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Climax Control Archives / Protesters? Alright mate...
« on: March 15, 2024, 04:11:05 PM »
We fade in to Ben Jordan standing on a stage in an empty room, just pacing with his head down before looking to his left, staring down the camera.

"Alright people!" Ben says with a cheeky wink. "It's that time again and yep, I know it's the same old, same old formula which I might switch up at some point because people might just get bored of it, but today, we're going for the classic intro, what I've been up to and little chat about the match if that's alright with you lot. I mean if it ain't broke, no point fixing it at the moment."

Ben smiles.

"So it's bloody amazing how I seem to be doing these more and more." He muses. "Last week, this week, Ben Jordan on the show all the time. What's all that stuff about? I go from filling cards when needed to being on every show. Nice change of pace. Bit mental considering I'm not exactly one hundred percent but might as well earn my keep."

Ben stops pacing.

"Speaking of which, earning my keep has been something I have been up to this week believe it or not." Ben tells the camera. "You guys remember Oasis, right? Charity myself and Jamie Dean set up to help homeless gay teens a while ago? It was bonkers getting it set up, lemme fill ya in on it, in case you don't remember. So Jamie wanted to do this for a while and I was and am a charitable fella, I had the money to last me a lifetime and ya know, recent sales of assets from a painless divorce had kept that to be true, so I was and am funding this out of my SCW paycheck. Well, we had a bit of grief from the landlord, who didn't like the fact that we were using the place for homeless gay teens and refused to sign it over to Jamie, ring any bells?"

Ben stops for a second.

"Well, I stepped in as a rival to Jamie to take the place over." Ben says with a smile as he thinks back. "When I say rival, it was all a ploy, because the fella signed over a ninety nine year lease to me and my business partner... He nearly dropped a brick when it turned out Jamie was my business partner, and we've been running this place for donkeys years, except I haven't exactly been around as much as I should have."

Ben frowns.

"What with cutting the gold off my finger, serious bouts of depression and other stuff going on, my support to the place has been mostly financial while Jamie carried the can." Ben admits. "But my time is a little more free now, so JD asked me if I could do some time here and I agreed. I feel like it might actually be good for me, relaxing even."

Ben breathes deeply.

"Little did I know what awaited me when I got back here. Peaceful wasn't exactly what the universe ordered." Ben says with the frown returning to his face. "Actually, it was the start of something I didn't expect and that's what I've been up to this week, being more hands on and wanting to be more foot up someone's you know what."

Ben half smiles.

"You're probably a little confused by that last comment, so let me show you what I've been up to next week and you can figure out where I wanted to plant my boot." He says with a wider grin. "So lets get that airing about now and I'll show ya what that's all about."

Ben rolls his hand around in a circle to get the recording rolling.



Sunday night was another tough night for Ben Jordan but it had been announced, mixed tag team street fight, another match he would not have seen himself in until the strange career trajectory that he somehow seemed to find himself on. He had opted to keep his word to Jamie Dean from last week and head to Oasis for a couple of days to mentor people but knew he would be arriving late. He wasn't wrong as the time was a little after two in the morning when the car pulled up outside and Ben stepped out, nodding his appreciation to the driver before looking up at the security entrance leading to the offices.

"Christ." He said to himself. "I hope I can remember the security number."

He walked towards the nondescript door with his bag over his shoulder and moved to the keypad, tapping in a number and pulling down the door handle. To his half surprise, the door pulled open.

"Ha!" He said to himself in victory. "And they said too many blows to the head will make me forget things."

He walked through the door with a confident strut and up the stairs leading to the offices that he shared with Jamie Dean, hitting a light switch as he passed it. He took the first door at the top of the steps to his right and went in, reaching around the corner to hit another light switch. The office lit up with two desks, one a mess with papers and the other virtually empty. Ben looked at the empty desk and smiled.

"Dunno why he insisted on me having a desk here when I'm rarely here, but hey ho." Ben said to himself as he moved to the empty desk and sat behind hit. He looked at it for a few seconds before moving his head down, resting his hand on his head, then...

Nothing....

Darkness...

Until....

"What the hell?!?!" Jamie Dean's voice could be heard saying.

Ben's eyes opened from a sleep as he looked up slowly, realising he was more tired then he thought when he entered the office and had fallen asleep at the desk.

"Where's the fire?" Ben asked as he let out a huge yawn.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jamie said surprised as Ben put his head up to smile. "You nearly gave me a god damn heart attack."

Jamie moved to the other side of the office towards a coffee machine and started to pour two cups out. Seconds later, one was sitting in front of Ben.

"I got in early hours of this morning." Ben explained. "I was so taken back by an announcement on an SCW show that happened last night, I had to come here in person and see if it was true. I mean imagine sitting back there, icing me bits up and stuff and seeing this promo from a guy who used to wrestle in SCW about him coming back to SCW for Blast From The Past. I was stunned, I was amazed, I am...."

"Laying it on a bit thick." Jamie said cutting him off.

"Well, maybe a little." Ben admitted. "But come on, it was decent. So how did that happen?"

Jamie took a seat behind his own desk and looked across at Ben.

"I guess I just wanted a change like you did." Jamie said with a calm shrug. "I miss the ring sometimes, and it's a good way to show the kids I'm not just the guy here, that I can do something inspiring."

"Nothing wrong with inspiring the next generation." Ben said with an approving nod. "Doesn't matter if it's in life or in wrestling. Whole point of this place is to do that, keep them safe, inspire, let them go."

Jamie took a sip of his coffee and raised an eyebrow at Ben.

"So what are you really doing here?" He asked.

"Well you said I could be here more, I was in the state so thought I'd drop on by." Ben said with a smile. "Get the feeling that there was more to the invite then you let on the other day."

Jamie gritted his teeth a little and Ben looked across at him with a slight smirk.

"I love being right." He said to Jamie with his smile growing by the second. "So what is it?"

Jamie shifted in his chair, slightly uncomfortable with the line of question, which quickly changed Ben's look from smug to more concern.

"Well?" Ben pushed.

"It's nothing I can't deal with." Jamie said to him with a weak smile. "You don't need to go all Superman or anything."

Ben and Jamie both turned to look at the camera staring at it with smiles on their faces as the turned back to the scene.

"Look mate, if their's issues." Ben told him. "I can help out a little bit. I am gonna be here more often, over the weekends and stuff a bit more often, maybe like every other week and when SCW are in California, can show up every week, so if something is kicking off, let me know."

Again, Jamie shared an uneasy glance towards Ben.

"It's just..." He said before a noise in the background stopped him in his tracks.

Ben raised an eyebrow at Jamie.

"The bloody hell is that?" Ben asked.

Jamie sighed as he looked at Ben. He rubbed the side of his temple with two fingers before continuing.

"It's just your about to find out I guess." Jamie said as he rose from his desk.

Ben sprung to his feet and the two left the office and down the same stairs Ben had walked up the night before and Jamie got to the door before Ben. He opened the door for Ben and Ben quickly walked through. His eyes diverted back to Jamie.

"Explain?" Ben said quickly.

"Protesters." Jamie replied. "They started up last week, apparently this place is unnatural."

Ben sighed deeply.

"I thought we ended this bollocks when we got one over on the landlord." Ben said.

"Did you just use a curse word?" Jamie said surprised.

"Bollocks and arse ain't curse words." Ben said to Jamie. "They're lower scale, but anyway, lemme get rid of these muppets."

Ben confidently walked toward the group of five women.

"The old Ben charm incoming." Jamie muttered, causing Ben to stop and turn back in his tracks to look at him before continuing.

"Can I help ya people?" Ben asked to get their attention.

One women looked at a smiling Ben and decided to take the lead, standing in front of the others.

"Who are you?" Said in a demanding tone.

"Well that depends." Ben said. "I can be the nicest bloke in the world, or I can be an horrible bloke that might not respond well to that nasty tone of yours. The thing is, you don't know which I am at this point, so sweetheart, until you work that one out, I suggest you try and be civil being as you're on my property having a go at some brick walls."

The woman looked shocked, as did Jamie at Ben's tone as Jamie joined in. Ben put one hand on Jamie's shoulder and clicked his fingers, causing the scene to freeze, other then him and Jamie.

"Always wanted to be a part of that." Jamie said with a smile. "But what's that tone for?"

"It's the English accent, it rattles them." Ben said with a wink. "Every bad guy millionaire in those blockbuster movies is English, so they might think I'm one of them and bugger off."

Jamie nodded his head and Ben clicked his fingers again and looked at the woman.

"See, us English don't like to mince words at times." Ben told her. "So what's this all about?"

"I... I... I mean we..." The woman stumbled out. "We think this place is unnatural. We think that there's no place in this area for these people."

Ben nodded seriously, keeping eye contact with the woman.

"All five of ya think that?" Ben asked. "Because this lovely lady here hasn't stopped smiling since I got here so not sure she agrees with you anymore."

Ben smiled towards a blonde woman who blushed instantly.

"We have more on the way!" The woman snaps back

"Bus break down did it?" Ben said with a chuckle. "When you say these people, do you mean homeless people that are no longer homeless? Because you know the way this world is, you could be homeless soon, money's tight for some people, you're one missed payment away from being turfed out on your arse."

"That will never happen, my husband has a good job." She told Ben.

"You have a husband?" Ben said to her before turning to Jamie and lowering his voice. "Brave fella."

Jamie tried to hide a smile.

"If you have issues with the homeless, then I do not get your issue with people like me and JD here, giving them a place to stay." Ben told her calmly.

"It's not that, it's because they're..." The woman stopped talking, unable to say the last word.

"Gay?" Jamie added

"Yes!" The woman yelled out.

"Well that's pretty funny." Ben said. "You have an issue because people are gay and they're here."

"That's right." The woman said, feeling that Ben is now swaying to her side. "They don't belong here, they're disgusting."

"Where do gay people belong?" Ben asked with an innocent tone.

The woman looked at Ben with her mouth open, surprised by the question.

"Guessing you never thought about that one before." Ben said, trying to keep his best serious face. "I mean everyone's gotta be somewhere right? You've gotta be somewhere, they've gotta be somewhere, everyone needs to be somewhere, but I think you should count your blessings here."

"What do ya mean?" The woman said softly.

"Well at least you know where these guys are." Ben said with a casual shoulder shrug. "You call human beings disgusting because who they're born to want, but these guys are here, it's the one you don't know about sweetheart, they're the ones who should be in your thoughts, because you never know when you're living your daily life next to someone who you deem as disgusting."

Ben's words tied her up, and Ben knew he had her on the ropes.

"Did you go for coffee this morning?" Ben asked. "Wait, of course you did, cause I'm gonna judge you like you're judging people. Course you went and bought an expensive coffee cause you're a middle aged American with too much time on her hands. I'm assuming that because well, judging people without knowing them is cool, right?"

The woman still had no reply to Ben.

"Did you ask the guy who grinded the beans if he prefers the arms of gentlemen?" Ben asked. "Or the person who delivered the cups? How about the person who placed that cup in your hands, and I'm gonna presume latte because well, presuming is alright today, right? Did you check any of that?"

The woman looked stunned at Ben.

"Did you grab the mail this morning?" Ben asked "Did you ask the postie what he was holding in his hand last night? How about the fella who bagged your groceries? Just sticking with the presumption theme that you got going on and guessing you didn't. Do you know if they was straight? I'm gonna take a punt and say you didn't ask that, so they too might be disgusting. You've probably walked past more gay people on your way here then you realise, so if you wanna shut down a place for not being the same as you, you're gonna be a very busy lady."

Ben wagged a finger at her.

"But this is not a place you will be getting rid of." Ben told her a little more sternly. "Because well, I ain't letting that happen, unless you wanna buy the place, but that's in the millions and I'll only buy the place next door to you, knock it down and build a skyscraper so I can have more people there. Now this is where I think you should bugger off and come up with a better plan because this place ain't going anywhere."

Ben looked at the woman stomp her feet and storm off. The others quickly followed, leaving Jamie and Ben standing there. As soon as the women are out of sight, the two men burst out in to fits of laughter.

"Now that was something else." Jamie said through his laughs.

"I thought so." Ben said also laughing. "I hate people like that. Self righteous and all that because people see things differently."

"You know she'll be back." Jamie informed Ben.

"Oh I hope so." Ben said with a nod. "Cause I got all the time in the world to put people like that down, adds a bit of fun to life."

The two turned and walked back towards the building.

"You know." Jamie said with a wide smile. "With some of those lines you came out with, you'd make a great Bong villain."

Ben put his arm around Jamie's shoulder.

"Mate..." Ben said as he stopped. "I'd make a great Bond."

The two shared a laugh as they entered the building and the scene faded to black.



We fade back in to Ben in current times on the stage.

"Did you figure out where I wanted to stick me boot?" He says with a smile. "Bloody annoying woman."

Ben clears his throat.

"So yeah, that's been going on this week." Ben says slowly. "It distracted me from some poor attempt at getting under my skin on social media from Alexander Raven, nice try son but I'm not rattled by keyboard warriors, especially when it's not really funny. You're a grown arse man, you can do better the balls joke, what's wrong with you?"

Ben looks genuinely confused.

"It didn't however distract me from what's around the corner." Ben says. "It didn't distract me from you Rodrigo Afonso.... I nearly called you Afonso Rodrigo then for some odd reason, can't for the life of me think why."

Ben scratches his head.

"I still thought about going in to this match with you Rodrigo." Ben says seriously. "Because I actually think this is the perfect match for me to be in at this point. Last week was a bit of a disappointment that Alexander Raven ruined a perfectly good match against a guy I was looking forward to testing myself against. He ruined something that I wanted and I can't help but think this is the perfect chance to remind him just who he's messing with, who he's actually dealing with. It's not disrespect to you Roddy, not at all. It's not a slight on your skills or what you can do in the ring, but it's a chance to show up against an awkward opponent with a skill set that I don't often come across when it comes to getting in the ring. These are the tests I need."

Ben looks at the camera.

"I always feel like I'm on a roll when I'm in the ring all the time, not stop start, not slowing down and mate, I've been booked like a loon lately so very much on that roll." Ben says thoughtfully. "It's a bit of a test to push myself through and show I can handle all comers with different styles as I build towards a crazy freaking match in a few weeks time and there's a reason I see Roddy as a bigger thing then most might. Most might look at this one and go what's the point but in my head, there's a point because you need to put respect on his name mate. Ya need to sit there and think about how this geezer is not a slouch in the ring, you gotta think this geezer knows what he's doing and is pulling up trees, causing a few surprises, doing things understated but effective. Guy walks away with a title opportunity at his own pace, you don't get that by being lucky so Roddy, this is me putting respect on ya name, because you earned it."

Ben runs his hand under his chin.

"And realistically, I'm probably the perfect opponent for you to continue that decent run of taking big names and you probably got me at the right time." Ben wonders. "I mean I'm a bit banged up, I got some plonker breathing down my neck at every opportunity, a match coming up that isn't really my style, so you would think my head could be all over the place and it could very well be, but the thing is, it really isn't. I'm actually blocking out the plonker, I'm blocking out the future challenges because all that matters is getting past you Roddy and getting myself on winning ways as I go towards Blaze of Glory. I know that's there in the future and although I'm not overly thinking about that, I know that I need to build momentum and make people question their actions."

Ben walks a little closer to the camera.

"I think a win over Roddy would be the perfect start." Ben says in thought. "I didn't come up trumps in the last match and that's fine, but this is where I wanna bounce back to winning ways and although a lot refuse to see it, this guy is bloody good. Thing is I've dealt with a lot and know how to adapt and even as black and blue as I am, I think I could still do a number on him and walk out celebrating. It's what I need to do to kick on because I need that momentum, I need that push, I need to repay a lot of faith put in me to show up every week and do what they pay me to do. This is why I need to put on a good show against Roddy and mate, it's gonna happen. There's a lot of great stuff on this card, some proper blinding matches, but this is a show I wanna stand out in and I would think that's more then possible."

Ben breathes in sharply.

"Last few weeks, I've been about constantly and left people talking about me, this week, I want them talking about me winning instead of the geezer who got mucked around again by outside players and people who don't belong near the ring at that time." He says seriously. "I wanna be talked about this week for having a cracking match against a very good opponent and coming out winning, instead of another poxy no contest or draw, because I've had a few of those things lately. It's time for this guy to step up to where he should be and Roddy, you're a tough opponent, you got that golden briefcase with ya which is no joke but I gotta get out there and show you all what I'm all about. These no contests do sod all for me so it's time to step up."

Ben points upwards.

"Contrary to what some believe, I do still have it and I still do have another gear to kick in to at this point." He says with a slight smile. "And this is the week to do so, this is the week to play through the pain, this is the week to show that the heart of the Cockney King still beats hard. Many think I've on the downhill slide, that I'm over the hill, that I'm just too long in the tooth to be doing this anymore, that my best days are so far behind me, they're in another country but nah, I ain't done yet. I still got a lot to prove now that the first in me has been lit once more. A few months ago, I might have agreed, I might have said yeah, my better days are gone, but that fire is burning bright this time, that fire is hotter then it ever was before because I got something to prove to myself, not to others, but to myself. I'm the one who has to get up every morning and look in the mirror and see this big ol' mush."

Ben points to his face.

"I'm the one who has to justify everything to myself." He says with a serious look. "I need to get up in the morning, look in that mirror and tell myself I am someone, I am a top wrestler and this Sunday, I get to prove it against another of SCW's young guns. I couldn't get the job done last week against Reyno but I will do this week. I respect ya talent Roddy but mate, I'm coming in to this match with the intention of walking out a winner. There ain't no ifs, buts or ands about it. This is just what's gonna happen on Sunday."

Ben pauses for breath.

"And I hope Alexander Raven does get a closer look at what's happening on Sunday. Mate, you're welcome to a front row seat." Ben says with a serious tone. "Because this is straight up wrestling, this is what I can do without any problems at all, anyone can swing a chair, but what you're about to see is wrestling class and it's what's gonna mess you up proper."

Ben slowly nods.

"Right, I've probably taken up enough of your time." Ben says with a firm nod. "Roddy, I will see you on Sunday, looking forward to it mate. I wish ya all the best, but I know for a fact who's walking out winner of this one."

Ben points to himself.

"Until then, have a cracking weekend you lovely lot and I'll see you soon." He says with a cheery smile.

"Later's people!"

Ben winks down the camera as the scene comes to an end.

2
Climax Control Archives / Hmmmm....
« on: March 08, 2024, 10:06:23 AM »
Ben Jordan's face appears on the screen as he leans back in a reclining chair, his head still covering the scared skin from the battle at My Bloody Valentine. He smiles down the camera and gives a thumb up.

"Morning people." He says with a slight wince. "Or evening, afternoon or night, where ever you're watching this from. It is indeed intro time. We know how this works, it's tried, it's tested, it's familiar and you can skip past it if ya want to get to the meat of things."

Ben winks and smiles.

"I'm sorry for having to lay back like this but I ain't one hundred percent still not only from my Bloody Valentine, but from last week, so please forgive this old aching sod."

Ben points down.

"Getting a whack in the chaps is no fun, lemme tell ya." He says with a chuckle. "But getting whacked in the gentlemen parts has left me conflicted a little bit. I came out of My Bloody Valentine a bloody mess but feeling like I can do this again, that I could be a proper wrestler again and not be like past it, spot filling, all that stuff and then I heard Alexander Raven's words about the luck of the draw and well, geezer might be right there, I did get a decent draw and I came out of it."

Ben frowns slightly.

"Makes me wonder if I did get away with it a bit, but can not doubt I went through hell in something I wasn't comfortable with, just to win." He says softly. "But what it did do is put a little doubt I thought I got over, it made me wonder if I deserve this spot I'm in."

Ben can not help but sigh.

"Well I guess now I gotta prove it over and over again and I got a top match coming up with Aiden Reynolds." He says with a smile. "He's a top wrestler so I guess I will have to prove it again and again I'm where I belong and that you Alexander, you're a bitter old man."

Ben tries to lean forward but winces.

"Anyway. What do we have to show you from this week?" Ben says to the camera. "Well what we have in some behind the scenes footage of directly after getting hit in the wotsits, because ya know, gotta keep pushing that thing along and we got some stuff from yesterday where I had a conversation with an old familiar face."

The camera switches to the side of Ben as he continues to the side of Ben's face.

"Why?" He asks himself. "Because I thought it might be fun to watch."

The camera switches back to the front of Ben.

"So enjoy this." He says with a smile.



He never expected Sunday to go the way it did, as Ben returned through the curtain after an unexpected attack. Reaching down to his... well, low blow target area for men, he winced as he leaned over the rail at the top of the staging area. He looked around at the eyes upon him, many with surprise and caution burning a hole in him as he turned to walk down a few steps and to the nearest chair he could find.

"Bloody hell." he muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and breathed deep. "Not the first time I've been hit in the crackers but that woman has a vicious streak on her."

Another deep breath filled his lungs.

"Seriously, right in the gooleys." He said with a shake of his head. "Not cool."

"Ben!" Sam Marlowe's voice is heard saying.

Ben opened his eyes to see the concerned redhead standing in front of him.

"I'm so sorry." She said as she rested her hand on his shoulder.

Ben looked up and shook his head at her.

"You didn't whack me in the onion bag." Ben said as he mustered up half a smile. "So you ain't gotta be sorry about anything."

Sam took a seat next to Ben, her eyes full of sympathy.

"But I should have expected it as soon as he appeared that she might be around somewhere." Sam said softly.

"I wouldn't worry." Ben reassured her. "When I went out there, I went out there to move on, to admit that I was offered a prize for that match and turned it down so it didn't look dodgy with Bella winning the same match and getting offered something. Then the plan was to move on a bit, step away a bit, fill my time with something that don't give me panic attacks and now I'm pulled back in."

He sighed.

"Guess all it took was a whack down low." Ben said sadly before looking at Sam. "But as me Nan used to say, worse things happen at sea."

He looked at Sam with a frown.

"I'll make sure she won't get away with it." Sam said fiercely.

Ben couldn't help but smile at Sam with more conviction then his previous attempts at smiling since he came back through the curtain.

"You're funny when you're angry." Ben said with a slight laugh. "Your face also turns a shade of ginge."

Sam narrowed her eyes at Ben as she looked at him, balling up her fist.

"Can I interest ya in another shot below the belt?" She asked in a joking manner.

Ben put his hand on his chin, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"Well, to be fair." He started. "I didn't really like the first one so an action replay of it all is not really on my mind right now, so as generous as the offer is, I think I'm gonna have to thank you and pass. Thoughtful offer though."

Sam smiled at Ben.

"Well, no little Ben Jordan's will be running around the world." She said, lightening the mood.

"World has enough trouble handling this one." Ben fired back quickly. "Hate to think what would happen if there was more of me running round saying alright people to everyone they see."

He tried to stand up, but pain shot through his body and he slouched back down to his seat. Sam's face turned back to a concerned look as she looked at her tag team partner.

"Are you ok?" She asked seriously.

"I'm alright." Ben said. "But my meat and two veg and feeling so chipper."

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes, but Ben smiled back, easing the tension with them both.

"I'm thinking we should bugger off out." Ben said as he successfully made it to his feet.

"Pub?" Sam asked him.

Ben surprisingly shook his head at Sam, taking her back slightly.

"I want a pint of something." He stated. "But not beer."

"Oh?" Sam quickly responded.

"Yeah, a pint of ice cream would be wicked." Ben told her.

Sam looked at him curiously, but smiled.

"Well after the night you've been through, I think you deserve any flavour you want." She said with a bright smile.

"Flavour don't matter love." Ben replied as he limped along with her.

"It doesn't?" She asked.

"No, it's not for me." Ben said looking at her. "It's for me nuts."

He pointed down as Sam suppressed a smile and the two wandered off as we cut to another scene



It was a brisk afternoon in the East End of London as Ben Jordan walked through Millwall Park on the Isle of Dogs. Spring was on it's way in London, even if the weather didn't completely match. Sunshine barely broke through the cloud line as he wandered through with Bear at his side.

"Bit nippy today boy." Ben said as he looked down at him. "Still, that fur coat must keep ya warm."

Ben shivered as he pulled his hood over his top, covering a leather baseball cap that sat on his crown, but slightly winced at the movement.

"I think I need a sit down mate." Ben said to his dog as he spied a bench in the distance. "Seems like a good a place as any. No matter where we sit out here, still gonna be cold enough to chill the nuts off a brass monkey."

Bear looked up at Ben, walking by his side in a nonchalant, casual manner, as relaxed as relaxed can be. It was only a few seconds before Ben had made it to the bench and turned slowly to sit, taking the weight off his aching feet. Bear sat down in front of him, looking around at the fairly empty park.

"Could be worse I suppose." He said to himself softly as he looked around at the scene.

Ben breathed deeply as he tried to find some peace in his own mind, but it wasn't to long before his peace was distracted by a ringing phone in his jeans pocket. He looked around himself for a second, deciding if he wanted to answer it but shrugged and reached in to his pocket and pulled it out, looking at the caller ID. A smile broke out on his face as he saw the name Jamie Dean. He wasted little time in answering a video call.

"JD." Ben said as the face of his friend and former tag team partner, Jamie Dean appeared on the screen. "You're up early over there, everything alright?"

Jamie smiled at Ben.

"Always been an early riser in more ways then one." Jamie said with a wink.

"King of innuendos." Ben replied with a nod. "What's up?"

"I'm just calling to check in on you." Jamie said with a serious face. "I've caught your stuff lately and I know when you're not completely happy. Plus I wanted to check on how you were after the nut shot."

Ben looked down towards his legs before looking up at the camera.

"Well, I didn't expect to ever use the line The Cockney King got hit in the crown jewels." Ben replied with a shrug. "But they're alright I guess."

"And you?" Jamie asked.

"I don't know if I'm honest." Ben said to him.

"Well, you know I trained in helping people after I stopped wrestling, so you can talk to me." Jamie offered sincerely.

"You know what, it's bloody hard to talk about." Ben admitted. "I guess what it boils down to is I wanted to step away and I couldn't, I'm dragged back in when I don't really want to be. The truth is what I should have done is did what Jonesy did all those years ago. Step out at my prime, go and get an nine to five office job like a normal fella."

Jamie scrunched up his face as he looked at Ben.

"You'd get so bored so quickly, you'd run back to the ring." Jamie said to him. "You're at your best when your busy and not in your own head. That could be your problem."

"What could be?" Ben asked.

"You're not busy enough so you're in your own head." Jamie told him. "This never used to be you. When you was married to the devil woman, you always had something to do because you got dragged all over the place. You was constantly on vacation doing something, now what do you do?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders.

"I get up around noon, maybe later, walk about with Bear for a bit, then we hunt down some bacon, head out for the occasional pint." Ben tells him. "Run in to the same drunk in the same pub, arguing with his missus about him being in the same pub every night, while she stands there with him most nights."

"Wait, is this the same freeloading bird that never pays for a round but always wants one bought for her because she's a lady?" Jamie offered in response.

"The one and same. Setting equality back a few years." Ben replied. "She questions where his money is coming from, while never turning down a drink. Bizarre couple."

Ben shrugged his left shoulder.

"Then we head home, pick a takeaway and stick the tele on." Ben told him. "I thought this was the life I wanted, but maybe you're right, maybe it is a bit of boredom. I never had this issue years ago when I run a boozer around here."

"You didn't?" Jamie questioned.

"Nah." Ben replied with a smile as he thought back through that time. "Days were proper long too. I was up at like six every morning. I was in the bar stocking the fridges, emptying the machines for the cash in there, waiting for deliveries. I'd clean the place completely and it wasn't a small boozer, but I did all that on my own. I was out the door picking up the morning newspapers, down the bakers for the fresh rolls, making the fresh rolls and opening the place at eleven and taking the first shift till three."

"At least you got a break then." Jamie said.

"Not exactly." Ben replied. "At that point, I'd be in the stock room, seeing what we were short off, then I'll be on the phone ordering what we needed. After that, I'll be in the office sorting out staff wages, doing a ton of paperwork and whatever was left, be off down the bank. Then I'd be back in the bar by seven to see the night out. I wasn't getting to bed until midnight most nights and up by six, but you know what the weird thing was?"

"What?" Jamie asked.

"I absolutely loved it mate." Ben admitted. "I loved every second of those long days, every day of the week. I never had time to reflect or worry about what was in my head. I did what us cockneys do. I got up and I did that, got on with it cause every day was different. Sure we got the people in that seemed to look like scruffs but had seemingly endless funds, but they'll always be something different going on. They'll always be a face I haven't seen before. I needed that."

Jamie tapped his chin as he looked down the camera at Ben.

"Well, you either need to buy another pub..." He started. "Or fill your time with something else."

Ben frowned at Jamie.

"I wouldn't mind another boozer." He admitted "But I couldn't do all that again properly till I hang up the boots."

"Well, I might have another idea." Jamie said with a smile.

"I'm all ears." Ben replied.

"Why don't you come over here to help out at Oasis for a couple of days a week? I could use the help and the kids would be happy to see you." Jamie told Ben. "It will help you feel busier."

Ben thought about it for a few seconds.

"I could do." He said. "Maybe fly in Friday morning, go to work on Sunday, back Sunday night, come back home on Monday."

"Even a day around them would be appreciated."Jamie told Ben.

Ben nodded slowly at the phone.

"Tell ya what." Ben said. "I got a match in Cali on Sunday, so how about I swing by and we'll sort something out?"

"That sounds great." Jamie replied with a wide smile. "But I gotta go, call me with details when you're getting here."

"Can do mate." Ben says with a salute."Have a good un!"

Ben turns off the phone and looks down at Bear.

"Is it me or did he seem very, very keen on getting me there?" He asked Bear. "I think something's going on."

Bear seemed to nod in agreement.

"Alright, lets get down the cafe, shall we?" Ben said to Bear.

Bear wasted no time getting back to his feet and moving away. Ben started to follow with the thought of Jamie's keenness weighing on his mind.



The camera fades back in to current day Ben as he sits in his recliner.

"Still don't have a clue what Jamie is going on about, but he is in California so think I'll do a little swing by." Ben says. "And speaking of California, I'll be wrestling there on Sunday."

Ben winks.

"See what I did there?" He says with a smile. "And not only can we get back to the wrestling basics that I love, it's against a fella who reminds me so much of me, it's not even funny. Seriously, I love it, because he seems a lot like me before the spark went out of my eyes and the spring out of my step. Absolute stud in the form of Aiden Reynolds."

Ben nods and smiles.

"Now I've only been in the ring with Reyno once and that was in that hell of a match neither of us was overly confident in." Ben says with a slight shrug. "But trust me people, you only need to be in a ring with this guy once to know he was once like me. Working hard, pushing himself, wanting him to be the proper version of himself where he can put himself ahead of the rest. Mate, I built a career on being like that, being something different and it didn't do me any harm, it got the people behind me and pushed me on to do more. Ladies and gents, this is Aiden Reynolds and I ain't pulling your plonker on that one. Charisma for days, stamina, energy, can put on a show, willing to have a laugh at his own expense, just generally a decent guy. A bloke who can put bums on seats, get the cheers and the love of the fans."

Ben pauses.

"That describes both of us." Ben says with a short nod. "And I have the ultimate, top notch respect for anyone who can be like that. People think this game is easy, get out there, wrestle, try and get a crowd reaction, that part yeah, no worries mate, but to really be something, you need to catch fire and that is what Reyno can do. He ain't been here long and he's already done that, he's already caught and about to burst in to flames and this match could be the one that does that for him. I had the same against an established SCW wrestler back in the day and here I am all those years later so I  know how important this match can be for him. This could be your break out match Aiden and it will be your breakout match."

Ben raises a finger.

"It doesn't mean you're gonna win it but it is without a doubt gonna be a breakout match for you one way or the other cause I'm gonna make it happen." Ben says seriously. "However it goes down in that ring, and I'm not a plonker enough to think my experience is gonna walk all over ya, you're gonna look amazing mate."

Ben tries to sit forward in the recliner but grits his teeth and lays back.

"It's obvious I ain't at my best but I ain't using that as an excuse." Ben says as he looks down the camera. "I'm gonna leave everything in the ring regardless because that's what I always do. I mean if we could survive that hell at My Bloody Valentine, then we can give the fans something decent here. I'm pretty sure that you're not feeling bloody fantastic after that one but I'm expecting the England Aussie rivalry to proper show up."

Ben holds his hands up.

"Let me make it clear people, it's just a sporting thing." Ben explains. "Always a rivalry with us Brits and the Aussies but its not really personal and neither will this be. It will be a couple of top stars from two top sporting nations putting on another thing to be remembered for donkeys years to come."

Ben nods seriously.

"Don't get me wrong at all people, this one is gonna be a cracker of a match." Ben says confidently. "I know what the fella is like in the ring and even through the blood running down my mush and in to my minces, I could see what a proper talent he is and I respect it massively. It is gonna be a proper cheeky fight this one and we're gonna give you it all, but I can't help but fancy me chances in this one. I dunno why but I think even though I ended up feeling as rough as a dogs tongue after that supercard match and getting hit in the crackers last week, I feel like there's been a bit of a turning point in my career. I can't help but feel like it was the oddest kick in the jacksy I needed to get myself going again and that is something that I just might do."

Ben glances down at his watch.

"I don't wanna bore you with much more, and I got a flight to go jump on, but mate, I am seriously looking forward to this match, I'm looking forward to getting in the ring with a fella I proper respect and kicking on." Ben says honestly. "So I will see you all in the Californian sun on Sunday and Aiden, respect mate, I'll catch ya soon."

Ben winks down the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that the scene fades to black.

3
The scene opens as usual for a Ben Jordan promo, the man himself sitting in a chair, waiting to do his introduction.

"It's been a couple of right lousy weeks as you can imagine people." Ben says with a soft tone. "As ya can tell, not my usually perky self as I sit here and have a chat with ya and show ya what I've been up to recently. We're sitting here on Tuesday and blimey, I've been a bear with a sore head since Climax Control."

He turns his head slightly, as the bitterness returns to his body.

"It's been a bit of a slump since then." Ben says honestly. "And I'll level with ya, I really dunno what I was doing or anything like that. I didn't know what to shoot for you lot, the whole match thing has me in knots so I filmed a bit of everything since Climax Control and threw it all together."

Ben puts his palms out in front of him.

"It does very much have a theme." Ben says. "Not a great one because no one likes to see the good guy hit the skids and end up on a downward turn and I hope to think at times I am the good guy, but even good guys struggle, even good guys have their moments of sliding."

He exhales sharply.

"I guess this was mine." Ben says. "Shouldn't known things might have gone bangers up when I had a cameraman appear right after the match. Then finding out what I'm doing next."

He slowly shakes his head.

"I figured that might be something you guys might wanna see, so let's roll it." He says with a wag of his finger...



It was minutes after the Mixed Tag Team Championship match and Ben was already sitting in his dressing room alone. Disappointment covered him from top to bottom as the all too familiar of failure covered him once more from top to bottom. His mind felt like it was racing although none of the thoughts made sense as he sat on the floor, sweat dripping from his body, his knees up high against his chest. A camera was pointed at him as he sat deep in empty thought.

"How are you feeling?" The cameraman asked him.

Ben put his head up slowly, noticing the camera for the first time from he preoccupied state. He sat silently for a few seconds.

"How am I feeling, Phil?" He said with an odd snap. "How am I feeling cameraman Phil?"

He paused as he breathed in, unsure on himself on how to continue before opting to speak from his heart.

"I'm annoyed Phil. Really annoyed!" Ben said back with a low tone. "I'm annoyed that I feel like I've been turned over out there, I'm annoyed that people are right about me, I'm annoyed I let this bloody happen, that I let this whole thing happen instead of putting the whole thing to bed but once again, I screwed the pooch and blew it. I should have known."

Ben put his hands behind his head, squeezing his interlocked fingers tightly.

"Knew what?" The cameraman asked.

"That Finn was going to use everything I said against me. It's what Finn does, I should have seen it coming." Ben said with bitterness.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." The cameraman said confused.

"What I mean..." Ben instantly snapped back. "is Finn used what I said against me in a clever way. I'm not talking the good old traditional microphone battle, I mean in the sense not only did he hear my words, but he watched my body language and figured out when I believed in myself or when I was lacking confidence and all he had to do out there tonight was see my body language when I wasn't confident and keep me at bay, knew when to strike. This is why he's gonna be World Champion, because he's smart."

"Oh..." The cameraman said understanding.

"You know what else makes him smart?" Ben asked no one in particular. "That he's right about me, cause once again, I gotta sound like a broken record and admit I let Sam down again and I should have ended things earlier. I say that so much, I might as well repeat it in my sleep. If I ended it earlier, then I wouldn't have to feel disappointed, I wouldn't have to admit to letting Sammi down and I wouldn't be this broken record."

"If Alexander Raven didn't interfere, things might have been different." Phil tries to offer in a comforting tone.

"Like I said, I should have put it to bed earlier. Broken record Ben strikes again." Ben said with a disappointed tone. "But you know what? I have no bloody clue what the hell Alexander Raven was doing out there, it actually made sod all sense. None at all, I mean really? Geezer I don't really know appears and does that randomly when he's not exactly been here all the time. I'm baffled by it but right now, couldn't give a monkeys Phil. Here's what I wanna do. I wanna get up, shower, walk out of this place without saying a word, drop a message to use all those vacation days Despayre got in my contract and go and figure out what to do here, because I'm clearly not the Ben Jordan I used to be and I have no idea how to be him anymore."

He looked at the ground shaking his head slowly.

"Let's hope I'm not working this supercard because there's absolutely no point." He said to himself.

"Not even against Raven?" The cameraman asked.

"I do not give a damn about Raven." Ben fired back. "At this point, I don't really care why he did it, what he hopes to gain from it or how he thinks he's gonna use me to boost his career."

Ben looked directly down the camera.

"Hey Alexander." Ben said firmly. "If you're looking to use me to try and boost your career or whatever, you shoulda found someone better, someone that you might get credibility for beating up, well that's not me anymore. You don't get much for beating up the new whipping boy of SCW, shoulda gone after someone worthwhile."

Ben waved Phil off.

"If ya don't mind Phil." Ben said with a wave of his hand. "I gotta get ready, I have a plane to catch."



And it was on that flight Ben had learned about his upcoming match at My Bloody Valentine. He sat on his private plane stunned as the card came through to his phone. He knew he had to get some thoughts off his mind and a flight long game of Football Manager had been paused and the recording program had been set up. He centred his face on the camera and hit the red button.

"So I just saw the card." Ben said with a thoughtful tone. "And I'm baffled. I really am, it hasn't really sunk in yet but I don't get it."

His face matched his baffled tone as he took a few seconds to let things sink in.

"My first thoughts is to ask why." He said confused. "I mean the match doesn't make sense to me. I know what I am, I know who I am, I'm the guy who fills in for people, fills spots on the card when there's no one else, when people take a break but this just feels like I've been shoehorned in to this for absolutely no reason at all."

His face changed to pure confusion.

"I mean I didn't need to be on this show." He said seriously. "It feels like I've been stuck in this thing to make something up to me that I have zero interest in. It's bloody weird. This is seriously not me at all. I get I make up the numbers a lot and I'm ok with that but this feels pointless. I'm not a hardcore wrestler, never have been. Even when I was Roulette champion, I was ready for anything, even those poxy over sexualised matches that seemed to make their way on to the wheel when I was champion but I was never a blood and guts bloke. I'm a bloke who believes there is an art to wrestling and stories don't need to be told in random matches like this. Blow off matches I get, but this makes sod all sense. It's four random guys with no build up, no major heat towards each other, just chucked in to a situation that well, like I said, doesn't make a lick of sense."

He turned his head, trying to find the right words.

"I've tried to add logic to this whole thing." Ben said seriously. "But I really can't find any sorta logic at all to it. I dunno why name is in this whole thing. If it's to light a fire under me, it's not gonna work. I'm not gonna get it this and get the taste for blood, I'm not gonna get a love for blood and guts wrestling overnight. I am mentally and physically done at this point, this could be my last match because I'm not focused and if you're going in to matches like this without being focused, you could get seriously hurt and this could happen to me. My career could end being put in a match I ain't comfortable with, I'm not mentally ready for and that I'm not focused for. I've never been one to be frustrated at any SCW booking ever but this is bonkers."

He sighed deeply.

"I am not this type of guy." Ben said with a slight shake of his head. "Yet here I am with a potential career ending match. Yeah, I'm talking about retirement because I've made my cash after twelve plus years putting my body on the line and I would like to walk away from it while I can walk away from it but this is putting me at risk. I will be a good little solider and carry on while I can and do this thing even though it could put my long term health at risk, but as soon as it's done, Despayre might be getting a call to try and get me to buy my way out of this contract."

He never thought he would say that and his face matched it with disappointment.

"I never wanted it to end like this but I'm frustrated." He admitted. "I'm not the Ben Jordan people expect anymore. Last two matches, a draw and a count out loss and now thrown in to something that ain't me, never has been me, never will be me. I get a wrestlers careers has ups and downs, but so far this year for me has been shocking. Nothing's clicking anymore and I'm falling out of love with something I used to adore. I feel like my mental health is being abused here and I don't know why. I've always done what's asked of me and now I'm starting to feel that being the nice guy isn't getting me nowhere."

His face matched the sadness he felt just by saying those words.

"The reason I'm recording this is not for anyone else, although I'm sure somehow, someone will get hold of it, they always do and throw crap back in ya mush, but I'm recording this for me." He said to himself. "Because after your body is torn up in a pointless match, after you're struggling to walk or sit on a plane for hours, I want you to rewatch this and ask yourself if you still feel this way. I want you to ask yourself is it worth all the aggro because others want you around more then you want to be around. Is it worth continuing when things don't look better. You need to somehow focus on the job at hand and try and be able to get through this, but mate, it's that time you need to look out for yourself. No more Saint Ben doing it all for others, it's about you taking care of number one for a change."

He wiped his hand over his forehead.

"This can't go on." He said firmly. "You can't have your head screwed with because people wanna see Ben the wrestler rather then the man behind Ben, Ben the person. It's just not on. So I'm hoping when you watch this back after that pointless match, you make the right call. If ya still feel the exact same way you do now, it's time to get the hell out of dodge. People can say what they want but when ya mental health is getting put on the line for silly things, just ain't worth the hassle. I hope that match didn't kill ya and ya still able to watch this."

He stopped recording and closed the laptop lid down, just staring in to space for a few seconds. He tried to shake the whole thing from his mind but just couldn't.



His mood didn't improve as Ben sat in his local bar, The Ferry House, just at a table with his eyes on his pint, taking no notice of the crowd that had filtered in through the hours he had sat in the same spot. Even if he had raised his head, he would have seen a lack of familiar faces, the pub's clientele changing dramatically over the last few weeks.

"Shoulda done better." His words were slurred, but not completely in a drunken stupor. "But Finn knew what was up. I should tweet some rubbish like that cause Finn knows. Hey Ben, you've done it again, come up with another hashtag."

He pulled out his phone, quickly tapping away at the screen.

"I don't need to tag him in it." He mutters to himself. "Cause Finn knows obviously!"

He finished up his typing and put his phone back down on the table in front of him and looked back at his pint, lifting it up and taking a big mouthful. He placed the pint glass back on the table, only for another to appear in front of him from a female hand. He squinted as he looked up towards her, spotting the hand belonging to the barmaid. He only had to raise an eyebrow for her to know what he was going to ask.

"It's from the guys over there." She told Ben. "They're fans of yours. They want to know if they can take a selfie with ya."

Ben sat mulling the request over in his slightly clouded mind.

"I'll come and take one with them in a bit." Ben tells her. "I should have thought about that before."

"Thought about what?" She asked with a genuinely curious tone.

"Should sell selfie's for pints." He said with a half hearted smile. "I guess in a way with what I do, I guess I've been doing it for years without even looking at things that way."

"Must be nice to be famous." She commented.

"Not as sunshine, rainbows and lollypops as most people think to be fair." Ben replied.

She smiled as she went back to work. Ben raised the glass to the group with one hand and holding up five fingers to indicate five minutes before he'll be over to take the selfie, unsure if he actually would. His mood was low and didn't mind disappointing people at this point, but a free beer sat in front of him.

"Guess being famous does have some perks, even if it is being famous for being a let down." Ben put the glass to his lips as soon as he finished speaking.

"Something wrong son?" Ben heard aimed in his direction.

Ben looked up, he didn't notice the old man with a walking from next to him looking down at him. Ben blinked with surprise.

"Nothing I can't handle." Ben muttered.

The old man looked at the bar waving at the barmaid.

"Can I have my usual and a pint for this young man?" He asked.

Ben put his hand up, pointing at his full glass in front of him.

"Cheer but I just got one." He told the old man.

The old man looked at him and put a hand on Ben's shoulder.

"I know that son." He told Ben. "But if I looked like you do right now, I'd want another drink too."

Ben couldn't help but smile at the man as he nodded his head.

"Can't argue with that logic." Ben said with his first genuine smile all day.

"Mind if I join ya?" He asked.

Ben didn't have time to respond as the old man was already taking the seat opposite him, his walking frame parked behind him. Ben put his hand out towards the chair as the old man sat before him.

"You've gone a face so long, if you went to a race course, they'll put you in the four forty." The old man said with a grin.

Ben couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Just things going wonky for me a bit." Ben told him. "Every time I swing, I miss."

Two drinks were placed in front of them from the same barmaid, before she rushed away once more.

"Work ain't all it's cracking up to be these days." Ben explained.

"What do you do?" The man asked Ben.

"Believe it or not, I'm a wrestler." Ben told him.

"Like those blokes on the tele?" He asked as he put his thumb towards the television.

Ben had been obvious to the fact that for a good hour, SCW Climax Control was being shown on a nearby television from the past Sunday. It had already made it's way to the main event.

"That's who I work for." Ben said. "I was on that show earlier but must have missed myself."

"So what's wrong with it?" He asked as he picked up his drink.

Ben sighed.

"I've been doing it for so long, it's not as fun as it used to be." Ben told him honestly. "It's a whole lot of stress."

"I'm eighty four years old." The man told Ben. "Work has never been fun, but we do it to keep going. There's a lot of people, especially round here that are having a tough time. People come in here because it's the cheapest pub on the Island, because it's either that or drinking at home on your own. Work is just something we have to do, but life ain't about that."

Ben raised an eyebrow as he looked at the man.

"So what is it about?" Ben asked.

"The people." He replied. "If you can spend your life around good people, it stops you being miserable. It means you add something to their lives and that will take away from work problems."

Ben nodded his head slowly.

"Wise words." Ben admitted. "I do have a lot of good people in my life that I seem to be letting down at the moment."

The man stared at Ben for just a few seconds.

"If they still keep in touch, you're not letting them down son." The man said with a comforting tone. "And I don't know if you've noticed but there's a lot of people around looking at you and smiling."

Ben hadn't noticed but it didn't take him long to lift his head and look around and people indeed looking at him and smiling. Ben looked back at the man.

"You're wise beyond your years." Ben said with a smile. "If you'd excuse me for a second, I think I owe those lads over there a selfie. I won't be a minute."

Ben stood up, a slight smile on his face as the man nodded his head. Ben headed off in the direction of the men to do exactly what he said he would do. The first of many selfie's through the night.



We return to Ben in his chair.

"Believe me people, it didn't get any better from there at all. That last scene, absolute highlight of my week." Ben says with a slow shake of his head. "But here we go, we got a match to sell regardless."

Ben leans back in his chair.

"So alright people." He says less enthusiastic then usual. "You're gonna have to excuse me if I'm not my usual self but honestly, I dunno what to say or what to do at this point because not gonna lie, I am not overly interested in this one at all. I mean come on, me in a cage with weapons? When have you ever known me to be that kinda bloke?"

He sadly sighs.

"It's not me." He says straight. "It never has been me, but what always has been me is I've gone on like a good little solider and followed orders. I got put in this chaos, I'm gonna have to find some way to deal with it, even if I dunno how. These kinda matches, not easy at all, not the kinda thing someone with a couple of brain cells wants to put themselves in and it seems I'm not alone in those thoughts either. I browsed social media after I found out about this and it turns out I'm not the only one feeling like this is short sighted booking and chucked together for the sake of it, because looks like Aiden Reynolds also has a couple of reservations about this one. Don't blame ya mate."

Ben rolls his eyes.

"We have that in common for sure because you don't seem like the type of fella who has anything to do with these matches." Ben says honestly. "I get why ya here though, SCW giving you a spot on the card, just like me, seemingly for the sake of it and save us from another Bulldog Vs Alexander match, but the difference is I've been here donkey's years, they should know that ain't my kinda thing but you, I dunno, they're maybe seeing if you can do it. I get the feeling you want to be in this one as much as I do, which is very, very little so happy to make ya a little deal. We'll do the wrestling side and let the other two prat around with weapons, how's that sound?"

Ben half smiles.

"I really do feel your pain." Ben says. "But my career is running out, especially after this, but this could make your career Aiden, beating three SCW veterans, would be a lovely feather in your cap, even if it means getting hit by chairs or whatever. I don't even know, you probably don't even know, I don't know why we're here but I do have a lot of pride, probably too much for my own good at times, so as much as we don't want to be here, probably should go put on a show for the people I guess."

Ben waits for a few seconds.

"Someone I do have more then enough experience in the ring with sadly." Ben says. "Bill Barnhart. Bill, it seems like the same old song and dance we do every three weeks it feels like. One form or another, we end up on opposite sides if the ring. It's like they're giving me a greatest hits tour when the hits wasn't really that good. That's how it feels when it comes to getting in the ring with you. It's like I step up, repeat what I've done countless times, get the crowd playing along, have them cheering my name and walking away with my name being chanted. In case that's gone over ya head while you plan your history lesson about what you've done, what I've done and going around in circles like you do most weeks, it means I pretty much beat you all the time, so you need to ask yourself this question."

Ben pauses for dramatic effect.

"Do you really believe a cage and some weapons is gonna make that much of a difference?" He asks. "Sure, this isn't my kind of match, and you probably like this crap more then I do, but do you think it will make a difference on making your chances get higher winning this one?"

Ben puts his hands out flat in front of him.

"In your nut, it probably does." Ben says thoughtfully. "But it mine, nah, doesn't help you much at all, cause I'll do what I always do and out wrestle you. I will stick to my strengths and that pretty much means I will out wrestle you. You might think you're technically sound with your moves right out of the eighties and that knowledge you possess, but one on one, you don't beat me because I'm a pretty decent wrestler. Adding in two more and some weapons doesn't change the fact that I can and will out fight you. Feel free to go for the chairs and swing. It will only prove you need a little extra to try and take me out when wrestling wise, you can't. We've done this wrestling thing before Bill and it might be because I'm on a downer, but I'm bored of facing you Bill. It's been singles, it's been tags, now this. Mate, I'm sick of it, I'm so damn tired of it, it's not even funny anymore, we know how this tends to go, some metal don't change that."

Ben grits his teeth.

"And now you Alexander." He says with slightly more venom to his tone. "What was you thinking? Seriously, I'm happy for you to answer that one back to me when you come out and speak, because I really don't get it."

Ben looks confused.

"Did I do something to offend you? Did I say something you didn't like?" Ben asks. "Because as far as I'm aware, I did nothing to get on your wick son, I did bugger all to cross your path. Was it cause I didn't invite ya for a pint? Hell, maybe I did when I was tanked up and dunno, but me and you ain't exactly crossed paths so why do you think you did what you did? Cause I can't work it out and wondering if anyone can. I mean this is an answers on a postcard sorta thing, not that you or many others will get that reference, but what is it that I did that you thought you could skip on down and take away my redemption? That's what you robbed me off a couple of weeks back was my redemption, my thank you to Sammi for putting up with me, for letting her down in the past and you took that from me but no one can work out why."

Ben sighs.

"Just a bit random, don't ya think?" Ben questions. "I get it if I had done a thing to you, even mentioned ya name in a weird way but the only thing I can think of is you had inside information that for some unknown reason, I was gonna be stuck in this match. That's the only thing I can think of is you knew I was gonna be there, I didn't have a Scooby but you knew and that you did what you did to try and get some kind of advantage on me."

Ben looks seriously down the camera.

"That failed miserably because you're not the reason I'm not with it." He says with a tone matching his face. "Not finishing that match early and being a champion is why I'm not with it, being put in this match is why I'm not with it. They could have replaced you with the Cookie Monster for all I care and this match type would have still thrown me. All you've done is given me a chance to get ya back for stopping me and Sammi from defending the Mixed Tag Team Championships on this show. That's all you've done."

Ben shrugs.

"Gotta ask yourself if it's really worth it." He says casually. "I don't think it was, really don't but that's the thing, I'm not in your head, I am as lost by this whole thing as everyone else. We'll call this a lovely casual chance at revenge for something I dunno what I did to start it. Probably doesn't make sense but well, does in my head. Not a lot makes sense in there though to be honest but through the rubble that does. My head is in the place I didn't even know you was still knocking around here Alexander until that show, but was is clear in my head is win, lose or with my luck lately, draw, you are gonna know ya messed up by costing me those titles. If anything was gonna drive me on, that was."

Ben looks at his watch.

"Well, my time is up here, so I will see you three at My Bloody Valentine." He says with a sad shake of his head. "Laters people."

With a less then enthusiastic wink, the camera fades.

4
Climax Control Archives / Only Human
« on: February 02, 2024, 03:46:30 PM »
It's a Ben Jordan promo so as you'd expect, we fade in to Ben sitting somewhere in a brown leather chair, but his face isn't his normal cheery self, but more of a blank look crossing his usual smiling face.

"Alright people." He says in a softer tone. "Cheers for joining me on one of the biggest weeks I've had recently."

He pauses to look around uncomfortably.

"This week has been actually pretty nerve wracking if I'm honest." He admits. "And I think you lovely lot know exactly why. It's that time again where me and Sammi have a chance to go for the Mixed Tag Team championships and I know you might be sitting there thinking that it's not a massive championship, it's not exactly the top belt that puts your face on the posters and the big ol' trucks that carry everything around but to me, it's fairly important."

He clears his throat.

"It's been a bit like my white whale." Ben says with a soft sigh. "I've come close to it on a few occasions but I just can't seem to grab hold of it and take it. Honestly, it gives me stress good people and yeah, stress ain't fun. From the minute I was told about this, I've been playing with my poker face and trying not to crack but it's a bit hard."

He sighs once more.

"I know you might sit there and think this is weakness and wrestlers shouldn't show weakness cause we're all meant to be tough and what not." Ben says with a slight smile. "But we're human too and go through a whole host of emotions and yeah, that's exactly what happened with me. Not for the I'm scared kinda thing, but for something completely different. Luckily, the moment was caught and that my good lovely people is what I wanna show ya. It was right after the match last week. See, always working..."



Minutes after the final bell at Climax Control 384, Ben Jordan walked through the curtain, a look of indifference on his face as he walked down the steps in the backstage area, shortly followed by Sam Marlowe.

"I'm sorry." Ben mutters, unable to look toward Sam. "I shoulda finished it all off earlier. Bloody hate draws. Shoulda took out Carter sooner."

Sam raises an eyebrow at Ben as he shakes his head.

"It wasn't your fault." Sam say encouragingly.

Ben sighs in disappoint as he feels Sam's hand reach his shoulder and he glance an eye at it.

"I think I coulda finished that one early." Ben says with a slow shake of his head. "Coulda gone on and gone for those titles next week and had a fair crack at them too."

He sat himself down at a nearby bench, Sam sitting next to him, a look of concern of her face as she brushes her red hair away from her eyes.

"Y'all taking this one too hard." She says reassuringly. "We did take one of the better teams on the roster to a draw."

Ben looks at her, still struggling to shake the disappointment from his own performance.

"You're probably bang on." He finally admits. "But can't help think I could have done more to pick up the win and get us that shot."

He puts his hands behind his head, leaning backwards and closing his eyes. He sat for a few seconds before the voice of someone else brought him back around.

"Ben, Sam, just the two people I wanted to see." The voice of Mark Ward says as he steps closer.

Ben opens his eyes, looking around for the source of the English tone and see his boss to the right of him.

"Can we help you boss?" Sam says politely.

"More like I can help you two." He replies. "But I wouldn't say no to a cup of coffee."

A smile places itself on Hot Stuff's face.

"I just wanted to let you both know about next weeks plan." He says in an authority like manor. "Obviously a draw gave us a decision to make on who will be going up against Kayla and Finn next week, but it wasn't a hard decision. We've decided it will be you two up against them."

Ben looks up at Hot Stuff from his seated position, his eyes looking at his boss.

"Why?" He asks. "I wasn't exactly on top form out there."

Hot Stuff snorts towards Ben.

"Well, that's the first time anyone has questioned why they're getting a shot, but I'll play along." Hot Stuff says with a slight last. "Two reasons, one, if there was one more second in the time limit, you two would have already been getting the shot and secondly, I don't know if it's just me, but it feels like Ariana works her way in to like two title shots a cycle."

Hot Stuff frowns.

"Not even sure how but it feels like it happens a lot." He says with a sharp shrug of his wide shoulders. "So you two are up. Good luck."

"Thank you!" Sam says with a smile. "See, everything worked out."

Sam gripped Ben on his shoulder and he fires a weak smile towards her.

"I guess so." Ben says softly. "We should probably celebrate."

"You don't have a flight to catch?" Sam says with a tone of surprise.

Ben stands up and looks around.

"Nah. I should probably stay over here for a week, get myself proper ready for this match. It's not a small match and I've cocked it up so many times when it comes to these belts, I should probably knock the travel on the head and stay put." He says quickly. "Ya know, give me more time to focus on things, get mentally in the right place so this time, we walk away with them."

Sam frowns at Ben.

"I think you're too hard on yourself." Sam tells him. "But it's great you're staying over here."

"Yeah." Ben replies. "I'm sure I'll fine some place to put me head down. Find a place without snow or something, or head to where ever the show is next week early and mooch around there for a bit."

"Alright." Sam says with a slight nod. "I'll go get changed and we can go out and celebrate."

Ben nods towards her as they head in different directions, heading to different dressing rooms. Ben nods to people as he walks through the hall and in to one of the rooms. He looks around, seeing no one there and shuts the door behind him. Ben leans against the door, pressing his back in to the wood before sliding down and sitting on the floor, his knees pressed up against his chest and his fingers interlocked behind his head.

"I can't bloody do this." He says to himself.

An anxious look ran over his face  as he closes his eyes.

"Every single time I go for these titles, I mess it up and we walk away with nothing." He sighs. "Every single time I go for these titles, something happens and I end up looking at a disappointed crowd and a disappointed Sam and this is something I mentally can't handle! I can't exactly turn around and say nah, don't worry about the match and asked too get out of it. Relax Ben, Relax!"

Ben takes a long deep breath before opening his eyes.

"What if I screw it up again?" He asks himself. "We didn't exactly get past Ariana and Carter with ease, did we?"

He slowly shakes his head.

"What if I mess up again and we never get another shot at this?" He questions. "What if this is it for me? I know people get title shot after title shot but I know they're few and far in between for me. I can't fluff it up again."

Ben slowly pulls himself to his feet.

"I can not let that happen." He says in a strong tone. "I can not let Sam down. I need to turn this negative energy in to something stronger."

He moves over to the dressing mirror, looking in his eyes, taking his time as he slowly breathes in and out. He continues to lock eyes with himself.

"You have to do it." He tells himself. "There's no excuses this time, there's no way you can take it easy. You're gonna be facing one of the best wrestlers in SCW, sod it, one of the best wrestlers in the world, you need to step and make sure you walk away with those belts. Not just for you, but for Sammi. She deserves this more then anyone else in SCW. She deserves to call herself a champion again."

He grits his teeth.

"You might have earned this shot cause of a poxy draw, but it's yours now." He reassures himself. "It's yours so do not blow it. Come up with a game plan, stick to it, make it work, no last minute changes on the flip, flop, fly, give Finn the right amount of respect but not so much that you over think it. Give him the fight of his life and if he beats you, make sure that he knows he's earned it, but do everything you can to make sure that you come out with the win and not the other way around."

Ben narrows his eyes.

"You and Sammi are a bloody good team!" He says firmly. "You know you can do it, so stop over thinking this one Ben, stop feeling like you lost this one before the bell is even rung. Make sure you go out there and give it everything. You have one week to get this together, get it all in order and go out there and give it the performance of your life. No more doubts, you're Ben Jordan, you've won everything else and you can win this."

He shakes his head.

"No, no, no." He says in a strong tone. "You WILL win this. No more worrying, let's get ready, let's go out, let's drink random shots, with random people and be confident, because you're Ben Jordan and you can do this."



We go back to Ben in his chair.

"As you could see, it wasn't about nerves for the match." He states. "It was the simple fact that once again, I could let Sammi down and that does not fill me with joy good people."

He frowns before continuing.

"I might have stood there for a while talking about how I could do this all, but I wasn;t sure I actually believed it at that point but thought the week, I learned more and more that sometimes, you have to take that negative and turn it in to a big positive." Ben says as he looks in to the camera. "And that's what life should be about, taking the negative and pushing it to be positive. I've had to sit there through the week and try and switch my mind from negative and turn it in to something where I can be positive about thing and ya know what it got me? It got me to change my mindset to no fear at all."

He leans forward in his chair.

"Realistically, I should be cacking it a bit." Ben says with a half smile. "When you look at who's on the other side of the ring to us, it's a whole holy you know what kinda thing because fellow Brit there Kayla is probably one of the most overlooked people on the Bombshell roster. She's been absolutely killing it out there, she been putting on show after show with not as much appreciation as she deserves. It ain't a she's British, I'm British, let's build each other up kinda thing. I mean I can sit here and make a bunch of jokes about Norwich, but nah, let's look at the talent on display and Kayla goes under the radar a lot when she shouldn't. I know what she can do, Sammi knows what she can do but I know what Sammi can do and her focus is one hundred percent on stopping that force that is Kayla."

Ben presses his hands together.

"You'd think Sammi focusing on Kayla would ease a little pressure on me, but not bloody likely, you lot know who I gotta get in the ring with!" Ben says while widening his eyes. "Finn bloody Whelan."

Ben runs his hand down is forehead.

"Arguably the favourite to become the SCW World Heavyweight champions in a couple of weeks time, a double champion." Ben says raising two fingers. "No offence to Goth, but Finn has to be the fave in this one."

Ben holds up both hands, palms out flat in a defensive stance.

"I get why this match has to be done two weeks before My Bloody Valentine, but not sure it's the greatest idea in the world." Ben ponders. "I get the title defence but here's the thing, Finn will no doubt have his mind focused on the big prize and rightly so, that throws up a whole lot of things that can go wrong for him and I can benefit from that, I can call meself a champion again but I gotta sit there and ask myself is it me that's done it or is Finn just got his eyes on the other prize? If I do beat him, does that take away his momentum going in against Goth? Obviously, Goth is probably gonna play cheerleader for me and Sammi, hoping that I can stop him and take away his mindset. Thing is, I don't even think me beating him will stop him winning the World Championship."

Ben shrugs.

"If I was a gambling man, and I am." Ben admits. "I know where my money would go..."

Ben leans back in his chair.

"But the thing is I said about turning my negative thoughts in to positive ones." Ben says with a wave of his finger. "And that is exactly what I've done in my head. Does Finn Whelan need the Mixed Tag Team championship? No, does he want them and will defend them with all he has? Abso-bloody-lutely, so my negative mindset is what do I have to lose here?"

Ben shakes his head slowly.

"To quote that classic song War..." Ben continues. "Absolutely nothing, and I will sing that again and again."

He takes a deep breath.

"It's pretty freeing Finn when you can sit there and tell yourself you have nothing to lose so you  might as well go out swinging." Ben says with a smile returning to his face. "And I know how a mind works, I know you want to sit there and use me as an example, I know you want to sit there and use me and this match to show Goth that you're ready for him. I know you wanna wallop me in to the middle of next week, just to show Goth that you're up for the punch up. Been around here for so long, I know that's how people view the go home show and that's all good to me, so I'm ready for that. I'm ready for what you're gonna chuck in my direction and I'm gonna come back swinging cause I ain't letting anyone down anymore, I'm not being the geezer on a cusp of a title all the time, only to walk away with bugger all. I've been that guy for too long. Number one contender matches, win, get to the big match and flop like a fish on the beach and I'm tired of that."

He exhales sharply.

"I know who you are and I know you deserve all the accolades in the world Finn." Ben says seriously. "I know you've earned every single admirer of your work, but I'm feeling like I actually need this win more then anything else in the world, I'm feeling like I need to smack the ball in the back off the net and take the three points home more then I ever have in my life. I've gone on about writing my next chapter for a long time, and this is where I feel my next chapter needs to start, this is where I feel like it has to start, with me becoming a champion again. I feel like I need to do it for me, but also need to do it for so many people."

He pauses for a second.

"I need to do it for me, I need to do it for Sammi." He says passionately. "I need to do it for the fans, every single person that laid their eyes on me and believed I could be someone. I need to do it for my family, I need to do it for my friends, I need to do it for anyone who ever patted me on the back, smiled at me, had even the tiniest bit of hope and faith in me. I need to do it for them all because without them, I wouldn't be where I am. I wouldn't be Ben Jordan the wrestler, I'd be Ben, the guy in the corner of the pub, I'd be Ben, Mr nine to five. I'd be Ben, the bloke known for the football team he supports and the fact he lives in a crummy little place on the rough part of the island. They made me Ben Jordan the wrestler because they believed in me, because they wanted to see me succeed. They made me who I am and followed me through thick and thin, the good and the bad times, the ups and downs that is my life. This championship would mean more to me then the leather and gold, it's about what it represents."

Ben leans forward.

"What it represents is hard work, what it represents is a journey that so many people have been on with me and Sammi." He says in an unusually firm tone. "It represents everyone coming along for the ride and pushing me along. I can sit here and focus on the negatives but these people deserve better and they're gonna play their part, they're gonna play their role in me and Sammi becoming SCW Mixed Tag Team champions on Sunday."

Ben swallows hard.

"I know you're gonna bring it all Finn." Ben continues. "I know Kayla is gonna be top notch as usual, but I got something driving me right now that I haven't had in a long time. I feel like I've been kicked up the aris and will do everything I can to walk away as a champion again. It's been a bloody long time since I could look in the mirror and tell myself I am the top of a league. It's been forever since I could do that and actually feel like I'm proper again and not drifting through anything, that championship belt is gonna give me some serious self worth. Self worth is positive, right?"

Ben rolls his shoulders back.

"Nothing to lose, everything staying in that ring and I do mean everything, Finn." Ben says seriously. "There's not gonna be a me that shows up less then one hundred and ten percent ready for anything and everything you have. You might be on the path for bigger things and it's pretty clear you are but my focus isn't clouded by bigger prizes. My focus is on what you have, not what you're likely to get. It will be one of those magic moments where the crowd will not believe their eyes when I put on a show and take out the man who is gonna probably be headlining My Bloody Valentine."

Ben clears his throat.

"I've seen all you've done over the last few weeks Finn." Ben says respectfully. "And I know just how good you are, I've seen the amount of effort you've put in, it's never in doubt to me just what you can do and mate, it's amazing at times. I know you have most people beat before you even get in the ring cause there's an aura about you that most people can't match but I've been around for a long time and there's something in me telling me not only can I match it, but I can scrape past it. Don't think I'm taking you lightly because there's not a chance that's happening, in fact I'm more serious about this match then I think I've ever been about any match in a long time. Without being disrespectful, I know this isn't a Bill Barnhart turn out. I know the threat you have is far greater then him, but I've ballsed up this chance to have these belts for a long time and it needs to stop."

Ben grits his teeth.

"It has to stop." Ben says firmly. "It's the one belt here that's played hide and seek with me for a long time, I've found the others and like that game line, gotta collect them all. You're the only one standing in my way stopping me from doing that Finn and it's gotta stop mate, it's gotta stop before it drives me absolutely bonkers. It's the only one I've never had and on Sunday Finn, hoping to change that big time."

Ben brushes the hair from his face.

"You can expect nothing less then the best version of me on Sunday people." Ben says with a strong nod of his head. "The absolute best version of me, I can not be anything other then that because my eyes are set on what I want. The negative thoughts are gone and the determination is there to do this for everyone as well as myself."

He breathes out slowly.

"Nothing is gonna stop me." He mutters. "I wish you the absolute best for everything that happens after Sunday, but Sunday, it's my time to write that chapter that starts with the words we are the champions, my friend."

Ben smiles properly for the first time.

"So good people, you make sure you join us cause on Sunday, the magic happens." Ben says as he cocks his head to the right. "Gotta tune in to see it. I think I've taken up enough of your time. Cheers for watching, it's very much appreciated. Till next time..."

Ben winks down the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the camera fades to black.

5
Climax Control Archives / Reintroduction.
« on: January 26, 2024, 09:53:45 AM »
The camera moves in to the face of Ben Jordan, sitting in a worn leather chair, wearing blue suit pants and a black buttoned down shirt. He smiles brightly as he gives a thumbs up.

"Alright people." He says with a cheery tone. "Hope you're all well on this nippy winters day."

He stops for just a second.

"So the news is out, I'm with SCW till the end of the year at least which is amazing. This will mark my eleventh year in SCW."

Ben exhales.

"Eleven years." He says as the words hit home after leaving his mouth. "Bloody long time to be wrestling, bloody long time to do any one job but yeah, I've decided sod it, lets do it. Me being around that long is gonna make the next thing I say sound a little bit odd, but it's true. Sometimes, I think most people don't know who I am. A lot of the time I feel like there's not many knocking around this ol' world that know who I am."

He half shrugs his shoulders.

"Mad innit?" He comments. "I think it passes people by about all the things I've done in that time, all the things I've won, all the things I've actually achieved being who I am and I'm not gonna lie good people, it bothers me at times. I've spent a lot of time doing this and sometimes it feels like I'm a bit of a shadow. Now don't worry, this is not the start of an I'm overlooked thing, far from it, because I do get respect from a lot and a lot reacted well to the news I've put me name down to another contract. That means a lot to me, but I feel like its time to let people know who I am again. So I did a little thing earlier in the week."

He can't help but smile.

"I did this web chat thing, I know, can be a little meh in terms of being creative and all that, but I did it, the fans signed on and they could ask me anything within moderation and I'd be honest, because it is time to reintroduce yourself to Ben Jordan. It is time to speak about who I am now, because we all know if you've been paying attention that I ain't the Ben Jordan I was from a couple of years back. I've had me problems like a lot of people, things have hit me like they would anyone else so I let the good people of the world ask what they wanted to ask, get inside the head of who I am."

Ben taps the side of his head.

"Coulda gone proper wonky but actually went alright." He says with a nod. "Shall we see what happened you lovely lot? I had an absolute blast, mate."

Ben spins his finger around, indicating for tape to be rolled as the old saying goes and the scene switches.



Tuesday evening on the Isle of Dogs in east London in the Jordan residence overlooking the river Thames. The wind rattles around the outside as a storm kicks in, hitting most of the country. Ben walks towards a computer desk, wearing blue jeans and an SCW shirt with the company logo on it. He places down a cup of hot tea and looks at the screen.

"Right." He says to himself. "Gone for a Jimmy, make meself look a little presentable, the dogs on silent."

Bear pops his head up from next to Ben, looking at him but Ben shakes his head.

"Not you ya wally." He says picking up his phone from the desk. "This dog."

He waves his phone towards Bear and Bear turns his head, putting it back on the floor. Ben places the phone back on to his desk.

"Don't want any weird calls while I'm doing this." He says to himself. "We'll just do this and we'll go stick on a film or something, ain't no way I'm heading down the boozer in this weather, even if it's a couple of minutes away, I don't fancy a pint that much."

Ben clears his throat and looks at the laptop in front of him, quickly hitting a couple of keys to bring up his stream. His eyes widen.

"Bloody hell." He mutters "Few thousand already waiting for me to go live. Alrighty, show face, forget any nerves, let's do this."

Ben clicks on a couple of buttons and his face appears on the screen.

"Alright people." He says cheerily. "Cheers for joining me over here, hope the weather is better where you guys are because it's a bit blowy here. I don't need to tell you lot who I am because ya logged on here to see me. Much appreciated. Now here's the plan people. You get to ask me what you want and I get to answer the questions I see and waffle on for a bit. Keep it clean though because this is completely being recorded for SCW right now. I'm saving them all an arm and a leg for not having to send a camera crew my way. You can ask me what you want but again, like Belinda says to Jason all the time, keep it clean."

Ben smiles and picks up his cup of tea.

"So let's crack on, shall we?" He says. "Ask away."

Ben sips on his tea as he looks for a question in the chat box.

"Congrats on your new contract." He reads from the screen. "What's 2024 got in store for you?"

Ben put the cup back down.

"Good start." Ben says with a nod. "Ya know, I have no idea just yet. There's been no major talks of what is going to happen with me, just that I'm signed there if I'm needed. It's one of those things with wrestling when plans can change so fast. It only takes one injury or one thing catching on and you're in the bosses minds to do other stuff. I mean personally I'd like to get those mixed tag team championships, that would be pretty cool."

Ben waits for another question to appear.

"What is your role in SCW?" He reads out loud. "I do a lot of things if I'm honest. I get on the cards when there's space or when SCW want to freshen things up, but I do a lot away from the ring for SCW. So a lot of us do it, it's like an ambassador role really, where we go and use the SCW name for charities and things and I go along to them. The charities are good causes and such, but having the SCW name attached, puts more eyes on them, so I promote a lot of charities under SCW's name. I do a lot of stuff over here that never makes the air. To me, I'm not just a wrestler, I'm a guy who goes and spreads the SCW name and try and help as many as I can. That's pretty much my role in SCW right now."

Ben waits and sips more tea.

"What advice would you give someone just getting in to the business?" He reads. "The same advice as I'd give people in it for five, ten, twenty years. Never stop learning, never stop watching stuff that's around you, especially if you get to the point where you're on television every week. That's where magic happens, that's where you can look around and people and watch them create genius. I saw it last week at Climax Control, and you can never stop learning from that stuff. Just soak everything in. I've been in SCW for eleven years, wrestling for about twelve or thirteen and even to this day, I just learn from all around me."

Ben waits for another question to appear.

"Do you have any retirement plans?" He reads out loud. "Yeah, just eat a lot of pizza, get fat and be the guy in the corner of the pub who talks about when he was a wrestler."

Ben laughs.

"Seriously though." He says lowering his voice. "I always said when I get to forty, or leading up to that, I will think about what I want to do. I'm thirty nine in a few months, so I'm sure the thoughts will creep in that this might be my last contract, and if I decide it is then so be it. I have nothing to regret from my career, I've made a lot of money, I've been relatively injury free and I think that's the way wrestlers should go out. No one deserves to end up crippled for doing a job they love and thankfully, I'm not at the point of being messed up. I still can get up, walk the dog, go for a run and live a decent life and that's what I want when I'm done."

Ben looks for the next question.

"Thank you for making people aware of mental health issue." Ben reads up with a smile on his face. "You're welcome, it is something that needs to be looked at closer at cause so many suffer in silence and it effects so many people around them. People if you are watching this and suffering, please reach out to someone, brighter days are ahead."

Ben nods his head seriously and waits for another question.

"What's the creative process for wrestlers when it comes to coming up with promos?" He reads out loud. "Bloody hell, deep question there."

Ben pauses for a few seconds to think.

"So we're all very different." He starts. "Everyone has their own way of doing it, but for me, I have a ton of ideas written down, it's just what fits the matches and opponents. For me if I'm at a show like last week and find out I have a match the next week, I am working on things on the flight home, I take Monday to decide, then I'm on the phone to Mark, Christian, or anyone else in the office to see if it's possible logistic wise, budget wise, all of that and then things get arranged and I get cracking."

Ben takes a sip of his tea.

"How much of your stuff is completely scripted?" He reads. "None of it really. I bullet point things usually but that's about it. Some people go word for word but that's a bit robotic for me. I mean last week with Despy, everything was natural cause sod all was scripted. Despy don't do scripts, he'll just go off the anyway, so everything was natural and that's the way I like to work. I have in my head how I want things to go, a couple of points to work towards and I do it that way. It goes much better that way then it does if ya sitting there with a huge script. I mean that's why I love SCW so much, because you're not told what to talk about, you're trusted to be creative and that's more relaxing."

Ben brushes the hair from his forehead and waits for something else to take his interest.

"Is it true you nearly signed with another company years ago?" He reads out loud. "It is. I had talks with another place but I got a lot of warnings from people that the place was bad, the guy who ran it would constantly kiss up to people and then bury them, so I opted to not sign there. Money was good but money can't buy ya happiness."

Ben scratches his face and waits.

"Was you disappointed that you wasn't picked in the top eight to challenge for the world championship?" He reads slowly. "Not really. I think the eight that was picked was the right ones. I mean you can have all the history in the world, but you need to look at what's good now, who's active more now and go from there and these eight are the top eight in SCW. I haven't done enough over the last year or so to be considered in that conversation so there was no disappointment from me at all about it. It's been something that has got my attention and made me take notice of what's going on there. I think that's what it was designed to do and get people interested and it's worked. I mean there's been a good spin off for J2H, who is big time involved in things without needing the belt, and gives others a chance to stake their claim, but as for disappointed, nah, not really. Looking forward to seeing who leads the company forward after My Bloody Valentine."

Ben smiles and waits.

"If you could create a group with anyone ever in SCW, who would it be?" Ben reads out loud. "For me, it's gotta be Drake Green, Simon Jones, Max Burke and Sammi. I think that would be an ultimate good guy group that would pretty sweet."

Ben runs his fingers through his hair.

"Do you have an career regrets?" He reads from the screen. "None at all. I think that I could wake away tomorrow and not regret a thing. I think I'm happy with all I've done and could sneak off in to that sunset and not worry about anything. I think I've done enough there."

Ben glances at the clock and back to the screen.

"When will you go in the Hall of Fame?" He reads out loud with a smile. "I don't know, there has been whispers but I'm one of these guys that would take that when my in ring career is done and not before. I think it's one of those things I will only accept when I know that I won't wrestle again. For me, that will be putting the lid on top of that bottle that is my wrestling career so look out for that after retirement, which like I said earlier, could come in the next year or so, might happen a fair bit later. Everyone wants that Hall of Fame spot, people beg for it all the time, seen with my own eyes people who haven't done too much, just beg for it, but I'm pretty chilled about it. If I go in, great, will be when my career is done, if I don't, it's all good. No regrets on that at all."

Ben sips at his tea again.

"What's in the cup?" He says with a chuckle. "It's tea, it's my English side showing."

Ben waits for the next question.

"Why did you move back to England?" He reads out loud. "I thought it was time to come home. I've lived in a lot of places, Canada, Cuba, America, Jersey, etc, but I think things come full circle. I lost a family member a little while ago and I never really spoke about it, but it destroyed me mentally, but things destroyed can be rebuilt, things that break can be fixed and when I was rebuilding my mind, I saw that maybe it was time to be closer with my family and come on home. I could have moved anywhere in the world, when ya have a bit of fame and a bit of wonga in ya pocket, you tend to get accepted anywhere in the world and I coulda gone for the Playboy lifestyle, coulda gone to a small town, coulda moved to suburbia and just been Ben at number ten, but home called, being around my family called and that's what I thought would be the easiest thing to do, it's where I felt comfortable. Even nomads came from somewhere and we all get that call to go back at some point. I guess I just got that call and wanted to be where it all started."

Ben nods seriously.

"Are you still involved with Oasis?" Ben reads out. "Absolutely. I speak to Jamie Dean a couple of times a week and we go over a few things all the time. Couldn't leave them hanging. Work very hard for them, a lot of my SCW cash goes towards that so yeah, very much involved, very much helping JD with that."

Ben waits again as questions fly through the chat box.

"What's going on with you and Sam Marlowe?" Ben reads, with his head jolting backwards. "Get the feeling there's a bit of a romantic meaning behind that question but we're besties, nothing more then that, regardless of what the dragon lady sister of hers implies constantly. Moving on, eh?"

Ben grins widely and looks for another question.

"Can we see Bear on TV more?" He reads out loud with a laugh. "We could try but he's not very good with the mic to be fair, has trouble holding it ya see."

Ben laughs out loud and looks for something else to talk about.

"Is there any strange behaviour in the SCW dressing room?" Ben reads, trying not to laugh. "Lots of it mate. Everyone has their own quirks and ways back there and it's very unique with how things come together and happen so yeah, I'd say there's a little bit more then strange behaviour back there. Thinking it's the same in any job really, always a fella in the office who does odd things, like eating biscuits from a bowl rather then a plate, or things like that. Keeps the days interesting at least."

Ben waits for another question.

"Who do you think will be a breakout star in 2024?" Ben says to himself. "I would think it's actually my opponents on Sunday, Carter and Ariana. I think this is going to be their breakout year. Carter pretty much has everything it takes to be a star. I think that this is the year he shows it to everyone and actually breaks out a little bit."

Ben looks at the screen.

"Can you cut a promo right here for your match on Sunday?" Ben reads out. "Is that something you good people wanna see? I mean I could give it a go if you want."

Ben looks at the screen and looks at the many yes answers coming through.

"Alright." Ben says. "You know how things work. We'll cut to me introducing it, we'll come back and use the same graphic on screen Ariana and a few others do. Thing is, you lot won't see this bit till Friday..."



The camera cuts back to Ben Jordan sitting in his chair from earlier, playing with his phone. He looks up at the camera.

"Oh, erm hello." Ben says with plain look on his face. "Reason he cut back here is to break it down for anyone who might be watching, taking notes or judging..."

Ben winks at the camera.

"Just so people can tell the difference." He says with a grin. "Stick that graphic up there, would ya?"



***Promo time, on camera***

We return to Ben in front of the laptop.

"So someone would have spliced in the promo time, on camera thing graphic by now." Ben says with a wink. "So I guess I should probably start chatting away about the match."

Ben clears his throat.

"What a way to start off 2024." He begins. "I know we're near the end of the first month and blimey does it feel like this month has gone on forever and a day, but this is worth waiting for. I mean what a match for me and Sammi to kick off this year because we're up against one of the best young teams around. Seriously, I said earlier these two were gonna be breakout starts this year and I mean that one hundred percent, so this is a good way for us to start the year as we mean to go on as a team and pick up the win against a couple of good, confident people."

Ben nods seriously.

"And I use the word confident for an absolutely good reason." He says with a serious nod. "And that's because Ariana ran to Twitter or X, whatever you want to identify it as these days and her tweet felt like she was very confident that she was gonna win. Now I hate denting someone's confidence, I really do but you know the old saying that pride comes before a fall? Well so can confidence Ariana. Over confident against a couple of people can be a downfall, talking about Sammi and stuff, thinking you've got her number. This ain't a singles match, her back is covered by me here and I made things clear when I took on the bulldog. I made it more then clear that I get to write my next chapter, I got the pen in my hand and I get to write it and writing it in this instance means I get to put out my story and the story doesn't include losses love."

Ben pauses for a second or two.

"See, those mixed tag titles could be the end goal for us." Ben admits. "Should be the end goal for any team and there's no doubt in my mind the winner of this one gets a huge boost to the top of the line and we've fluffed up chances for those belts before and I told myself never again, so we have no choice but to get through ya. I do like your confidence Ari, truly do, but it's misplaced this time. It's like we know that we need to be better as a team, we know we've messed up our lines on a few occasions, it stops now. Big win against Team GO Ariana, it's the one that sets the tone for me and Sammi so all good being confident and all but sorry, but ya won't be backing it up."

Ben turns his head away from the camera for a few seconds to get his thoughts.

"I know Sammi will have a lot more to say about you." Ben says seriously. "But we know the rules, I am not laying a hand on ya, and time is becoming of the essence here, so I need to speak about Carter."

Ben puts his hands together.

"It's always tough to talk about Carter because we have some slightly unpleasant history, but that aside." Ben pauses slightly. "I know what it's like to be in a major tournament and come up a little short. Personally, thought you had things won in your match against Finn, pretty surprised it didn't work out the way you wanted, and I know that makes it slightly awkward coming in to this match because I know that you feel you need that bounce back win. That means there's gonna be a little more spring in your step, a little bit more determination. I'm sorry mate, but I too have that spring in my step, that determination to make this the best year of my career because it might just be my last. It might just be my swan song and it needs to go with nothing but the strongest performances I can muster up. I know there's a little doubt in your mind after your last match and I know the whole thing in this game is you're only as good as ya last match, but you was proper unlucky."

Ben nods seriously.

"I really thought you had it and know you're a very dangerous because of that." Ben says honestly. "I know the loss makes you want to put things right but I can't let that happen. I respect everything you bring to the ring, I respect everything you do in wrestling and trust me, I know I'm talking to a future world champion, I know I'm talking to a bloke that's gonna get that belt long before I ever get near it again but in the tag ranks, I need to step up. I know you're probably sitting there feeling let down by a lot of things but I share that Carter cause I feel like I've let down Sammi, I feel like I've let her down and I need to change that, I need to be better and getting a win over you and Ariana, two people respected here in SCW, it's a big boost, it does go a long way to getting back my reputation, it goes a long way to making it up to Sammi for being a rubbish partner at times."

Ben looks down in disappointment.

"Because I know I haven't been at my best Carter." Ben admits. "Yeah, I've picked up wins here and there and tried to entertain people along the way, but I ain't exactly happy with myself, I'm not exactly happy with how things have been turning out for me and this is my chance to beat someone with a good record, that's highly thought of here, that's no doubt in my mind, a champion in the making. This is where people's eyes open about me again. It's what needs to be done, it's what I need to do and honestly mate, I'm a little gutted I gotta put a dent in your ambitions to realise my own. It's not something I like doing to good people but needs must when the devil drives."

Ben inhales deeply.

"You'll bounce back mate, trust me." Ben says with a shrug. "You've got singles appeal written all over ya, this will not effect ya in those ranks, but I need this Carter, I need to prove that I ain't a washed up old hack. I put my name on that contract to do big things in SCW again, I put my name down because I need to do those big things again. Beating you and Ari mate, it's a sure fire rocket to the top again. It's the boost I need, it's the boost Sammi needs. Don't get me wrong, I feel rotten about it, absolutely rotten but I gotta look at the places I can do with this win. I gotta look at how high this win will put us and it will send us to the moon."

Ben points up.

"I know this is gonna be one of the toughest matches we could be bouncing in to." Ben says seriously. "But it's gonna be one hell of a reward attached to this. It's almost a championship match without the belts on the line, a match worthy of any show but I know I'm coming in to this with the fire in my heart and willing to do whatever it takes to walk out victorious. I'm doing it for me, I'm doing it for Sammi, I'm doing it for anyone who's ever supported us, for everyone who ever screamed out our names, for everyone that wants us to realise that goal and become SCW mixed tag team champions. This is for them Carter, this is for each and every one of them and I refuse to let them down at all."

Ben looks over at the clock.

"And that people is all we have time for today." He says with a sad look. "Carter, Ariana, we'll see you on Sunday."

Ben nods firmly.

"Thank you all for joining me. Enjoy the show." Ben says with a cheery smile.

He winks at the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the scene fades to black.

6
Climax Control Archives / Everything changes eventually.
« on: November 17, 2023, 01:38:18 AM »
Ben Jordan looks out of the window of his home in East London, England in the early hours of Friday morning, darkness still filling the sky as rain drops down his window. Ben smiles to himself as he look at what most would consider a bleak scene.

"London weather." He says with a smile on his face. "Can't beat it."

Ben turns around towards the camera, a bottle of beer in his hand as he smiles and moves towards a sofa.

"Be with you lovely people in a second." He says as he rearranges the furniture slightly, moving pillows around. "Just a sec."

Ben gets the pillows arranged how he wants them and lays back on the sofa with a small smile on his face.

"I was gonna do this tomorrow morning people, but it's a little after one in the morning here in London and once again, this bloke might have fell asleep on the sofa yesterday afternoon and woke up a little bit ago." He says as he looks at the beer in his hand. "I know most would go for a cup of coffee to get the ol' heart racing but at this time, rather go for something that might make me get back to sleep."

Ben clears his throat.

"So had to get the poor cameraman up from his slumber to help me out, so I can do this for you all." Ben says as he tilts the bottle of beer.

He takes a deep breath.

"Alright people." He says with his thick east end tone filling the room. "Cheers for joining me right now, we're hoping all this airs just before you lot go to bed over there in the states so I can pack up me things and get on a plane in a few hours and head over to you lovely lot."

He clears his throat.

"So you lot know how this works and this is where I give you some rabbit that leads in to what I did, that hopefully ties together at the end." Ben says as he looks down the camera. "And this is no different."

Ben takes a sip of the cold beer from the bottle.

"This is actually something that's been running through my nut for a long time because I see it more every single day of my life." Ben says softly. "You look back on me from a year ago and you'll know what I mean, because there's a couple of things in this world that is an unbreakable promise, and you know with the usual death and taxes malarkey, but there's something else that is inevitable and that my good people, is change."

Ben stops for a second.

"Now it doesn't make a blind bit of difference if we as people spark this change." He says as he slightly shakes his head. "Because it's gonna happen in every single aspects of our lives, regardless of if we want it to or not. It's life. None of us are born with the people we end up with later in our lives, we're all the same and we meet people who change our lives. We turn left on the road instead of right and we have a completely different day. We could meet someone on that left road we wouldn't meet on our right road and your life has changed."

Ben wags a finger at the camera.

"It's not just personal change, but look around you, everything around you from what you save twenty years ago is different." Ben explains. "Some geezer with money who wanted more money decided to rip down your favourite haunts and whack up something that is gonna give him the more wonga and the rest of us live with it."

He shrugs his shoulders.

"But what if you believe that no matter how much things change around you, no matter how different things look in front of your eyes, you can still change them for you?" He asks. "See that's what this is all about because the world can change around us, but we still hold the power to change things ourselves when we need to."

Ben leans forward on the sofa.

"So where is this going?" Ben says in a questioning tone. "Well yesterday, me and Bear, who is snoring his head off in his room, took a walk around a murky Isle of Dogs, the place that I grew up, the place I owned a pub in before the land was bought for stupid amounts that allowed me to become carefree. Selling that boozer changed the Isle of Dogs, it changed me, so I wanted to take Bear around and tell him some stories."

Ben takes a sip from his beer bottle.

"So give this a butchers good people and I will then try and tie it up and explain what all this change talk is about and how it links back to Sunday night for Climax Control. Over to me and Bear from yesterday please."



A cold November morning in the east of London sees Ben Jordan walking down a street. The grey sky threatens to rain, at any second, but Ben walks along the concrete street, holding Bear on a harness lead as the traffic flies by him.

"People are gonna think I'm bonkers walking along talking to you mate." Ben says as he looks down at his dog walking by his side. "I know this is not the green and pleasant lands you're used to running around in, but maybe we could get a weekend place a little further out in the summer for when I'm not working. Maybe a cottage or something near some woods where you can be mates with some happy little fellas."

Bear looks up at Ben as the walk past a couple of people walking towards them, their heads down and moving fast in typical London fashion.

"I have not missed that with everyone being double busy with somewhere to be." Ben chuckles to himself. "But I thought I should show you a little bit of where I am from before you was even a twinkle in your old man's eye."

Ben and Bear walk past a hotel, Ben looking up at it.

"That's been there for donkeys to be fair." Ben says as he looks at Bear. "But me and the boys had some times in the bar in there. Happy hour, a quid a bottle, could load up and just booze. There was a time there was about six of us, emptied all their fridges for a score each."

A down beat look crosses Ben's face.

"I guess that's something that's changed." Ben says in a sombre tone. "No more happy hours anymore, no more cheap beers. Couldn't empty a fridge on that kinda money these days, couldn't empty a shelf for that these day. Something to accept."

Ben walks a little further along with Bear at his side, looking to his right where a big body of water covers most of his view.

"This was a dock going back in the day." Ben tells Bear. "When I was a kid, this place was full of boats, and further down there, by that blue bridge, so many things would dock there. There was naval ships from all over the world that would dock there for a week, the Island was rocking at that point, businesses were booming, boozers were full, everyone made a few quid out of it. I remember being a kid and every other week they'll be something new down there and they'll be open to people to look around. I remember my Nan and gramps, God rest their souls, took me on this hospital ship once that had sailed all over the world helping people and there I was, all snot nosed and short trousered and I was walking around a place where many lives in under privileged countries, places where people couldn't afford the pot to whizz in, were saved. Now look at it."

Ben's eyes look down the water, his mind rushing back to how vibrant things used to be, to how they are now, his eyes looking at the empty spaces.

"Before that, those houses was never there, that was before my time though." Ben says as he pats Bear on the head. "They used to be warehouses, with things coming in from all over the world by boat, not dropped off on a plane and flown over, planes didn't do much cargo work then so everything came in by boat. One of my granddads was a docker all those years ago. Imagine the things he saw that no one is gonna get to see again."

Ben softly sighs.

"I know everything changes and all and you need to embrace it but still." He says to himself. "I mean there used to be people fishing here all day on a Sunday, I used to be here myself in the summer. Good times but things move on. Speaking of which, come on."

Ben ruffles the fur on Bear's head and the two walk down the road a little more and Ben smiles as he looks at a building in front.

"Now that used to be a gaff called Drummonds." Ben says to Bear. "Christ that place used to be bonkers on a Saturday night. Everyone on the Island would go there cause it was after the pubs kicked out because it was open till silly O clock in the morning. The old bill might as well have just stuck a van outside there because they knew it was gonna go off like a Roman candle in there every weekend. Coppers knew the bar staff by name, but we're not walking down that far, I brought you here to show you this."

Ben stops and turns his attention to the road as cars continue to go past on this cold, murky London morning. Ben looks up at what looks like a big office block before looking at Bear. Bear looks at Ben with his head slightly tilted.

"Now I know what you're thinking." Ben says as he looks Bear in the eye. "Why has this geezer walked me around to the other side of the Island, just to show me an office block where the office bods are flying in and out all day."

Ben looks back at the building.

"Because my old mate, that never always was an office block." Ben tells Bear. "That was the site of the pub that was in the family for years before I sold it for stupid amounts of money, that gave the entire family a while new life."

Ben looks proud of that thought.

"Everyone became debt free overnight." Ben says to his dog. "Everyone got a little extra and a new start, even me. It led me on to great things. It led me on to become a wrestler, because I could afford it, I wasn't living with unsteady pay or anything like that. I won't lie though, that change hurt, not only me but a lot of people who spent their time in there. A lot didn't have family and would go there for the company, to stop them sitting at home alone all the time. I feel bad I forced change on them but I knew a lot of them landed on their feet."

Ben swaps glances with Bear.

"I guess getting that cash allowed me to help a lot more people in the long run." Ben says with half a shrug. "I mean without it, I wouldn't have been able to help those charities, or set up Oasis with Jamie and save a lot of people through that. I wouldn't have been able to travel and meet new people and hopefully add something to their lives, but you know, it still hurts looking at that generic building knowing that's where the City Pride was."

Ben lets out a long sigh.

"I guess the change helped out a lot more people over all." He says trying to justify it. "I helped people, a lot more people are working in that building then I could have ever afforded to hire. I mean times were tough sometimes. I never knew at the end of the week if I would have had a fiver or owed a tenner. I guess it's nice not to sit and worry about that now."

Ben crouches down next to Bear.

"I didn't know it at the time, I just saw the pound signs in my eyes, but I guess in the long run, change ain't completely a bad thing if we embrace it. We've changed a lot in the last couple of years, it's time to take it on the chin and move on with it all. Agree?"

Ben looks down at Bear who seemingly gives him a nod.

"Right then." Ben says with a smile. "Shall we hit the cafe for a dirty great greasy fry up?"

Instantly, a smile seems to appear on Bear's face and Ben nods at him.

"I guess you and a greasy spoon will never change, eh?" Ben says with a grin. "I think we needed this change though and although it's not like I remember, I think we got this."

Ben strokes Bear's head.

"Come on, let's get down the cafe before the health inspector beats us to it." Ben says with a serious look.

The two walk away as the camera cuts back to Ben as he is right now.



The camera comes back to Ben sitting on the sofa still.

"Amazing how things can simply change and fairly quickly too." Ben says seriously. "I mean I know I haven't been around this gaff consistently for years but I did used to get home a fair amount to see the place but it's been a bit and place is hardly recognisable."

He slowly shakes his head.

"So where is this linked to me?" He asks himself. "Where is this linked to wrestling? Where is this linked to Sunday?"

He sighs.

"Because I have felt like I'm not the same and I need a bit of a change, especially against our upcoming opponents, Limitless." Ben says softly. "One on one, I've beat Oliver and I ain't taking anything away from that man, because he is the mutts nuts in terms of just how good he is in the ring. He is a special talent, but in tag team matches, him and Eiley have had mine and Sammi's number. They've somehow managed to crack the code of me and Sammi and that is not an easy thing to do."

He looks away from the camera for a second.

"And this is why I need to invoke a little bit of change." Ben says as he turns back towards the camera. "Everything else in this world changes, literally everything, so why can't this change where we can finally crack the cheat code that is Limitless?"

Ben ponders that thought for a few seconds.

"I'm not gonna lie to you people." Ben starts. "When these two were champions, they surprised the hell out of me, proper shocked me because they were two young uns, from a good background that seemed to just have that magic about them, but I thought I'd been around long enough and seen it all and that I would somehow come up with a way to be able to get through that, to be able to find a chink in their armour, to find some way of being able to force my way through and walk out as a champion... And then I got in the ring with them."

Ben's eyes go wide as he exhales.

"They blew me away honestly." Ben admits. "I tried everything that I possibly could and fell right on me mush in a puddle. It wasn't arrogance or anything like that, that made me think I could just get in the ring and just steam through them like a dose of salts, I had confidence in me, I had confidence in Sammi and they were better, but I have been going through that journey of change since we last met and I won't lie, I took the confidence booster match against Bill Barnhart and won and I said something very important when I was leading up to that match."

Ben pauses as he waves the beer bottle towards the camera.

"I said that facing Bill was my reset, it was the start of a blank page to start writing on, it was something where I could renew myself and this all ties in to the change in me." Ben says before exhaling. "This is where the change in me kicks in, this is where I feel that my future, for the first time in a long time, is in my own hands. My life has changed so much over the last couple of years, people have come and gone, my daily routine changed, my mental health changed, the path I was walking on and thought I'd always be walking on, had changed. My career, that too has changed and that spark of beating Bill Barnhart made me see that when I'm on it, when I'm on form, it's hard to stop and this Sunday, I'm gonna be on that form."

His confidence translates to a wide smile on his face.

"With change, you either shrug at it or you embrace it and I am embracing it, I can feel it running through me to the point that I'm confident about Sunday." He says with a grin. "I feel that deep down in my heart, this is where it changes against Eiley and Oz. This is where the tag team losing streak ends against them and I know they're on a dodgy run right now and people could say they've lost it a little since losing the belts, but these two are legit one of the best tag teams in the world bar none. It doesn't mean that we have to work less cause they're on an iffy run, means we need to work harder, much, much harder because they're gonna come in and try and break their iffy streak, so they are gonna be a dangerous team to face but there's something in my head, there's something about the change in me that makes me think we're gonna do bloody well in this one."

He smiles confidently.

"Not taking away from Eiley or Oliver at all." Ben says waving his finger. "These two are top notch but there's something inside my head telling me that we are gonna change our streak, that we are gonna change the tide against these two and have a fair crack at actually getting a win against them. They've been our white whale as a team and make no bones about it, they are the white whale for a lot of teams but they've had our number for a bit and it's time to take it back a little."

He nods his head convincingly slowly.

"I ain't been smiling in the tag division for a while." He admits. "Me and Sammi know the fans expected more from us, and we know we expected more from us. It's hard to say but we've let ourselves down when it came to this. We thought like a lot of you sitting at home that we were gonna be earmarked as champions and we've not got that yet so this is why Sunday means a bloody lot to us both, because it's a fresh start in a tough division and a win over the former champions would mean a hell of a lot to us, it will mean a hell of a lot to every single one of you out there that have supported us, that cheer for us, that want us to be those champions."

Ben looks down the camera with a sincere look on his face.

"We know we're gonna do this for you." He says with his tone matching his sincere face. "We know that we owe you for being behind us, we know that for your support in this harsh division, we need to give you as much as you've given us and it starts on Sunday. There's a bit of determination about me as you can tell, the urge to change our record against Limitless is strong as an ox at this point. It's a challenge every time you put on the boots, it's a challenge every time you step through those ropes, it's a challenge to give it our all and we know they're up for this challenge but so are we. In fact this is the most determined I've been to win a match in a long time, to get that monkey off my back so to speak. This is where I am more determined then I've been in forever to change my career path because I know my time as a wrestler is running out, people know my contract runs out at the end of the year as always, I know that if I want to put my name on another one, I gotta give myself a good base to make 2024 the year I get my hands on those Mixed Tag Team titles and beating the former champions is one hell of a base to put down. This match to me, is the foundation on where my career goes after Sunday."

He takes a second to reflect on his words.

"I either start heading up to where I can have the word champion after my name." He starts "Or just sit down there, getting in the ring with some of the younger guys and helping them out to get their name over. I know neither seem like a bad thing but it's been a while since I've carried around a belt with me. It's been a while since I've met the fans and lifted up gold to show them off proudly and this is a huge step to getting that back. You have to beat the best to be considered the best and Eiley and Oliver as a team, they really are just that, they are what it says on the tin. We have to beat them and I think we will."

Ben nods his head.

"See change is inevitable, nothing stays the same forever and it's something we must live with." Ben says with a straight face. "On Sunday, we change the way things usually go when we face Limitless."

Ben looks at his watch.

"Bloody hell, looks like I've talked your ear off for longer then I thought." He says with a surprised look on his face. "So I'm gonna let you be. You lot have a good night or a good day depending on where you are and I'll see ya on Sunday!"

Ben winks.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the camera fades to black.

7
Supercard Archives / Re: BEN JORDAN v "BULLDOG" BILL BARNHART
« on: October 18, 2023, 11:23:07 AM »
The cameras cut to Ben Jordan with a laptop in front of him on his sofa, looking at the screen in front and refreshing a page.

"Come on SI." He says out loud. "Drop the bloody beta. I should be doing some other stuff."

Ben turns his head and faces the camera.

"Alright people." Ben says with a smile. "Didn't see you lovely lot there, how are we doing today?"

Ben turns his head and points to his ear as he listens as if he's gonna get a response.

"I'm sorry I'm not really dressed for the occasion but today is the day where people lose me for a while." Ben explains. "As a lot of you know, big fan of the Football Manager series and there's a lot of buzz that today, the Beta is gonna drop, hell any time in the next couple of hours."

Ben holds up his fingers and crosses them.

"It could be any minute now and it's peeing down out there today." Ben says with a frown. "So this would be the perfect time to have that drop but there is a problem when that thing drops and that means I end up non communicado for a while. Someone's gotta get Millwall to the Premier League and that ain't an easy job."

He shakes his head.

"Now the reason I'm telling you this is it means my time is extremely limited." Ben says sadly. "Which means no fancy intro as usual that sets up for what I've been doing this week, that leads linked in to what I'm gonna talk about, but importunely, had a cold at the start of the week and now this in the middle which will take up my time till the end of the week, then flying to Vegas, all that malarkey, this one is gonna be nice and simple and cut back."

Ben smiles.

"I think that's all we need to do this week anyway." Ben says. "Let all the other people do the fancy stuff this week."

Ben clears his throat.

"Another day, another promo against Bill Barnhart people." Ben says with a cheeky grin. "Do love a good promo and this is the week we can sit and have a chat about our opponents promos and play the is he talking rubbish game."

Ben quickly refreshed the screen on his laptop but looks disappoints.

"Droooooooop already." Ben says softly. "Anyway..."

Ben once again clears his throat.

"Let's have a little Rabbit shall we Bill?" Ben says with a stern look. "You did say a lot of interesting things that caught my attention, but a word of advice if you don't mind mate? Don't worry about hyping up Bea's match, I'm pretty sure she is more then capable of doing that in her own time, in her own promo and all of that, your focus should very much be on me because I'm that bloke who you really need to focus on. Like I said last week, this is both our chances to start writing our own next chapters in SCW history. You don't need any extra distractions cause I've had a bit more time to think about what I want to do in my chapter Bill. I think I want this to be the start of a run towards some gold, but to do that, I don't need a distracted Bill Barnhart, I need a focused Bill Barnhart so please forget Bea and her match and focus here."

Ben points to his own eyes.

"I'm not gonna be told by people that I don't deserve gold cause I beat a distracted Bill Barnhart." He says as his eyes drift towards the laptop screen then back towards the camera with a smile. "Did that on purpose to prove a point."

Ben fires off his best innocent look.

"Bill, let me be honest with ya." Ben says with an uneasy look on his face. "I knew you was gonna bring up our history in the ring and I knew you was gonna remind people that I beat you, you're a bit of an open book like that so I saw it, I knew it and I knew you'd feel it would be very different next time we , but it won't. All variables have changed, singles, mixed tag, normal tag and everything stays the same when it comes to who wins and who doesn't because I win and you don't. That isn't gonna change Bill. We've been the same height and weight in those matches as we are now and again, nothing has changed and nothing will. We're wrestlers Bill, not Boxers, changing our weight to add a little more muscle or whatever doesn't change anything about how the match is gonna go because in all those matches, you don't have a plan to beat me."

Ben sighs.

"I don't wanna sound harsh or anything." Ben says holding his hands up. "That is not my intention at all, but Bill, it's the same old, same old. You said you're turning forty, which means you're only a few years older then me, but you haven't changed, you haven't adapted to taking a loss and doing something different. It's all talk really Bill. You're saying I'll be worthless as trash when you're done beating me. Couple of things with that statement that stands out. Three things actually. One Bill, trash isn't worthless mate, the modern world has this thing called recycling, so trash, not worthless, pretty high worth to be honest."

Ben shrugs at the camera.

"Secondly." Ben continues. "Beating me? Nah mate, you're alright. That ain't happening and thirdly, I don't link my worth to what others think of me. See, that's where I went wrong. Did you catch what I had to say last week and what I did? Did you see the filmed story I told about how someone made me feel that way by gas lighting me all over the gaff? That made me feel worthless, that made me feel like I was absolutely nothing, so a wrestling match will not make me think that way or feel that way cause I value myself much more then that."

Ben looks seriously down the camera.

"I valued myself more, I valued my talent more." Ben says with a slight smile. "And I value my talent more then I value yours. A lot of respect to you Bill for all you've done, the amount of times you've picked yourself up, but I'm Ben Jordan, and this is my new chapter."

Ben's eyes dart to the screen and a big smile appears on his face.

"Anyway mate, really gotta go, things to do, teams to manage." He says shifting around with excitement. "I shall see you in Vegas on Sunday and I have every intention of walking out with my arms and head held high."

Ben winks at the camera.

"Laters people!"

The camera fades to black.

8
Supercard Archives / Re: BEN JORDAN v "BULLDOG" BILL BARNHART
« on: October 13, 2023, 03:07:59 AM »
Wednesday morning.

The bright morning London sunshine drops down on to the skin of Ben Jordan as he sits in his new house in London, England, overlooking the river Thames. It was unseasonably warm in London, England but very few people complained about it and Ben was in that majority as he sips on his morning coffee. Ben looks up at the camera and smiles.

"Morning people." He says with a bright smile. "From the Isle of Dogs in lovely London."

He takes a sip of his coffee.

"It looks like I'm finally settled back home." He tells the people listening. "And who would have thought things would have come full circle to the point I'm back where I was born and that can put a lot of stress on a fella."

Ben tilted his head in a nod.

"And we're all open for stress." Ben says with a soft voice. "Now I'm guessing you're wondering why I would mention something like stress on a beautiful sunny day when the river looks lovely."

Ben points the camera to the river in front of him and the camera spins around to show the sun bouncing delectably off the waves and back to Ben's face.

"And the day is fine." Ben says with a side nod of his head. "But this is Wednesday morning people. and yesterday, there was a huge day around the world that I support, and I throw a lot of money towards the cause, because I've been there and I needed help."

Ben takes a few seconds to reflect.

"Yesterday was World Mental Health Day." Ben sighs. "And that is a cause close to my heart because everyone thinks someone like me is Superman..."

Ben turns his head and raises a finger to his lips before winking down the camera.

"But if that's the way you see me, even Superman can have his struggles." Ben says. "He can sit there in the fortress and replay every little thing in his head about how he could have saved someone but failed and trust me, it gets to ya more then men especially would like to sit there and admit."

Ben's face turned a little more serious.

"I get it, I've been there." Ben says sadly. "But yesterday was about pushing the awareness of the struggles all around the world so that mental health issues are not seen as a burden or something we can't talk about. It needs to be normalised to be able to say to your friend over a pint, mate, I'm struggling and not have the fear of your mate taking the Mickey and looking down on ya."

Ben looks away from the camera just slightly as painful memories of his own past return to his head. After a few seconds, Ben looks back down the camera.

"Nothing worse then feeling low and having the feeling that you can't speak to someone." Ben tells the viewers. "And I know some of you are sitting there that are struggling and need help and this is hitting home to you and I really hope it is. You can ask for help."

Ben sighs again.

"It's ok to turn to your wife, your husband, your daughter, your son, your mum, ya dad, ya brother, ya sister, your aunt, your uncle, your niece, your nephew, your grandson, your granddaughter, your friend, the guy at the bar, the guy at the bus stop, even a random stranger and say those words." Ben pauses just for a second. "I'm not ok and I need help."

Ben swallows hard as he turns his head away, looking towards the river without focusing on anything. He takes a deep breath before looking back at the camera.

"You're probably wondering why I'm talking like this and year, I get that, but I do have a reason to do so." Ben tells whoever is watching. "This part of things is where I introduce you to what I've done this week and yesterday, I did something to show people that I might be this cool guy in people's eyes and that people think opening up makes you weak, but I did something to show a group of kids that it's ok to talk."

Ben takes another deep breath before exhaling sharply.

"Yesterday, I spoke to the kids at Oasis." Ben says with a little smile as he thinks about them. "So roll that tape."



The scene opens with Jamie Dean, former SCW star and owner of the teenage charity Oasis. Jamie stands in an assembly hall on the stage as he watches a dozen or so teens shuffle in to the small hall and towards where he stands.

"Come on guys." Jamie encourages. "Let's take your seats quickly."

The teens listen and move a little faster, moving to the front of the room to a stage area with a big screen set up on stage. The group start taking their seats as a few more enter the room and Jamie encourages them to move to the front with a wave of his hand. He waits as they all take seats and gives them a few seconds to settle down.

"Ok guys, time for focus." Jamie tells them. "Today as you might have heard, is World Mental Health Day."

Jamie watches as a few nod, but a few look like this is the first time they've heard the news.

"Mental health is as important as physical health." Jamie tells them. "And you guys are likely to have suffered from it due to being homeless and the trauma that comes along with it and I know it's hard for guys to talk about these kind of things and it hurts us in the long run, so I have someone to speak to you about it."

Jamie clears his throat.

"On the outside, he doesn't seem the type, but he is proof that it's possible and they can be beaten." Jamie tells them. "So guys, say hi to my partner in crime, Ben Jordan."

A few whispers of delight was utters as Jamie picked up a nearby remote and pressed a button on it and Ben's face and upper body lit up the screen. The camera now changes to inside Ben's house as he sits on a sofa with a laptop open on his lap, his feet up across the leather sofa. He smiles and waves at the screen.

"Morning all." He says in a cheery tone. "Hope you lot are behaving yourself over there and not adding to Jamie's grey hairs right now."

He could see the audience as a camera was set up and see's Jamie frown as he took a seat near the front.

"I'm sorry I haven't checked in with you guys for a while but as you might know, I moved back to London so just getting my feet wet sorting things out here." Ben tells them. "But today, I do need to speak to you about something important and that is mental health."

Ben takes a deep breath and exhales sharply.

"Today is World Mental Health Day." Ben says. "And it's really important to take notice of that and take the chance to be a better person and make you feel like you're a better person, but let's talk about what mental health is."

Ben looks away for a second before quickly looking back.

"Mental health is really important because your brain is constantly overloaded with things, taking in sights and sounds and like most over worked things, at times, things can break down, it can stress you out, it could effect you in ways you don't expect." Ben says. "A lot don't see when people are struggling, it's not like a broken leg or something that's real easy to see, it's something much worse because no one can see behind the face we put on and it's a dangerous thing."

He looks at the people in the hall through the screen, watching them hang on to every word.

"And I get it." Ben says, talking from a place of experience. "It's hard for us to talk about it because we don't wanna be seen as weak, but I'm gonna show you lovely lot today that there's no issue talking about our struggles and I'm gonna tell you it's not worth putting things off to let them pass on their own, if you need help now, ask for it. Here's a little story about how things in the past can mess with your future if it's not dealt with."

Ben clears his throat as he thinks back.

"So there was this girl some years ago, and yes, I know a lot of stories start that way, but this one is true." Ben says with a smile. "I was bang head over heels for her and she brushed me off like I was nothing. Yeah there was some distance between us, but I would have done anything for her, would have walked to the ends of the earth for her, but no, kept at arms length and I didn't know why at the time. I kept wondering why not, I would give her the world and nah, wasn't interested at all, made excuse after excuse why we couldn't video chat and honestly, it turned me paranoid."

Ben grits his teeth.

"It stressed me, and made me anxious. I laid awake at night wondering why the hell not?" He says truthfully. "I couldn't eat because of this and it made me feel like I wasn't good enough for anyone. I stayed single because deep down, I thought I was a horrible person because of her. I let that effect me for a long time and it effected the way I saw people."

Ben looks at the surprised looks on their faces.

"It turns out it was a load of old flannel because I found out very recently that she was stringing me along." Ben says with a shake of his head. "Turns out she was married with kids all along and was just stringing me along to get whatever she wanted, as we'd say in the wrestling business, she was using me to keep her spot. That effected me for a long time and I feel that it played in to my long time depression and anxiety."

Ben sighs under his breath before continuing.

"I went through some dark thoughts with her." Ben admits. "I mean dark suicidal thoughts because of her because she made me feel less then I was worth and even to this day, I get up and feel less then I am worth, all because of her some years ago. Getting up feeling worthless because someone who was devoid of human emotions gas lit you before gas lighting was ever a thing, shouldn't happen, but it was a different time, I had no one to talk to about it."

Ben shook his head.

"I don't know if I even wanted to talk about it, because I felt embarrassed I'd been used by this." Ben admits. "But I really wish I had talked to someone then because I might have been happier, I might have stepped up for a much happier life where I didn't end up depressed in later life. Thinking back, it was stupid of me not to want to talk about it and deal with it."

Ben stops just to let things sink in.

"There was a lot of stigma attached to things through that time. People saying men don't talk about things like that because it makes us look weak." Ben says shaking his head. "Load of old pony because here I am openly admitting that I wake up at times and wonder what happened to my life. I wake up where I'm not ok, and I want the whole world to swallow me up and just leave me in some deep dark black hole where no one will find me, but here I am talking about it. There are days now I get my head off my pillow and it flops down again because I don't want to face the world and that's ok, cause we all have days like that, but you know what I do?"

Ben pauses for a second.

"I pick up the phone and I call Jamie, I pick up the phone and call Sammi." Ben tells them "And I talk, I talk and talk some more. They don't look down on me for that, they don't see me as weak or anything like that. They see me as human and human's are allowed to have days like that. It doesn't make us any less human to be human and admit that's something not right. You guys are at risk more, I was messed around by some bird who loved the attention but you guys have seen real stuff. Being out on the streets, being targeted has probably left some stuff in your head that is hard to deal with and you're keeping it inside."

Ben scans the screen looking for a change in faces to prove his point and spots one or two.

"And you're probably not talking about it because you had to be tough out on the streets." Ben says seriously. "But it doesn't make you weaker to sit there and talk about it. I know we set up things at Oasis where you can go and speak to Jamie about anything you want and I know that door is always open, and I know a lot of you are not using that option but I can tell you from first hand experience that it's great to be able to get a lot off your chest, to process all those heavy thoughts weighing you down and you guys are teens that have already seen a lot of hell."

Ben looks down sadly.

"But don't let this drag you down in later life." Ben tells the room. "Especially when you don't have to. I let that once incident drag me down for years of my life, took a long time before I could trust people again and it might have played in to my later life. I had a hell of a lot till recently, the dream lifestyle but frankly, my mental health played a big part in losing all of that and you know something?"

Ben takes a deep breath.

"I don't want that life back." He tells them. "I don't need the marriage, I don't need the big houses, the cars, none of those things are important if you can't wake up with a smile. Nothing is important if you can't wait up and feel happy and ready to chase the day and mental health issues, the past trauma, it holds us back. Not talking about it all and getting it out there in the open, all holds us back and you're young, you don't need this holding you back at all. You can be the ones in control of your head and not the other way around and I really wish I was all those years ago, I wish I was in control of my head instead of letting someone deep root trauma in my head."

Ben stops to let things sink in.

"I wish I dealt with it all a long time ago." He admits. "But I didn't and it effected my later life because I didn't think mental health was as important as physical health but it really is and on a day like today, where eyes are very much on it, you guys should see how serious it is and what it leads to. I've lost people in my life because of struggles with mental health, I woke up some days and thought people would be talking about me losing my battle with mental health, but I'm not because I spoke to people who helped me through it. I don't wanna add any of you guys in here to the list of people I knew that lost their battles with mental health."

He watches as the room look around at each other.

"I don't want you guys to be like that cause you think no one cares." Ben tells them. "But I care, and Jamie does too and I know there's a lot of people in that room you're sitting in that care about you, so if you're depressed, if you're down, if you're stressed, if you know something isn't right in your mind, please go talk to someone about it, please talk to Jamie about it. I've lost a lot of people in this world and I don't want any of you guys to be next."

Ben sighs as he looks at the screen.

"Mental health is no joke and talking about it doesn't make you any less of a man, it makes you more of a man." Ben says firmly. "So today, man up, talk to someone and if you're feeling good, ask someone else how they're doing because you asking someone that question, could save their lives."

Ben looks at their faces as he sees some nods in agreement and some hung heads.

"Thank you for listening to me, please speak to Jamie if you need anything, if you're down or just need to talk." Ben tells them. "You could save their lives and your own. Remember the world will be a lot less brighter without you in it."

Ben rubs his chin.

"You guys have a great day." Ben says with a warm smile and I'll check in with you all soon, I promise."

"Guys, give Ben a round of applause." Jamie tells them.

The group in the hall clap for Ben as he waves at the screen. Jamie clicks off the feed and the camera focuses on Ben, his head dropping as he puts his hands behind his head.

"I really hope I got through to just one person." Ben says with a sad tone. "I really hope I saved someone's life cause this mental stuff really isn't a joke."



The camera comes back to Ben sitting in the chair on his balcony overlooking the river, a sad smile on his face.

"If I got through to one person in that whole room, then I'm a happy man." Ben says with that sad smile on his face. "And you're probably wondering how I'm gonna link all that to what I'm gonna say about High Stakes because that is the part of the work we're up to people."

Ben runs his hand on his chin.

"There's a lot of hidden stuff to mental help that people don't really see." Ben explains. "They see that depression and anxiety can rob people of their routine, eating, sleeping, all of that, but they never sit there and think about why that happens. They just sit there and think it's the way things are and they're happy with that. Like most things, people don't like to scratch below the surface and find out what's really going on, but the reason these things suffer is one simple word."

Ben lifts a finger.

"Motivation." He says with a firm nod.

He puts his palms out flat.

"Motivation keeps us all going. It helps us get up, it helps us get things done, it helps us do whatever we need to do to get through the day." Ben informs people. "But when you have issues up here."

Ben taps the side of his head.

"It blocks the motivation." Ben explains. "And motivation is key for everything we do."

He pauses for a second.

"Now how does this link to Bill Barnhart." Ben says looking around. "I mean of course people have questioned Bill's sanity at times cause the age don't match the look and all that, but I'm not gonna go that route, it's a bit of a beaten path but I will admit, when I saw that card, I felt a bit of life draw out of me again."

Ben waves his hands around in a dismissive way.

"I don't mean that in a bad way." Ben says waving it off. "I mean it in terms of we've been there, we've done this match, I felt like my heart sank when I saw that I was facing Bill Barnhart again because I felt like I've done this so many times lately in mixed tag and single and sometimes, when a bloke feels like he has nothing to prove in their scenario, it does take away a little bit of motivation here and there."

Ben waits as he runs his fingers across his brow.

"I'm sure this was done just to get us on the card of the biggest SCW show of the year, the show that reboots SCW." Ben says appreciatively. "So I can thank Christian and Mark for that but seeing that on the card made me see, I need to find my own motivation to fire through things, I need to find something a little bit extra to kick on and it's right there under my nose. It's High Stakes XIII, the biggest show on the SCW calendar and I'm on it. That should be motivation enough and that's the way I'm gonna look at it."

Ben looks up at the clear morning sky, then back down to the camera.

"It is a big show and it is a big deal." Ben reminds himself "And although I feel like I've walked down this path a lot lately, me and Bill mixing it up, I feel that I could take this clay and mold it in to something to remember. Maybe I just sat there and thought when I saw this card, what else can me and Bill do? I mean between the Mixed tag contenders matches, the one on one, I couldn't help but wonder if we've gone to our limits but then it dawn on me, slapped me in the face like someone was wobbling around a wet kipper. This is High Stakes! What people don't get is High Stakes is like our superbowl, it's our Championship League final, there's magic in the air, a whole lot of magic in the air where us as wrestlers, we can feel it, we know it from the go home show. There's something a little different and a little special about it all. I know the fans feel it too, right?"

Ben waits as if he's waiting for an answer.

"Of course you do." He says with a smile "But as a wrestler, the buzz is immense. I've done it as a fan but as a wrestler, it's exciting, there's magic drifting through. So you guys might sit there and say its Ben Jordan and Bill Barnhart, we don't need to see that again. We've seen it a few times over the last few months, we don't need to see that again, but the truth is, this one is different. There's nothing on the line but it is High Stakes which means every match is gonna be special, every match is gonna be completely worth it. From opening to close, this show is gonna be proper. Bill Vs me might not look good on paper, but we don't wrestle on paper people!"

Ben can't help but smile at that line.

"Every wrestler is gonna give it their all and I will against Bill." Ben says with a firm nod. "And I'm sure Bill is gonna give ya a history lesson of things between us and stuff like that and tell you all the good things he's done in wrestling and all that malarkey, it's his style and that's fine people. Bill's thing is to remind people of stuff but me, my thing is to get you lot glued to the box and watching just what I can do and it might not look special, but it's gonna be people."

Ben pokes out his lower lip and nods.

"I know Bill has been slated by a lot of people for his old school style." Ben says honestly. "Because everything about him screams old school style, but old school style and people from that time, from that time of the business, they think a little bit differently to people just coming through. They know the game inside and out and what they do is they force themselves to be better, to have the not give up mentally. They have that inside where they think they might not score a win but you're gonna remember being in the ring with them and that's what makes that generation more dangerous then you might think. You can sit there and say he's too old fashioned to be in the modern game but with that comes a different way of thinking so Bill is in the category of he might get knocked down but you write him off at your own peril."

Ben wags his finger at the screen.

"And I won't write him off." Ben says honestly. "Many have and many have felt that bulldog bite, many have taken in their eyes shock losses because Bulldog would not give up on it all and I refuse to be one of those guys that take him lightly and get teeth marks in my jacksy. I know I'm thinking of my High Stakes moment, but I know Bulldog is too, he gets it, he knows this show has a lot of eyes on and he can use me to make an example of himself to the world. See what I mean about a different mentality?"

Ben taps his head with his forefinger.

"Young uns are thinking about all the people who will be watching, Bill is a guy who will blank that out, do his job and have a single moment where people say wow, rather then people trying to kill themselves for that moment." Ben explains. "That's what makes him a danger. He doesn't need gasping moments every two minutes to beat ya, he just needs one and it's game over but I'm not gonna let him get to that one."

Ben shakes his head.

"Me and Bill, we're in the same place career wise right now. We're a bit rudderless." Ben admits. "There's no clear plan for us, we're just good solid hands who can fill in when needed and have a good go at things, but we both know this show is our chance to change all of that. Our destiny is a little bit unwritten right now but we know this is where we can grab then pen and start to doodle, this is where we know we can start writing our own next chapter so don't be fooled by the fact it feels thrown together, this is gonna be the start of something big."

Ben leans back slightly in his chair.

"This is where either Bill or me start writing something new." Ben says with a stretch of his shoulders. "And I feel like I got a few more stories to write before I fill my days with eating bacon with Bear and walking through Island Gardens, nipping in the pub for a swift half and finding myself over at The Den to punish myself with some football and it all starts in a couple of Sunday's."

Ben waves his head from side to side.

"Bill, I know you see this as I do, and I know you're gonna bring your best because you always tend to do that." Ben says with a sincere look on his face. "But I'm gonna tell you mate, I'm gonna be the one writing my next chapter in a very positive note."

Ben looks down at his watch.

"Well my lovely lot, it looks like I'm out of time here, so we'll pick this one up next week." Ben says with a thumbs up. "You lot have a cracking week, Bill, I'll be speaking more about ya soon but you too have a good week."

Ben fires another thumbs up.

"And on a last note." He says with a more serious look on his face. "Reach out to your friends and family, let them know you're thinking about them. Don't be one of those people after the fact that knew they could have done more to change someone's life for the better and if you're struggling, please reach out to someone like MIND charity, Samaritans, or even a friend, hell, reach out to me."

Ben nods seriously.

"Until next time." He says with a sombre tone. "I'm Ben Jordan...."

He winks.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the camera fades.

9
Climax Control Archives / Who says you can't go home?
« on: September 15, 2023, 02:26:32 PM »
The camera fades in to Ben Jordan in his usual setting, just sitting on a chair in front of the camera, dressed in a light blue suit and black buttoned up shirt. The camera out to see his dog Bear, next to his chair.

"Alright people." Ben starts with a smile on his face. "Bet there was a huge pop seeing this fella back on your screens."

Ben leans down and ruffles the fur on Bear's head but Bear just continues to lay unfazed by the stroking.

"We all know how this goes." He says with a nod. "This is the part where I pretty much introduce you to what's been going on in my life this past week or so, or at least a tale from it to set things up for you lovely people but today, it's not just a straight set up and jump in to it."

He shakes his head slightly.

"See, context is everything people." Ben says with a lowered eyebrows and a slight nod of his head. "If not, you'll just think I'm doing this for the sake of doing it."

Ben sighs as he looks down at Bear then up to the camera.

"So this is the first time I publicly sat and spoke to you people directly about what's really gone on in my life since I disappeared for a while." Ben says with a tone of honesty. "Well as you know I struggle a little bit with depression, anxiety, all the good stuff, but I had a bit of a rough time in my personal life that brought on some big changes."

Ben holds up his left hand and points to his wedding finger, a ring no longer there.

"I know you've heard it through the rumour mill but I haven't faced it directly." He says. "Until now where I'm saying yes, it's all true, I became one of those guys I never wanted to be and I am no longer married."

He looks off camera for a few seconds before staring back down it.

"I'm not gonna be all bitter and all that malarkey." He says with a half smile. "These things happened and we all get to move on. The thing is people, things like that can change a bloke, not only personal levels but situations around them, and it really did for me. Everything changed in the blink of an eye."

He pauses to reflect.

"I basically had choices to make." He says thoughtfully. "I spent most of my adult life not needing to worry about money or a roof over my head cause it was always there and well, money still is but the roof over my head thing, that was an issue. Every time I've gone through something like this, I've gone for a completely clean break, clean start of it all and everything that was once ours, well, I can't make it mine again. Remember Emma Rose? Yeah, when she went, the underground house got sold and this was no different. Without Evie, things got sold on. The house in the Channel Islands, sold, the house on the lake in Maine, sold that too, that one gutted me, not gonna lie. The New York place was never mine to speak off so I dunno what she did with that, but the other houses, and property we owned together, sold on and the money split. Any business I was involved in with Evie, she bought me out. I even sold every car I had that was mine."

Ben forces a smile on his face.

"It was an everything most go sale and everything went." Ben says with a nod. "So I'm good for money, I could go anywhere I wanted, I could be anywhere I wanted. Just me, Bear, a couple of bags and a wander around. We met a lot of good people on our little travels."

Ben looks down at Bear.

"But sometimes, you need to put down some roots somewhere." Ben says seriously. "And the world was my oyster. Couple of single lads with money to burn, could be anywhere in the world, because trust me, they smell a pound note, they'll give ya a visa to any country, but I believe in full circle. Everyone knows when it's their time to go home."

Ben smiles.

"Enjoy this one." He says with a salute. "Roll it for the good people please."



"So as you've seen, it's got four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, big living area space, cosy kitchen and great views of the river." A man's voice is heard saying.

The camera opens to show Ben Jordan standing next to Bear in a strange unseen place before, an apartment looking space with big windows, from high up overlooking a river flowing past. Another man in a dark suit stands near Ben, point out other amenities.

"The building has a private car park and a gym too." The man says. "It's a great place for you and your family."

Ben turns to look at the man and weakly smiles.

"This is my family that's looking for a place." Ben says as he turns his head to him. "Me and man's best friend here."

The man looks at Ben through confused eyes, his forehead wrinkling.

"Oh, a place this size, I thought it was a family home." The man replies.

Ben smiles a little stronger towards the man.

"I thought estate agents never presumed anything." Ben says with a nod, causing the man to uncomfortably smile back.

"We don't usually." The estate agent admitted. "But when you came in to the office looking for a local place of this size, we thought it was going to be a family home."

Ben frowns and shakes his head at the man.

"Nah, recently divorced." Ben told him. "I lived all over the place, Canada, America, Cuba, Jersey and all that, travelled the world for work, but it's time to come on home."

"Oh, you was a local?" The estate agent says with a hint of surprise.

Ben couldn't help but smile at the man.

"I was." Ben says trying not to brag. "But I hit it big, and trained to be a wrestler and that got me all over the world. Got married, travelled some more, did a lot of cool stuff for charities, got divorced, came home."

"Nice." The estate agent says with a touch of doubt in his voice. "So if you hit it big, why this area?"

Ben waves his finger at the man,

"Now, now, no need for up sells and all that." Ben says with a smile. "I was born around here, I still have some family around here. I still have a few mates around here, I even went to the school down the road there. I know I've been on TV a lot over the years, but I still feel like this is the place I can be just one of the guys."

"I see." The estate agent replies.

"I just want a quiet life with the occasional wild night when the occasion calls for it." Ben says sincerely. "The travelling is all good, but sometimes, it's nice to have a place to call home, especially when it really is home."

The estate agent looks at Ben as he seems to drift away in to his own thoughts for a few seconds.

"A lot of good memories growing up around here." He comments to himself. "Coming back here feels right."

"So would you like to look at a few other places?" The estate agent asks?

Ben shakes his head.

"Nah." Ben says to the man. "Being round here, place I was brought up, place I learned everything, place I had a lot of firsts. This feels right and the area has changed a lot but the roads are exactly the way I remember them so I couldn't possibly get too lost so I think we'll be alright here. What ya reckon boy?"

Ben looks down at Bear who raises his head and sharply back down in a nod like movement. Ben looks at the estate agent.

"Looks like we have his approval." Ben says putting his hand out to the estate agent.

The two men shake hands firmly and Ben looks the man in the eye.

"Great news. Looks like I have a new neighbour." The estate agent says. "I live just down the road."

"So you know The Ferry House then?" Ben asks.

Ben clicks his fingers for a second to freeze the scene and turns to the camera with a tilted head.

"Alright people, forth wall break down a bit so you know what I'm prattling on about." He says. "The Ferry House is a local pub, right outside where I will soon be living, the oldest pub on the Island, very rich history behind it and most likely where I will spend many evenings."

Ben clicks his fingers again and the man begins to talk again.

"I drink in there myself." The man said strangely proudly.

"What's their deal with out four legged friends?" Ben asks with just a nod towards Bear.

Bear looks towards the estate agent as if he too is waiting for an answer.

"Oh, they're fine in there." The man says. "They welcome them in there. More dogs then customers in there at times and they have this weird kid who works in there who forgets they have customers when a dog walks in."

Ben looks down at Bear as he reaches for a tablet from a nearby table.

"It looks like you're about to make more friends then I am." Ben says with a smile.

"So if you'd just swing by the office tomorrow morning, we can sort out details and we can push this through as fast as we can." The estate agent tells Ben.

"Excellent." Ben says with a wide smile on his face as he looks down at Bear. "Come on then, let's go make some new friends."

Ben looks towards the estate agent.

"I'll buy ya a pint if you're about in a bit." Ben says firmly to the nodding man.

A few minutes later, Ben stands outside the freshly decorated by the looks of things, public house. Big gold letters above the door read The Ferry House. He holds in his right hand the tablet he picked up a little earlier. Ben looks down at Bear who looks back at him.

"What are we thinking here?" Ben asks Bear. "It's been years since I've popped in this place, probably a good sixteen years."

Bear tilts his head, slightly moving towards the door before stopping and looking back at Ben. Ben sighs and nods his head.

"Yeah, ya right, never know unless you try." Ben say in a firm tone. "Let's go see the lay of the land and see what happens. Never know unless ya dip ya toe in."

Ben pushes the door open and Bear trots in and Ben follows in. He looks around to try and get a second first impression of the pub.

"Christ, this hasn't changed much." He says to himself quietly.

He looks around at the place, barely changed from his youth, just freshened up with a new paint job. The bar still seems familiar to him and the lay out of the pub was exactly the same as he remembered. His eyes move along the wooden, worn down varnished bar, looking at the now common long plastic based beer mats covering them and smiles to himself. He looks around the customers, fairly limited in number, a chubbier man at the end of the bar spoke to a much thinner man with a thin moustache and accent sounding like he was not a local. A young lady sat at the end of the bar, sipping a dark drink through a straw. At the other end of the bar, was a man slightly swaying on his bar stool, salt and pepper short hair and a stomach that hung over his belt.

"Bloody woman!" He gruffly says to no one in particular, as he looks at his phone.

"We've all been there." Ben thought as he moves closer to the bar.

Through his nostalgia trip, Ben fails to notice the attention Bear was getting from a younger person with long hair.

"This has to be the kid the estate agent was talking about." Ben thought to himself.

"Hello doggy!" The clearly teenage person says out loud before looking towards Ben. "What's his name?"

Ben snaps out of his nostalgia trip fully enough to answer.

"His name is Bear." Ben says with a warm smile.

"Hello Bear." The kid says. "Does Bear like treats?"

"Not those plastic dog ones." Ben says with a chuckle. "He has different tastes, his kind of treat is bacon."

The kid was clearly taken back as Ben says that.

"Let me get you some water." The kid says.

"Sparkling, twist of lemon, he's a posh lad." Ben says trying not to laugh.

The teen wasn't sure how to handle his request and Ben could see it on his face. Ben chuckles to himself.

"I'm kidding, he only likes that stuff before bed." Ben jokes. "He probably could do with a drink."

He watches the teen move around the bar.

"As could I." Ben mutters under his breath.

He quickly looks up to see the woman at the end of the bar standing in front of him on the other side of the bar.

"What can I get ya?" She asks smile less and bluntly.

Ben looks around the bar and the beers on offer and quickly catches a glance of the glance at the man next to him who was not happy with his woman and but doesn't catch the name on it.

"I'll have one of those." Ben says "And a couple of bags of pork scratches."

He waits patiently but can feel the eyes of everyone on him, as few as they were in numbers. He looks around, just deciding to nod and smile at people.

"You look familiar." The young barmaid says as she places Ben's order in front of him.

Ben averts his eyes to a television screen above a set of double doors to see a replay of SCW Climax Control from he week before, watching Mikah and Kris' kids cause havoc with Scott Oliver. He smiles thinking back to it, but quickly straightens his face as he turns back to the barmaid.

"I've just got one of those faces." Ben says. "People often mistake me for some fella off the box or something."

Ben pulls his card from his pocket and takes another cheeky glance at the TV He taps his card and picks up his order.

"Cheers love." Ben says with a little nod.

Ben looks at Bear and the two walk to a back room. Ben sits down on a chair as he places his pint down in front of him and the two bags of snacks. He opens one up by ripping the bag and places it down on the floor for Bear as the teen with the water comes back and puts the bowl in front of Bear.

"Cheers." Ben says to him as he walks away.

Ben takes the tablet and quickly switches it on and hits the button on the front and starts tapping away. A few seconds later, the face of Sam Marlowe appears.

"Ben!" She yells out. "Where are ya?"

"All in good time love." Ben says with a smile "Let me add Jamie to this call, got something to tell you both at once."

Sam raises an eyebrow and Ben taps away on the buttons. A few seconds later, a strange sight appears.

"Oh for God's sake Jamie!" Ben says out loud. "Could you get your cats arse off the screen."

Ben sighs as Jamie picks up Anubis, his Siamese cat and flips it around to the face the camera instead of mooning Ben and Sam.

"Every bloody time!" Ben says shaking his head.

"Well, he knew you was calling and got excited." Jamie says with a snort. "Hi Sammi!"

"Hey Jamie." Sam replies with a sweet smile. "Alright prat, what's this about?"

"Well my Ginger Ninja friend." Ben starts with a smile. "I've finally got off my aris and stopped being one of those homeless people that crash on couches. I finally picked a place and well, I know have a place to call my own, well mine and Bear's place to call our own."

"That's great news!" Sam says with a wide smile.

"Congratulations." Jamie adds. "Where did you decide in the end?"

Ben looks around the pub and back at the camera.

"I decided it was time for me to come on home." Ben says with pride on his face. "I decided that it was time to move back to London, to actually move back to where I was born."

Both Sam and Jamie look surprised.

"The Isle of Dogs?" Jamie says with a surprised tone matching his face.

"I thought you was looking more exotic." Sam adds.

"I was but..." Ben starts seriously. "Sometimes, something just calls you home. Sometimes when you've seen enough of the world, you take a look at yourself and you reflect a bit and that's what I've done for a year. I'm a couple of years shy of forty, I've seen some incredible things in my life, done things people can only dream of, but right now, I don't need a beach, I don't need a lake, what I need to do is get up out of bed, take Bear for a walk around Island Gardens park, pop across the road to the bookies and throw on a couple of bets, get on down to Chrisp Street and grab some pie and mash, jump back down to go for a few pints. I even wanna get back over the football when I can."

Sam and Jamie listen intently.

"While I was off running all over the world and doing mad things, I left behind something I loved." He says honestly. "I left behind family, I left behind friends, I left behind a bunch of unattractive brick buildings, but those buildings were there when I was growing up. I left behind a different life. Those old buildings may be gone, but I want to reconnect with family, friends and my old life. It's my full circle."

Sam and Jamie nod but Ben puts a finger up to them and turns to the camera.

"This convo went on a lot longer, but we don't have time to show it all." He says with a frown. "So back to me about to cut a promo."

Ben raises his glass.

"Good health!"



The camera fades back in to Ben sitting in the chair and smiling.

"That's right, The Cockney King and his loyal steed down here are back in Cockneyland." He says with a wide grin. "Back where it all began, back where Ben Jordan was born."

He winks and gives a thumbs up to the camera.

"I never thought I'd end up back home after all these years but after living in all those lovely places, I thought it was time to get myself home." He says with a warm smile. "But what does that mean for my SCW career? Well, you lot know when my contract ends, you know how I do it, January first to January first, so that's a bridge we'll cross at some point, but people, didn't matter where I lived, I'd always be able to get to the shows, and this is no different. I used to fly in from Cuba, or Jersey, or Maine, it didn't matter it's the life of a wrestler, and I will be there on Sunday in San Diego!"

Ben nods his head up and down firmly.

"Beautiful place, beautiful people and the home of Jet City, and I get to face one of the best to come out of Jet City in Jaycee MacDonald." He says. "Top talent but first off, cheers to Kris Ryans for shutting the place down for the weekend to allow the SCW people to party. You're a good geezer Kris, know how to bring people together."

Ben fires a thumbs up towards the camera.

"I gotta admit, I feel like I'm a team playing away at this point." He says using a sporting term. "I feel like I'm walking in to a place where the majority is home supporters waiting to dig out the away fans and make it seriously intimidating, but this is where away teams step up and push themselves a little more and that is the plan."

Ben scratches his cheek.

"So Jaycee." He starts. "I gotta admit, for me, this young lad has it all to be the top guy in SCW. You look at these younger guys and you can see that their destiny is in their own hands, but that comes with pitfalls. Wrestlers of Jaycee's age can either reach for the stars or get caught up in their own hype and become brought in to the seedy side of wrestling and believe me people, there is a very seedy underbelly to this sport, people handle their fame and failures in very different ways. Some get crushed by their own egos, others push on and use that to their advantage and people like me take it in their stride and get on with it. I get the feeling that Jaycee is the latter and will take everything thrown at him in his stride."

Ben pauses for a second.

"And that is a brilliant attitude." Ben says with an approving nod. "Thing is with things like this, you have to take the knock backs to be able to come back stronger and this is what I've had lately. Not just outside the ring, but inside the ring too, because I had the chance to become a champion again and I put in everything I could in to that match, I put in every ounce of strength I had and I fell short. I have no one to blame but myself, I have no one to put at fault but myself and I hold my hands up to it, better team won."

Ben puts his hands up, palms out for a few seconds.

"It's not unfamiliar for me." He says candidly. "I've lost a few matches in my career, never been one to sweat on winning or losing, but that one stung a bit. That one stung to the point where I let doubts creep in to my head about if I'm made for this anymore or if I'm just a tad past where I want to be. These doubts will always creep in to my head after a loss but I'm not one for retiring after a loss, if I'm going out, I'm gonna tell you its my last match in advance, so I don't look like a wuss when it comes to things like that, but this one rocked me a bit more then I expected it too. Thing is when you start doubting, when you start thinking you're not good enough, you have that choice to make. You have the choice to say to hell with it and tell people you're on your way out, or you pull yourself off ya jacksy, stand up and go again. You can accept that you're not who you once were and ya role in the place has changed and you get on with it and try and give back to wrestling in another way, or you refuse to accept it and bounce back stronger."

He stops for a second.

"I'm choosing to bounce back stronger and this match with you Jaycee, is the perfect chance for that to happen." Ben says with a smile.

He leans back in the chair just giving the audience a chance to let that sink in.

"I'm coming up against one of the freshest, young top talents in SCW." Ben says honestly. "A guy who's future is seriously bright in SCW if he stays on the right path, so this is the perfect chance to show I can still hang with the up and comers. This is a great chance to show I still have it, that I'm not the old bloke in the corner of the boozer with stories that the young uns don't believe because they see you as nothing but a boozed up old fella with more tall tales then real stories. This is a chance to show that I can at least keep up with the quality that Jet City keep putting out. Yeah, I fell and landed in the mud in my last outing against someone from Jet City. Yes, I didn't do what I really wanted to do and walk out with the gold, but this is not me going full pelt vendetta against Jet City. This is me wanting to show you all that there's life in this old dog yet."

Bear looks up at Ben, and Ben stares back at him.

"Not you." Ben says with another ruffle of Bear's head.

Ben turns back to the camera.

"Let's just take a moment to be honest." Ben says with a serious look. "I don't need to be doing this. I am good for life with cash, I really don't have to work again. I could just blend in with the crowd and just be Ben Jordan, the geezer in the pub, the bloke who goes to the football, that pops up to see his old mate Simon Jones at the weekend. I could be that guy if I really wanted to. I don't need to get up and hit the gym as much as I do, I don't need to get dragged up at stupid O clock in the morning when I train with Fenris, just to go for a run, I don't need to stick to a diet, I could scoff my mush with kebabs and end up with chilli sauce all over my face, I don't need to leave the country or go on tours everywhere, I could pop down to a weekend in Clacton rather then flying to America. This is stuff I don't need to be doing just to wrestle. It's also the stuff I do because I want to wrestle, because I still want to be that guy I was in the past."

Ben rubs his hand down his chin.

"I do it for the love of what I do and I need to prove that I can do it with the top talents." He says "And Jaycee is that, he's the perfect opponent. He's a guy that's gonna push me to my limits and give me the answers I need, he's gonna force me to be better then I was in my last outing. It's a perfect storm when you think about it. Another guy with the training ethic of Jet City, a man who can wrestle all day, a man who has a point to prove and a very determined to bounce back Ben Jordan who has the heart of a lion and no urge to lay down."

Ben rests his finger on his chin.

"And if I can beat this kind of talent, and I know I can." He says with half a smile. "Then there's not a lot to stop me from creeping my way back up those rankings a bit and putting myself in mind for other things. I know you think me winning could derail this young guys career but you couldn't be further from the truth. This is what the theme of this whole thing has been about today, it's been about bouncing back. Yes, I tied everything in and hoped you'd understand."

Ben winks

"Showing you the house thing, talking about my low points, this promo of me trying to show you how determined I am. It's all been about one thing." He says raising a finger. "Bouncing back."

Ben smiles down the camera.

"This week I bounce back." Ben starts. "And a loss for Jaycee will put him on the path to do the exact same thing and bounce back. It will teach him more lessons in losing to me then most opponents. Losing to me, a former done it all champion and I guess you can say crafty old git with experience will teach him about how to approach things and I have no doubt he will bounce back with a huge jump and become the person I truly expect him to become in the future. This is good for us both, because I will be winning, I get myself back on track and you Jaycee, you learn a big time lesson."

Ben looks at his watch.

"I better wrap it up, there's been a memo around about shorter promos and such and only one guy moaned about it, but still, better just tie this one up." Ben says with a cheeky smile. "So Jaycee, I will catch ya on Sunday, looking forward to it mate, should be a proper good un!"

Ben fires a quick thumbs up.

"And to you lovely lot out there." Ben says staring directly down the camera. "Hope you enjoyed this whole thing, appreciate you all. Tune in on Sunday and join us all."

Ben winks down the camera.

"Laters people!" he says with a smile.

And with that, the camera fades to black.

10
The camera fades in to Ben Jordan sitting in a brown leather chair with a sombrero on his head and wearing a bright green shirt. He smiles down the camera.

"Hola amigos..." he starts "And alright people!"

He winks down the camera.

"Hope all you lovely people are doing well on this fine day." he says with a smile. "I'm Ben Jordan and here I am knocking around in the lovely country of Mexico as we look forward to Sunday's Violent Conduct IX and it's gonna be an absolute cracker of a night. The whole card looks proper decent. All over the place, proper wicked card and of course, yours truly is on it."

He fires a thumbs up towards the camera.

"I get a shot at gold and it's gonna be pretty sweet people." He says calmly. "But you know how these things work from time to time. I sit here and give you an introduction and then show ya what I've been up to all week and Mexico has always been a blast, I used to come here all the time with..."

He trails off, looking away from the camera for a few seconds before coming back to make eye contact with it.

"Well, I used to come here all the time." He says recovering quickly. "And I love this place but it's been the first time I've been here in a while without a band of gold on my finger so as you can imagine, a bloke in Mexico with not a lot holding him back, could have a very bonkers time around here and this week has been just that."

He closes his eyes and shakes his head.

"Absolutely bonkers." Ben says again. "I didn't have to do the media stuff as such, like interviews and what not, I am what SCW calls a boots on the ground bloke. That pretty much means I go out there and meet proper people in the cities and towns we're in and talk them in to parting with their hard earned wonga and picking up the last few tickets or signing up to the SCW Network to give us all a butchers and we thank you all for that. That's pretty much my job so that's exactly what I did. I got me bum ready and I went for a wander around the place and met a bunch of lovely people, who I spoke to and got them either buying tickets or the show, proper salesman over here, but good people wasn't the only things I met."

Ben grins widely before continuing.

"I met meself a new four legged friend that can party like an erm..." He delays for just a second. "Like an animal."

Ben scratches the side of his cheek.

"Kinda helps if you are an animal but still." He says with a shrug. "So yeah, Mexico has been a whole lot of fun this week, but I know what part you wanna see. I mean I mentioned it so I'm guessing you very much wanna see what I'm prattling on about when I'm talking about a new four legged friend, right?"

Ben cups his ears with both hands.

"I'm gonna take a punt and guess you said right to that." He said with a little smile. "So lets show you just what happened when the Cockney King met Guti!"

Ben waves his finger around in a circle.

"Roll that stuff please mate." He says with a thumbs up.....



"Ben?" The southern toned voice of Sam Marlowe could be heard saying. "Ben, wake up."

Ben blinks his eyes but quickly shuts them as the sunlight hits his pupils.

"I know you're awake." Sam says impatiently "So open those eyes."

Ben takes a few seconds and attempts to open his eyes again, but quickly shuts them

"Nope." he says bluntly. "Not doing it, too bright, someone turn the sun off please."

A few seconds of silence passes before a splash of water hitting Ben's skin could be heard, causing the Englishman to sit up straight.

"I'm up, I'm up..." He gruffly says. "I'm.... huh?"

He looks around, trying to figure out his surroundings, and focuses his eyes on a swimming pool next to him.

"I'm confused." He says slowly.

He looks down at his body, seeing himself in white shorts and a pale blue buttoned up, short sleeve shirt. Next to him sit a sombrero.

"Result!" He says happily.

He reaches for the Mexican hat and picks it up, putting it on his head and smiles as he blocks out the sun from hitting him in the eyes. He looks around to see himself poolside in his private rented villa that he had been staying in for a few days.

"Boy, you have a lot of questions to answer." Sam says with a chuckle. "But we'll start with an obvious one."

"Is the answer seven?" Ben says sleepily.

"No." Sam quickly replies. "Who is that?"

Her arm points beyond Ben and towards someone or something in the distance. Ben turns his head to see a goat aimlessly wandering around.

"That's erm..." he starts to mumble. "That's erm Goat."

"His name is Goat?" Sam says confused.

"Actually his name is Guti Olmo Alonso Torres." Ben says rubbing the side of his head. "His initials spell goat, so I called him Goat."

Ben puts his finger up.

"Just a sec Ginge." He says to Sam.

Ben looks directly down the camera, away from Sam for a second.

"Now I did something very clever with that name, and most of you won't pick up on it." He says with a cheeky smile. "But if you do, I will buy you a pint and a bag of pork scratchings. Anyway, back to the story."

Ben looks towards Goat and gives him a thumbs up before looking back at Sam.

"And why is Goat the goat here?" Sam asks. "How did you end up with a goat walking around here, hmm?"

Ben looks at Sam with a tilted head and taps himself on the chin.

"So I was at this posh thing last night." Ben starts "And I was being my pleasant charming self and they had this goat as a pet, called Goat. I was standing there and all of a sudden, Goat started choking on a peanut, so I jumped in and saved his life."

Sam rolls her eyes at Ben before raising her eyebrow at him.

"Right..." She says slowly. "Now what really happened?"

"Funny story actually." Ben says with a slight smile.

Que the harp music and a flashback to the night before. Ben, as mentioned, was a boots on the ground wrestler for SCW when it came to drawing in a crowd and being in Mexico was no different. A lively busy street came in to focus and Ben walked down, drawing the glances from people who recognized him. It only took a few seconds before camera phones were pointed in Ben's direction and Ben stopped to pose for a few fans.

"Hola." He says with a grin as camera flashes went off around him. "Hope ya all good!"

He stands still for a few seconds, waiting for the phones to be returned to their pockets before he gave them a final wave before moving on. He heard loud music coming from the other side of the street and quickly looked towards it.

"That place looks alright." He utters to himself. "Seems pretty touristy, might be a few here on holiday that I can rabbit in to coming to the show."

He looks both ways before crossing the narrow road, leading to the other side and moves a little closer to the source of the music, passing through people before finally catching the neon sign of a bar.

"Looks nice." He muttered to himself.

He took a few steps closer but a chalkboard caught his eye, causing him to smile widely as he read the sign out loud.

"Meet GOAT, the shot drinking goat!" He says to himself, unable to stop himself from smiling at the thought. "Only in Mexico!"

The sign was enough to convince him to go in and Ben walked towards the door of the bar, peering inside for a few seconds before walking through the door. He looks around at the busy dance floor area, watching people shake to the music and get their groove on before turning his attention to the bar. He shuffled over to the bar and looks at the barman.

"Where's the goat?" Ben says excitedly. "The shot drinking goat?"

The barman looks at Ben and nods his head to the other end of the bar where he does indeed see a goat.

"You buy the drinks, Guti will drink them." The barman says with a heavy accent.

"Mate, if he can drink them, I'll have a shot competition with him." Ben says with a smile "and I'll buy them all night."

The barman nods and takes a bottle from the back shelve and nods his head for Ben to follow him down the bar. Ben walks down the bar and the barman clicks his fingers towards the goat, who quickly looks at him and moves towards a bar stool and jumps up on it.

"Gotta be a mountain goat." Ben says to himself with a smile.

He watches the barman pour out two shots in two glasses and place one in front of Ben and one in front of the goat. Ben picks up his glass and lifts it to his lips and the goat reaches his head down and somehow grips the glass. With a quick jerking moment, the goat whips his head back and drinks the shot and Ben follows suit. The goat drops the glass back on the bar and Ben grins widely.

"Other then watching Fenris fall off an elephant, that could be the greatest thing I think I've ever seen!" He says holding in a laugh.

Ben looks at the goat and then the barman.

"Keep 'em coming mate." Ben says pointing to the glasses in front of the goat and himself and watches the barman do as he's told.

AN HOUR LATER.

A clearly drunk Ben sits next to the goat at the bar with his arm around Guti the goat. Ben waves his finger.

"I'm telling ya my old mucker." Ben says. "Some things in life ain't worth the hassle, like some women, like I was married and stuff and it didn't work out, you get me goat.... Hahaha, get me goat! But yeah, was it worth it? Yeah, but like the way I see it, I was so angry when it all went Pete Tong and mad, you understand what I am saying?"

Guti the goat nods his head at Ben as if he can understand every word Ben says.... Or maybe it's just the way Ben is recalling it...

"And like being angry wasn't worth the hassle." Ben tells Guti with slurred words. "So one day, I got up, cause I was staying in a motel or something, or maybe I was on a beach, I dunno, I can't remember and I said Benjamin! It's time to stop being angry so you know what I did?"

Guti makes a noise towards Ben.

"That's right!" Ben replies. "I went and found a pizza place and I got a pizza and wasn't angry, no pineapple on it though. Hey! Do goats like pineapple on pizza."

Guti looks at Ben with what can be considered an angry look on his face and shakes his head.

"But you guys eat tin cans, right?" Ben asks.

Guti this time nods his head up and down.

"What about tin cans on pizza?" Ben asks tapping his chin in thought.

Guti the goat this time shakes his head at Ben and makes another noise towards him.

"You're probably right." Ben says with a slow nod. "Tin and cheese probably don't mix too well."

Ben looks at the barman.

"More shots for me and my buddy here!" Ben says as he points to the goat.

The barman rolls his eyes but pours anyway.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH MACARENA!" Ben's voice can be heard shouting as the screen switches.

The middle of the dance floor can be seen and Ben is smack dab in the middle of it, with a sombrero on his head, drunkenly dancing around and Guti the goat stumbles around him in a circle.

"I am more of a dance machine then those dance machine thingys, what are the called again?" Ben questions himself. "Oh yeah! Dance machines!"

Ben continues to dance as he shouts down at the goat shaking his head.

"You know what we need me old goat friend?" Ben asks as he looks down. "We need shots, shots, shot, oh yeah, shots, shots, shots, and chocolate!"

Guti nods in agreement...

ANOTHER THIRTY MINUTES PASS.

Ben and Guti stumble out of the bar, both their faces covered in chocolate and start to wander down the street.

"Where did you get that chocolate from?" Ben asks. "Cause you the man goat! Or goat man.... New superhero name. Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh GOATMAN!"

Guti nods in agreement and the two wobble down the road.

"Hey, are you any good at playing cards?" Ben asks him. "Cause I got cards!"

TWENTY MINUTES LATER.

Ben and Guti sit at opposite sides of a table, Ben holding five cards in his hand and looking at the goat across the table from him with an intense look on his face with a pile of money between the two.

"I got you this time Goaty McGoaty!" Ben says as he adds more money to the pot.

Ben flips the cards over to show four kings.

"Have that goaty!" Ben says proudly as he reaches for the money but Guti hits the table and flips over his cards, showing four aces. Ben looks down in disbelief.

"Oh bloody hell!" Ben says with disappoint in his voice. "I can't believe you beat me again!"

Back to the present, Sam looks at Ben in disbelief.

"So you met a shot drinking goat, got wasted, danced with him, and lost money playing cards?" Sam says shaking her head.

"And got chocolate..." Ben adds.

"And got chocolate" Sam quickly repeats. "Then fell asleep here?"

"Well, that's the long and the short of it yes." Ben tells her. "Bigger mystery is who gave me this sombrero."

Sam slowly shakes her head at Ben.

"If it was any other person, I wouldn't believe a single word of it." Sam says seriously. "I would think it's some chubby guy sitting in bed writing a story about a character he made up."

Ben puts his finger up to Sam, turns and looks directly in to the camera and winks. He looks back to Sam.

"Forth wall breaking again, huh?" She says with a smile.

"It has to be done sometimes." Ben replies with a wink. "On with the not so forth wall stuff."

"Because it's you, I believe it happened." She tells him.

"I've had worse nights." Ben replies.

"Anyway." Sam says to Ben. "Time to shake yourself out of your stupor, so we can go and do something today."

Ben stands up slowly and shakes his head at Sam.

"I need to sober up a bit first." Ben tells her.

A wicked look appears on her face.

"I got a cure to sober people up quickly." She tells him. "I'm been reading about it on the internet, I don't know if it works, but you can try it if you want."

"Sounds like a plan..." Ben says to her with a smile.

Sam looks directly in to the camera and winks before nudging an unsuspecting Ben right in to the pool. Ben lands hard causing a huge splash.

"Damn it Ginge!" Ben yells out as he wipes his hair out of his eyes.

"Well, did it work?" Sam asks him with a cheeky smile.

Ben opens his mouth to yell, but he shrugs his shoulder and nods.

"I think it did." He says surprised. "Cheers Ginge."

"Anytime!" Sam says with a laugh.

The camera goes back to Ben in the pool.

"Alright. Let's send this back to Ben sitting in a chair, probably wearing that sombrero, ready to cut a promo." He says. "Back to you Ben!"



The camera fades back in to Ben sitting in the chair, sombrero still on his head as he smiles down the camera.

"Thanks Ben!" He says with a wide smile. "Love Mexico, but obviously, there's a reason that's brought me south of the border down Mexico way and that's obviously that big old mixed tag team championship match."

Ben smiles down the camera.

"Not gonna lie to you people, I've been looking proper forward to this one for a while." He said seriously. "It's a big match against two top people and a chance for me to win something I've never won before. I've won every other title, I've been at the top of the mountain and I've had some low times, but you get to a point in life where you want to be remembered and I want to be remembered as the bloke who has won it all, has done it all. I mean we only get once shot at life and lately, I've seen that anything can end out of nowhere. You might not know it but you could be smiling at people for the last time, so we need to sit here and leave your mark on this world, leave something behind that you're gonna be remembered for."

He looks thoughtfully down the camera.

"And I could be remembered for a few things." He says humbly. "The charity work, the whole Saint Ben thing but when it comes to this business that we choose to be in, it's about making a professional memory that will last a life time and for me, I want it to be the guy who held every championship in SCW and I only have one to go, those mixed tag team championships."

Ben waits for a few seconds before continuing.

"It's actually gonna be one of my toughest challenges yet." He says with a tone of honesty in his voice. "I know you can sit there and say that me and Sammi are more experienced, more ready to knock a couple of young 'uns off their perch but actually, you might be a little surprised by how tough this challenge is. I'm not gonna sit here and look down on anyone at all here because we were all young once in this business and a lot that went on to be at the top, shocked a lot of people early in their careers and these two we're up against at Violent Conduct IX has everything a person needs to succeed as a wrestler, and I do mean everything at all. I'd put a lot of cash on the fact that these two are World champions waiting to happen, I would put my house on it, if I actually owned one these days, that those two would go on and be leading solo divisions at some point because they do have it all, so I wouldn't write them off just yet."

Ben runs his hand across the brim of his sombrero.

"Eiley is made for the top level and I would bank on the fact she's gonna get there someday." He says with a slow, intentional nod. "She's made for it but if she's learned anything from her world class trainers, they would have told her the importance of keeping a lower level belt first, using that to get used to those solo situations and to do it along side a partner right now, well I know the woman is gonna scratch and claw her way to trying to keep those titles as long as she possibly can. Thing is though, she's up against one hell of an opponent in Sammi and Sammi's been in the ring with her, she knows what's she needs to do to get hold of that win and Eiley, she's gonna do it."

Ben pauses for a second before continuing.

"I know I didn't have to talk about Eiley but I wanted to give a little credit where it's due." Ben says with another slight nod. "I need to talk about Oliver Zahn."

Ben rubs his chin before continuing.

"I've been in the ring with Oliver and the geezer is no joke." Ben says in complimentary fashion. "Absolutely no joke. Fella is proper talented and like Eiley, will find his way to the top of Sin City Wrestling at some point. He's going places and I feel bad that I need to end that championship run of his so soon because he's killing it, but I have a slight issue here. Like I said, I want to be a champion again to have me remembered by people when they come to thinking about pro wrestling, but it goes a little bit beyond that. Lately, a lot has happened to me, more then a few kicks in the gooleys, but the one thing that has stuck with me is the cravings to hold gold again. It's actually been haunting me for a long time. I haven't held a championship in forever, it feels like an eternity and it caused me to have my doubts about me and my future. I got to thinking is Ben Jordan good enough, is Ben Jordan ready to retire now? Should I have just retired a couple of years back when I was being told that I was too old, that I should be finished and I won't lie, it proper got to me."

Ben's faces turns to one of silent reflection for a few moments.

"Was I over the hill." He asked rhetorically. "But that craving for gold, it was there and it dragged me through those self doubts. Now I've never been one of those people who showed up, asking for a title shot, losing, then asking for a different title shot, it's never been me at all, I had to earn it, earn something. Then I lost my way a bit, a divorce happened, houses got sold, life came at me hard and I still had those urges. Then I got a chance to earn something and yeah, fluffed that one right up by not even getting a chance to wrestle for those belts in an epic match. I never got the chance because I messed up but I got redemption, I got a chance against none other then The Barnharts to get in there and Sammi and me, we earned that win. All though those darker times, the urge never fades, it was like losing the qualifier and beating The Barnharts was destiny to make this come back stronger then it was before, and you know what else is destiny? Those championships leaving with me and Sammi."

He points to his waist.

"Have you ever had that moment where you can feel something getting closer and closer? Like it's just around the corner and it's about to happen real soon?" Ben asks. "Because I get that feeling every single time I think about this match. I get that feeling every time I sit and think about those championship belts. I get that feeling right now just talking about it and it gets me excited because I know that feeling is gonna come true. I know its right around the corner and that on Sunday night, those championships are going to have new owners."

He points to himself.

"This is not a slight on you Oliver." Ben confirms. "Because I wasn't messing around when I said that you will be top champions at some point. I will not be one of those blokes who sit here and tell you that you're not good enough, I'm not even gonna go with what most would and say that experience is gonna win through and all those other tired lines. I genuinely learned a lot about you in our match and I know there's something special about you, so I'm not knocking you or your skills in any way, but this match goes higher then wrestling to me. I need this Oliver, I need to get a bit of luck because this year so far has been absolutely rubbish for me from a personal stand point and I ain't having 2023 as the worst year of my life and I can change that in an instant by getting hold of championship gold and that's exactly what I need to do. You should see this as a chance for yourself to move on up in the ranks. I know you can hold these belts and a single belt too, but this is your chance to focus on single glory, concentrate on making it on your own."

Ben pauses for a second.

"And I believe that you could actually make it on your own." Ben says honestly. "I really think you could so don't see losing those belts on Sunday as a knocking you on your aris thing, think of it as a little bump that knocks ya closer to where you should be."

Ben waves his finger.

"Think of it as everyone getting what they want." Ben says thoughtfully. "Me and Sammi capture the belts, you and Eiley get to step up and go against top single people and everyone's a winner. It's gonna happen one way or the other Oliver, so you might as well make lemonade out of these lemons. I just don't want you disheartened by it all mate because you have a lot of wrestling still in ya and you've been decent champions but everything in live moves on as I constantly keep being reminded and this is all our chances to move on. You were the right team to win those belts mate but now it's time for you to move on because this is my time, this is Sammi's time, this is the start of where me and Sammi start record breaking runs with the belts. This is what is gonna put me in people's minds come the end of my career. I've held the others for a long time, won a ton of awards but yeah, I want this one too just because I want that cherry on the top of my career, and who doesn't like cherries?"

He smiles.

"I don't know how much longer this career of mine is gonna last." Ben says honestly. "I might wake up one day and say sod it, I got enough to live on for the rest of my life. I could buy a house where ever I want and be Ben Jordan, the guy who is just a normal guy and not be Ben Jordan The Cockney King, the wrestler, but I'm not gonna wake up with that thought in my nut until I take those titles from ya. The urge for the gold is too strong for me right now and I can't let down the people who have supported me for years, I can't let down my family and I can't let down my friends and most importantly, I can't let myself down."

A sullen look passes across Ben's face.

"And believe me mate, I've let myself down so much lately, I'm sick of it." He admits. "I've let myself down over and over and over again because something comes up and I lose focus, but not anymore. This is where I stop letting myself down, Violent Conduct is where I stop letting myself down and start picking myself up and there's no better way to do that then becoming the top dog of a division once again and that is something I will be doing."

He nods and smiles.

"It's something I have wanted for a long time, but the motivation to bounce back has been a tough one, but that's all gone people, the toughness has gone and the motivation is back!" He says confidently. "I can't see any other outcome for Sunday because this cockney bloke has got his fire back and he is gonna walk out with his bestie and be a champion once more. There's nothing that's gonna stop me from doing just that, because the stars are lining up, the confidence is flowing and there's not a person on that show more motivated then I am to go out there, wrestle my heart out and win, then I am."

He leans back in the chair and looks down the camera.

"It's gonna be a bonkers match, don't get me wrong, but this is something I need to win." Ben says firmly. "And Eiley, Oliver, me and Sammi are coming in to do just that. I can't wait to have a butchers at how your careers go on from here, but on Sunday, you'll be looking at brand spanking new Mixed Tag Team champions!"

Ben tilts the sombrero back a little.

"Right you lovely lot." Ben starts. "I have taken up enough of your time, so I will knock this malarkey on the head now. Seriously, tune in for this show, defo watch with match cause it's gonna be a proper Barney, and I'll see you all on Sunday at Violent Conduct."

Ben winks and smiles down the camera.

"Laters people." He says as his usual final words.

The camera fades to black.

11
Climax Control Archives / Walk this way....
« on: July 28, 2023, 12:13:17 PM »
The camera fades in to Ben Jordan standing with his phone to his ear. He can be seen somewhere outside, the sun shining down on him and the noise of a background crowd can be heard talking around him.

"I'm telling ya ginge." He said down the phone with a laugh. "I'm almost there. I said I would get to the half way point before you did and of course I mean it cause I don't lie."

Ben paused for a second as he listened to the reply presumably from Sam Marlowe.

"Oh that wasn't a lie." Ben said with a smile. "that was a half truth."

He listened again to what Sam had to say.

"Well the other half was...." he stopped and tapped his chin. "Well, it doesn't matter, it was a long time ago. you just stop your rabbiting or I'm gonna be at the half way point long before you."

He waited for Sam's reply.

"Uh uh." He responded. "See you soon ginge!"

Ben pressed a button on the phone and slid it back in to his pocket as he looked at the camera.

"Alright people." He said with a smile. "Ben Jordan here and today, we're on The Great Wall of China!"

The camera zoomed out to show The Great Wall of China before zooming back in on Ben as he smiled and looked around the tourists moving around him.

"So here I am, on The Great Wall itself, and you're probably wondering what that call was about." He said "Well, that was Sammi, and we had a bet, if I started at one end and she started at the other, I'd get to the halfway point before she did, so that is exactly what we're gonna do and as it's a lovely day here, I thought we could walk and talk being as I ain't too far away from the halfway point, so we can have a little chat about my upcoming match on Sunday, so let's do that shall we?"

Ben pointed his arm towards the direction he was set to walk and started to move.

"First off, I need to say sorry to all you lovely people in Jordan that expected me and Oliver Zahn to be in the ring last week, but I came down with a weird bug, high temp, all of that and no one wanted to catch my lurgies so I ended up not being able to show up, a big sorry to you too Oliver, but good things come to those who wait and a week later, we are good to go are we not?"

Ben nodded as he kept walking.

"Well I'm now lurgy free and ready to get at it." Ben said with a smile. "And with a little extra motivation to boot too. Motivation in the form of a little balancing out thing, because last week, Sammi took the hit against Eiley and me losing this one would mean psychologically, I would but bollocksed if I lost against you Oliver. Two single wins over us would mean no one would give us a chance, no one would think we could stand up to facing you. We'd have lost before Violent Conduct had even rolled around and I don't like that thought at all."

A group of tourists looked towards Ben, talking amongst themselves and pointing at him. Ben gave them a friendly nod before walking on.

"It's really difficult to talk about you Oliver, because although you've been here a bit, it's hard to really pin you down, work out who you are." Ben admitted. "I mean the obvious comparisons you're getting to Kris Ryans should be a compliment. I've been on the opposite side of the ring to Kris on a couple of occasions and the man is absolutely mint, so big, big compliments there, but I don't look at you that way, no offence or anything but I see you as your own man, I just can't work out what kinda man that is at the moment and that is more then annoying for me, so I gotta take away the personal side and look at the you in the ring side."

Ben stopped for a second to look at the scenery around him.

"You've proved you're one hell of a wrestler already." Ben said seriously. "You've shown more in your short time here then most have in years here and that's a hard thing to derail, it's a tough thing to overcome because you're very unpredictable, you're overly confident but can seem to back it up and you got that gold around your waist to prove it. You beat some great teams for that gold when me and Sammi didn't get through the first qualifier, we had to go and win a secondary one to even get to Violent Conduct, so you're ahead of us there too but this is where great comebacks are made, this is where fires get lit in me and I have to push myself a little harder then I have done in the past. It's no secret at all that I won't be doing this whole wrestling thing too much longer, it's no secret that I only have one goal left here in SCW and that's to hold a championship I have never held before. That would be that championship you hold with you Oliver."

Ben turned and continued to walk.

"They say motivation is hard to find when you've seen it all, done it all, been up the top and not had to worry." He said with a shrug. "They say it's difficult to find a reason to fight on when you're a bit aimless, but I'm not aimless right now. I'm looking at your titles and thinking this is my end goal, my push to the end, my end game and that is giving me all the motivation I need and I need to be sending out that message to you loud and clear that I'm coming with every intention to take those belts and it starts with me getting in your dome, by beating you. It starts with me showing you that I am capable of beating you."

Ben smiled as he moved past a small crowd and looked up at disbelief.

"I knew I shouldn't have let her pick what end to start at." Ben said with a sad shake of his head. "I bet I got the side with all the hills on purpose."

Ben continued to walk, starting to climb one of the hills in front of him.

"Anyway, back to the rabbit I was having." He said. "Battles are won before people even raise a sword and me winning this one will do just that, it will strike a blow before the big match even starts and that's what I'm aiming for, that is what I'm after. I'm after making you think about what's going on, I'm after making you think there's life in this old dog yet, because there really is life in this old dog. Me winding down is a personal decision, not because I'm past it, because I'm over the hill and heading to the geriatric home, nah mate, it's me picking my time to do things on my terms and my terms include those lovely belts, my terms include putting on a show for these good people who have paid to see us on Sunday, these terms are about going out with a smile so everything I do from now on, it's gonna be with a big grin on my boat."

Ben pointed to his face, showing that boat was Cockney rhyming slang for face.

"And I am gonna have the biggest smile on my boat after our match on Sunday, because my hand will be raised and in terms of how we go in to Violent Conduct, it would be me scoring the equalizer, no longer one nil to you, I will pull it back to one all with everything to play for in a few weeks time. Thing is, this one is lesson for you, I'm gonna learn all I can from this match, but in a few weeks, I won't be coming to play."

Ben made it to the top of the hill, taking a few minutes to catch his breath, but a young boy ran towards him.

"Ben Jordan!" the young boy yelled out.

Ben instantly picked up on the boys American accent as his parents quickly moved towards him.

"I'm so sorry." His mother said as she looked at Ben.

"It's no worries at all love." Ben replied with a cheery accent.

"You're his favorite wrestler." His dad told Ben. "We came on vacation here, and he saw the show advertised and now we're going to be in the crowd."

Ben smiled at the boy and nodded towards his parent.

"That's great mate." Ben replied with a smile on his face. "I dunno if you've seen us live before but we put on a hell of a show."

"We've never seen a show live before." The mother admitted. "But he's excited."

"I made a sign with your name on." The boy said to Ben with a huge smile on his face.

Ben tussled the kids hair and smiled back at him.

"I'm gonna make sure I look out for it." Ben said with a nod.

"Would you mind if we took a picture?" The father asked Ben. "I know some wrestlers have been pissy at that lately."

Ben smiled at the man and nodded his head.

"I've always got time for pictures." Ben said as he crouched down next to the kid.

Both the kids parents pulled out phones and start snapping away at Ben and their son, their son smiling widely at Ben and then the camera. Ben stood up.

"Thank you." The mother said warmly.

"Not a problem." Ben said with an appreciative nod. "Enjoy the show on Sunday."

Ben nodded and turned around to walk on, looking back down the camera.

"This is why I do what I do Oliver." Ben said firmly. "This is why I got the motivation and the good guy persona, because I do it for them. I do it for the fans who put money in our pockets and I hate to disappoint them, so I won't be disappointing them. I will be giving it my all to make sure that I walk out as a winner, I will be doing that for that kid, and for every kid that wants to see me beat you, I'll be doing it for every kid who wants to see me win that championship from you at Violent Conduct."

Ben walked down the hill to the halfway point, only to see Sam Marlowe waiting for him and tapping her watch.

"What the bloody hell?" Ben mutters as he approaches her.

"What took you so long?" She asked with a cheeky smile.

"I erm..." Ben stuttered out. "You had a skateboard or something to get here before I did, right? Or a scooter?"

Sam shook her head.

"You're just getting slower." She told him.

"I am not..." He said with a firm shake of his head. "But just a sec."

Ben turned his head towards the camera.

"I'll see you on Sunday Oliver. I'll be the guy they announce as the winner." Ben said with a wave of his finger. "Have a good un you lovely lot and I'll catch ya soon."

Ben winked down the camera.

"Laters people!" He said before turning back to Sam. "Now seriously, how did you get here before me?"

And with that, the camera faded out.

12
The sun was going down on the Princess Cruise for Summer XXXTreme and many of the wrestlers had done all the had to do show preparation wise much earlier in the day, but Ben Jordan had spent his day speaking to people, signing autographs, proving he is still the king of fan selfies and the like, but it was his turn to be a little more professional. He stood in the area of where the ramp would be set up closer to the end of the week, talking to three members of the production team. He tried to keep his voice lowered as the area was still open to the public.

"So you got the song, right?" He asked a man in his forties, the sound technician.

"Yes." He replied. "Christian and Mark got permission for it, so it's good to go. Great song choice by the way."

Ben smiled at the man and gave him a nod.

"Love it." he agreed. "I think it fits. I mean people might see a different meaning behind it, but when you think about it, it was a lot to do with years ago when we did the Blast From The Past, then went.... well, you know, the song title."

"How do you want the lights to look?" the lighting technician asked.

"Here's what I'm thinking overall." Ben said looking around the group. "So house lights off, should be dark enough by then to force people to get their phones out of their pockets. silhouette screen set up. Music starts, first line hits, light hits the screen to light up Sam, as soon as it gets to the two, two, two part, second light hits me. While this is happening, smoke the bottom bit so it rises going around the screen."

"From the start of the song?" the pyro technician asked.

"Straight away." Ben told him. "Soon as the song kicks in with the word someday, screens drop, light blue and pink lights slow flash through the entrance. We'll do some kinda pose in the ring when we get there, and tip someone the wink to end it. That possible?"

"It should be." The sound guy said confidently. "We'll run this to the main guys, get a sequence and when this place is cut off on Saturday for construction, we'll have a walk though of it."

Ben smiled at the three men.

"Brilliant lads." Ben said with a thumbs up. "But be ready to tweak on the fly. Sammi don't know too much of the idea here. I said I'd hit the bones of it, and she can flesh it out so it's a bit different from the separate entrances these teams have."

"Mr. Jordan." The lighting technician said softly. "Do you know those people?"

Ben turned his head to where the man tried to nod without being detected. Ben turned to see a group of women, four of them to be exact between the ages of eighteen and possibly late forties, looking towards him with adorning eyes. Ben sighed as he turned back to the group.

"I don't know them" He admitted. "I've seen them a lot. In fact come to think about it, everywhere I've been this week, I think I've at least seen one or two of them around."

"Someone's popular." The pryo guy joked.

"Maybe I should have made the divorce a little less public or much after the cruise." Ben said generally. "Probably wasn't my greatest idea to let that get out right before going to sea with very little escape. Tell ya what lads, I'm gonna sneak off for a quick pint, then I gotta meet Sammi, cause it's our yearly date night but I need to get changed first."

Ben pointed to his clothes, that just so happened to be a pair of white shorts, a light green polo shirt, and sandals, or flip flops as he would call them.

"Catch ya in a bit fellas." Ben said before giving them a nod.

He quickly moved away from the group of technicians and in the opposite direction of the women, moving across the deck and trying to blend in to the crowd a little before he reached the pool side bar. It wasn't his first visit and beer was quickly put in front of him. He lifted it, taking a swig before putting it back on the marble topped counter.

"I don't know what you're worried about Ben." he said to himself. "They're fans, that's all. You could have had fun on this whole cruise but you chose not to jump at everything, why?"

"Because you don't know a good thing when you see it." The voice of Fenris said next to him.

Ben turned around to see Fenris sitting at the bar next to him. Ben reaches over and puts his arm around the shoulder of his friend.

"Nothing wrong with a few ring rats." Fenris joked as he picked up his drink. "And for the first time in a long time, you don't have that ring on your finger."

"That's why I'm getting all the looks." Ben said. "There's no Evie here to scare them off so they either wanna show sympathy which I don't need, or they wanna jump my bones."

"Sympathy might be their way of trying to jump your bones." Fenris said with a smile.

Ben picked up his beer, taking another huge gulp and looking back at Fenris.

"Forget jumping bones for a while." Ben said as he looked at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Fenris took a deep breath and looked at Ben.

"When I heard about you and Evie, I had to come and say something to you in person." Fenris said with a serious look on his face.

"Oh?" Ben said curiously.

"Yeah..." He replied, the mood seemingly darkening. "I needed to tell you about fucking time!"

Fenris smiled his, as some would call it, his fish lips smile towards Ben who just snorted.

"Why didn't you tell me you got divorced?" Fenris asked.

Before Ben could respond, the palm of Fenris met the back of Ben's head.

"Why didn't you tell me you got married?" Ben quickly fired back.

As Fenris opened his mouth, Ben swung his palm, connecting with the back of Fenris' head in a return fire motion.

"I see that shoulder is getting better." Ben quipped towards Fenris.

"I see single life is doing wonders for your arm strength." Fenris fired back bluntly.

"You two are just picking up where you left off." Aron's voice could be heard saying as he approached Ben and his brother. "I did overhear a little there. In Kristian's defence, he didn't know he got married either at the time."

Ben tilted his head sideways to look at Fenris, a half smile painted across his face.

"Oh really?" Ben said as he looked at Fenris, deep in the eyes.

"That's a story over another beer." Fenris said as he looked towards the bartender, but Ben raised his hand to stop him.

"I know you're gonna ask what happened to the old Ben, but I need to say no to another beer." Ben said seriously.

"Don't tell me Evie took half of your fun side in the divorce." Fenris joked as he slapped Ben on the back.

"She did and I took half her spy assassin side in the divorce so I can make things look like an accident." He responded with a wink.

Aron couldn't help but smile at the comment at Ben stood up.

"It's date night, the platonic date night with Sam, movie under the stars and I'm dressed like..." Ben said but Fenris cut him off.

"Unsure if you're playing golf on a hot day, or going to the beach?" Fenris said as he pointed up and down Ben.

"Yeah, something like that." Ben said, taking it with good humour. "We always seem to get the dress thing wrong, because we never tell each other of the plan, so I need to go and be a tart about it, think about what her dress style might be and see if we get it right this time."

"You could just ask her." Aron chimed in.

"Where's the sport in that." Ben replied with a wink. "Beer at the nearest opportunity fellas?"

The brothers nodded in unison at Ben as he wandered away, through a door leading towards the cabins. Ben turns a corner only to run in to the four women from earlier, who was watching from afar.

"Evening ladies." Ben said as politely as they could.

It didn't take long before the women started swarming Ben, talking to him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Others gathered around him, mostly female to try and get close to Ben. It seemed like women were coming from all over the place to be around him. Oddly, a ripping of clothes could be heard amongst the melee.

"Bollocks..." Ben's voice could be heard saying amongst the crowd.

Seconds later, Ben was seen crawling through the legs off people getting on the outside of the circle. He stood up with a partially ripped shirt. He glanced over his shoulder as he started to move away, but one eagle eye woman spotted him, pointing to the others and the chase was on. Ben moved quickly through the halls, turning a corner.

"Lose one wedding ring and chaos!" He said to himself.

He quickly ducked in to a room, looking around to see cleaning supplies and leaned against the door, just listening for footsteps to charge past. Ben couldn't help but smile to himself as the footsteps seemed further and further away. He quietly turned his head around the door, looking around to gather his bearings.

"I know that room!" He said as he looked across the hall.

Darting out of the supply room, Ben quickly moved across the hall, banging on the door.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" he yelled out.

He glanced to the right to see one of the women looking back around the corner at the end of the long corridor.

"He's down there!" Her voice could be heard saying in the distance.

He banged on the door in front of him just a little louder.

"Save me, Ginge!"

Well, was Ben saved? or did the women catch up to him and try and see more of the Cockney King? Was this living proof that sun and alcohol are not a great mix or just women have a thing for strapping cockney's who walk around in sandals?

To answer these questions and many, many, more, you might just wanna watch Sam Marlowe's promo....

******

"Alright people!" Ben Jordan's voice can be heard saying.

The camera opens looking at the magnificent ocean in front of the ship, the night stars brightly shining in the sky as the moon softly touches the ripples of the water below as the cruise ship moves at a steady speed. The camera moved to the face of Ben Jordan as he looked over the waves, a tired, but peaceful look on his face.

"I've always been a bloke who has loved the water." He said with a little smile on his face. "Even as a kid, when the mind needed clearly, I'd go have a sit down next to the River Thames and just relax. I moved around a bit as a wrestler, and moved to Cuba, right next to the sea, I moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands, right next to the channel, I lived in Maine, right next to my own glorious lake. I'm at ease around water, it is my happy place so you'd think I'd be like a dog with two todgers sitting here looking at this scene, right?"

He tilted his head towards the camera.

"As happy as I am to be here, I'm no so sure I'm happy with the conditions." Ben informed the listeners. "I should have been here gearing up for a top match, with a title on the line, going for proper gold, instead, it all went a bit wonky when a certain person decided that because they wasn't good enough to make it to a match themselves, for some reason, some unknown reason, I'm guessing because they either wanted to stay relevant, or because they wanted to be in the bosses minds, that they decided to pick us, take away me and Sammi's chance of getting to the final. The worst part of it was I can't even begin to think about why us? I mean there was 6 other teams after you two got sent packing, six teams and the target was us. Was it all because of the history with Sam that you Bea, you couldn't just let the past go?"

Ben shrugged his wide shoulders.

"You can get professional help for that, you know." He said off the cuff. "It might have been pure bitterness there but you dragged me in to it and recently Bea, I'm a man with a million doubts in my head. Do I still have what it takes? Is this worth my time now I'm free, single, got money to burn and could go anywhere in the world and just be Ben Jordan, the guy that goes down the pub, that's not against the late night kebab after ten pints, the bloke who will walk in to the pub and buy a round of beers for everyone he knows. The Ben Jordan that sees the guy counting his change to get a beer, knowing he's going through tough times and being out of his house in a social setting is saving him from over thinking, even though he can't afford to be there and say I got this for you mate. I could be that guy, instead of Ben Jordan, the board member, the wrestler, the famous face. I could just be Ben and losing that match because of your interference Bea, it did nothing but put doubt in my mind on who I want to be."

He sighed deeply as he looked out at the water.

"I want to be that guy that gets those championship belts Bea and it means going through you and Bill." He said seriously. "I listened closely to what you said last week Bea, just listened to everything you had to say and love, let me tell ya this, you're a bit naive just brushing me and Sammi off like that. In your head, this is done, this is finished, this is over and you have already won. Bea love, here's a bubble bursting thing for ya, Sammi's a Hall of Famer, I'm a former World champion, you and Bill, neither hall of fame worthy or World championship worthy. To just chuck us away like an old pizza box is a silly thing to do."

Ben shook his head.

"Was you smashed out of your nut when you decided to see the match up close as you put it?" Ben asked "You had no reason at all to be there. You had no reason to be anywhere near us and there you were and you're claiming you didn't have something in mind? Come on Bea, this is just making it silly season. You knew what you was doing, you got involved in something that you should never have gotten involved in. You were already finished, done, out of the tournament by then, you had no right to be there other then little petty jealousy. You call people bone heads, but you're clearly telling porky's here about absolutely everything. I mean I would love you to present that crock to a judge and see if he or she would believe you, cause I got a little secret to tell you Bea, come closer."

Ben waved his finger at that camera, causing it to zoom in a little.

"Our little shows are tapped Bea, people can go rewatch them on the SCW site, you don't need to spout rubbish about licenses and stuff, it's right there on the site for any subscriber and you get yours for free, people can see that your events as you recall them, are nothing but fantasy." He said softly. "So I think you might need to get off those magic mushrooms and step back in to reality."

The camera moved a little bit out again.

"And here's reality." Ben said with a smile. "You did what you did because you're an absolute plonker, and to further prove that you're a plonker, you sat there last week with a turn of events from your view, that is pure fiction and the world can see that. In fact, they might see that in a promo video leading up to this match to prove that you're just a liar living in a dream world. Reality is now you have to face the consequences for your actions, you have to sit there and look at the faces you've lied to, and cheated out of where they should be. Everyone knew me and Sammi had that match won if it wasn't for you. If I lost to Austin James Mercer, I'd be fine with it, it's Austin James Mercer, there's no shame in that, but your actions there Bea, that's what sticks in my throat, more so about being proactive and reactive."

Ben yawned, in a mockingly way.

"Now let me talk about proactive and reactive." Ben said as he put a pair of glasses on his face. "Glasses are to make me look smart, but I borrowed them off Despy, no lenses."

Ben put his finger through the frame.

"The difference between those words can be boiled down to two things, being a villain or a hero." Ben said with a nod. "Being reactive can make you a hero, Bill's an American, probably got a lot of guns under his bed, to be proactive, he would need to plan something, so say he took one of those guns out with him, he's done that for a reason to take aim at someone. Proactive is planning something, reactive is me getting people to safety because of him having a Yosemite Sam moment. It's a villain move to be proactive, especially in our game. I mean I wouldn't carry a fire hose around with me, just in case there's a fire, cause that is proactive, but I would be a hero and run in to a burning building to save someone if one was on fire, that's reactive."

Ben smiled.

"Look Bea, I can spin stuff to make myself sound better too." Ben said with a wink. "You can't anticipate everything, not even a boy scout can. I could get off this boat and get his by a bus, but I'm not walking around in a suit of armour just in case. I mean I bet you two are the kinda people who walk around carrying a water can just in case you see a dry flower.... Cause that's being proactive, right?"

Ben tilted his head.

"I call it being boring and robotic, and talking about it is boring." Ben said with a nod. "I'm gonna sleep well tonight. In fact talking about Bea makes me wanna go to sleep so I better move on and talk about you Bill before I nod off here."

He exhaled deeply.

"Let's be frank about it, you got your arse handed to you at Climax Control by J2H." Ben said with a hint of a smile. "You're right, J2H is a world class wrestler, he's beaten me before, but he was coming off an injury, he hadn't wrestled in weeks, you've been active, you've got no excuse not to give him a better match but he made you look like a right muppet. Now I ain't saying I'm as good as J2H, cause I'm not, him and Michael Harris are headlining cause they're leagues above everyone else, but you didn't even come close. I could just as easily dismiss you like you two have done to us, I could very easily just sit here and think nothing of ya, but I won't, because it all comes down to your missus putting you in this situation which you can't win."

Ben nodded his head firmly.

"I am a big fan of putting my point across and being realistic with things and first off, I'd like to say that no one really needs to know you listened to voicemail's, checked e mails and all that stuff, cause it's something everyone does daily." Ben said with a nod. "People don't need to know that when the cameras come on, your focus should be me. Your focus should be how to solve the problem that is Ben Jordan, not what blue pills you can get at discount prices."

He chuckled at his own joke.

"That one was off the top of me head, proud of that." He said with a smile. "No one cares about your living situation, not one person, what you're meant to be talking about is opponents, getting people to be interested in your match Bill, bragging about getting people fined as a way not to mess with you don't get me excited, it doesn't get me thinking I should buy a ticket for the show, it doesn't make me think as a fan that this guy is big and tough and gonna beat the other guy, cause he knows how to handle some housing association! He's so hard, he could beat up anyone! Bill, that's pretty silly and I can't believe the years you've been in this business, you can't tell a good promo from a bad one and that I'm sitting here schooling you on this whole thing. You should be a bit embarrassed by these promo skills. Just feels like a waste of time talking about your personal stuff, it adds nothing, doesn't draw any kind of sympathy. How many people switched off because you were talking about your neighbours?"

Ben rubbed the side of his head with his fingers.

"You're meant to be a wrestler Bill!" Ben said a little louder. "A wrestler, not someone who chats about things like that. I love dogs, I have a dog, he's relevant in a lot of the work I do, he gets a lot of attention, he has personality and people love him on the screen but no one needs to hear about your neighbours dogs. No one needs to know you creepily researched your neighbours dogs. It took ten minutes or so for you to even get to talking about wrestling and I'm pretty sure that whole thing you started with is pure fantasy too."

Ben lowered his head and started to shake it.

"Chris Shipman is your half brother? Really?" Ben said confused. "Mate, I used to watch Chris Shipman in SCW, I caught some of his other stuff before SCW and he's your half brother? I seriously need a Maury episode on this because I am not buying that for a second. I know that guy is a loon but I'm thinking you're the one who needs to be put in an asylum."

He paused for a second.

"I'm not gonna go down the age route or say you're the same age as you were in AWA as you are today." Ben said with a smile. "I'm gonna go with something current to prove you're mentally unwell. You said that Sam and I moaned and what not about being cheated, well, you're missus did get us in this situation or it wouldn't be happening, but I haven't done much whining as you claimed, I've kept pretty stoom about it cause I want my actions to speak louder then my words. This makes me believe that the man hears voices in his head. I think he hears things that are not there, detaches from reality more then any man actually should. This should be a real worry to everyone around him."

Ben placed his hands out flat.

"Another reason why Bill isn't mentally right." Ben started. "He sat and claimed he couldn't watch the match so couldn't comment so set Bea up for a long arse drone on about it. I call that a lie, because any fella would ask his missus about it straight away, we didn't need the dog and pony show on the camera, it could have been to eat up time and act like it was interesting when it really wasn't, but I think it's more to do with Bill's memory getting worse with every passing day. I want to present further evidence of this by noting the face that everything is a recap with him, he recapped the rules of a mixed tag match, something the fans have seen pretty much every week for the last few weeks, which makes me think that good old Bill there does the recaps, tells people the rules of things, just so he can remember himself. Everyone knows the rules Bill. Repetition is key to remembering things, so I seriously think that his marbles might be going."

Ben waved him finger around the side of his head.

"Another point, the whole IQ thing." Ben said with a shake of his head. "Pure fiction Bill. I've come across winos in the pubs that come across wiser then you two. I've found more profound moments with people who have less of an IQ, you two do not have IQs that high, because you come across as dull. People with IQ's like that tend to be interesting, they tend to have interesting things to say and you two really don't. You strip everything to bare minimal. Honestly, you have a delusions of grandeur, and that is not gonna help you win this match, it's not gonna help you beat me and Sam."

Ben shook his head firmly.

"You have spent so much time talking about what happened recently, but I'm gonna talk about what's about to happen Bill." Ben said firmly. "There's now a snowballs chance in a microwave that you win this. I've beaten you so many times, there's no chance that doesn't happen again. I'm channelling my disappointment from my last match in to this one and this is where I step it up a gear. Part of me feels I should have put the last one to bed long before I did, so I'm not coming to play around this time Bill, I'm coming to finish this one as quickly as I can and leave no doubt in anyone's mind that we should have been in that four way match. I'm leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that I'm in this to win it as quickly as I can. No matter how proactive you are Bill, every reaction I have is gonna be better then yours. You can't plan for what I got mate, you're certainly not ready for it."

Ben yawned loudly.

"Alright, that one wasn't planned as a Mickey take." Ben said. "So I guess that means I'm good to go and get my head down. Cheers for that absolutely boring piece of work you two put out, cause it means after rewatching it before I started rabbiting, rehashing it as I was talking about and throwing down some counter points, this could be the best nights kip I've had in a long time."

Ben winked.

"Laters people" He said with a thank you signalling nod.

Ben turned and walked off camera as the camera swung up to get another shot at the stars before fading to black.

13
Climax Control Archives / As one door closes...
« on: June 09, 2023, 07:36:47 AM »
A few months ago

Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Golden Ring Casino is alive with patrons trying to win their fortune, and set themselves in to an early retirement, which in turn, only helped it's owners, London Underground become a step closer to retirement. The camera focuses on Jamie Dean, sitting at the bar, looking at his watch and waiting. His wait quickly finishes as Samantha Marlowe approaches him.

"Hi darling!" She says with her soft southern tone.

Jamie spins around, seeing Sam and quickly standing, reaches his arms out wide and wrapping them around the little redhead.

"It's great to see you!" Jamie says with excitement in his voice.

The two hug at the bar for a few seconds to let me moment sink in that it is the first time they've been around each other in a long time.

"I was so excited when I got your messages to meet me." Jamie says with a grin, but Sam's reaction changes.

Sam brushes the hair from her eyes as she steps back from hug, looking at Jamie with a confused look on her face.

"My messages?" She says with a tone of surprise in her voice. "I got a message from you and a plane ticket sent to me."

Jamie looks equally confused as he rests his hand on Samantha's shoulder.

"No..." He says as he trails off. "I got a message from you, and a plane ticket asking to meet you here at this time."

"Looks like you two have been played for mugs." Daniel J Morgan says as he approaches them from behind.

The two turn around with a jump, but the owner of the Casino smiles at them, raising both his hands.

"It seems that Mr. Bear wanted you both here at the same time." Daniel informs them.

"Mr. Bear, huh?" Jamie says with a grin. "I know a few bears I've called mister before...."

"And now I'm gonna have nightmares." Daniel comments. "But if you'll follow me, Mr. Bear is waiting for you in a private gambling room."

Daniel points across the casino and beckons the two to follow him before turning on his heels and walking away. Cautiously, Sam and Jamie follow Daniel across the crowded floor to a room to the side and lifts a key card, holding it to a reader. A bleep and a lock opening follows and Daniel opens the door, leading them in to a room with a blackjack table set up and a serve yourself bar.

"I'll leave you to it." Daniel says as he slips past them and out of the room.

The two's eyes are instantly drawn to a chair with it's back towards them, not showing who is in the seat.

"Mr.... Ahem, Bear?" Jamie says slowly.

A few seconds pass and the chair spins around to show.... Bear! Ben Jordan's lovable Akita dog just sitting in the chair looking at them. Jamie and Sam look at each other.

"Bear...?" Sam says slowly "You sent us those messages?"

"Don't be silly ginge." Ben Jordan's voice can be heard saying. "He's just a dog, he's got no fingers."

Jamie and Sam's head turn towards the bar and Ben stands behind it looking at them with a wide smile on his face.

"I mean it would be pretty impressive if he could, but using a phone to send a message is a bit out of his range, but his poker game is getting better by the day."

Ben walks from behind the bar, prompting Sam and Jamie to rush towards him, wrapping their arms around him in a three way hug.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jamie says loudly. "No calls, no messages, disappeared from Social Media, so where the hell have you been?"

"What he said but twice over" Sam adds. "And how did you do the message thing?"

"Well if you two will let me go, I'll let you know." Ben says with a grin. "Take a seat or something."

The two release their grip on Ben and move towards the table, sitting down and Ben moves to the head of the table.

"Well, to answer the message thing." Ben starts. "Live with a spy for all those years, you tend to pick up a trick or two, wasn't difficult getting you both here at the same time."

"You could have just called." Jamie says bluntly.

"Yeah, but where's the fun and drama in that?" Ben says with a cheeky smile. "I mean what is life without a little mystery?"

Ben walks around the table and sits at the other end, next to Bear.

"Where have I been is a difficult one to answer." He says tapping his chin. "Things haven't been good, or bad, but they have been slightly on the one extreme to the other side of thing. Mentally, I wasn't in the best place and I had to get to the bottom of them and the truth was, I wasn't happy where I was. My passion had gone with pretty much everything, things I used to love, I stopped caring about, things I liked doing, didn't have it in me to do anymore."

"We could have helped." Sam says with a touch of concern in her voice.

"I was beyond help." Ben says as he looks at her. "For years I've been able to do what I want, when I wanted and even with all the money in the world to the point I could do anything I wanted, I wasn't happy. I went travelling again to give myself that spark back in to life, saw some great things. I gave money away, I went back to London just to smell the smoke and sit on my fave park bench. I watched some football, tried to get back to the old me."

"So for months, you were just reliving your youth." Jamie comments.

"Well, not only that." Ben says with a shrug. "I was also going through a divorce...."

Stunned silence filled the room as Jamie and Sam look at each other with open mouths, stuttering for words as they look back towards the calm Ben.

"Way to bury the lead..." Jamie finally managed to get past his lips.

"Look, if you never saw that coming, then you need a trip to Specsavers mate." Ben says with a smile.

"What happened?" Sam mustered up the courage to ask.

Ben rubbed his chin as he looked at Sam.

"We were closer then close, she felt like my best friend, like the person I could rely on for everything I wanted in life." Ben says with a sigh. "But we became two different people in two different places in life. I guess I was slowing down while she was speeding up. She was making something of herself making more money, while I was happy being that guy who knew I had enough money for life and didn't have to worry about working for anything anymore."

"Do you still talk?" Sam asked.

"Not really." Ben says. "She's off doing her thing taking over the world, and me and Bear here, we're just a couple of bums knocking around the world."

"So everything you own together?" Jamie questions.

"All gone." Ben tells them. "House in Maine, house in Jersey in the Channel Islands, both gone. I guess she kept the New York one, that was always hers. Businesses sold directly to her, I got a lot of cash out of it, more so then I started with."

"Are you ok?" Sam asks Ben, the concern in her eyes shining through.

"I'm sad about it." Ben says with a false smile. "It's one of those things where ya meet someone and thought they'll always be there. Who would have thought a bloke from the East End and a girl from Australia would have clicked the way we did and yeah, it was sad when she went, and I know she'll surface again and I hope she's happy, really do, but it was time for us to move on. I mean who knows what the future holds, but I am ok in general."

Sympathy fills the room from both Jamie and Sam as they look across.

"Wait..." Jamie says picking up on something. "You sold your houses?"

"I did." Ben says with a smile. "Made a pretty penny off them too."

"So where have you been living?" He asks

Ben ruffles the fur on Bear's head and looks across at Jamie.

"Where ever we want." Ben says with a grin. "We've got up in the morning, and said to ourselves what do we want to see? Where do we want to go? What place does the best whatever and off we go. Hell, me and the fella here would be watching restaurant shows and think something looks good and we'll pack up and fly across the country."

"Just like that?" Sam says with a raised eyebrow.

"Just like that." Ben repeated. "I don't actually own anything other then the plane, the expensive cars, sold them, my possessions that wasn't sentimental, gone. I mean I got some stuff that means something to me being looked after by a family member in London, but that stuff barely fills a room. The expensive clothes, gave them to a charity shop, gave most things to charity shops. Even sent a few things this way."

"Wait a second..." Jamie says slowly. "That huge donation of stuff to make a games room at Oasis..."

"Yep, sent direct from the Channel Islands." Ben says with a grin, "You're welcome."

Jamie stares at Ben with a look of surprise on his face.

"My point is, I have a suitcase, a bag I can throw over my shoulder and that's it." Ben tells them. "No matter where I go in the world, that's all I need."

"You can't really do that forever Ben." Jamie tells him. "Everyone needs a place to call home."

"Maybe your right JD." Ben tells him "but this world mate, it's a stunner. there's places around that can blow your mind, seriously. For me to pick a place to call home proper, I need to make sure it feels right and I'm open to anywhere in the world."

"Anywhere in the world?" Jamie questions.

"Well, not Australia cause everything tries to kill ya there, or New York, ex wife might try to kill me there." Ben says with a chuckle. "Don't fancy a mud hut somewhere. Maybe I'll buy a private island or something."

"You could buy a ranch in Texas?" Sam adds. "There's some great one's there, Bear can run for miles."

"Only time this guy runs is to the kitchen when there's some bacon on the go." Ben says with a smile.

He looks at Bear who seems to tilt his head with an agreeing nod.

"See, he agrees with me." Ben says with a smile. "But I might need a place in Vegas for a bit, or nearby."

"Oh?" Sam says with a questioning tone.

"Well rumour has it that a certain little wrestling company is bringing back a couple of tag titles that I haven't won yet." He says with a smile. "And I love being a completionist with certain things so I wouldn't mind getting my hands on those things and I have the perfect partner in mind."

"I don't think SCW will let me do that, even if I did lie and say I identify as a woman." Jamie says with a wink towards Ben.

"Not you, ya plum." Ben says holding back a laugh. "I was talking about ginge there."

Ben points his finger towards Sam who looks surprised by Ben's train of thoughts.

"I don't know..." She says slowly.

"We've teamed before and been bloody good." Ben reminded her "So close to Blast From The Past winners, so I think we stand a real shot at this, not half a shot, not a little shot, but a real shot at winning those championships."

"I'm still not sure." Sam says scratching her head.

"I think we should discuss this over bacon." Ben says with a grin. "Lots of bacon, all the bacon in the world I'm thinking."

Bear didn't need to hear anymore as he jumped off the chair and made his way to the door. Ben stood up and prompted Jamie and Sam to stand up too.

"I think it's a good idea." Jamie says with a nod. "I got the perfect team name too."

"Yeah?" Ben says as he walks past him.

"Well, we were Team BJ." Jamie says with a wicked grin. "You two could be Team BS!"

Ben rubs his hand on his forehead, trying to hide a smile.

"Never change JD..." He says as he heads towards the door.

Well, discussions were had, bacon was eaten, fans took selfies.... With Bear, and all was agreed, Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe were well and truly in!



Earlier today.

A park in Phoenix, Arizona is alive with people enjoying the now summer sun, beating down on the bright green grass. A fountain can be seen in the fore shot, the sun shining down on the rippling waves as drops of water hit the pool below. The camera spins around to see Ben Jordan sitting on a bench, his bacon loving, loveable pet, Bear sitting at his side. The camera moves closer to Ben who clicks his fingers, causing the scene to freeze, the gentle breeze through the grass stops, the camera shows the fountain to be frozen in time and not a muscle is moved from anyone walking past. The camera switches back to Ben who smiles down the camera.

"Alright people." Ben says with a smile.

He lets out a long sharp breath.

"Been a while since I've had to say that and have a little rabbit with you all about a match, been a bloody long time since I've had a rabbit." He says with a serious look on his face. "I seriously hope I'm not too rusty at this thing, I mean a lot of things have changed since we last spoke people, a lot in my personal life has changed but what hasn't changed is my love for you lot, so cheers for all the good messages sent and all of that."

Ben holds his hands together in the shape of a heart.

"It's literally bonkers on how many times I've nearly stepped back in the ring, but you lot know my history, you lot know that I am human enough to get depressed and suffer from stress and anxiety." He admits. "You lot know just how it goes, and I nearly ended up in the Blast From The Past tournament, straight up people, I nearly did that but I wasn't all there yet, I wasn't in my own head yet, and thankfully, SCW got some very late sign ups to get that thing going without me, which was probably for the absolute best, I didn't wanna make myself look like a plonker, but I'm sure you're now all wandering what state of mind am I finding myself in these days."

Ben taps his chin and lowers his eyebrow, waiting just for a few seconds for his thoughts to formulate.

"I feel pretty damn spiffy at the moment." He says with a smile on his face. "As one chapter ends, another one starts and when I heard about those Mixed Tag Team titles coming back, I said to myself Ben, you've done a lot in wrestling, you've done a lot in this world, but you've never held those Mixed Tag Team championships. You've won everything else but those Mixed Tag belts, you've never had the chance to hold them. You should have had a crack at it a long time ago but you never got the chance to be that guy, but now you do. You've won everything else, so why not go and win these things?"

He tilts his head as he looks down the camera.

"Why not indeed." He says with a slight grin. "I won't lie, I ain't always been the most reliable guy about over the last couple of years, I've come back and hit the wall pretty quickly cause my head wasn't screwed on and I'm sure some of you people might be thinking this is just another one of those moments where I come back, not a lot happens, I bugger off again. I'm sure people see my name on the card and thought of not this guy again. A few months back, you might have been right and I might have buggered off again, but not this time. Not a chance, cause there's a new lease of life in me at this point, there's something in me that I haven't felt in a long time, the passion is there, the passion is back and those Mixed Tag Titles are going to make me drive faster, drive further, push harder and what a way to prove to the world that I am capable of doing it, then going against two world class opponents."

Ben stopped for a second to catch his breath before continuing.

"Tempest is seriously phenomenal." Ben says seriously. "Honest to God, this woman should be going after the top people in the division because she really is that bloody good. Probably the most underrated star on the roster. Thing I like about Tempest is she knows her role in this place and she gets on with it. Go against whoever wants to go, accept fights with smaller people because they want to test themselves against someone bigger and plays the part lovely. I can honestly respect that and that could get people to believe these championships are no less then what you deserve again. I know you've tasted that gold before and I know that you want to taste it again. You know what it's like to be that champion and I know what it's like to want to regain what you lost, I've been there, so I almost feel bad for being the guy that is gonna stop you from qualifying for that bug supercard match, but the urge in me to show the world I still got it is too strong. It will be an honour to share the ring with ya Tempest, but I gotta do what I gotta do."

Ben looks down at Bear, who turns his head to look back at Ben. Ben strokes him on the head before looking back down the camera.

"And the person in the ring going up against me is an absolute SCW legend. Well, lets be honest, he's a legend everywhere he goes..." He starts "Austin James Mercer."

Ben pauses to let it sink in a little.

"This ain't gonna be the first time I've shared a ring with Austin and I hope it's not my last." He says genuinely. "Because every time I'm in the ring with that man, it is absolutely magic. I mean I pride myself on being good, I pride myself on giving it all and I do, but when I'm in the ring with Austin, things flow proper, things are something else. It seriously is what was put on the card for me, it's a dream match and if I did it fifty times, it would still be a dream match every single time because of the respect I have for that fella. I know I sound like I'm fangirling but I am telling ya straight, there's not a wrestler on the planet who has worked with him that would say anything differently."

Ben waves his finger.

"But it doesn't mean I respect him too much and that's gonna cost me." Ben says with a slight shake of his head. "It doesn't mean that I'm getting in that ring and becoming all star struck and all that stuff at all. I mean of course it's a pleasure to share the ring with him but it will be more of a pleasure to beat him and move on and join the other teams in the big match. Beating someone like Austin James Mercer isn't just bragging rights, it's momentum, it's like a slingshot to the stars, it's a high that you live on, that motivates you to feel invincible, that makes you feel like you're walking amongst angels, it's what you need to do if you want to give confidence. I know many would baulk at taking on someone like Austin, might even have a little accident in your undies, but I'd rather push myself against Austin James Mercer then say Bill Barnhart, because the win means more. No disrespect to Bill but the absolute buzz of winning differs between opponent, the thrill of winning changes depending on who you're up against and Austin is an absolute shark. You wanna get the wins over the sharks. I mean imagine it, you're out there fishing, you feel a bit of a tug, do you wanna land that shark or that minnow?"

He tilts his head as if he's waiting for an answer.

"You're going for Jaws mate, all day long." Ben says with a wink. "And that's who Austin is, he is the shark in this and that's what you aim for and the confidence I'm gonna get in myself after defeating a man like Austin is gonna be unreal, it's gonna be absolutely madness. Add that thrill to my experience, drive and the fact that I got a Hall of Famer as a partner and there's gotta be teams sitting there wondering how to stop us, because I'm pretty sure whoever wins this match on Sunday with us and Tempest and Austin, are going to go through favourites to win the whole thing, surrounded by the hype, the buzz, the feeling that they can't be stopped and believe me people, I want that to be me and me ginge, I want it to be us going through and I am gonna stop at nothing not to let the ginge down, not to let myself down, and not to let the fans down. I've done that once too often and it's time for me to not let them down, it's time for me to show the that this return is not gonna be the ultimate let down like so many others have been."

A look of determination crosses his face.

"The Ben Jordan over the last year, eighteen months has been a let down to you all and a let down to me personally." He admits. "It's been hellish at times and I've let a lot of people down. I disappeared from friends, I disappeared from family, I disappeared from fans, but that stops now. I will no longer be a let down, I will no longer put myself through that, I will no longer let anyone down. That is why it starts on Sunday where I start making up to everyone for who I became, I will show you that you are never wrong to back me. The stage is set perfectly for this big comeback, not a random match with random people who you've never heard of, a match with consequence, against two respectful opponents, a match I get to team with one of my closest friends, a match that has importance. What better way to show you all that Ben Jordan is back in a big way and he is not in the mood to disappoint one single person. The Cockney King is back to eventually rule over the mixed tag team division. The Cockney King is back to show you all that things are going back to normal around here, where you're not getting a version of the best Ben Jordan there can be, you're getting the absolute best of who Ben Jordan was, and who Ben Jordan is right now and believe me good people sitting and watching this, that is the best Ben Jordan you've ever seen. World champ Ben was pretty damn decent but trust me when I say this is gonna be a whole new level of Ben."

Ben rests his hand on Bear's head and gives it a slight tussle.

"The past is the past." Ben says with a smile. "And I wouldn't change it, but the future, it's gonna be bright as the sun. Everything starts with one little step and this is my little step towards being a champion again and frankly, I can't wait."

He grins widely.

"Well, I think you've heard me prattle on for a bit now, so it's time for me to disappear..." Ben says with a firm nod.

"Hey prat." Sam Marlowe's voice can be heard saying as she walks on to the shot, taking a seat next to Ben.

Ben raises an eyebrow at Sam and points around to all the people frozen in their spot.

"How did you....?" He asks "I mean everyone else stopped but you just have a wander around?"

Sam smiles and shrugs her shoulders at Ben.

"I guess you're just still a bit rusty at this whole thing." She says with a warm smile.

Ben sighs as he looks down the camera, rolling his shoulders back with a shrug.

"Tempest, Austin, I'll see you both Sunday." He says with a quick glance towards Sam.

Ben winks as he looks down the camera for the last time.

"Laters people!"

Ben clicks his fingers and the scene around him starts to move again, Ben smirks at Sam.

"Rusty my arse." He says with a chuckle.

Sam smiles and rolls her eyes at Ben as the scene fades to black.

14
Climax Control Archives / Am I the bad guy?
« on: September 23, 2022, 08:44:34 AM »
Was I the bad guy? It's been those words running through my head constantly since my slight falling out with HB Carter.

I tried to help, my intentions were good, my heart was pure in this situation, I had nothing to really gain from stepping in, other then trying to keep another human being safe. It's something any decent person would do. It's something anyone with a heart would try to do and that's what I tried but it's been rattling around this dome of mine that I was a bad guy for trying.

I have never questioned the Saint Ben nickname given to me years ago, at times I thought it fit pretty well because I did go above and beyond what most would do to help people, bloody hell, I still do go above and beyond to help people, but I've never felt less of a Saint then I have done over the past couple of weeks. I've tortured myself something chronic over this.

Maybe it wasn't my place to say anything but Carter is a good kid, a bit naive at times and not seeing the world through experienced eyes, but at times, and especially days like this, you have to ask yourself if you did the right thing. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing at least. There was a young man who was clearly hurting, clearly needed someone to open up to, someone to help fix whatever was going on in his life and I thought I was the one to help.

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's my nature to be good, or maybe it's my nature to put my nose in where it clearly isn't wanted. It's made me more conflicted now then I've ever been in my life. I don't know if I was right or wrong, I don't know if I should have just said to hell with it and kept walking but I guess that's something that's not in my nature.

Either way, the mess that was in front of me was started by me and only me. I tried to help and got dug out for it, and boy did he dig me out with that comment about my wife and I don't know if I deserved it because I overstepped, or if he was just lashing out because of my interference, but it stung hard and cut deep. You can't take back what ya said, but I don't even know if I can be mad at it. Without knowing it, Carter had cut down my relationship to bare bones, but it felt more personal then me being a guy that just wanted to help him.

And here I am now finding myself in a match with him. I don't know if I'm gonna go get in that ring and go full pelt for that comment, or if I should just remain calm. I do know one thing though, I need to get that thought out of my head about being a bad guy, cause if I don't, it's gonna set my mental health back a long, long way by over thinking. I need to speak to someone I've known a while to try and get my mind back on the level, someone who can reassure me. I needed to call an old friend.



The sounds of a video call can be heard as I sit in a hotel room, my phone in my hand as I lay on a not so comfortable sofa. I felt nervous for some odd reason, especially as I was calling a friend of many years. It felt like forever before Jamie Dean answered his phone, but eventually he did.

"Hello my British friend..." He said before noticing the sombre look on my face. "What's wrong?"

It was hard for me to talk, I felt like the words wouldn't come out.

"I..." I mumbled out.

"I've never said this to any man." Jamie started. "But spit it out."

The worst thing is, I would guess Jamie was serious about that comment but a smile crept on to his face, when I couldn't even muster a smile.

"I think I screwed up." I said softly. "Like proper screwed up."

Jamie's face turned to a frown as he looked down the camera at me.

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark with this." He said. "The whole thing with that Carter kid?"

I'd known Jamie for many years, he knew me back to front. We travelled the roads together in SCW, picking up tag gold, we were one hell of a team to be honest with ya. He knew what was inside my head before I did most of the time.

"Yeah." I admitted. "It's been on my mind for a couple of weeks."

"Well, tell uncle Jamie all about it." He said in a jovial tone.

I took a deep breath, mostly a stall tactic to see if I could actually find the right words to come up with what needed to be said.

"Earth to Ben." He said to snap me out of my trance.

"Sorry." I said before clearing my throat. "It's just I tried to do something good there. I saw something wasn't right and I tried to be the guy to sort it out. It wasn't like I wanted to play hero, or be a hero or be thought of as one. I genuinely wanted to help the kid. There's something going on there, something that's pretty messed up and I wanted to help him because of he needed it."

"You're a good human being." Jamie said with a nod.

"But am I though?" I questioned. "This is what's bothering me JD. Am I a good human being or am I just a guy that has to help people. Like it's something I can not stop. Maybe I need to see myself for who I am, not a great person but a guy who just can't help himself but to get involved in people's lives, with or without them wanting me to."

Jamie frowns again as he looks at me.

"It's a bit early to be drinking, don't you think?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh?" I replied.

"If you think you're not a good person, you must have been on the hooch." Jamie said seriously.

"Not today I haven't been." I said with a half smile.

"Think back Ben." Jamie said seriously. "Do you remember when we started Oasis? And the landlord wouldn't give me the time of day because of my sexuality?"

I did remember that, the close minded git.

"I do remember that." I told him.

"Remember what you did?" He asked.

"I went and made the deal, got the building and basically flipped him off." I said with a grin. "Gave him a few choice words."

"And why did you do that?" Jamie asked.

"Because he was a bigot who deserved it." I replied. "And we needed the building to get things off the ground."

"Exactly." Jamie said "Get things off the ground. Who was here checking to make sure everyone was ok when we took them in and helping them find some direction."

"That would have been me." I replied.

"And who featured them in a Christmas promo for SCW, getting them all involved, when they could have done a promo far away and not cared about these kids." He asked me.

Ah, one of my favourite promos, a Christmas Carol parody.

"I did that." I replied.

"You made their Christmas." Jamie replied. "Just by being here when you could have done something else that stopped you flying across the country to do it."

"I didn't think like that." I said with a shrug.

"And who sends money every year to keep the lights on in this place?" Jamie asked.

"I do." I replied softly.

"And you do it to keep these kids off the street and safe without them worrying about being hurt or abused." Jamie said firmly. "You do it because you're a good guy. You're not sitting on your money and giving nothing back, but you're doing it because deep down, if you could, you'd do something to make the whole world happy."

He had a way with words that I couldn't argue with at all.

"But you are overlooking one very, very important thing Ben." Jamie said seriously.

"I am?" I replied confused.

"This Carter kid, you saw something about him that you haven't realized just yet." Jamie said. "In fact something you've done so many times."

I didn't have a clue what Jamie was going on about, and all I could do was tilt my head towards the camera, to get Jamie to continue.

"You did all that stuff to help these kids here." Jamie started. "And the truth is, we've seen a lot of Carter's walk through this door. We've seen a lot of kids that could have been him, the only difference between the kids we're helping here and Carter, is Carter has a roof over his head."

It was a light bulb moment, I instantly saw what Jamie was getting at.

"So I wasn't just butting in." I said. "I was doing it because there's some strange thing where I see Carter in the kids that walked through the doors of Oasis."

"Exactly." Jamie said with a smile. "You wanted to help him, like you help everyone here because you see part of him in all the kids that we help. It's not being a bad guy at all, it's the opposite, you want to help because it's what you're good at. My guess is seeing him in bad shape, your real instincts kicked in and you just wanted to protect him like everyone here."

"So I'm not a bad person?" I said softly.

"Far from it." Jamie replied. "You're a good guy, you want to help people, that's why you wanted to be a mayor a while ago. You naturally want to help people have more, be better."

Oh yeah, mayor, wonder what ever happened to that angle?

"Thank you JD." I said sincerely. "I've been doubting myself for a while."

"Well, you should have called me sooner." Jamie said with a smile. "I don't know what it will take to get through to that kid, but someone will get through to him at some point."

Jamie was right, and he will dine out on that forever, but he set my mind at ease. I had to accept I did what I did because I do actually care about people, no matter who they are, no matter where they come from, no matter of anything.

We spent the next hour or two catching up, chatting away and talking some business. I won't bore you with the details of all of that, so let's move on, shall we.



I decided to go for a walk, clear the mind and talk to the people. I've been in Reno many times and often get lost in casinos but today was different, I decided the Truckee River Walk was the perfect place to walk, find a spot and sit down to speak to the fans. It wasn't long before I found a nice, quiet spot to sit down and talk to the camera crew I'd pulled along for the ride. I was sitting looking at the river with the camera crew just to my left. Taking a deep breath, I turn my head to the left to look at the camera.

"Alright people." I start as usual.

A few seconds of silence passes as I gather a thought or two.

"How did we get to here, eh Carter?" I started. "I mean one minute, me and Miles are trying to help you, the next thing, we're in a match to sort out differences. It's bonkers that we went from that to looking at Sunday and wondering just what is gonna happen. Now this is tough for me to talk, I ain't gonna lie, very tough for me to talk because I don't hate you. Yeah, I was upset and the temptation to spark you clean out at the point was there when you threw that insult at me. I had to fight every urge in my body not to take a proper swing. Maybe if I did, I wouldn't have been in my own head all week. I wouldn't have been wondering if I'd done the right thing for even trying to help you."

I pause for a second or two.

"That's all I was trying to do Carter." I state firmly. "Help you. I know something is off with you and I know something just ain't right, and all I wanted to do was help you. All I wanted to do was make sure you was cushdy and if you wasn't, then I coulda done something to fix that, but you like to throw a dig at me, that's fine. The problem is, is how I get to respond to that, and I gotta be honest with ya, I don't know how I will respond to that. Right now, I'm as calm as can be but when that music hits and I walk through the curtain, am I still gonna be calm? Am I gonna feel the electricity running through the crowd and let that change me? Am I gonna remember that comment of yours and have a switch inside me turn?"

I shrug

"I really don't know." I say with a serious tone. "I really don't know if something is gonna turn me in to the way I was when I had to face Kedron, I really don't know if there is a little bit of a bad guy in me that's gonna rear it's ugly head when I hear that music. I really don't know if I'm gonna have a serious amount of tunnel vision and become someone I'm not used to being. Words cut deep and people have a strange reaction to that at times, some unexpected actions come from those strange reactions and I don't know, I really don't know if there's still something dark in me, that might cause me to have some kind of PTSD flashback when I look in to your eyes. I genuinely hope I don't, but sometimes people do what you don't expect, you know what I mean?"

That wasn't a rhetorical question,

"You do know what I mean, because I reckon you played things over and over in your head constantly since that night." I say knowingly. "I reckon you calmed down and wondered what the bloody hell you've done. The way you reacted was something no one expected and I think you know that. I don't know if you really meant it, or if it was heat of the moment stuff or what, but it shows something that I never thought I'd see out of you Carter, it shows a distinct lack of respect."

I knew respect is taught properly at the gym Carter came from, The GO Gym. I know this because of my wife training there.

"There's a certain couple who trained you, that I know fairly well." I say as I look down the camera. "And I know what they're like when it comes to respect. I know what they're like when it comes to teaching even the most uncontrollable, like my good lady wife and my good mate Fenris, that respect is a given to people who have earned it. So tell me Carter, haven't I earned your respect?"

It was a valid question I thought.

"If I haven't, after Sunday, I certainly will have." I say with a firm nod. "Because I tried to help, I showed concern, you offered disrespect. Win or lose on Sunday, you will respect me afterwards."

I stand up.

"I'm gonna leave that where it is for now and knock this on the head." I say before inhaling deeply. "I will see you on Sunday Carter and you will leave that match with a whole new level of respect. So until then."

I wink at the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the screen fades to black.

15
Supercard Archives / Re: CHRONIC CHRIS PAGE v BEN JORDAN
« on: September 02, 2022, 10:58:35 PM »
I should be completely happy, shouldn't I? I mean it's been one hell of a successful tour from my point of view. I've seen some magical places, I've seen some incredible matches, I've been a part of incredible matches. I even got to team with an absolute legend of this sport, my upcoming opponent, Chris Page. I've even seen Fenris kicked out of a parrot sanctuary. This has been some of the most fun I've had in a long time. I should be delighted.

But I'm not.

Call it the holiday blues, holiday in my sense of the word, as in vacation blues. It's a real thing, when you know that even though this has actually been work, come Monday morning, it's back to reality and frankly, I dunno what to do with myself. I don't know where I'm even going or what the bloody hell I'm gonna do with myself, I don't know what country I'll be sleeping in come Monday. The end of a great trip is always depressing and people know me, when I feel a little down, I tend to shy away from the world and that's basically what's happened now.

Not seen me on social media in a while, I mean I know most are selling matches but who needs to sell a match against someone as great as Chris Page? Absolutely no one at all, it's Chris Page, he could be booked against a chair or a broom and the match is already sold. I've done alright enough to not have to oversell anything and it's refreshing not to have to do all the work like I have done in the past. Page Vs Jordan sells itself.

So I've tried to take the time to get my head straight, to get myself in the right frame of mind to figure out how to go in to this match focused and not focus on the little things like after this show, my future is up in the air. Don't get me wrong people, I get like this a lot around this time of the year, contract expiring at the end of the year, thoughts of the future laying on me mind wondering what to do, but I guess seeing India, proper enjoying it for the last couple of months has made me wonder if now is the time to wind things down a little bit. I mean that's not something I wanna say yes to completely because I still think that there's life in this old git still and that World Heavyweight Championship is not out of range for me, especially after my recent match with the tough as nails, hard as old boots, Mac Bane, but something about this tour has made me think it could be time to wind down a little bit and get one of those special appearance deals.

Still, even if I choose to do that, my head needs to be in the game cause we're a couple of days away from something big and it's something I asked for.

This deserves my attention.

I knew I had to get my mind of things negative, it does no one any favours at all, I needed to look at the positives.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I teamed with my opponent, and man that buzz before going out there and taking on two top guys, with a top guy next to me, was unreal. I feel nerves like never before. I was a long time World Heavyweight Champion and I was in the ring with three people who take wrestling to a whole new level. I felt nervous as all hell but it all worked out well in the end.

I could pull an Amy Marshall here and splice in the end of the match but nah, that ain't me. I'm all original.

But hearing that last bell ring, the relief was unreal, it made me feel like I was a giant, I know that's a weird thing to say but I felt like I was something special, something brilliant. I remember looking across at Chris Page and nodding at him, it was a thank you more then a well done, a big thank you for letting me share the ring with him. That night was magic, we started something magic, we started something special and now it was a case of carrying that on for a couple of weeks until Violent Conduct. Us teaming up like that sold everything that needed to be sold, but I knew in that moment, that single moment of looking across the ring at each other, the next time we meet was not gonna be the same buzz.

It was gonna be a bit of a war.

It might not be one in the traditional beat the snot out of each other war, but it is gonna be a war of the minds. I've watched a lot of Chris Page matches and I know exactly what he can do, how capable he is at doing it. I know in his head, he's come up with a million ways to beat me. All I can do is hope my ways are better.

Either way, all I need to do is focus on the job at hand all the way till that final bell, work my hardest and what will be, will be.

It's taken some days but my mind is clear, my mind is ready to go. I made my bed when I accepted that open challenge, now I'm gonna lie in it.

Chris Page Vs Ben Jordan, that's the only thing on my mind now.



The hotel bar was a bit of a mainstay of mine since I've been in New Delhi. It was a place to meet the locals and watch time disappear in to the next day. I was usually a jovial chap but tonight felt different. I felt like I couldn't deal with people around me. People could tell, well those that I worked with, by my drink of choice, whiskey, that I wasn't really feeling overly social. My co workers drifted in and out without saying a word, just the occasional nod. Well, most people.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" The booming tone of Fenris said as he sat next to me.

I looked down at my half empty glass of whiskey, not really listening.

"Earth to Ben!" He said louder, causing me to spin my head around and look at him.

"Huh?" I replied in a tired voice.

"Whiskey, slumped over, the fuck is up with you?" He snapped.

I didn't want to really talk about it but his demeanour scream that he wouldn't let it go no matter how hard I was gonna try.

"Just a bit down in the dumps." I explained.

I knew I wasn't talking to the most sensitive guy out there, hell, probably the least sensitive guy on the planet. I fully expected a pull yourself together you plonker type remark from him, but that never actually came from his lips.

"Why?" He actually asked in a softer tone as a drink was placed before him.

I never expected that response from him at all, it was the last response I ever expected from him. Fenris wasn't known to be that type of guy so it threw me a bit.

"Well?" He asked again in a matching soft tone.

I had to find the right words to say, I was a bit confused by his manner at this point and knew it could change at any second.

"Recently..." I started. "I've felt like no matter how many moments of joy I've had, life has still come and kicked me in the meat and two veg. Some days I wake up with a smile on my face and start embracing what's been put in front of me, knowing that I'm pretty lucky, knowing that I'm seeing things and doing things that others don't, but there's days like today that I wake up doubting every aspect of my life."

Fenris looked at me with a solid stare, possibly about to become the Fenris we all know but instead, he just looked at me for what felt like an eternity.

"You're Ben fucking Jordan." Was all he said.

"I know my own name." I replied as I picked up the glass in front of me.

"Yeah but you don't know what it means." He told me. "You're Ben Jordan, there is no other like you. You have pretty much everything in life where you could live for a thousand years and never have to work a day in your life."

"That's the thing." I said as I turned my head towards him. "I don't know if I do wanna work anymore. I came back at the start of the year and big things were expected of me, huge things and I felt like I ain't done any of them. Everyone expected more from me and I let them down. That's what it feels like."

Again, I got the icy stare from Fenris, just looking at me from his seat.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He said with venom in his voice. "You beat Godly Ken Davison, Mac Bane and Goth all while they were champions. Hell, we beat Bane and Page. You have teamed with Page and now you're facing him on a supercard. What the fuck do you mean you've let people down? You've beat more top people on this tour then most beat in a career and you're feeling sorry for yourself?"

He was probably right but I didn't see it that way. I felt I should have done so much more.

"You've done so many things to promote the shows away from SCW cameras." He continued. "You've given people the best Ben Jordan and won, and yet you're still feeling pissy."

"I don't think I got it anymore." I replied quickly.

"Well shit, if you ain't got it anymore, how the hell are you beating top stars?" He asked me.

"I feel like I'm coasting." I quickly said.

"If you're coasting now, imagine how badly you're gonna beat someone when you put in the effort." Fenris said with a snort.

Maybe he was right but it was hard for me to believe.

"You're not in a shitty match." Fenris told me. "People are talking about this match, people have been for weeks. If you were that bad, no one would care about it. You still have what it takes to beat the best, hang with them and show them you still have it."

Fenris surprised me by putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Sunday, you're gonna prove to yourself and everyone that you're Ben fucking Jordan and no one comes close." He said firmly.

"You know what?" I said. "You might be right."

"I know I am." Fenris said with a confident smirk.

"Ever thought about becoming a motivational speaker when you retire?" I asked him with a smile.

"Only if they let me say fuck a lot." He replied quickly.

Well the rest of the night went by with nothing out of the ordinary, drinks were drunk, drunk became the main theme for the night and I woke up with the confidence to fight a lion... Well, not a real lion, those things are dangerous, but you catch my drift!



Just a hotel room balcony today good people, not a lovely garden to speak from, just a balcony somewhere in the skyline of New Delhi. It's nothing fancy but it'll do. I wait for the camera to move past my face before I start to speak.

"Alright people." I say with my English accent filling the air.

The air was oddly chilly, but it didn't stop me from wanting to speak.

"I know you lot have usually heard from me before now, I mean not long before the last promos air." I say with a smile. "But life has come at me hard this week. I ain't completely been myself but I have a job to do. I'm the first to admit I'm a bit starry eyed when it comes to this match, I'll be in the ring with an absolute legend of a wrestler. I've made no qualms about being able to face such a superstar, I was the one who wanted to be in the position I am now, but it doesn't mean I'm not star struck by the whole thing. It's absolutely amazing that I get to be privileged to be up against Chris Page and you might think that alone has got in to my noodle and made me a little antsy."

I shake my head.

"Absolutely not." I say with a firm tone. "It's actually made me a little more determined then I usually am. It's motivated me to keep up a little bit. It's hard for a wrestler to get motivated against some people, I kid you not people. Sometimes it's difficult to get going when you face certain people, but this is not one of those situations. I am raring to go at this point. I mean it's Friday and if I could spin those clocks forward till Sunday, I absolutely would."

I meant that too.

"Chris Page is an absolute legend in this world of ours." I say with honest. "And it's gonna take one of my best performances I've ever had to beat him and that's exactly what he's going to get, my absolute best performance I can possibly muster up. I know he's a master of this game and I have no doubt he's watched what I've done and used our little tag match to see me up close and I'm alright with that because I used it for the same reason. I sat there on the apron watching this guys every move, I watched the way he moved around the ring, I watched the way he had everyone in the crowd on the edge of their seats, I watched every strike, every moved that made the people say wow. I watched him keep everyone in the palm of his hand. I saw it all and maybe, just maybe I came up with a little plan to combat that."

I tap the side of my head.

"I have a slight advantage here." I say with a slight nod. "Because I've watched Chris Page for years, I've watched him rise through the ranks of everywhere he's been and rightly sit on top of the mountain. He was someone I admired, someone I looked up to like many other people in the world, so I am more then aware of what he's capable of, I am more then aware that he can do pretty much everything and why does that put me at an advantage you might ask? Because it's been engrained in my brain for so long, I feel like I know everything he's gonna do, I feel like I know every move he makes before he even makes them. I feel like I know what he's gonna do before he even thinks of them and I've played this match in my mind a million times since it's been made. I played it in my mind the second I heard him ask someone to step up and be his dance partner. I feel like I've seen in my head every way he can beat me and come up with two for every one to stop him."

I wasn't lying, this match had been on my mind for a long time.

"I've mentally tried to get myself ready for this one because I know this is not just a battle of the bodies, this is a mind war too." I say with seriousness. "I know that this is proper mental and not just a ruck. I know that I need to be sharp with everything that I do and I am more then ready for this, I am up for it in every sense."

I really was.

"I know this week I have let some doubts creep in to my head." I admit. "I wondered if I was good enough to be the man who could take you down one on one. I wondered if I was half as good as I used to be but a friend of mine put me straight, a friend of mine told me that I still have everything it takes to still be good and hang with the best of them and I'm gonna show that. This is the occasion, this is the night, this is one of the biggest stages of them all, this is where dreams come true. This is my star is set to shine. I got a lot to prove to a lot of people, especially myself that I am indeed still the man everyone knows I am. I am looking up at the man on the golden throne with that championship belt and thinking it could be mine again and this match on Sunday could be my way of earning that chance, it could be my way of showing everyone that I belong up the top."

I knew my words to be true.

"I know there's life in the old dog just yet." I say confidently. "I know I can be that guy and Chris, as much respect as I have for you. I need to do this for me, I need to do this for my career, I need to do this for the people that watch me week in and week out. I need to do it for them all and I will do it for them all."

I believed every word I said.

"I gotta push my way through every limit I thought I had to face you." I say firmly. "And believe me, I'm gonna do just that."

I take a deep breath.

"Anyway people, it's getting on a bit and I really don't want this promo to air last so it's time to end this one." I say with a nod. "Sunday is gonna be one hell of a match and Chris, you're gonna see the best version of me."

I wink at the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the scene and my promotional stuff in India, comes to an end.

16
Climax Control Archives / Bird trouble
« on: August 19, 2022, 09:18:45 AM »
Ben, you're bonkers, Ben, what are you playing at? Ben, what's wrong with you? I've heard that a lot since Sunday just gone when it comes to my little appearance at Climax Control. I mean if you're watching this, you musta seen that too, right? I mean if not, why the bloody hell are you watching this? Well, listening to my voice at least for the time being.

For those living under a rock, to the shock of the wrestling world, the legend that is Chris Page appeared on the screens of millions of homes around the world, not unusual for a bloke who works like Chris Page does, or bounces around as much as Chris Page does, but he did it on an SCW show, a show that is fast becoming a place you can see legends such as Chris. It wasn't so much he's appearance that go me star struck in a way, it was what he said. He put out an open challenge to everyone on the roster.

That could be a dangerous thing as so many have found out in the past and walked away with their tail between their legs and not holding gold anymore.

But this wasn't about gold, it was about facing the best, trying to show no matter who stepped up to him, he could handle it. Now I'm no Superman.... What? I'm not, even though there's pictures of me out there dressed like Superman, I'm really not, but I did have some momentum going for me. T'was not long ago I defeated this years dominant male champion, Mac Bane, so there was something about me. I couldn't be called the best out there, because let's face it, I work a lot less then most people in front of the camera, but I did have some name value. I've been knocking around these halls for donkeys years, I've sat at the top and looked down as the people scrambling up the mountain. I felt I was the perfect name to be in the ring with Chris Page.

I mean could you imagine what it would have been like if someone like The Troll had stepped up and took the open challenge? Chris Page deserved better then that, much better then someone like The Troll stepping in to something like that.

As soon as I heard that open challenge, I knew I had to step up and take it, take it with both hands or open arms, it just felt right, it just felt like this was it, this was the dream match, this is what people will be talking about in years to come. This was a match Chris deserved and I felt that I had earned.

There I was minutes before my segment was to go live on the show, squeezed in thanks to me asking Christian what the plans were for Chris Page and he told me to accept the challenge, and the nerves kicked in a little bit. This is Chris Page I'm responding to, this is why I've been told I was bonkers. I was set to accept a challenge from this guy and the nerves hit me. I don't know how I got through it, but I did.

Also, before you lovely lot remind me I've faced him and beat him in a tag match, completely different. I had someone with me to make sure I never screwed it all up, nerves were a bit easier. This is different, on my own, no safety net. That's cool, I think, I can do that... I hope.

So the challenge was accepted, the people in the truck quickly chucked together a graphic to throw up there on the screen to make it official. My mind instantly started to think about this one on one match. I knew it was three weeks away, but that was my focus.

I never expected that one week away, I'd be teaming with Chris Page! This is the stuff dreams are made of! Not only can I tick off the list that I will be going one on one with Chris Page, but I get to team with him! I didn't accept his challenge out of spite, anger, revenge or a million other good old reasons, I did it because I rate the man so highly. I didn't dream I'd ever get to team with him. That's two things off the bucket list.

Seeing that card go up people, I was blown away. Couldn't knocked me down with a feather and I ain't meaning that in the figurative way, I mean proper coulda popped me with a feather and I'd have had a bruise on me jacksy. Trust me, no one likes a bruise on their jacksy.

Either way, the next three weeks of my life was gonna be the best in my wrestling career, the absolute best. If you remember years ago when I was going on with the hashtag #BenDeservesBetter when it came to matches? I'm sure someone out there remembers, well it's matches like this that I was talking about, big, big matches with some of the best opponents in the world. This is it for me, this is my wrestling dream, big matches, big opponents, big crowds. Now all I need is some big performances to go alongside those big matches.

This week, I know it's gonna be a big performance, because I don't like letting people down and I ain't gonna be letting my partner down in any way, shape or form, that's just not cricket. It's time to proper work and get things kicked off just right, but first, I had to get to the destination of that good old match, which I knew would be another amazing place to be in. I knew that this was gonna be a spot on week and I couldn't wait to be there. I didn't was any time. By Monday after, I was in Chandigarh!



For some reason, I'd woken up with a bit of a spring in my step at about four in the morning. Not planned of course but at times, India was a hot old place. Singing in the shower might have woken me up a little more, or at least woke up my hotel neighbours, but I knew what was coming when the clock struck five, I knew there would be a knock on the door from an Icelander who has no concept of sleeping in. For the most part when we're wrestling state side, I could avoid these 5am runs. Show ends and I go home, but I decided to embrace the whole tour ethic and actually stay in the country, which means avoiding those runs was seriously difficult - even getting him wasted the night before didn't seem to work. Today I was ready for him as I had my hand on the door handle, ready to go.

"Three, two... one!" I said to myself as I pulled the handle down on the hotel room door.

Fenris stood the other side with Aron, his hand up high about to knock. Opening the door before he could knock seemed to have thrown him a little as he stood there with his mouth open.

"I know, I know." I said with a grin. "Get your cockney arse out of bed, we need to go running, yada yada ya."

He looked at me with surprise in his eyes.

"I..." was all Fenris could get out of his mouth, much to the delight of his brother watching the scene unfold.

"You're burning up daylight there with ya gob open." I said with a grin. "Keeping that mouth open that long, it's like you're trying to trap a fly. Come on, let's go do the running thing, cause this afternoon, I got plans for us."

"Not another elephant outing..." Fenris managed to say.

"Nah." I replied. "Think smaller. Anyway, shall we?"

My arm pointed past him as I stepped out of the room and in to the hallway, shutting the door behind me and pointing down the hallway.

It wasn't long before we were in a nearby park, my trainers hitting the floor as I tried to keep up with the long legged Icelander as he made running look easy, leaving both Aron and I further back.

"Someone woke up in cyborg mode today." I said to Aron as he and I shared the same pace.

"He's been going a mile a minute since he got up. I think someone made his coffee with Red Bull today." Aron said to me with a nod.

"Oi!" I shouted out. "Slow down, you're gonna wear ya shoes out."

Fenris turned his head just long enough to smirk in our direction, probably proud of being ahead of us both. Eventually, he starts to slow down as he comes to a bench, lifting his leg up on a bench to stretch it out as we catch up.

"Someone give you new batteries today or something?" I asked as I breathed heavy and plonked myself down on the bench.

"I'm going slower then usual just so you can keep up." Fenris replied with a smirk.

"I got big matches coming up." I explained. "I don't wanna knacker myself before those. Boxers don't spar on fight week, Ben don't try and kill himself on fight week."

"Yeah, yeah." Fenris replied as he stretched out some more.

My eyes quickly turned towards a group of curious peacocks moving towards us. It wasn't uncommon for these wonderful birds to be freely roaming around the parks of India, but these seemed to take a slight fancy to us as we sat on the bench. I felt my phone shake in my pocket and I quickly reached in to see a message from an anonymous number which simply read "The keyword is goat". Just seeing that made me roll my eyes.

"Coulda picked an easier to fit in the conversation kinda keyword." I said under my breath.

"What was that?" Aron enquired

"Oh nothing." I lied, but smiled at the same time.

"Are we gonna sit around here all day talking like old women?" Fenris asked.

"You got the hair of an old woman." I quickly fired back "But no."

As I stand up, I felt Aron's arm on my shoulder.

"Ben..." He said nodding in the direction of the gathering peacocks. "I got a bad feeling..."

I pointed past Fenris and Aron nods and the two of us take off running much to the surprise of Fenris.

"Hey!" He shouted out before looking at the birds moving towards him faster. "Ah fuck!"

Fenris started to back away from the birds as they gathered before turning and running in the same direction Aron and I had taken off in, quickly followed by the peacocks running in the same direction as us.

Needless to say, Fenris wasn't very happy when we got out of that park, but it was early yet, I still had afternoon plans for us, so let's jump forward to the afternoon, shall we?

Sometime that afternoon.

"The Parrot Bird Sanctuary!" Fenris said in a loud, bold tone. "You've brought us to The Parrot Bird Sanctuary!"

That I did, I brought them to see flying things.

"Yeah, because you can't fall off these things and nearly land in a pile of elephant you know what." I said with a smile.

We stood inside a caged area, surrounded by trees and parrots of many colours and sizes flying around freely. Other people looked at these beautiful creatures, taking pictures and smiling, unfortunately, Fenris wasn't smiling.

"Why?" Fenris asked. "Just why?"

"Because they bring joy to the world." I said. "Why Aron, just why is he such a misery guts?"

Aron smiled as he looked towards me.

"Gypsy curse." Aron said with a grin, causing Fenris to turn his head and growl.

"Oh stop being a moany old goat." I said as I looked around.

As if on cue or by magic, an African Grey parrot swoops from a tree, landing next to Fenris on a branch nearby.

"Ben Jordan is king!" The parrot squawks. "Future world champion!"

Fenris snapped his head towards the parrot.

"The fuck?" He said surprised. "Two things, one, how does he know who you are? And secondly, we're in India, why is he speaking English."

A thought bubble appeared above my head with Despayre and I in it.

"Hey Despy." Thought bubble Ben said. "Wanna do a little job for me?"

"I dunno." Thought bubble Despy replied. "I'm pretty busy."

"It involves parrots and pranking Fenris." Thought bubble Ben said with a grin.

"I'm in!" Despayre replied.

The bubble dispersed and I looked at Fenris with a feigned innocence.

"Probably saw me on TV." I said with a casual shrug.

"And where did a parrot get a TV from?" Fenris questioned.

"Probably online like the rest of us." Aron replied, trying to not smile.

I could tell just by looking at Aron that he knew I'd somehow set this up, but I don't think he really knew how I managed to do it.

"Fenris sucks!" The parrot said with another squawk.

I watched an angry look cross the face of Fenris as Aron turned his back on his brother, trying not to laugh.

"Aron's a better a wrestler." The bird said as Fenris took a step towards him.

It was hard not to burst out laughing as I say the vein in Fenris' forehead start to pulsate as he glared angrily at the bird.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Fenris said to the parrot in a dangerous tone as he spoke through his teeth.

"A better wrestler then you!" The parrot said back, mocking Fenris' tone.

Fenris looked towards Aron and I with a flash of anger on his face.

"Where do these little fellas pick these things up from?" I said innocently. "I mean one minute we're walking through here having a lovely time and the next, you're getting verbally abused by a Ben Jordan fan."

"Selfie!" The parrot screeched out.

"For a lovely bird like you, of course." I said with a grin.

Before I knew it, the parrot was on my shoulder and my phone was in my hand and I reached out to take a picture on myself with the bird on my shoulder. Just seconds after the picture was taken, the bird was back on the branch as close to Fenris as it could get.

"I've seen a lot of things, but never a parrot ask for a selfie." Aron said with a laugh.

"This country is fucking bat shit crazy." Fenris muttered to himself.

"You're jealous." The parrot informed him.

"Am not!" Fenris barked back.

"Am too" The parrot replied.

"Am not!" Fenris quickly snapped back.

"This is a battle of wits." I whispered to Aron.

"Yeah, and I think I know who's gonna win this one." Aron replied with a chuckle.

"One more word from you and I'll turn you in to chicken wings." Fenris said as he waved a finger at the bird.

"I'm a parrot you idiot!" The parrot fired back.

That was it, I couldn't hold in the laughter anymore and neither could Aron, but Fenris didn't notice, he was involved in a war of word with this parrot.

"I hate parrots!" Fenris said through gritted teeth.

"I don't like you much either fish lips." The parrot retorted.

That too got the tears of laughter flowing down my face as the parrot took off flying with Fenris in hot pursuit of the bird. Felt like I was laughing for hours.

"How did you do that?" Aron asked eventually after the laughing stopped.

"Despy." I said with a wide grin.

"I should have guessed." Aron replied. "But say no more. He does like getting under K's skin."

Aron and I started to look towards the direction Fenris had run off towards, but Fenris was being marched back towards us, surrounded by three burly looking security guards.

"I didn't wanna be here in the first place!" He stated as the guards marched him past Aron and I towards the exit.

I shook my head.

"Must be the only bloke ever to get kicked out of a bird sanctuary for trying to beat up a bird." I said with a chuckle.

Aron and I turned to follow him, as the scene faded to black.



It was like the week had flown by for me, every day passing, the more I loved this country. The people, the scenery, the culture, the respect. We were treated like royalty from the minute we stepped in to this country and it grew on me quicker. At times it was hard to remember I was actually here to work and not be a tourist, which was an absolute shame to be honest with you good people, because India was an absolute treasure. I'd tried to be as calm as I could while being in Chandigarh, even using the five in the morning runs with Fenris became more and more relaxing rather then hard work and I felt my mind was as focused as it possibly could be leading in to what was gonna happen on Sunday. I knew this match was a match that sold itself and got everyone involved actually excited for it. I have heard from some corners of the locker room that Goth himself was seriously excited for this one and if you've seen Goth on the screens, yeah, he's that serious too off the camera. For him to be excited about something meant we were on to something, we just needed to push things over the edge.

That's what I was about to do as I sat on a patch of grass in the Garden of Springs, looking around at the amazingly beautiful scenery around me. Tall trees and bright flowers entered my line of vision as the afternoon moved closer to evening time. The cameras were focused on me, but I kept staring in to the distance.

"Alright people." I say with a smile.

Look, you all knew I was gonna open that way, I erm, do it all the time.

"There's something about this place that's calming, peaceful, really gets your mind, body and soul acting as one." I say with a nod. "And it's a perfect analogy in a way for how everything right now is proper coming together for me when it comes to wrestling. All the stars are lining up a little bit and it's more then clear when you think about it and you think about Sunday."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the thought of Sunday.

"It's a day that will be remembered for a long time." I say with complete sincerity. "It's a match that if it wasn't for a title match being on the show, this would main event all over the world, in any company, it's gonna be that good. It's a bit of a weird one though, ain't it? Crazy booking of a couple of fellas who have been on screen together for a while, up against a pair of guys that have only been in the ring with each other on opposite teams and are facing each other in a couple of weeks. Whoever came up with that idea is either a mad man or a genius, but they went one step further by adding Mac Bane in to the mix as a referee..."

That's some good supercard build people!

"There's a lot of stories in that ring right there." I say with a tap on my chin. "So many questions, will Goth and Godly Ken Davison actually work out as a team or will they see they've been all talk and no chemistry? Will Chris Page try and get in my head and turn on me to get an advantage over me? Will I shock the world and turn on him to get the advantage?"

Of course not people, but you know, drama and all.

"And where does Mac Bane stand in all of this?" I ask "Chris Page on one side, Ken Davison on the other, where does he actually stand? Does he hold a grudge against me for beating him a little while ago?"

So many questions

"I can't answer most of them." I admit. "But I would think that Mac is gonna do whatever the hell Mac Bane wants to do, but do I think he'll call it down the line? Of course he will. My focus ain't on Mac Bane in the slightest, my focus is on the two across the ring from me and that's Godly Ken Davison and Goth. Those two are in my mind."

I take a calming breath as I work out who to talk about first.

"Let's have a rabbit about you Goth." I say having decided who to talk about as I got halfway through that sentence. "I hear you're a little bit excited to be in the ring with me. I actually get it. We've been in this company for years and rarely crossed paths. We've been pulling the company in the same direction from the moment I got here and yet me and you, there is not a lot of history. For two guys that have been here that long, we do not have much of a history, well Sunday mate, that changes."

I look in the camera and nod slowly.

"Oh yes my old mucker, it changes and it changes fast." I say firmly as I smile. "What a way to start adding pages to the history books of us two around each other. This is no doubt gonna be something overly special too. I know you've been watching me from the subs bench since I've been here and you've seen me do some cracking things, things that I never thought I'd do being here. You've seen me win everything, you've seen me beat so many people and now it's time to come and see it up close and personal with me in the ring. Believe me when I say this mate, looking at me from the outside is nothing compared to being in the ring with me. Being in the ring with me is a different level when my heart is in it and my mind is focused and right now, it couldn't be more focused. Everything is falling in to place Goth and this is the perfect match at the perfect time for me so believe me, it's gonna be one of the best Ben Jordan performances of all time."

I was feeling confident the more I spoke.

"I will not be the guy who takes away anything from you." I say in a softer tone. "I mean, you've been here a long time, you've worked as hard as a lot of people have, you've won more then most people have in their careers, you've done pretty much all there is to do and more, so there's no way I'll be taking you lightly. Anyone who takes you lightly need their brains tested because the people that have, you've beaten because they didn't see what I see. The fact is, I can see you're dangerous, I can see you can beat anyone on your day, I can see that you are one of the most dangerous people to ever have the crazy idea of putting ya body through hell to become a wrestler. It doesn't matter who I'm facing, I make sure to take everyone as serious as I can and I do mean everyone, but I'll be taking you a little more seriously then everyone else because I know what you can do. I know you've got a point to prove in that ring, I know you'll be coming at me with all you have but I and gonna back away because as much as you see me as a big name scalp, I see you the exact same way."

Believe me, anyone who can say they've defeated Goth, can feel proud.

"You're a champion for a reason." I say with respect. "You are the fighting pride of Holland right now, so it would be barmy of me to think I'm gonna show up and just walk right through you because I got the dogs goolies of a partner, but I beat champions in non title matches a lot. I don't wanna keep harping on about it, but I beat Mac, I beat your partner and I know I can do the same to you without that belt being on the line. It's becoming a bit of a trend of mine to do just that. Beat the champs without walking away with the belts."

It was becoming standard for me.

"At some point though Goth, I will stop turning down those title shots, I will feel like I've earned the right to be a champion and you could help tip me over in to that mindset." I say wagging my finger at the camera. "Beating you, a third champion without a belt on the line just might make me think I actually deserve to be a champion again. Collecting big names is getting me over that mental health battle hill where I feel that I ain't good enough to be a champion, so beating you just might make me believe again, beating you just might be good for my mental well being, beating you just might be the eye opener that I need where I can sit there and say bloody hell, I've actually earned this. I've not sat on reputation to get the good spots, I've earned it and after Sunday, that's where my mind is gonna be. There's respect on your name Goth, but it's not gonna stop me from doing all I can to win."

I took a deep breath to switch my thoughts up.

"And to you Godly Ken Davison." I say thoughtfully. "We've walked this road before, haven't we? We've been down that road and I stood up straight after it with my arms in the air after a tough battle, so I ain't expecting anything but a vengeful God coming at me on Sunday. I know you don't want to be two down to me, I know you're gonna push the boundaries to stop this from happening. To coin the old phrase lighting doesn't strike the same place twice, well like everything there is an exception to the rule and that would be my shiny headed mate."

I run my fingers through my hair, unintentionally, just a habit when making a bald joke.

"Sorry, didn't mean to take the Mickey there." I say seriously. "But let's get back to talking about Sunday. I'm not expecting anything less from you then a proper punch up, like I said, I've already got one over on you in the past and expect you to come out swinging, like any good man would, but I am planning on doing the same. I'm planning on coming out and doing the exact same thing. I plan on coming out and going all guns blazing and showing everyone just what I can do. You're familiar with redemption, there's a story or two about it in your good book, passages like  I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

Yes, I know some bible verses.

"I'm on a redeeming mission of my own Ken." I say turning away from the camera. "See, I was sinning when it came to my SCW career, I was phoning it in, I was letting demons sneak in my head, I was not the Ben Jordan the fans wanted to see. I was selling myself short on my career and I was selling the fans short on who they were actually paying to see but this is my redemption, I've been saying it for a while, putting in the effort and giving the people the Ben Jordan they want to see is my redemption, giving them the best matches I possibly can is my redemption, beating the people who would their rears off, just like you Ken, that is my redemption for these good people who pay good money in a global cost of living crisis, being the best I can be is my redemption."

I could feel the passion grow in me.

"I'm not saying this because it's tailored to you Ken, I'm saying it because I mean every single word coming out of my mouth." I say passionately. "It's driving me Ken, it's driving me to push myself because only through being the best I can be, will the path to redemption be clearer and you need to ask yourself one question. Are you good enough to beat the best Ben Jordan there can be? Can you do what many others in the past have tried and failed to do?"

I tap my chin.

"I guess we will find out on Sunday." I say with a smile. "But deep down, I think you know as well as I do, when I'm on the top of my game, I'm bloody hard to stop."

I tilt my head towards the camera and smile.

"Right." I say as I put my palms out flat in front of me. "It's time to end it there, time constraints and all that, but I'll see you there on Sunday when me and my legendary partner Chris Page will be victorious"

I wink at the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the camera fades to black.

17
Climax Control Archives / Elephants!
« on: July 29, 2022, 10:45:27 AM »
I do love an SCW tour! I mean who doesn't? The places they take us are unreal, the sights we get to see are just amazing, the things we get to do could turn the most easy going bloke, in to a jealous mess. We're kinda blessed in a way to be doing this and we pay a high physical price for it but man is it worth it. Ever since I've worked for SCW, I've seen some truly amazing places, I've been to countries years ago back home pulling pints, I would never have even dreamed about and here I am years later travelling the world. Taking away where I've been on my time off, so far SCW has taken us on a tour of the Greek Islands, where I got to meet some amazing people, we've been on the yearly cruise which was as always brilliant, because being around those fans make it that way. Now, I'm still here having a rabbit with you from another amazing place. I'm talking to you from a place people call The Pink City, no, it's not a strip club, it's a place rich in culture, with three forts from olden times, lots of palaces and the worlds biggest cannon on wheels!

I'm in Jaipur, India! How amazing is that?!?!

Most people can only dream of going to places like this, a place of pure history and culture in one of the most populated countries in the world and here I am!

You wouldn't believe that so many of these people have such a passion for wrestling, it's unreal. I've been in the country for a couple of weeks, doing the public relations stuff I do for SCW now, last week and this week focusing on the biggest match I've had since I came back at the start of the years, and every person I've spoke to have this huge passion for what we do. It's a bit humbling if I'm honest with you, well, more then a bit humbling. Every person I've spoke to on the street, in the hotel, anywhere actually knows who I am and what SCW is. The Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium holds over thirty thousand people, thirty thousand! I know a lot of top seats will be taped off and floor seats added but thirty thousand people mate! The place is gonna be absolutely heaving, there's gonna be so many people, it's gonna be louder then most places because these guys are passionate about us, and I'm telling ya, it's gonna run close to the Madison Square Garden show SCW did.

I am getting a little excited just thinking about this whole thing, it's gonna be bonkers. These guys know us all, these guys respect what we do. India is gonna turn the level up to a bazillion come Sunday with this card.

I know it's easy to get caught up with thoughts like that and it brings on the butterflies a bit but they say it takes two to tango, and well, it's more then a tango when you hear who you're facing in front of that crowd.... Mac Bane! Yes, SCW World Heavyweight Champion, Mac Bane. The guy who dipped his hands in glue and then in glass to beat the hell out of someone, yes, that Mac Bane. I'm stepping in the ring with a man who put his career and really, his life on the line not so long ago, just to get back that big prize and score a little revenge. I'm getting in the ring with a man who has fought so many and came out on top. Bloody hell.....

Did I mention it could be in front of thirty thousand plus people? I did? Again, bloody hell!

People have wanted this match for a long time, I think I have too. What started out with a few digs at each other over the last seven or eight months, there's been a little respect between Mac and me over the last couple of months. We have shared a kind word and a beer or two, we both shared concerns over wrestling, we've spoke sports, although he's bloody rubbish at giving me gambling tips on American sports though, but this match gets the old juices flowing and gets everyone a little excited and we both know stepping in the ring on Sunday, the roar of the crowd, and buzzing in the air, all of that malarkey, we know respect gets paused, but enough about that just for the time being, obviously later, I'll have a little more of a chat about things and try and get some points across.

We, as wrestlers, are always at work to a certain extent, a lot of the time, we can only be ourselves when we're at home. In public, you wave the Sin City Wrestling flag all the time, you try and make yourself open to fans. I'm sure our concert loving wrestlers get spoke to at gigs all the time, our bar people have many conversations with other bar patrons and still have the whole wrestler vibe going on. This is enough at times to put people off from going out as much but not me. I love soaking in everything a country has to offer. I mean back home, I'm just Ben who lives over there, but on tour, people get excited but it never puts me off on having a little nosey around a country or being a complete and utter tourist, I love to do it. I love seeing things with my own eyes that I've only read about and now I'm in Jaipur, a city that has so many things to see that will blow your mind, that will make you lose your breath at any given moment.

My mindset is that I might only ever be here once, tomorrow is never promised, so I couldn't help myself but pick up the camera and explore this amazing city. I had to get out there at the risk of being mobbed, I had to put the thought of thousands of fans watching me face the SCW World Heavyweight champion out of my mind for just a little while.

It was time to see some of what this wonderful city had to offer.



"Where the fuck are we going?" Fenris' voice demanded to know as Aron and I walked either side of the never happy Icelander.

I could feel his eyes looking at me through his dark sunglasses. He wasn't a happy bunny when I told him to pick up his stuff that he needed for the day because we were going to explore. You people know what he's like, a gym rat that tries to get poor sleeping things like me, up at 5am for a run.

"Told ya happy." I said with a wink towards Aron. "We're off to see some of this city, and going to a place where you couldn't go back home."

He grumbled under his breath and Aron smiled towards me, knowing his brother was not the biggest fans of surprises.

"I set it up earlier." I told him. "These guys were happy to give us a bit of a tour when it closed to other tourists."

"How did you manage that?" Aron asked.

"I basically said my name and the reply was about me being a wrestler and I said yes and well, rest is history." I said with a casual shrug. "Apparently we've been the talk of the town since SCW announced a show here and here we are. Surely you two have had people come up to you since you've been here."

"No more than usual." Aron replied. "It's not like Mr Warmth here has an approachable personality."

"Just the way I like it." Fenris replied as we kept a steady pace walking. "Now where are we going?"

I wanted to tell him, but I knew he would probably kick me in the nuts or something and turn around.

"Dunno why ya worried." I started. "You would have only spent your time at the hotel in a gym or something, but you've been walking for a while, you'll get the same amount of cardio doing this and you get to see this lovely city."

"At least you can see it more clearly." Fenris replied.

"Oh your vision is coming back." I told him "You can still see some stuff. I mean come on, this place is stunning.... Just a sec."

I quickly reach in to my pocket after seeing an interesting looking building and pull out a camera. An aim, point and shoot later, I had a snap shot of the building.

"Such a fucking tourist." Fenris muttered under his breath.

"Such a happy chappy." I replied a little louder.

We continued to walk but I could feel eyes on us from the people around us this evening. People pointed and looked towards us, and I knew it was wrestling related, I knew we'd been recognised. Well, lets be fair, we are hard to miss and do stand out a bit, but no one really approached us until we got closer to our destination. Two teenage children, a boy and a girl along with what we presumed was their mother, came closer to us, bowing her head in respect.

"I'm sorry." She said with a heavy Indian accent. "You are Ben Jordan, yes?"

I smiled at the woman.

"I am and this is Fenris and Aron." I said pointing at the brothers.

"My children are big wrestling fans, we are coming to see you on Sunday." She told me with a shy tone, not making direct eye contact with me.

"That's great love!" I said with a warm smile. "We can't wait for you to see it."

"Can my children have a picture taken with you?" She asked me.

I could almost hear Fenris roll his eyes from behind the dark sunglasses he was wearing. He wasn't a photo with the public kinda guy but he already knew what I was gonna say.

"Of course." I said with a wave of my hand.

The two teens moved in front of Fenris, Aron and I, Fenris opting to go for the moody look as usual, while Aron and I offered a smiling face. The mother held up her phone and snapped a picture of the five of us.

"Thank you so much." She said with another bow. "A thousand blessings to you all."

I instinctively returned the bow, and instantly wondered if I did the right thing. I was still very rusty on Indian culture.

"Beat Mac Bane." The teenage girl said to me.

Once again, I could hear the roll of Fenris eyes.

"I will do everything I can to do that sweetheart." I said with a quick, sharp nod. "Now you guys have a wonderful day."

The three moved away from us at that point and we continued our walk to where I had planned on taking us.

"Do you ever have a day off?" Fenris asked me. "Everywhere we go, you have selfies taken with everyone or pictures taken. You must have had your picture taken with everyone in the world by now."

"Cockney King, Selfie King." Aron added with a nod.

"I like that." I said with a grin. "And to answer your question happy, no, I don't take a day off, I'm just a nice bloke like that who will take pictures with anyone, even you. These people are our bread and butter. They put their hands in their pockets to come and see us, in the worst economical times I've ever seen, in times people can't afford it, so it's only nice that we be nice and justify their costs."

"Saint Ben speaks again." Fenris said referencing one of my other nicknames.

"Yep." I replied. "It's who I am."

I noticed more eyes on us as we walked through and the approaches got more and more often the closer we got to our destination. Fenris wasn't pleased that every few steps, we were approached by someone else for another picture or a quick chat. It never bothered me, I was used to it, but Fenris wasn't happy at all until we moved to a more remote area where the faces became few and far in between and the buildings had thinned out to a more countryside feeling.

"How do you do that?" Fenris asked. "Fuck, how do you get anything done whenever you leave the house with reaction like that?"

"It's different at home." I told him. "Or in the places we wrestle regular, people are used to seeing my mug on the street and a lot of the time it's just a quick hello and on with their lives where they can tell the family they've seen me. Here, these people are seeing us for the first time that's not on the box, they're bound to get a little excited. At home, I can pop in to the local for a pint and watch the football and nobody bats an eyelid. It's just how it is with things."

Fenris shook his head at me.

"And here we are." I said pointing at a sign.

I watched Fenris move his head closer to focus in on the sign before looking in my direction.

"Elephant Joy?" He said in a questioning tone. "What the fuck is Elephant Joy?"

"It's a place where elephants sit and smile at ya." I replied.

"The fuck?" Came back from Fenris, causing Aron to laugh at his reaction.

"You get to go learn a little about elephants." I started "Well, usually, but the fella said that we can feed 'em, have photos taken with them and ride them. Mate, I've done a lot of things in my life but ride an elephant is not one of them."

"There's a lot of things I don't want to do in life and ride an elephant is one of them." Fenris snapped back.

"We're here now." Aron said, trying to hide a smile. "We can't sit and ride elephants around Vegas, we might as well go and ride them."

I looked around quickly, causing Aron to look at me curiously.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"When you said you can't ride an elephant around Vegas, I expected Despayre to pop up and say challenge accepted or something." I said with a laugh.

A small Indian man approaches the gate we have reached.

"Mr. Jordan!" He said with an excited tone. "Welcome to Elephant Joy! Please come this way."

He opened the gate for us and the three of us moved in through it. I caught him out of the corner of my eye, lock the gate behind us. I looked around the big open green habituate, and true to his word from an earlier phone call, the place was closed for tourists as it was after hours. The only people that could be seen was the people who took care of these amazing animals. I even caught a look of surprise on Fenris face as we walked through the grassy area towards a herd of elephants.

"Wow..." Fenris muttered under his breath as he looked around.

"Couldn't have put that better...." I replied as we stopped in front of two elephants.

"Now this is Shanti and Rangoli." the man told us.

"Can I get a picture with these guys?" I asked like a kid in a candy store.

"Of course." The man replied before muttering something in Indian.

The two elephants moved closer as I handed my camera to Fenris. Fenris nodded as I moved in front of them. One of them started to move it's trunk up and down the front of my shirt, causing Fenris to snicker and look towards Aron.

"That one must be a female." He said with a laugh.

"The ladies love me." I said to Fenris "But most of them know my missus would kick their arses, and probably mine so ya know...."

"Probably his too." Aron said as he jetted a thumb towards his brother.

Fenris snapped his head towards Aron before looking back at the camera and raising it up and snapping a picture of me with these two lovely elephants. I moved towards the two brothers to have a look at the picture and nod with approval.

"Nice one." I replied. "Go on then you two, your turn, go strike a pose."

Aron immediately moved towards the elephants, but Fenris took a little encouragement before conceding and moving towards them. The other elephant started to rub his trunk over Fenris chest.

"And that one must be a fella." I said to Fenris.

Fenris raised his finger, but I quickly cut him off.

"Say cheese!" I said loudly and Fenris reverted back to his usual moody pose as I snapped the picture. "Perfect."

Fenris grumbled something under his breath as he moved back towards me, looking at the picture on my camera.

"Gentlemen." The Indian man says to us, getting our attention. "Would you like to ride these elephants?"

"No." Fenris said bluntly.

"He means yes we would." I replied, firing Fenris a look. "When we're in Egypt, you can make me ride a camel, pretty sure I've seen a picture of you riding a camel before."

I look in to the camera and wink.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine" Fenris replied.

The man turned to the herd and made a strange clicking noise, two other elephants breaking from the pack to move towards him.

"If you would..." he said, pointing his hands towards the elephants.

"How are we supposed to get on them?" Fenris whispered.

"Well you get a running start and you jump really high." I said with a grin.

"Smart ass!" Fenris quickly fired back.

The man made another clicking noise and the four elephants laid down on the floor, allowing us the chance to mount them.

"Would have preferred to see you try and jump on one of those bad boys to be honest." I said to Fenris with a grin, only to be met with his middle finger. "Charming."

Well, I'm pretty sure you don't wanna see us ride around on these elephants for a while, although there was a moment where Fenris nearly fell off, and then I nearly fell off laughing at him. That's all I would have needed, calling the boss and telling him I'm injured cause I fell off an elephant, would never have been able to show my face in SCW again. Other then that, the evening went swimmingly and the masala tea at the end of it capped off a decent day in the wonderful city of Jaipur.

I say capped off but I had one more thing to take care of.  I had a promo to cut on my opponent for Sunday. It was great having a chilled day with fans and elephants, but for now, it was time to be a wrestler once more...



Selling matches has always been an important part of wrestling and it was time to do that part again, I think it actually comes a little more naturally to me than others cause I could talk the ears off the deaf but anyone can stand in front of a backdrop and just chat away, anyone could sit down with our lovely, lovely interviewers and have a chin wag, we see it all the time on the shows, but I liked to do things a little differently. I like to pick a memorable setting, I like to go to a place where something stands out in peoples minds and I'm in a country that has some amazing sights, so I decided to sit myself across the Man Sagar Lake, just so while you listen to me, the wonderful Jal Mahal is there in the picture. Considering the sun has gone to bed for the night, and the lights over there are lit up like Christmas, it's a quality backdrop. Backdrop aside, I still have a job to do and that's to talk about someone and that would be Mac Bane.

"Alright people." I start with, as usual.

A quick warm smile from me greets the camera.

"First off, what a beautiful country and what amazing people here." I say with a soft, honest tone. "Everywhere I've been, I've been mobbed, I've had fans come to me and talk to me in the most respectful way, I've smiled so much, me boat race hurts but it's been so worth it to be around you lovely lot, thank you."

The Indian fans have been an absolute blast. Such welcoming people.

"And they seem as excited as I am for Sunday to come." I say with a smile. "Everywhere I've gone, it's people talking about me against you Mac Bane. I'm sure you've had the same thing, everywhere is buzzing that after seven months, it's finally happening. You were calling me out last year, I signed a contract to come back for a year to be in the ring with you Mac and all we got was a tag team match, it felt anti climatic, it felt like there was no point to coming back, so for seven months, this match has been on my mind and the fans mind because mate, they have not stopped talking about it to me since I got here. It's finally happening. Everyone expected after Blast From The Past was done, you'd be yelling my name, it had been a common thing for so much of your work leading to that final, my name had constantly fell out of ya gob until you won it and then what?"

I quickly do a zipping motion across my lips.

"Silence." I said softly. "Not a sausage, not a dicky bird and Matthew Knox became in your line of fire. I mean I get it to some extent, the things he was a part of, the things he did to you personally, I get it a million percent. I get that after you lost, there was some revenge to be had, I understand that and you two beat seven bags of manure out of each other at Summer XXXTreme and got that shiny belt back, but it did kill a lot of expectation from the fans. Think back, think hard about what I said when I came back to SCW, I talked about you, I talked about being mentioned, you mentioned me more, the fans got excited, they thought damn, we're gonna see two guys who are a wrestling match made in heaven go out it. The guy with more SCW history against the guy who spends every bloody day of his life making new history. That got the fans excited, that got me excited and nothing happened."

I couldn't help but shrug.

"And it reeled me in to nothingness." I admit. "It made me sit and wonder why I came back, why I busted my knackers in the gym to lose the pizza belly, but this week Mac, I remember that feeling on why I came back when you mentioned my name, I remembered that buzz because these people here in India have reminded me just what a big deal this is. The fire long burned out of me when it came to facing you, part of me went through the stages of grief till I found myself face to face with acceptance, till I found myself looking at myself in the mirror and needing a new plan of attack. I went and took on everyone put in front of me and had a bit of success give or take a King for the Day match. The thought of this match faded but this week, everyone I've run in to have made me feel excited again, they've made me feel alive again, to some extent, so have you."

Mac did it with one tweet.

"You tweeted at me that I have honour for not wanting a championship match." I say with a nod. "And you're right Mac, bang on right, I had to talk Christian and Mark out of it. When they said to me about it and told me I was going against you for the belt on Sunday, I had to raise my hand and tell them I wasn't worthy of that shot, I wasn't at that level. It's weird because I've seen people who would sell their own grandmother for a championship shot. I remember back in the day, long before you got here, but the old school SCW people will remember and the fans will remember the days when Jessie Salco would call out a different champion every week, goad them in to accepting a match with her and beat her, yet the next week, she'd call out another champion. I reckon the bosses are watching this and shuddering at the memory of that, but she was constantly trying Mac, she was calling out the lowest champ, losing then calling out the next level champ and rinse and repeat. I think she must have been the only person in SCW history to face every champion in one cycle and still end it without a belt, so I've seen people who would give up their lives just for a shot at gold, but that's not me Mac. I believe in earning it, I believe that nothing should be handed to you, nothing should be given to you on a gold platter, I believe in doing something big to earn it and when I heard about this match and spoke to the bosses, I told them I need to earn it, I told them I can not potentially be a champion again just like that, I need to earn it. I got the strange look on their faces coming back at me, but it was the right thing to do, and I told them there was one thing I could do to earn it."

I put up one finger to emphasize that point.

"And that was to beat you without the belt on the line." I said honestly.

I knew that in my heart, that was a risk, this might have been my last shot at a major title but I also knew I had to do the right thing.

"This was the right thing to do." I say seriously. "I knew in my heart Mac that the right thing to do was to prove I could hang in the ring with you, I knew that there was no other choice but to beat you to earn that championship match. I don't wanna be one of those fellas who got the shot based on the past, I don't wanna be one of those guys who got the shot without a big win under my belt, I don't wanna be the guy who could possibly start off a championship run with people yacking behind my back that I didn't deserve to be in the match in the first place. You are a good champion Mac, three time, right? Not many people can have that claim to fame, and not many people can carry the company like you did. If me or anyone else is gonna get that belt off ya, they need to hit the ground running and I ain't running just yet, but a win over you me old mucker and I ain't just running, I'm sprinting like a bloody lunatic. I'm breaking world records. It took some talk but Christian and Mark saw it my way and that in your eyes, gives me a little bit of honour, adds to the saint Ben thing, but it also gives me that little bit of motivation."

I look to the side at the Jal Mahal before looking back at the camera.

"It gives me the mood, the urge to do better because I've been around this place a fair old time, lot of my wrestling career was here in SCW." I comment. "And I've seen the roster stacked beyond belief where it was tough to get at the top because the talent was immense, but I ain't blind these days, we're working with a thinner roster and I see that spot at the top next to you, I see there's a gap on that mountain you sit on. I can see all it takes is a little bit of a run being put together to get up there. I am putting together that run and I see the chance to get up there by beating you Mac. I see the space just below where you are, is empty cause you're so far ahead of everyone else on this roster, you're in a different league but I win on Sunday, just get that win and I'm right there behind ya, I'm right there near ya and people are gonna be looking at me seeing that I am legitimate, I'm not living on past achievements, I'm still a threat, and I can still be champion. People will be looking at me saying now a shot is earned."

I nod slowly.

"There will be people who will go against me of course." I say with a shrug "But there will be a lot of people sitting there thinking the next supercard, Mac Bane defending the championship against yours truly would be the icing on the cake to say hello to the fall. This is my motivation a bit Mac, the fact you lit a little fire under me again with a tweet, me knowing that this could be all or nothing for me if I wanna show the world I still have what it takes."

I really did.

"People are not silly, they know we had a beer or two on the cruise." I say with a smile. "Well, five or six, but they also know that when I'm on form, when I'm on fire, I can change the who path of my career in one match. I've done it so many times and this is one of those matches that regardless of what happens in that ring, my path changes. If I win, people are gonna see me as the biggest threat to your title that you can possibly have, if I lose, I know I'm going to go back down the bottom and look at it in a different way, work with people I want without the pressure of being a champion, and yeah, I know the pressure, I get to work with the lower card, I gotta build myself up again. Either way, after Sunday, my career path will change once more. I know what direction I want it to go in."

I point upwards.

"And only I can get it to go that way Mac, only I can push myself in that direction." I say as I lower my finger. "No one else can do this but me. I know I said when I faced Agostino, it was a chance to turn the tide and start to get back to who I was and I did just that, I flipped the tide around and I started moving upwards and I need to continue that Mac and come Sunday, if I can get past you, get myself back in that main event scene, that tide continues to flow the way I want it to. That's the goal mate, and you're gonna be facing one hell of a motivated Ben Jordan, and that fella, just like this thing beside me."

I point to the Jal Mahal.

"Is an absolute thing of beauty." I say with a wide smile.

I take a deep breath and look deep in to the camera.

"I think I've chatted your ear off long enough so it's probably time for me to knock this one on the head." I say as I push my lower lip out. "But I'm gonna leave you all with this thought. Come Sunday, magic could happen, come Sunday, you good people who have called for this match all year could see something very special. If I was you lot, I wouldn't miss it for the world, because it's gonna be bloody good."

A wide smile crosses my face.

"Anyway you lovely lot, time for me to go. I'll see you all on Sunday." I say with a nod.

I quickly wink at the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the scene fades to black.

18
Supercard Archives / This time, it's coming home.
« on: July 01, 2022, 11:03:56 AM »
It was a cold and dreary evening as the taxi cab pulled up outside a non-discript bar in an unknown area, which was unusual for this time of year, but the cold bite in the air forced people to huddle up. I'd sent an anonymous letter to three people, asking me to be here at this time, I had no clue if any of them would show up, but Max Burke clearly did as he stepped out of the taxi and looked around, his eyes darting towards the neon sign above the bar, softly buzzing in the night air. Confirming he had the right place, Max quickly moved in to the bar, looking around for any sign of life or familiar face. Max didn't even make it to the bar before a hand crept on to his well built shoulder, causing his head to turn around. The hand belonged to non other the Aron Baltasarsson, standing next to his brother Fenris.

"Max." Aron said with a cheer in his tone. "I'm guessing you got the same message as us."

Max looked at Aron, and towards Fenris, The White Wolf's eyes covered by dark sunglasses.

"Yeah, who's behind it?" Max asked.

Puzzled looks appeared quickly on Fenris and Aron's faces, but before anyone can speculate even further, a member of staff moved towards them,

"I'm guessing you guys are here to meet the gentleman who rented out the private room." He said in a gruff voice.

"What the fuck makes you think that?" Fenris barked back at the man.

"He said it was for three male wrestlers and himself and you guys look like wrestlers." The man replied. "Well, the most likely wrestlers in this crowd."

Max looked around the bar, seeing two middle aged women at a table and an older man at the bar, drinking shots in between putting the world to right within a conversation with the barman. Max couldn't help but agree internally that they were the most likely to be wrestlers.

"Follow me." the staff member said as his arm flung wildly towards a side door.

He quickly lead them across the empty bar towards the door and flung it open.

"The bar is fully stocked." He said "It's a self service, so help yourself, your host has already paid generously for the room so there will be no tab. The pool table is free to use and there's a jukebox on the wall."

"When is our host getting here?" Fenris asked with some bite to his voice.

"Should be here soon." The member of staff replied. "Until then, help yourselves to the drinks and make yourself comfortable. I'll be back in from time to time to pick up glasses."

The man leaves as the trio enter the room.

"Big room for four of us." Aron commented.

"Is it?" Fenris asked

Max couldn't help but smile as he knew Fenris' vision was still a little off from the perfume in the eyes incident, but quickly made his way to the bar. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for, the best bottle of whiskey he could find, along with four glasses before making his way to the table that Aron had guided Fenris too.

"So who do you think it is?" Fenris asked.

"Well, it could only be one person." Max replied.

"And you're probably right Max." I said as I stood at the doorway. "I mean who else was in gonna be?"

The three quickly looked towards the door to see me standing there.

"Who is it?" Fenris asked.

"Who'd ya bloody think it is with a voice like this?" I replied with a smile. "The Queen of England?"

"Ben!" Aron called out with excitement as I made my way to the table. "It's good to see ya."

"Some of us still can't see me." I said with a grin as I put my hand on Fenris' shoulder and took a seat.

Max wasted no time in opening the whiskey and pouring out glasses in front of us.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Fenris snapped. "No one's heard from you, no tweets, nothing, just gone black."

It was hard for me to know where to start with this question. I had abandoned everyone and everything lately, I had not been seen in a long time, frankly, I screwed up everything.

"Well, that's why I got you three here." I started, trying to keep my voice together. "I needed to say sorry"

"For what?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow to match his raised glass.

"I let all of you down." I said with a lump forming in my throat. "Everyone of you at this table, a few not at this table and a ton of fans, I let you all down."

"How do you work that out?" Aron asked.

"Because I just went home and stayed there, when I had big plans." I told them. "When I had Mac Bane bang on about me seven months ago, I came back, he drew me back and lit a fire under me and when nothing happened there other then a tag match, it put that fire out. It took away motivation, it took away so much of me. I had these plans, get after Mac, get after The Saviors."

"The Saviors were a fucking joke." Fenris said cutting me off. "They imploded before they could even do anything."

"I guess, but that was just gonna be the start." I said. "I wanted to make us the next Hall of Fame worthy group, I wanted Ben, Max and Fenris to strike fear in to the hearts of the men's division, I wanted Aron to manage us and that's a big get as he won manager of the year, and I even wanted Myra Rivers in our little band to be the biggest face group since the Seven Deadly Sins, but my fire goes out, Myra goes missing in action, you Fenris, you almost ended up with a guide dog, Aron hasn't had a lot to do. The only one who's been flying that flag has been Max. If I didn't go like that, then I coulda stopped Myra from being missing in action and get that dream of the Bombshell title, I coulda stopped you getting sprayed in the eyes, I coulda helped Max become World champion, I coulda done something special that made people sit and look at us as hero figures that they can get behind. There are no people like that anymore. I screwed it up for all of us."

There was an awkward silence that filled the room.

"So for screwing up, I'm sorry." I said as I looked around the table. "If I was mentally there, I woulda done everything I could to get this off the ground and I woulda done it."

"They might call you saint Ben." Fenris started. "But you can not perform miracles. You couldn't have stopped at least half of that, so you don't need to have a pity party."

"Mate, if I was mentally there, I coulda done a lot more then I did." I told Fenris. "But I wasn't mentally there."

"How so?" Max asked.

I sighed deeply, knowing it was time to be honest with them.

"Frankly Max." I started. "All that time in Greece doing the public relations stuff, I wasn't all there in the head. I was using the place as an excuse to get smashed out of my nut to turn down the voices in my head telling me that my return run has been as flat as a witches tit. I came back with the fanfare and I did bugger all to back it up. At that point, I was mentally checked out. I didn't give a monkeys if I didn't wake up the next day, hell, some days I'm shocked I did with the amount of cheap booze I stuck down my neck. I got to the point where I didn't know who I was."

I had to take a deep breath at that point.

"I felt like I was two different people." I told them. "I felt like I had two different faces. I had the face where I was all smiles and sunshine around people to try and get them to our shows, but when I was on my own, I didn't know who I was. It's why when I went home, I zoned out completely."

"We all feel like that at some point." Aron said in a sympathetic tone.

"This was different." I told him. "I don't even know where I've been. I don't know if I was at the house in Maine, New York or Jersey. I really don't. I switched off completely. I sat in a room on my own, I never left the house, where ever I was. I was just sitting there, my mind was blank for the most part of it. I kept hearing those voices telling me I was a failure, that I was a let down, so I sat there and drunk them all away."

"Where was Evie when this was happening?" Fenris asked.

"A good question I wish I could answer." I said. "But she has her other interests outside of me. She's in to fashion and property, she has a life of her own. She is not dependant on me and as a grown arse adult, I'm not dependant on her. I don't know where she was, could have been Rome, could have been Paris, I didn't even know where I was, but I probably flashed that fake smile of mine and said I was fine, she had no reason not to trust me."

"How did you even take care of yourself?" Aron quickly asked.

"I didn't." I admitted. "I didn't eat for days, just nothing but alcohol. I even got in a dog walker to walk Bear three times a day. I was lucid enough to feed him, but not me. you've heard the term out of body experience, well, that was me. I was basically there physically but not mentally. My body was sitting wide eyed in a chair in a dark room but feel like I completely detached from myself and I wasn't there. I couldn't get myself together no matter how much I tried. I went days without even showering."

Fenris takes a deep breath.

"You sure you've showed now?" He asked. "Cause there's a funky smell coming from your direction."

"How'd you know what direction I'm in Stevie?" I asked with a smile. "Unless those lack of eyes have given you a better sense of smell, you wouldn't be able to tell."

Fenris grits his teeth.

"How did you snap out of it?" Max asked.

"I don't know." I replied. "I slept for a change, and woke up and the voices had changed a bit. They told me that you're never too late to make amends for things, that you can still change your life, change your destiny. I'm not as good as I used to be, I'm not as quick as I once was, I'm not as sharp as I would like to be, but I can get back there. I can be a guy who jumps up and gets that big prize again. I can be that guy to super glue everything back together. I'm not saying that I'm fixed cause this stuff can tend to drag on, but I have a new motivation, it's why I called Christian."

"You called him?" Max questions.

I nodded towards Max.

"I did." I replied. "I knew that if I didn't shake it off, if I didn't get back to some type of normality, to some type of regular routine, then that booze would turn to pills to get me to stop hearing the voices, that would turn me on to harder stuff and I wouldn't see another year, I'd be lucky to see the next three months. I sat there and when those voices changed, telling me I could do better, they were encouraging and not filled with spite, I knew I had to turn things around, I felt I could get my arse in good shape physically and mentally, so I called him and said if he needed it, my head was back in the game and I could do the work and that's why I'm facing Agostino Romano."

"Pft!" Was the sound coming through Fenris' lips. "Could have given you more of a challenge."

"This is a challenge for me." I said to Fenris. "The guy is different, the guy is someone I've not had to deal with in the past, the guy is unpredictable at times. He interests me, because he's in this game for the pure love of it, for the love of wrestling. He never needed it, he was set up for life from his past, he never needed this, he wanted it. He reminds me of me. I was set for life, I never needed wrestling, but I wanted it. He's not this guy coming out of another combat sport, or generational wrestler, he's a guy who does it for the love of it. I like people like that, so yeah, it's a challenge to me."

"Plus a week on a cruise ship is always a good place to be." Max commented as he raised his glass towards me.

"I can't complain." I said to Max. "Besides, it gives me time to connect again with the fans and feel like myself at the same time. I always did like this show, something magical about these cruises. I know you need to be on all the time, cause ya basically within two feet of fans everywhere you go, but most of them are respectful enough to just enjoy being around wrestlers rather then hassle them all the time."

"Yeah, they're good." Aron added. "But are you sure you're ready to do this?"

I nodded at him, knowing he was concerned about me.

"Yeah." I replied quickly. "I feel good and the road to redeeming myself has to start somewhere. It might as well be here. It's a decent opponent, it's a week away, some old faces we haven't seen in a while, all sounds like a good idea to kick things off the right way."

"Right." Fenris said. "A pool table was mentioned."

"How the bloody hell can you play pool when ya eyes are that messed up?" I asked with a confused look on my face.

"I'm not completely fucked you know." Fenris barked back. "I can see enough to beat you."

"Well, someone sort them balls out, play doubles, me and Max against you two." I said. "But I'm gonna play some music."

The four of us stood up and I headed towards the jukebox as the others moved towards the pool table. A few presses of the interactive jukebox screen later and Superstition by Stevie Wonder starts to fill the room.

"Very fucking funny!" Fenris shouts out above the music.

The rest of the night flew by with jovial banter, many drinks, games of pool and as expected, many jokes from Ben about Fenris and his vision, or in this case, lack of vision.




The screen fades in to myself sitting inside a small football, soccer to you American's, stadium. The camera moves around my face as I sit there and look at the pitch, before focusing on my face.

"Alright people." I start with my opening line that's expected of me. "What a lovely place to be sitting to have a chat with you good people."

The sun was shining down on me, much better weather then the other night in the bar with the lads, put it that way.

"So the Cockney King returns to the ring once more as he looks to start putting things right." I say with a smile. "Yet here the dopey git is sitting in a footy ground and gonna try and link it all to putting things right, cause you know, that's what this whole thing is about for me, putting things right. What can this Cockney lad be thinking?"

I look at the camera as it pans down to my shirt, showing that I am wearing an England football shirt as I am speaking. I wait for a few seconds as it returns to my face.

"I think this might make a little bit more sense now." I say with a slight wink. "Redeeming something has to start somewhere, and some of the greatest comebacks of all time start with a little bit of redemption and here I am, an Englishman, sitting in a footy ground, wearing an England shirt, talking about his Italian opponent.... Get it now?"

I got the feeling some might not.

"For you good people who don't know what I'm going on about, in 2021, a football tournament, Euro 2020, yes, I know, thanks for that one Covid, took place and after battle after battle, there were two teams left standing, there was the English, who took the Mickey and turned over Germany, Ukraine and Denmark, till there was just one team in our way, and those were the lads from Italy. The stage was set, Football was coming home but that just wasn't to be as Peroni was thrown in the air in Italy, while us English cried in to our pints of John Smith's. The Italians, through a couple of questionable things, had broken English hearts and this is what this match sort of feels like to me Agostino. It feels like I've battled back from a lot in my life to be here. Like the football team, I've had heart breaks of stuff that feel like getting knocked out in the semi finals of a couple of World Cups, I have had the heart breaks of set backs of watching us lose to the likes of Hungary and Iceland, I've felt that disappointment and bounced back." I say in a serious tone.

Are we all following along? Good.

"Now there may not be a shiny trophy to lift at the end of this match Agostino." I say with a slight nod. "But there is more to it then that, there's pride on the line, there's redemption, there's a little revenge for last years football on the line for me. I've seen my country fail against an Italian opponent before and I won't be the next one to do so. I won't be the next to have my name remembered by being beaten by Italian nationals in a competitive sport. I gotta push myself and use that heartbreak as motivation to get through this match. I want people to sit there and say we might not have beaten them at football, but we have beaten them in the wrestling ring."

It was good solid motivation.

"That will help me kick on Agostino." I say with a smile. "Because I need that, I need to kick on and be who I was meant to be, I need to show myself as who I want to be, not the let down I've become, I want to show myself as the guy that people look up to, and respect, the guy that people from back home can be proud of and I'm sure you want the same thing mate."

I didn't know for sure if he did, but we are alike.

"I made the comment to the lads the other night over a glass of whiskey about how alike we really are." I say as I recall the conversation with Max, Aron and Fenris. "Our paths in to wrestling are alike but different. Neither of us came from wrestling backgrounds, you are a champion elsewhere and never needed to put your body on the line anymore, you've had that part of your life. I was a geezer that stumbled in to money and nothing more then that, I had enough to live forever without having to lift a finger. I coulda been a gold diggers dream. I never needed to put my body on the line, but I did it. We were both humble people, we never had the rubbish upbringing or the painful stuff that drove us here, but we got here like the tough guys, cowboys and evil characters out there. We both have as much drive as them to be the champion, maybe more so because we needed to prove to these legit tough guys that we can hang with them. We're alike in that way, so that makes me think, just like be, you want to be a role model to your people, you want to be looked at through smiling eyes, I want that too mate, the problem is, one of us are gonna take a dent in a couple of weeks, one of our stocks gonna go down."

Mines been low as it is lately.

"And I can't let that be me." I say with a serious tone. "You've seen I've come back and not looked the greatest and I need to change that Agostino. I need to change it from Summer XXXTreme X, I need to start getting back to the old me and back to winning ways, I need to start becoming the person I know I am and you're gonna play a big role in that because as God is my witness mate, from now till that bell rings, I'm gonna be working my Jacobs off to be the best me I can be. I am gonna do everything physically possible to make sure I'm the sharpest I've been in a long time because you deserve nothing less then the best Ben Jordan there is out there. You deserve to face the best version of me and that is exactly the me you're gonna face. There's no ifs or buts about it. You're gonna face the best version of me out there."

I felt determined to give Agostino that best version of me.

"I'm not coming back in to that ring to mess about, that would be a disservice to you." I say firmly. "You're gonna get all I can offer and if you can beat that, then my hat is off to you mate, but I got a lot riding on this one, a lot more then people know, a lot more then people see. I got my future riding on this one, I got the pride of a nation sitting on my back, I got more then enough motivation to show you and the rest of the locker room, and the world that I'm Ben Jordan and I ain't done yet, not by a long shot my old mucker."

I knew I had more in me and I really believed Agostino was the perfect opponent to bring it all out of me.

"I'm more ready for this then most people ever thought I could be, but the hard work is not stopping till I've got my hand raised." I say with a lot of determination in my voice. "I can't let that doubt creep in and my way to stop that is to sit there and know that my redemption starts a week on Sunday, my redemption continues in that ring a week on Sunday and I won't stop looking for it until I get back to where I feel deep down I actually belong."

I could feel the passion running through me.

"Can't stop, won't stop, will push us both to the limits Agostino and I am more then determined to make sure that this time, English eyes are smiling, people are back home watching me singing Three Lions, proud of this Englishman, proud of what I've done in the ring." I say with a prideful smile. "I can already hear them singing One Ben Jordan in my mind, I can already feel their energy and I haven't even got in the ring yet. I can hear them screaming and counting the three count. I can hear them Agostino, I can hear them yelling Eng-ger-land, no Forza Italia, none of that malarky, oh no. This is the comeback they've all been waiting for."

I can't let them down.

"There's gonna be differences from that final." I say as I reference the Euro's again. "There's gonna be no dodgy tackles, there's gonna be no pulling a player back when he's about to go one on one and getting away with it, there's gonna be no penalty shoot out, and more importantly, what there is gonna be is an England win, because this time Agostino, it's coming home!"

I listen as on cue, the intro to Three Lions starts to play with the words it's coming home repeated. I couldn't help but smile.

"Magic eh?" I say with a big grin. "Anyway, it's time to say arrivederci for now Agostino, but there's much more to come from me next week. Until then...."

I wink at the camera.

"Laters people!"

And with that, the sound of Three Lions gets louder as the camera gets my ugly mug off the screen and fades to black.

19
Climax Control Archives / The glue that sticks us together - Part two!
« on: April 29, 2022, 02:55:31 PM »
Sunday 24th April.

I couldn't actually believe it, the energy from the crowd was insane. They say you feel a proper buzz from the crowd when there's a lot of people in the same place for the same reason but this wasn't just a buzz, this was electric, pure electric, nothing but electric zapping through the air, there was something different about it. The crowd were drooling at the mouth to see Mac Bane Vs Fenris, they were excited the second the card was announced, hell I was excited because I got to be this close to ringside. There's front row and there's beyond the barrier and I got to be beyond and I gotta level with ya, it wasn't just about watching one of my closest friends in the ring against a man who has constantly sung my name like an X Factor contestant, Mac Bane, a fella who came and scouted me against Godly Ken Davison, and then went quiet when he got to pick his poison. There was another man there at ringside, another man with interest in this match.

Chris Page.

Yes, THE Chris Page.

I like to keep my fingers on the pulse of wrestling, not because I wanna be the boss some day, that stuff seems seriously stressful stuff what with the people moaning, trying to get in people's ear, all of that malarkey, it's all very political at times and if I wanna get in to politics, which is possible, I'd rather do it for the greater good, not a wrestling company, plus the finance side, geez, that must be an absolute mare. I am a guy who liked to look at other people and learn from them, a lot of the time, indirectly. When you look for people you know you can learn something from, then Chris Page is near the top of the list of legends.

I ain't blowing smoke, let's just face facts, the man is that good, he's had a career that has been one so many wanna live up to and there he was across the ring from me, watching on just like I was.

I couldn't help but look across at him constantly during the match because I wanted to see how his mind worked and I could see him watching the match closer than most do, I could see him write down mental notes after every move. If you could see a thought bubble over his head, that would have took the crowds attention to him without a doubt. There he was on the other side of the ring to me with a look of concentration on his face, the crowd drown out, just there to look at what was going on in the ring.

I guess I was a little envious of his mind as my eyes flicked back and forth between the match and Chris Page, but I don't think he even noticed I was knocking around there. His focus was one what was happening in the ring and I was in awe of him.

I thought that was the closest I'd get to Chris Page, and yeah, it was nice being in the same general area as him. Nice being involved in a match with him by standing at ringside. I didn't know what was just around the corner for me.

Anyway, you saw how the match ended, and it was a bit disappointing, two warriors went in and no one came out with their hands raised. As a fan, I woulda felt slighted in a way. Two men going to war for that result and I felt the disappointment as I walked through the curtain with Fenris. Max stood waiting for us with a couple of water bottles.

"Great match." He said as he handed a water bottle to Fenris and then to me.

"Shit ending." Fenris barked.

It was clear the Icelandic MMA fighter was not in the best of moods and when he's in those kinda moods, you tend to steer clear.

"Dunno what ya moaning for mush." I said to Fenris with a grin. "Was a good match, people were in to it, you got to smack Mac Bane in the gob a few time."

"Not enough times." Quickly came the reply from Fenris

Aron appeared, draping a towel over his brother's shoulder, which trust me, was a good thing, sweating all over the place.

"You still looked good out there." Max told Fenris. "Shame about the result but there's always next time."

"And next time isn't far away." The voice of Christian Underwood could be heard saying as he approached us from behind.

I snapped my head around, seeing the boss smile as he walked with a confident stride towards us, clear that he was a plan with a plan as usual.

"A little while ago." Christian started. "Chris Page and I made a deal that would allow him for an SCW match and I think that time is next week."

I arched an eyebrow in curiosity. Christian had instantly walked over and grabbed out attention just like that.

"So I'm thinking Mac Bane and Chris Page Vs Fenris and Ben Jordan, next week." Christian said full of confidence and swagger.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing from the boss himself, in an instant, I was standing at ringside with Chris Page to be across the ring from Chris Page, me, wrestling Chris Page. I did hear that right? By the way Max was looking at me and Fenris and nodding with approval, I guess I did hear that. I am gonna be in the ring with Chris Page!

"Earth to Ben?" Max's voice dragged me out of my slight drift in to the realms of fantasy.

"Yeah, sorry, drifted for a second there." I admitted. "What's going on?"

"Fenris is heading for a shower, and we'll hit the town?" Max questioned.

"Yeah." I quickly replied. "We should get a few others involved. Maybe hunt for Myra, and that young lad who you beat earlier, Miles. He seems like he'll be entertaining on a night out."

"I'll find Myra, you find Miles." Max says with a nod.

"And you." I said as I turned my head towards Fenris. "You go for a shower, you're stinking up the place. Smells like Billingsgate Fish Market around here."

"Where?" Fenris asked seriously.

I pointed away towards the locker room by my mind was on one. I get to be in the same ring as Chris Page AND Mac Bane. One gets my respect, the other gets a slap.

Anyway, so the rest of the night turned in to a little bit of a party, you don't wanna hear about that, right? Nah, didn't think so. I do have another funny story though....



RECOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD SCRATCHY SOUND!

You're probably just jumping in to this and wondering why I'm sitting here holding a glue stick. Well, there's an explanation for that and it all starts in Fenris' promo. Yes, we did inter linky promos like smarty people, so go, skip on over there and have a butchers on not only why I have a glue stick in my hand but why Fenris has his fish lips glued together...

Never thought I'd ever say that.

Good old Fenris had managed to glue his lips together, I know we've all wanted to do it at one point or another but he'd done it himself. What a lovely day!

I looked at the glue stick and looked towards Fenris as Max took a seat in front of Fenris.

"Well, there's good news and there's bad news, which one do you want first?" I asked as I glanced towards Fenris.

Muffled sounds came from the Icelandic wrestler.

"Well come on, speak up." Max added, only to get a frown in his direction.

As Max smiled towards Fenris, I looked at the glue stick, pretending to read the label.

"The good news is that it's not like gorilla glue, it probably won't last forever." I told him. "Maybe two or three years, five if we're lucky. The bad news is you're gonna have to learn to eat with your nose and ears."

"Maybe we can blend down a pizza in to a smoothie just for you." Max suggested.

"There's a bird on the roster who's a bit of a wannabe chef." I said looking at Max. "I think it's Ariana Angelos, could be one of the other people that hang with her, can't remember at the moment but maybe she can come up with some ideas of smoothies we can give him."

Fenris eyes widen as he shakes his head, he had been subjected to one of her weird concoctions in the past and now had a healthy fear of anything the woman could make.

"I think she can come up with a ton of good things, like steak flavoured cookies." I offered.

"Ahmm mmmmm mme-gan" Was the sound coming out of Fenris' mouth, just a sound no ones.

"Did you say mmmmm sounds good?" I said with a wink "Cause I think they would be."

"I think he said he's a vegan." Aron explained. "He doesn't eat meat."

"You two read each others minds these days?" I asked with a grin.

"I don't think it counts as eating meat if we're shoving it up his nose." Max said with nod of his head.

This was actually a rare opportunity for us to actually pick on Fenris for a change, the man has a sharp tongue but when he can't actually use it, a lot of that power is gone. We can poke the bear a little here without the fear of being called a tosser or worse.

"We need to find a way to get that glue off." Aron said, showing more concern for his brother than Max and I.

"But do we?" Max asks, his eyes darted towards Aron.

"Yeah." I added "Do we? This is the quietest he's been in years, he's actually listening to people cause he can't speak and the more he opens his mouth to try and break the glue, the more he looks like something out of a horror story and that's funny stuff mate."

Aron glances towards Fenris but Fenris looks back at his brother with stern eyes.

"We should probably do something." Aron softly said, not a statement, not a question, perhaps feeling the wrath of his brother later.

"Well Max." I said looking at him. "I think we're gonna have to come up with something."

Max and I mockingly tap our chins as we look towards Fenris.

"I'm thinking crowbar." I said to Max. "We get it right in those rubbery fish lips of his, angle it way up high. Then get a ladder, about fifteen feet up or so. Climb up and jump down with a double foot stomp on the end of the crowbar, popping those things wide open. Sorted."

"Might pop his head off." Aron offers.

"That's a risk we're willing to take." I said with a quick wink to Aron

"How about fire?" Max suggested. "We just burn some of his lips off where the glue is and he'll be able to talk again."

"He does have a lot of lips to spare if we're honest." I pondered. "But the real question is do we really want him to talk again? I mean he's probably thinking in his head about all the nasty words he's gonna say to us when we free him from his captivity."

We all looked towards Fenris who was nodding his head up and down, with a smile on his glued lips.

I knew of a simple solution to fix the issue but I found this way too more entertaining to watch him squirm for a while. An opportunity like this doesn't come along every day, hell, it doesn't come along any day to have Fenris in this position.

"Should probably call David though." I said in general. "It's the one chance Fenris can't say no to him."

I could instantly feel the heat coming from the direction of Fenris but I couldn't stop myself making the comment anyway. I could see the frustration in Fenris starting to rise. I mean this is the longest he's gone without speaking while he's been awake since he was a baby I would think. It must have been driving him potty just sitting there unable to speak, but for us, it was actually heaven. It was the most peaceful things had been for a while

"Could take you to a hospital or something." I suggested.

We all watched on as Fenris shook his head fast, instantly reaching to his lips and trying to pull his lips apart. It was a gruesome sight to see him try but it wasn't budging at all.

"Do we take that as a no?" Max asked.

Fenris stopped for a second, just to look at Max and nod before trying again.

"I guess there's one thing we can do." I said quietly.

"What's that?" Max asked

"Take a selfie!" I said with a wide smile on my face. "Everyone get in!"

I quickly moved towards Fenris, standing next to him as Aron moved to the other side and Max jumped in behind him. I quickly pulled out my phone and hit the camera, moving it around to get us all in the picture before quickly taking a shot of us all. A few seconds and a couple of taps later, the picture was sent elsewhere.

"I think Eves would get a kick out of that snap." I said, confirming that the picture was already being sent to my wife.

Fenris rolled his eyes at us he leaned forward, shaking his head from side to side as he looked forlorn.

"Well I dunno about you lot, but I could murder a pint." I said with a grin. "Fancy one Fenris?"

It was a cheeky question but I couldn't resist. Fenris tried to speak but nothing but muffled sounds came from him.

"What's that?" I asked. "You wanna be the designated driver today? Sure you can buddy! No taxi for us, we got us a driver lads!"

I pointed to the door and Fenris and Aron got to their feet, Fenris defeated as he walked slowly towards the exit. Max stops me as I attempt to walk past, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"You know you can dissolve most glue with something like nail polish remover, right?" He said in a hushed tone.

"Of course." I replied with a wink. "I'm just not gonna tell him that, I'm enjoying the peace."

Max and I shared a smile before heading towards the door behind them.

So you probably wanna know how this ended, right? Well, we went for a drink, well, three of us did, Fenris sat there with the right hump. We tried to get him to drink through his nose but the bubbles really didn't agree with him. We think he said something about them burning, but we couldn't understand a bloody word he was saying. Eventually the glue wore off, took a while but it got there in the end. The rest of the night...? He made up with shots and turning the air blue with his language and yep, we ended up getting a taxi home, don't drink and drive kids. Well, there ya go, that's an experience in Lesbos you don't get every day!



I dunno what draws me to the sea but something always does, something always makes me look for hotels on the seafront. I guess it's because part of me misses Cuba, misses walking out the front door and looking at the sea right there. Maybe it was London living on the river, Jersey, the original Jersey, not the new one in America, or even the lake in Maine. Something about me and water fits so on an Island tour, this bloke is at home and I made sure to get a hotel where I can look out the window and see water. That's what I did and now I found myself on my balcony late at night with a camera, and the sea in the backdrop, Lesbos lit up with lights from houses around the island. I was fairly high up but it added to the beauty of the night.

"Alright people." Ah, my classic opener.

I smiled down the camera.

"What a beautiful night in Lesbos to sit and have a natter with you all about something coming up on Sunday." I started. "Something bigger than I thought I'd be doing on Sunday to be honest with ya, I mean who woulda thought I'd get to sit here and talk to you about facing Chris Page."

I was still stunned to be honest with you all, absolutely stunned.

"A legend in our sport." I said honestly. "And he's getting in the ring with me, now that is something for the bucket list, something we can tick off the list. When I came back to SCW at the start of the year, I did wonder what was in store for me, if I was gonna be able to keep up, if I was gonna get the big matches against the top guys around and so far, I've beaten the guy who was the Internet champion at the time and I've beaten a former SCU Underground champion, and now the matches just keep getting bigger and bigger because no offence Mac, but Chris Page has made this match the biggest since I came back."

I was smiling through disbelief.

"Your SCW debut Chris and I hope it leads to more matches in SCW." I said seriously. "I hope this is the first of you resurrecting your in ring career and having a hell of a run here. I'm just sad that this didn't happen before, that this didn't happen years ago. I'm just sad this is the first time me and you would have crossed paths because I woulda given up so much to defend the SCW World Championship against you when I had it. Defeated the best out there is the way to build a legacy and I would have loved to have had a crack at defending my belt against you. I know you're a busy fella with all you're doing across so many places but I hope this match against me and Fenris gives you the urge to get back in to this and come on and face me more often."

I really was hoping that.

"But my guess is I know more about you than you know about me." I said with a wag of the finger. "Because I tend to do a lot under the radar, so I'm gonna tell ya as much as there's clearly a bit of respect from me, it doesn't stop me being confident that I can actually beat you come Sunday. I mean I go in to every match with a little bit of healthy respect, I go in to every match with the mindset that I am gonna walk out winning and if I don't, it don't wind me up, I just get up, dust myself off and get on with it again. I don't have people calling foul for me, I just get on with it, but it doesn't stop that confidence flowing out of me, it doesn't stop me feeling that I could beat anyone when I get in the ring. You may be a legend, you may be a man who people will line up for hours to see, you may be a guy I would queue up for hours to see, but I step in that ring, I look at those people and my heart goes in to everything I do in that ring and a lot of the time, it overwhelms man and legend alike."

I could start to feel that confidence flow through me.

"I look back on all I've done Chris." I said sincerely. "Everything, the long runs I've had without losing, the championship belts and although so many people out there doubt me and have done for a long time, I ain't done yet and I won't be done for a while. If I can beat someone like you, then they'll all sit up and take notice again, they'll all be keeping their peepers on me. They'll all be looking at me and my stock rises, but I ain't in this match for that Chris. I wanted to wrestle a true wrestling legend and that's what I get to do. I get to take on someone who has made a mark in this business and although the eyes might be on me if I beat ya, it's not about that for me. It's about the experience and I'm looking forward to being in that ring with ya."

I actually meant that.

"But you Mac." My tone changed to more serious. "I'm getting in the ring with you for a whole different reason, a very different reason, because it's about time you saw what you had a hand in bringing back. I heard you mention my name and make some dodgy comments and you've said to me whenever I was ready to step up, you'd be waiting for me. Mate, I was ready to step up a long time ago but you hid behind Blast From The Past, you hid behind Matthew Knox, it was like you called out the big kid, then changed ya mind and beat up the little guy instead. You spoke about me time and time again and well, in big Mac Bane style, nothing happened. You absolutely dodged me. You came and watched me against your heavenly buddy, or former buddy, I don't know anymore, you lot confuse me, and you still dodged me."

I kinda wanted to get under Mac's skin, I saw something in his match with Fenris and how he reacted to Fenris getting under his skin.

"You've been that big mean dog barking behind a tree, yapping away, while the gates been open right next to ya and ya haven't run around to bite." I said firmly. "You've been all mouth and no trousers as we say in England, all bark and sod all bite. I mean you could go and have a punch up with a guy in a parking lot after a show ended but you sit there yapping away about me and you couldn't throw a single punch my way? How does that even make you look at this point? I mean you call on me, I come back, and you hide away, you throw punches after shows, you hand pick a guy to suit you, not for the challenge and I've been standing here all along, waiting for you to punch me and nothing, not even a little dig."

I intentionally made myself sound disappointed there. Maybe there was something in me that was disappointed in the situation.

"You coulda come for me any time and you decided to sit there and tell me to come step up to you." I said firmly. "I've been trying, you've just been too busy elsewhere but now there is nowhere to run Mac, we will be in the same ring at some point, we will be face to face, now you gotta ask yourself are you gonna put that big old frying pan hand in my face or are you gonna hide behind Chris Page and tell the world everyone wants to see him fight?"

I must be mad begging Mac to hit me, but ya know.

"You got your chance to really send a message Mac." I said with slight authority. "And my inbox is empty just waiting for it. There's nowhere left to run, nowhere left to hide, nowhere at all, at some point, we will be face to face. You've gone quiet chatting about me, but now you have no choice to put my name back in your mouth and I ain't gonna lie, I can not wait to get the chance to punch it right out of it."

Now that I did kinda wanna do.

"It's food for thought Mac." I said with a firm nod. "It's the first time you've really come up against me since my name got stuck in your mouth, and it's my chance to punch another world champion in the mush and I ain't letting this chance go."

And I wasn't gonna.

"So I'm gonna leave you with that Mac, I'm looking forward to seeing ya." I said with a smile. "and I'm looking to seeing Chris Page for a whole different reason. Till Sunday...."

You know what's coming.

"Laters people."

And with that, the camera moves past me to show the beautiful island of Lesbos before fading to black.

20
Climax Control Archives / The Company Man
« on: April 15, 2022, 11:21:50 AM »
Good day you lovely bunch. Time for another promo thingy where I chat bout what's going on, what's happened lately, yada, yada, ya. Interesting time to be an SCW fan, don't ya think? So much madness going on, I gotta be honest with ya, I can't keep up. The Saviors have turned in to The Jerry Springer Show, Mac Bane is staking his reputation on picking someone with no proven SCW record to help him sell a supercard, Bobbie Dahl flew thousands of miles just to eat cake, Fenris is grumpier than usual and then there's me, becoming silent more and more when it comes to on screen stuff.

There's a reason for me being less on screen and more not. Despayre got me a wicked contract, less fighty, more talky. More public relations work, less smashy on my head with a chair. That is why you never saw me in Corfu. I mean you can say what you want about the bosses in SCW, you can moan all you like about certain things, and trust me, backstage people moan A LOT about things, but their sharpness for business is something that can not be questioned. Someone worked out quickly that Zante is a party place, full of Brits having a good time and it would be smart to chuck in an Englishman or woman with a little bit of the gift of gab and push those tourists in to seats. They coulda got Mark Cross to do it, but Mark's a loved up fella these days, good for him. They coulda sent Diamond Steele to Zante early to engage with the media and fans, but lets be honest, Diamond is very Americanised these days, throwing in a bloody here and there don't help, feels bloody forced, ya know what I mean?

There was a chat, it was a party place, there was only one man for the job and that would be me. I do have a bad reputation for a real good time, ya know?

But it wasn't always partying, although in a party town, yes, that was a big part of it, but you know what Brits love on holidays? Newspapers. Seriously, back home, we use the Internet like most people around the world, but for some reason, we go on holiday and we must hunt down newspapers, to go along with a fry up every day. It's really what us Brits do.

Someone in the office thought earlier in my trip, to speak to a local newspaper reporter about SCW, about what it can bring to a place like Zante. SCW goes to odd places but a wrestling company in Greece was ground breaking stuff, especially one that had a reputation such as SCW.

So there I was, sitting on a bench at the port of Zante, juggling two oranges while I waited for someone to show up, a reporter set up from the offices to come and talk about SCW, the business side of SCW. Mate, I sat there juggling those things for ten minutes before I heard a woman's voice.

"Ben Jordan?" She said in a soft English accent.

I knew a lot of reporters through out Europe came from The United Kingdom, it was a lot of people's dream jobs to be the foreign correspondent in a country where the sun shines a hell of a lot. It's what I would have been aiming at in that field.

"That would be me." I said as I dropped one of the oranges, watching it roll away towards the water.

I looked at her, a blonde woman in her early thirties, clearly a sun lover from the way her tan looked to be perfectly even.

"I think you was expecting me." She said with a little doubt in her voice. "Jenny Stevens, I'm a reporter, your office set up an interview."

"That they did." I said as I pointed to the bench space next to me. "Take a seat."

She did as I said, quickly taking a seat next to me.

"Thanks for meeting me." She said. "I'm a big wrestling fan, so it's good to speak to you."

"Could have been worse." I said with a smile. "Could have ended up with Kate Steele."

I knew it was a joke, us Brits lead the world in banter and well, that's all it was, little bit of bants as the kids would say.

"So SCW in Greece." She commented.

"Yeah." I said. "I've been here before, long story involving a heart, not really interesting though. Always loved the place, was like a cat with a rocket up it's jacksy when I heard we was coming here - over the moon."

I couldn't help but smile at my own cheesy joke, but Jenny was a professional it seemed.

"This is an untapped market." She said with an air of confidence. "What was behind SCW's thinking coming here?"

Little side note, whilst opinions might be mine people, facts come from the SCW office. I'd spent days talking to Christian and Mark about the corporate side of this, just so that there was no speculation, just facts. I knew to sell things though, I had to be me and talk like a lot was opinion. If not, might as well just sent a letter - who writes letters these days?

"As you said, it's untapped." I replied quickly. "SCW has the name, the reputation and means to tap any market. I mean you look at some of the stuff that's been done over the years, like beach shows, cruise ships, Caribbean resorts, a world tour in places some wouldn't think had a market for wrestling, but SCW created one."

"I could understand maybe Athens, but an island like Zante..." She said with a trail off.

I could see where she was going with this, this part of Greece and others on the tour is for tourists rather then anything else.

"All you need for a great wrestling show is people in the back willing to work, and people looking for a bloody good time." I said with a smile. "This island is teeming with people who want a good time. I mean how often will you be able to say you went to Zante to have a jolly up with the boys, and got to meet and see the people from the box? Our guys will be over here next week or at least the ones who actually embrace the tour rather then bounce back home every show, which for me is too much hassle. These guys will stand and talk to anyone within reason."

"Within reason?" She quickly picked up on.

"Yeah, I mean end of the day, we are on the screen all the time, but we are people too." I said diplomatically. "If ya out with ya partner having dinner, you don't want people running over to you all the time. Wait until people are done and they'll be more than happy to talk to ya. I mean you could pop down to the beach and run in to Senor Vinnie and his cactus, who will probably have a chat with ya. You might run in to Roxi Johnson in a bakery, who will be fan friendly, you never know, you might get to see Mac Bane and Amber Ryan having a stroll down the street who will take snaps with ya. All that adds to a good time, so to me, there's no better place then Zante to find people who wanna have a blinding time and that's what we are here to give."

I was oddly proud of that answer and couldn't help but smile just a little at it.

"So you feel there will be no problems drawing a crowd?" She asked looking me dead in the eye.

"None at all." I said confidently. "I think this will be one hell of a show, I think it will get the locals and the tourists. I mean we have a Greek roster member who is real popular, young, talented, fans love her so I think she'll be a draw. We have some amazing matches, things are heating up on camera, lots to get done. We've done shows all over and never had an issue."

"SCW has evolved a lot over the years." She commented.

"It has, that's why I don't think it will be a problem here." I replied quickly. "SCW started off with a few hundred fans and it grew in to huge shows, stadium shows. Everywhere SCW goes, they tend to get huge crowds and it's good stuff. The people here are lovely, I've met a lot of people who have gone and bought tickets and showed me. There's already a buzz around here, think what it's gonna be like in the next few days when the rest of the crew get here. Plus the islands are not too far apart, short trip over to come see us."

"You sound fairly confident." She said with a side glance.

I was confident that a show in Zante with tourists and locals alike would be amazing, and would completely rock the island. There was not a doubt in my mind about this at all. I truly thought SCW would create something special in Greece.

"Very confident." I said with an affirmative nod. "I feel SCW can create something special here in Greece. I feel that SCW can show that there's a call for this here and that we get to come back to this place a lot more. Since I've been here, this has been amazing."

"You think this would lead to more shows in Greece?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I don't see why not." I said with a shrug. "Seems like people are loving this tour and not to sound boring, but the numbers are great and everyone seems to be having a good time so yeah, think it could lead to a lot of other things here, including a bit more scouting here for newer talent."

"What do you think of the current storylines?" She slipped in.

I did have a feeling something like this was gonna happen. There was a bit of a controversial thing going on when Mac Bane picked Matthew Knox to defend the championship against and yeah, it did kick up a bit of a backstage stink really, but it is what it is.

"I tend to focus a lot more on what's going on with me." I said partly avoiding the question. "But I can't complain. Supercard gave us a couple of new champions, so will be interesting to see where that goes. There's a lot of people lulling around at the moment with a little effort, could really break through, so it's a good time to be a fan."

I think she quickly worked out I was talking absolutely the diplomatic answer, journalistic instincts you might call it. It got half a smile at least.

"Are we gonna see you back in the ring any time soon?" She asked me.

"Very soon." I said with a smile. "I spoke to the booking people and looks like I'm gonna be back in Crete. I'm not sure who I'm facing but yeah, should be back getting swung at then."

"Do you miss wrestling as regular as you used to?" She said, trying to hide a smirk.

I knew at this point she was looking for some juicy story about why I haven't done as much as I used to but I'm transitioning in a way. I actually really like going out and meeting people, and talking away.

"Not really." I said smoothly. "I'm enjoying the way things are right now. I get to do a lot of public relations stuff that keeps me busy. I get to hang around a lot of good people in the media, I get to go and meet the fans, I get to sell the show while others don't. I'm really liking that at the moment, I'm really liking being able to be free enough to go help sell tickets without being beat up from the night before. It's a challenge, and I like a challenge."

"But surely a match with Mac Bane should be in the future?" She questioned.

"You'd have thought so." I replied with a grin. "He's rocked his jaw enough talking about it, but you can see it as a nice slow build. Something is there bubbling under the surface, everyone knows it's there bubbling under the surface, so when it happens, timings gotta be bang on right for that explosion that's gonna make people sit there and scream for it, rather than roll their eyes. When it happens, believe me, it's gonna be good to the point we won't need to sell it. I won't have to go on Twitter and call out people because they're doubting what I can do."

That drew a smile from the young woman's lips and we continued to talk for another hour covering a lot of subjects wrestling wise. It was an alright way to spend an afternoon. By the way, if you were wondering about what happened to that orange that rolled away, and of course you was.... Seagull stole it.



Let's bring things up to today, Crete, Greece - Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium. The ring crew was hard at work as I sat in the stands looking down at the work going on. I was just waiting for the cameraman to give me the thumbs up to start talking.... Wait, looks like he'd been trying to get my attention for a bit, but my eyes were busy looking around at the work being done. It's ok, we can edit that out.

"Alright people." I start, with my voice just about going above the noise of the work.

Pipe down people, trying to sell a match here!

"Feels like I say this all the time but it feels like forever since I've had the chance to have a chat about an opponent." I say with a grin. "There ain't no messing around this week on the jump in to the ring is there because I'm facing a fella who opted out of his Sin City Underground contract pretty sharpish when he heard the news, and quickly scribbled his name to an Sin City Wrestling contract, a longer term one. I mean the man was in Blast From The Past, but he secured his future quickly. Some would call that a rat jumping from a sinking ship, but me, I ain't that guy, it's securing your future. He comes to SCW with a pretty decent record, a former underground champion."

And yeah, he held that belt longer than me.

"Hitamashii." I say with a firm nod. "I can't use your other name cause honestly mate, I can't pronounce it at all, but let me be the first to welcome you to SCW in your first big run with the big boys. You see the way this one was billed? Battle of the former Underground champions. It's a bit of an oversell, I was Underground champion for about five minutes, but you mate, you was an impressive little bugger down there, you showed that you was tough, strong, really picked up that title and ran with it till you couldn't run no more, but telling ya, SCW is a straight up different story, it's a whole new thing. Wrestling ain't as universal as people think, there's many different styles to it and this is Sin City Wrestling mate, this ain't Sin City Underground, here, it's different, here it's tougher to get going. You may well have been a big lad down there, but here, tougher. People quit all the time because they can't handle SCW, people lose a match and cry off. I mean there's names we haven't seen on the card in a while cause of it. It's all good coming up when you got Amber Ryan as a partner, all good but when ya standing on your Jack Jones, are you gonna be one of those people who sink or swim? I mean talk is one thing, we all do that, we chat like it's going out of fashion but can you actually lose to me this week and still think you have what it takes?"

We have seen it, people lose, people show who they truly are and leave.

"I know it took you a while to get hold of that belt, I know it took guts to keep bouncing back when Max Burke was slaughtering everyone and keeping your hands from grabbing it. You kept at him like a little pitbull gnarring at an ankle. It shows there's something there Hitamashii, but this is different, the spotlight shines a little brighter here, the star can grow beyond anything you can imagine. This isn't just something you can shrug off, you're losing in front of bigger and better peers, more fans. Are you gonna be able to handle it?"

I mean he could, right?

"I mean I'm used to it mate." I say confidently "I ain't one of these people hell bent on maintaining the perfect record, if I lose, I come back stronger. If it gets to me, I come up with ways to work harder, be better than I was before but it takes a special kinda person to be like that Hitamashii, a very special type of person to take the knocks and just keep rolling. I dunno if you're gonna be that person, I dunno if you're gonna be able to deal with it, because I don't think you're getting the Ben Jordan you're expecting. I need to stand out again mate, I really and truly need to step up and stand out because I'm spinning my wheels, I'm treading water at this point. I'm like so many others right now that are sitting there without putting in too much to get what I want and what I want is to be the old me again, the proper me, Ben Jordan Original. That's what I need to be and it will be a big feather in my dear stalker cap to grab a win over a bloke who was Underground champion not so long ago. That is a big old gold star on the resume."

All about the quality of opponent people.

"That is something that would stand out in my mind, and it will stand out in others minds too Hitamashii." The confident tone flows from my lips. "Long standing SCU champion, coming to SCW, picking up a win against him, that would be quiet the result and that is what is gonna happen mate. I need to be consistent, I need to be active to put myself in the right people's minds, the people who are gonna sit there and look at me and think yeah, he'll be a challenge, lets go against him. I need to be that guy who people wanna be in the ring with and I've beating the now former Internet champion in a non title match, and now I'm after the former Underground champion to add to that collection."

If things like that don't put me in people's minds, nothing will.

"This is the way I'm thinking right now." I admit. "I'm thinking about adding names to the list so if people can be bothered, they can look back at my record and think bloody hell, he's beaten some top guys, some big champions, some big former champions, he's the challenge, he's the one I need to step up to. Having a long term champion like yourself Hitamashii, perfect name to add to the next part of the list."

He would be a good name to be honest.

"So Hitamashii...." I start. "Are you gonna flop like a jellyfish after I beat you or not? Have no fear at all, I will beat ya, I'm in the mood mate, I'm in the mood to do some damage, I'm in the mood to have a little fun out there and give some people's head a wobble to remember what I can do. I think a lot of people have forgotten just what I can do, I think a lot of people need a bit of a refresher course in who Ben Jordan is, what Ben Jordan can do. I'm in the mood to show a little bit of ambition and stop looking at me shoe laces and start looking upwards. I've spent a lot of time looking down lately Hitamashii, spent a lot of time looking at my feet and not upwards, but it's time for me to look at that top of the mountain again, it's time for me to look at the sky, it's time for me to look at the heavens above and start moving my way towards them cause I'm done with looking at the ground. Take that one as a warning to ya mate."

Looking up is something I haven't done in a long time, it's something I needed to do if I ever wanted to go anywhere again in my life and career.

"Anyway, I've flapped my gums long enough." I say seriously. "Hitamashii, welcome properly to SCW, it's gonna be a rough ol' ride."

Time for the wink....

"Laters people!" I say with the wink.

And there you have it good people, see ya all on Sunday!

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