The scene opens to show Simon Jones lying alone in bed in a darkened room, apparently fast asleep; the bed is covered in white bedding, and a nondescript framed picture hangs on the grey-painted wall, centred above the bed. To the left of the bed is a nightstand, on which is an alarm clock, a lamp and a mobile phone. The phone bursts to life, breaking the silence, filling the room with sound of the intro of "Blitzkrieg Bop" by Ramones:
"Hey! Ho! Let's Go! Hey! Ho! Let's Go! Hey! Ho! Let's Go! Hey! Ho! Let's Go!"
Simon groans and rolls over towards the nightstand, pressing a button on his phone to stop the alarm; the scene fades to black.
The scene opens to show Simon, who is dressed in a plain black shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, now sat in a radio studio - this studio is one of the studios of the Canadian sports radio station CJCL, better known as Sportsnet 590, The Fan. Also occupying the studio are Greg Brady and Jim Lang, the hosts of the station's weekday morning show, the imaginatively titled Brady and Lang in the Morning; Jim is sat opposite the camera, with Greg to the left of the shot and Simon to the right. Greg introduces the show's guest.
Greg: 'We've been joined in the studio by wrestling star, Simon Jones.'
Jim: 'Simon, welcome to The Fan.'
Simon: 'Good morning Jim, good morning Greg.'
Greg: 'Anyone that isn't already familiar with you should be able to tell by your accent that you're British - how long have you been in Canada for?'
Simon: 'I came to Canada in November, so, I've been here for around seven months now. And today I'm getting the chance to do something that I've been hoping to do for about as long as I've been in Canada.'
Jim raises his eyebrows.
Jim: 'Which is?'
Simon: 'To meet Greg Brady.'
Jim looks towards Greg and laughs, before looking back at Simon.
Jim: 'Rarely, if ever, do I hear people say that's something they hope to do.'
Greg: 'I think it might be a first.'
Simon: 'Well, despite having been living in the UK up until last November, I've been listening to Greg for much of the past decade; perhaps I should explain, for those that aren't aware, that Greg makes regular appearances on BBC Radio Five Live in the UK - most notably as a pundit on Fighting Talk, where he holds the record for the most wins on the show.'
Jim looks over at Greg.
Jim: 'I believe I'm right in saying that Greg has been appearing on Fighting Talk since the very beginning, which would be part of the reason behind him having that record.'
Simon: 'In addition to his record, one of the things that Greg is best known for on Fighting Talk, and certainly often ridiculed for, is his mispronunciation of some names.'
Jim looks back to Simon.
Jim: 'Can you give us some examples?'
Simon: 'Yakabu - instead of Yakubu - is probably his most common one, or at least the one that the host, Colin Murray, reminds him about the most. But another one that sticks out for me, due to being a team near to where I'm from, is his mispronunciation of West Bromwich Albion - I'm not going to attempt to replicate how he pronounced that, I simply can't do it justice.'
Greg: 'You're from Birmingham - of course it's easy for you to say.'
Simon: 'Your accent hasn't always worked against you though. I remember one question, shortly after Malcolm Glazer had purchased Manchester United, which required each of the members of the panel to play the role of Glazer addressing the United players - on that occasion, your accent definitely worked to your advantage.'
Jim: 'Enough about Greg. Simon, you've got a big match later this month, down in San Diego, as you take on Jordan Williams for the Sin City Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, at Into The Void II.'
Simon: 'I do, but that's not what I'm here to talk about - I'm here today to promote Atlantic Championship Wrestling, which is my bread and butter. I firmly believe that ACW is the hottest wrestling promotion in Canada, and whilst it is based in the Maritimes, I want to try to encourage people elsewhere in Canada...'
Simon trails off, pausing briefly.
Simon: 'I believe your show is simulcast nationally.'
Greg: 'Indeed it is.'
Simon: 'Well, I want to encourage people from across Canada, even if they only have a passing interest in wrestling, to do whatever they can to find a way to watch our shows. Or all the more, to make the effort to attend one of our shows; the ACW roster is packed with talented men and women, so I promise that if you do take the time to watch one of our shows, you will not be disappointed.'
Jim: 'The next ACW show is at the end of this month, on Sunday June 30th.'
Simon: 'That's right. And there's five matches scheduled to take place, with titles up for grabs in three of them.'
Greg: 'Okay, so how about you talk us through each of the matches.'
Simon: 'Sure. The opening match of the night is a three way match - or a triple threat match, if you prefer - involving Magni, Jericho Hill and Ryan Kidd. Now, Magni is one of the true mainstays in ACW, one of the few to have been there longer than I have, and like me, he is a former NWA Cruiserweight Champion. As for Jericho Hill and Ryan Kidd, this match will be the debut in ACW for both of them; Hill joining ACW came hot on the heels of him joining SCW, and twelve days ago he was victorious in his first match as an official member of the SCW roster; as for Kidd, he is the least experienced of the three men in the match, but from what I've heard about him, he should have a bright future.'
Jim: 'Care to make a prediction?'
Simon: 'I don't really want to make predictions for any of the matches on the card, as some of these guys, if not all of them, are likely to be future opponents of mine, and I don't want to give them anything that they can use as extra motivation to beat me; all I'll add is that Magni was the last person that I lost to, back in March.'
Jim: 'That sounds like you just predicted Magni to win!'
Simon holds his hand up, protesting his innocence.
Simon: 'I didn't say that! I didn't say that.'
Greg: 'So that's the opening match covered - what else can the fans look forward to seeing?'
Simon: 'This month marks the opening of the women's division in ACW, with a battle royal being held to crown the first champion. This battle royal is open to any woman in the world that wants to have a shot at winning the ACW Women's Championship, so to any female wrestlers that are out there listening, I say that this should be a can't-miss opportunity for you.'
Jim: 'How many ladies are confirmed for the match so far?'
Simon: 'At last count, seven, I think. But who knows, someone else could possibly have signed up whilst we've been on air. And with sixteen days remaining until the event, there's no telling yet who might show up on the night - it could get very crowded in that ring!'
Greg: 'That's the first of the three title matches that you mentioned - what's after that?'
Simon: 'The next match sees Ben Jordan and Mickey Carroll defending the tag team titles against the team of Ethan Brody and Landon Axel, who together are known as Guns for Hire. Jordan and Carroll will both be seeking to recover from losses that they suffered in singles competition last month, and they will no doubt be keen to remind everyone why they are, so far, the only duo to have held the ACW tag titles. Guns for Hire, on the other hand, well, this could be a big month for them - they too recently joined SCW, and as with Jericho Hill, who I discussed earlier, they were also victorious in their debut there; nine days from now, at Into The Void, they will be facing Sinful Obsession, the undefeated NWA Tag Team Champions, so Guns for Hire could finish the month as the new ACW Tag Team Champions, and be in contention to add the SCW tag titles to their collection.'
Jim: 'Which brings us on to the final of the three title matches.'
Simon: 'Yes, the Atlantic Championship will be on the line in the main event of the evening, as Angelo Vialetti challenges "Duke" Ata Tupoi. There's a lot of bad blood between these two men, the war between them has been going on for several months now, and other members of the roster, including me, have found themselves dragged into their battles. The last time they met one-on-one, in April, the match had an inconclusive and somewhat controversial ending - whatever the outcome this time, it still may not be sufficient to settle the matter.'
Greg: 'Four out of the five matches down, just one left.'
Simon: 'This is where you might be expecting me to say that I've saved for the best for last, but I'll leave that judgement for other people to make; the one match that I've yet to speak about is by match against Steve Ramone.'
Jim: 'Tell us about your opponent.'
Simon: 'He's a talented wrestler, with an eye-catching finishing manoeuvre; his nickname is "The Fearless One," and his finisher is called "What Fear?" So as you should be able to infer from that, he's a bit of a risk-taker - a daredevil. Prior to joining ACW earlier this year, he'd had a lengthy break from wrestling, although I don't think that it was quite as long as the exile from the sport that I had before I joined ACW. He's competed in two matches so far in ACW, coming up short on both occasions, although it's worth bearing in mind that the man that won both of those matches was Drake Green, who has since gone on to claim the Maritime Junior Heavyweight Championship, and is arguably the current number one wrestler in ACW, so Steve Ramone shouldn't be too downhearted at having failed to win those two matches.'
Greg: 'I assume it's safe to say that you'll be doing everything you can to hand him a third straight defeat.'
Simon: 'Oh, absolutely - this is going to be a pivotal match for me. As Jim stated earlier, I also have a match this month in SCW, against Jordan Williams, for the SCW heavyweight title, and of the two, that match is more important to my career than my match against Steve Ramone - it'd be wrong of me to try to pretend otherwise. But that doesn't mean that I'm overlooking the match with Ramone, or the test that he will present me. And regardless of the outcome of my match against Jordan Williams, I can assure everyone that I'll be aiming to beat Steve Ramone.'
Jim: 'The SCW event, Into The Void II, takes place a week before the ACW show - correct?'
Simon nods his head.
Simon: 'Correct. And that's why I described the match with Steve Ramone as being "pivotal." You see, if I lose to Jordan Williams, then I'll want to get back to winning ways as soon as possible, and the match with Steve Ramone would give me the opportunity to do that - I've won my last three matches, which is the best run that I've had since I returned to wrestling, and so after managing to string a few wins together, I wouldn't want my form to abruptly go in the opposite direction, with one loss sparking a run of defeats. But should I beat Jordan Williams, to become the new SCW Heavyweight Champion, which is of course what I'm hoping will happen, then the last thing that I'd want to do is to follow that up by losing to Steve Ramone - if I do leave San Diego with the SCW heavyweight title, then the following weekend, in ACW, there will be plenty of attention on me, and a loss to Steve Ramone would immediately have people questioning how long it will be before I lose the title. So as I said, whatever happens against Jordan Williams, I need to beat Steve Ramone.'
Greg: 'It seems as though you're putting pressure on yourself to beat Steve Ramone.'
Simon: 'I am, but then I constantly put pressure on myself to win - I like to think that I thrive on it. I'm no different to any other athlete, in any sport - I want to win every time. In reality though, I can't - sooner or later I'm bound to taste defeat. But that doesn't stop me from trying to win every match that I'm placed in, and trying to minimise the number of losses. So my basic aim against Steve Ramone is the same as always - plain and simple, my aim is to win.'
Jim: 'Anything else that you want to add?'
Simon sighs.
Simon: 'Actually, there is one more thing.'
Simon pauses to take a breath.
Simon: 'As I said at the outset, ACW is my bread and butter - J.J. Dixon, the owner of ACW, is the man that lured me back into wrestling, over nine years after I had last set foot in a ring, and for what he has done for me, I hold him in high regard. But I know that if I lose to Steve Ramone, in what is my first match in ACW since I signed a contract to also compete in SCW, then all of a sudden there will be doubters and naysayers, questioning my commitment to ACW and my loyalty to J.J. Dixon. In fact, even if I beat Steve Ramone, I may still have to put up with such questions, but the easiest way for me to keep people quiet is by continuing to win.'
Greg: 'Well, it sounds to me like one thing is for certain, which is that you're not lacking in motivation. Simon, thanks for being with us this morning.'
Simon: 'Thanks for having me. Jim - it was nice to meet you; and Greg - I look forward to hearing you on the new season of Fighting Talk.'
The scene fades to black.
The scene opens to show Simon now stood outside the Rogers Building in Toronto; in his right hand, his mobile phone is held to the side of his head.
Simon: 'Rick? You've got yourself a client.'
The scene fades to black for the final time today.
