm sure you thought I might have done the finger clicking thing and cut a promo there or something." He says with his hands out, palm up. "But I decided not to. I decided to do it right here, cause it's pretty fitting for my opponent this week to be honest, more than fitting, because for lack of a better term, he is no bullshit, he's as face value as they come, so I found it pretty fitting to just strip it all back and sit and talk so that is what we're gonna do."
Ben clears his throat and straightens up in the chair, looking firmly down the camera. He takes a long deep breath as he composes himself.
"Well we did it." He says with a smile "We did what people didn't expect me and Sammi to do and that was to get to the semi finals of the Blast From The Past tournament. We actually did it. We got through a seriously tough challenge last week and fair play to Amy and Dax who made it more than challenging, they pushed us pretty hard but somehow, we got through it and we're pretty proud of that one people."
Ben nods his head slowly.
"We knew it wasn't gonna be easy but Sam played out of her skin for that one and nailed it." He starts "We beat a pair of tough opponents and now being taken seriously in this thing."
He pauses for a second.
"I made it fairly clear last week this is make or break for me." Ben says softly "I made it clear this thing could be my last hurrah in SCW, and I got a surprising call today. I won't say who it was from but the told me that I shouldn't look at this as my make or break, that I should look at it for what it is, a chance to be where I truly belong in SCW."
Ben taps his chin.
"Makes ya wonder..." He starts with a thoughtful tone "Do I deserve to be at the top of SCW? Have I done enough to push myself to that place? I've been a tag wrestler for a while now, and when I started, people were wondering just why I didn't push myself to the top instead. When I took a break from the tag scene, people were shocked I went back to it to win the tag titles again, they have been in me lug hole for a long time telling me to aim for that top level, and I've been told that again. Shoot for the stars. Last weeks win gave me a little confidence boost, this week might just make me a believer."
Ben leans back in his chair.
"This week is gonna be tougher than last week." He says firmly "Because whenever you're against Mercedes Vargas in any way, shape or form, you're gonna be in for a tough time. The woman has won championship after championship, she has done it all and showing a new determination I ain't ever seen from her before. She's more up for it than a bunch of birds on a hen night. I know Mercedes wants to add one more thing to that glowing CV of hers. I know she wants to add Blast From The Past winner to that list. She will be up for it and determined to get it, so this could be as much about how to stop her than anything else, but I'm pretty sure Sammi's got a trick or two up her sleeve on how we get that one done. Either way, I look forward to sharing the ring with someone who will be in the SCW Hall of Fame someday."
Ben pauses for a second as he takes a short breath.
"Mercedes made her name in the ring, but my opponent, wrestling wasn't learned by him, he didn't have to be taught. It was always pumping through his veins, it was always in his blood." Ben says calmly "Max Burke was simply born to do what he does. He didn't wake up one day and say hey, I'm in good shape, I can wrestle, I can do all that stuff. He was born in to this world, came out and dropkicked the doctor!"
Ben smiles at his joke.
"Got him in a submission move never seen before and made him tap out." He adds.
Another smile crosses the Englishman's face.
"The guy was born to just be phenomenal and that's what he is." Ben says seriously "When I heard Max was coming back, dear lord I was excited. I was happy to see someone who could seriously click his fingers and rip SCW to bits if he wanted to, come back and grace us all with his presence. I ain't joking around when I tell ya that Max Burke is one of my favourite wrestlers I've ever seen, he's one of my favourite wrestlers I've ever got to work with before. Max and I worked for ACW together for a while, and the things you learn from that guy just watching him in the ring, practicing move after move, after move, not quitting till he gets it right, is amazing to see. You can learn so much from a guy who just won't quit until he's happy with the move. The work ethic is beyond imagination and it's what sets him apart from most of the roster."
Ben takes a short breath, looking down the camera.
"So this is gonna be more than a challenge." Ben says with a casual tone "How do you beat a man who's forgotten more moves than I will ever know."
He taps the side of his head
"I know how I'll do it Max." Ben says with a smile "I'll borrow a page from your playbook. I'll do what you do Max and I won't give up. I'll work my jacobs off to keep getting back up. You might knock me down but you have my word, everyone has my word that I'll be bouncing right back up, I'll be back on my feet in no time and I'll be fighting like I've never had to fight before. This tournament is about stepping up more and more as you go along and that's what I plan on doing. You thought last week was a tough match for me, I did too, this week is tougher and another chance to get me arse in gear and fight like a young lion."
Ben winks down the camera.
"See what I did there, Max?" He says with a smile.
He pauses for just a few seconds.
"I gotta push myself to the absolute limits." Ben says "I gotta get to those limits and push through them cause I sure as hell don't wanna fall on me arse at the last hurdle. Getting to a final is what everyone wants to do, I know people wanna win it but getting to the final, finishing up with ya name mentioned in history, knowing your career can change overnight with one win, it's what I want. I want the chance to do that Max and I will do what I can to get that. I won't be happy getting this close and falling on me boat race, I will be trying to get to that next level. This is my golden chance and no one can say I haven't earned it if I get there, no one can deny I haven't had to beat some stiff competition to get there."
Ben leans forward in his chair.
"Jordan Williams, Dax Beckett." Ben says as he presses his fingers together "Neither we pushovers Max and I got through them. You're no pushover Max, and I will be pushing on through to get past you and chance my arm at either Nicolas Blair or Lord Raab. I'm not looking ahead too much Max, but can ya honestly say you haven't thought about a match with one of those two already? Under the big lights of a supercard stage?"
Ben points upwards.
"I've thought about it." He starts "And it makes me want it Max. It makes me want it more and more with every passing minute, with every thing I got in me. Maybe that person was right, maybe this is my time to take a place at the captains table. Maybe this is my time to push through and do things I haven't done in years. Maybe this is a fight I'm determined to win, a fight I want to win, a fight I know in my heart of hearts, that I can win. I know everyone wants to get that chance but I know I got the fight in me to do it."
Ben sits back in the chair.
"I know ending your current run here is on my mind a little, but I think you should sit down and take that contract offer the boss made on the show." Ben says with a shrug "I think you should take it Max, because as much as I wanna win and will do so to get to that final, I know the fans have loved having you back in SCW. I know the fans were overjoyed seeing that you was coming back, I was overjoyed at it. I know I have to be the bad guy and end that Max, but I wanna see you stick around. Hell, I wanna see you get a Twitter account and put people in their places, but what I want more than anything is to get to that final."
Ben pauses for a second
"It's right out of your playbook, Max." Ben says firmly "Don't give up, keep going to get it right, keep pushing myself to get what I want. It's Max Burke 101. It's what I will adopt to get past you Max. It's what I will be telling myself over and over in this dome of mine..."
He taps his head.
"... To push myself through it." He continues "It's what will flow through me mind over and over. That big supercard spot is within touching distance, it's so close, I can smell it. I got me fingertips on it Max and I'm ready to make a grab for it, I'm ready to claim it."
Ben takes another deep breath.
"Everything you thought you knew about how far I can go Max, forget it all now." He says with a firm tone "Because it's changed right now, I'm out to push it just a little bit further. See most enter this thing cause they want the glory, I entered it because I wanna go as far as I can and I ain't done yet. I feel I can take another step closer and go from there. I feel like I'm ready to push on and grab that final spot. I'm ready for it Max, and I know you bring the intensity, but I'm bringing everything I got. I'm bringing the bloody world Max and I will not let people who cheer my name, applaud for me and support everything I do, down. I refuse to disappoint the people who are willing me on."
Ben clears his throat.
"You was born to wrestle, Max." Ben starts "I was born not to disappoint and trust me when I say I will not be doing that. I will not leave Boston disappointed, I will not leave Boston with my head low, because on Sunday, I will be doing all I can to get me and Sammi in to the final of Blast From The Past. I am more than thankful to face you Max, more than delighted to be in a ring with Mercedes Vargas, but I will be making sure that I take this chance that right in front of me."
Ben eases forward in the chair once more, moving towards the edge of his seat.
"So there you have it people." Ben states with a smile "Sunday will be a bloody happy day for people who call themselves my fans. Sunday will be a day to celebrate, Sunday will be a day to remember because it will be the day you see this guy get to the finals, and trust me people, we're gonna have one hell of a party."
Ben stands up, the camera following his face.
"But for now..." He starts "It's time to end this promo. It's been a lot of fun, lots of fun but you've heard me waffle on long enough. I will see you all in a couple of days in that six sided ring. Until then, you lot look after yourself and smile more. Life's too short."
Ben winks down the camera.
"Laters people."
The camera fades out as Ben walks off.
