[Ben Jordan]

 23rd October 2016 - After Climax Control went off the air.

"Seriously can not believe this shit!" The unusually angry tone of Ben Jordan is heard saying out loud to no one in particular.

The camera fades in to the medical room in Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino, California. Where Ben Jordan lays on a bed, a member of the SCW medical team looking at his bootless ankle, an instant swelling forming on his right foot, the same area where earlier tonight, a chair was brutally slammed against it, as well as being twisted in that very same match. A dark bruise runs along the side of the Englishman's foot as Jamie Dean stands watching.

"I can't believe Jon Dough would pull this shit for a the sake of a belt." Jamie yells out "And when the hell do titles change hands after there's been a DQ in the match? This doesn't happen."

Ben winces in pain as the doctor presses down on a tender spot on his ankle. He looks up at Jamie shaking his head.

"Look mate, I don't have the answers to this." Ben replies "But I do know I let ya down proper out there. No one takes two straight falls in a match, no one at all but for some bloody reason, I did. I was off me game and it cost us."

Jamie turns back to Ben, shaking his head.

"Don't be stupid." He tells Ben, his anger in his voice not yet subsiding. "You got blasted with a chair early on in the match. They targeted you from start to finish in this match."

Ben nods slightly as he looks towards Jamie.

"Maybe son, but at the end of the day, I shoulda been better" Ben replies with the hint of disappointment in his voice. "We've seen the change in attitude and shit from them, especially Jon. We shoulda seen this wasn't head games they were playing but we took them for what they were."

"And how was you to know Jon would get dirty, using a chair, hmm?" Jamie asks matter-of-factly

The cockney shrugs as he lays on the table.

"That's one of your downfalls, Ben." Jamie informs him "You're always trying to see the good in people, and not see them for the assholes they become."

Ben sighs as he looks up at Jamie, casually rolling his shoulders backwards, pain shooting through his body as the doctor presses down on a sore spot.

"I just don't buy that people are bad." He admits "I'm more of a guy that doesn't believe that people are bad, they just have stupid moments. We've all been there, I have more than once. I just don't believe that someone changes his mask and instantly becomes a dick over night. None of that stuff makes sense to me. None of it."

"Well he picked up a chair and drove it in to you for no reason." Jamie reminds Ben "So now do you believe he's turned in to a dick?"

Ben looks at Jamie, not saying a word as he smiles at his tag team partner.

"You still don't believe it, do you?" Jamie asks with a surprised tone in his voice.

"I dunno JD" Ben replies. "At this point of the night, I dunno what to believe about anything. Just trying to take this whole bloody night in. I'll figure it all out in a day or two, don't you worry about that pal."

Ben looks towards the doctor who moves towards his upper body, looking down at the Englishman.

"So what's the damage, Doc?" Ben asks "Do we have to chop off the foot, or do I just need a little bit of ice and feet up in the hammock for a few days?"

The doctor looks down at a smiling Ben, the wrestler trying not to be down about any potential injury.

"Well Ben, the swelling is a little too much to really give an accurate diagnosis" He starts "I think even a hospital would probably struggle to get a clearer picture of what's going on. It looks like you have very deep bruising though, which would mean a lot of rest is needed."

"So hospital for you in the morning." Jamie tells Ben as the doctor moves across the room and lifting up a pair of crutches.

The doctor adjusts the crutches to Ben's height and hands them to Ben as he swings his body around, sitting on the bed. He looks towards Jamie.

"I don't wanna go to any hospital or anything." Ben tells Jamie "You've known me long enough to know I hate going to those places. Full of sick people."

Ben's joke fails to get a smile from Jamie, who just looks at him with a stern look on his face.

"Not even a giggle?" He asks Jamie.

"Not even a smile." Jamie responds to Ben.

Ben sighs as the doctor hands him the crutches and Ben stands up on his good foot, looking around the room.

"I would highly recommend being at a hospital tomorrow, Mr Jordan." the doctor tells him "It would help us show if there's any long term damage there."

Ben sighs as he looks towards Jamie, sorting out the crutches and standing up on them.

"Hate these bloody things." He mumbles to himself "Always think I'm gonna fall flat on me mush with them and that is not what I fancy doing."

He walks around the bed, uncomfortably on crutches and looks at Jamie.

"I better get back to the dressing room." He tells Jamie. "Don't wanna be walking around in me wrestling gear all night."

Jamie nods in agreement as Ben looks back at the doctor.

"Cheers doc." Ben says with a cheery smile.

He turns to walk as Jamie moves to open the door. Ben's demeanour quickly changes from cheery to angry as he limps through the door and in to the hallway, but another quick change of face from Ben as he sees Sam Marlowe waiting outside the room.

"So what did the doctor say Ben?" She asks with concern in her voice.

"That I'm knackered and like a race horse, they need to put me down." He jokingly replies to her.

Sam rolls her eyes at the cockney.

"Prat." She replies, trying to hide a smile.

"They said I might need to have my foot cut off." He starts. "Just so I can shove it up the Elders arses and not get crap on my leg."

Sam turns to Jamie, looking at him in the eye.

"I'm gonna ask you because I can't take this prat seriously." She says to Jamie "What did the doctors say about his injury."

"That he needs to go to the hospital tomorrow." Jamie tells Sam.

Sam casts a glance towards Ben.

"But let me guess." She starts "He said he won't go."

Ben nods and grins widely, looking at Sam through bright eyes.

"Correct." He replies "If I had a cookie, I woulda gave it to you for getting the correct answer, but I don't so no cookie for you."

Sam pokes her tongue out at Ben, but Evie Baang enters the scene, looking Ben up and down at him while he stands supported by crutches.

"So does this mean I have to be your babysitter now?" She asks, her Australian accent filling up the air.

Ben shakes his head at her.

"Nah." He starts "I'm alright. A little bit pissed off at things tonight but I'll be alright."

"After you go to the hospital tomorrow maybe." Jamie says.

"And my guess is he already said no." Evie replies.

"What is it with you three trying to get me to the doctors all the time?" He comments "You know I always say no."

Ben turns his head, looking down the camera with a wide smile and a shrug.

"No one's gonna get this reference." He comments with a wink.

He turns back to the group, looking around the three.

"I'm fine, it's probably nothing." He states "I'm just on these things just for shit and giggles."

The group move down the hall, Ben limping behind the group, causing Jamie to stop and look back at him struggling partner.

"Do you want ride on my back?" He asks.

"Different situation from the last time you asked me that, but the answer still remains the same." Ben replies "No, no, god no and naaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

Jamie rolls his eyes, but the groups attention switches to across the hallway to see the Members of the Elders across the hall, talking with Pussy Willow as she gets the first possible interview with SCW's new tag team champions.

"I'm gonna go ask why the hell he used a damn chair!" Jamie fumes.

Ben puts his hand out on Jamie's chest, stopping him from moving in the direction he wanted to go in to.

"Don't be a plonker all your life." Ben says to Jamie. "Just let it go. They were underhanded bastards but they won. They used a chair to take me out, they can't justify themselves as champions, because they never won as such. Let them have their moment in the sun. Every dog has it's day, they just had theirs tonight."

"Well." Evie says "Some dogs need putting down, so I could go do that now and they won't even see it coming."

Evie takes a step towards them but Ben puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Bloody hell." He says as he exhales "I'm running outta hands to stop you people from going over to them."

He sighs loudly.

"I'm more pissed here that I let Jamie down." Ben admits "I'm not pissed that they used an unfair advantage, I'm not pissed that they have our belts. Hell, let 'em keep 'em, I don't overly care about that at all. The fact I dropped not one bollock but two bollocks pisses me off. Well, fuck that, if I had a third nut, that woulda been dropped as well."

"What do you mean?" Sam asks innocently

"I saw the chair coming and I didn't get out of the way in time, setting this whole thing off. Bollock number one dropped." Ben firmly states "Then I got pinned, actually pinned in the ring and that rarely happens and that would be bollock number two dropped and imaginary third bollock dropped when I passed out to a bloody submission hold. Someone in the wrestling Gods had it out for me that night because three ball juggling and I dropped the bloody lot."

Jamie turns to face Ben, looking at him seriously.

"So you're taking this one all on your own?" Jamie says "It was a tag match Ben, it was a team effort, it was both of us in the ring, it was both of us in that match. You didn't lose this, we lost this as a team."

Ben grits his teeth as he looks at Jamie.

"You didn't get whacked with a chair, nor get pinned or pass out." Ben correctly states "I did all three. I let us down tonight. No one else did, I did. I let them get the better of me. Just the way it is Jamie."

Ben again grits his teeth as he looks around the group.

"Trust me, if I could do a dramatic storm off at this point, I really would." He says with a shrug "But that ain't happening with me dodgy plate, so could we get back to the dressing room so I can change and we can get the hell outta here?"

"Pub?" Evie says casually

"Pub." Ben responds as he looks at Jamie and Sam "You two put ya glad rags on too, gonna need some serious carrying home after this one."

Ben points downwards.

"Because the foot, obviously." He says with an innocent look.

Jamie rolls his eyes towards Ben.

"Obviously." He says sarcastically "Hey Ben, are you gonna be ok getting undressed and dressed again to go out? Cause if not I can give ya a hand."

Evie's head snaps towards Jamie, looking at him through narrowed eyes.

"I was gonna offer the same thing." Evie states.

"It's not me hands that are messed up." Ben starts "It's me foot, so I think I should be alright with this one. Been getting meself dressed for a long time."

Ben moves next to Sam, limping off as Evie and Jamie walk behind, looking slightly disappointed.

*******

Later that night....

The bassy sounds of "Let's Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas can be heard pulsating through a bar set up. People dance out on a dance floor as flashing lights coming from a DJ stand cut through the dark. The camera moves around, focusing on a table of four consisting of Ben Jordan, Jamie Dean, Evie Baang and Sam Marlowe, the earlier mood seemingly abandoned most of the four. Only Ben sits at the table looking more down the rest of the group, the thoughts and events of earlier still troubling the Englishman as he wraps his hand around a bottle of beer, now dressed from his wrestling gear earlier, to his blue jeans and ACW T-shirt. He sits looking around the place, looking at the partygoers as he starts to peel the label from his bottle with his thumb nail.

"What's wrong with you?" Jamie asks "We're in a place full of women and alcohol and you haven't said or done anything."

Ben looks away, his eyes on people dancing?

"Ben?" Jamie says to get his attention.

Ben turns his head around, looking towards Jamie.

"Hmmm?" rattles from his lips as he looks towards Jamie.

"You're way too quiet." Jamie tells him.

"Yeah." Ben replies trailing off a little. "I'll shake it off, get over it and move on in a while."

"So now the titles are gone." Evie says while holding a beer bottle in her hand "What's next for you guys?"

Ben and Jamie look at each other, both unsure what to really say.

"I dunno" Ben eventually says "We knew we wasn't gonna be champs forever. We hoped to lose them with a clean thing, rather than a shady thing. Sort of pisses on the legacy we created there."

"Surely you have a rematch clause?" Sam adds.

"We do." Jamie responds "But it's not automatic, it's up to us to take it rather than just being given it."

"Will you?" Evie asks, her head moving between the two men.

Again Ben and Jamie share a look, neither of them one hundred percent sure of the right answer.

"I doubt it." Ben pipes up "It's been a fun ride but at this point, I dunno what my future holds. I've been told earlier that I can't retire after we lost them by the returning Mark Ward. I now get injured and the damage could keep me out. My contract is done and dusted at the end of the year anyway. Is it worth it to go and try win them back when I have little time here and dunno what to do after it?"

"Well yeah." Sam says "Because if you win them back, you'll stick around."

"And if I don't." He replies "I look like the worlds biggest tit for trying. This injury might run me contract down anyway."

"Unless it gets frozen." Jamie comments "Which means basically, it just freezes until you get clearance to return to SCW and it starts all over again."

Ben bites his lower lip, looking towards Jamie and scratching his head.

"Can that really happen?" Ben asks as he looks around the table.

Three firm nods come back in his direction.

"Yeah." Evie tells him "Especially with Mark Ward back. Seems like the kinda guy who would freeze a contract for years, just to make sure when ya was fit and ready, he could drag ya back to work before anyone else can sign ya."

Ben taps his chin, deep in thought, his eyes glassing over as the others look towards him, expecting a response, but nothing comes from him. He looks around the table at the others.

"Then I seriously don't have a scooby what the hell to do at this point." He says with a sigh. "Let's be honest, I ain't exactly lived up to the hype here that I had in ACW. I ain't really done bugger all on my own here, so maybe I'll just push through the pain till the contract ends and move to Cuba full time, raise some goats or something."

All three faces opposite Ben look at him curiously.

"Goats?" Jamie slowly says.

"Uh uh." Ben replies lifting his left shoulder up in a shrug. "You know, goats."

"I can see you as a lot of things." Sam starts "But a goatherd? I don't think so."

"Yeesh." Evie adds with a shake of her head "Thought you'd go for something a little more dangerous than goats."

Ben looks around at the others, picking up his beer with his left hand and taking a huge gulp.

"Yeah, goats people." He says calmly "Sit in the hills, grow a big thick beard and herd goats."

Ben is met by three shaking heads as he looks around, but a smile crosses the Cockney's face as he points at all of them.

"I'm only taking the piss" Ben says with a laugh "But you lot thought I was serious? Behave. If I get my arse back to Cuba, it will be to sit on the beach all day and do bugger all. It's not like I haven't made enough wonga in me lifetime so sitting around on the beach all day would suit me down to the ground."

"Well if Trump wins this election, you're getting a new room mate." Jamie tells Ben, the slight look of seriousness on his face.

"Make that two." Sam adds.

"I'm Australian so I couldn't give a fuck about the election." Evie starts "But if ya taking room mates, can I move in too."

Ben places his hand on his forehead, slowly shaking it as he looks around the table.

"Welcome to Hotel Ben." He mutters.

"It wouldn't be a hotel." Sam says with a smile "Hotels cost money, you wouldn't charge your friends."

"Bloody hell." Is the only response Ben can muster up as he looks around the table. "Least it would be better than Big Brother at least. Might as well get the cameras in and make a mint off it. First off though, I think I might need a shot or seven."

"Now ya talking my lingo." Evie says with a smile. "I'll go get them in."

Evie stands up as does Sam.

"I'll go get some beers." She tells them.

Sam and Evie move in the same direction towards the bar and Ben and Jamie stay as they were at the table. Ben turns around, looking through the crowd, but Jamie's voice grabs his attention, forcing him to turn his head back around.

"It wasn't your fault" Jamie reassures him. "That match was just, well weird."

Ben flicks his head upwards, agreeing with Jamie's assessment of it.

"Very weird" Ben agrees "I dunno mate, something was just off with that whole damn thing and I can work out why, but it just seemed proper dodgy to me."

Jamie can't help but shrug at that comment.

"I agree." he says "Probably the strangest match I've ever been in. Does beg a couple of questions though."

"Like?" Ben asks.

"Well titles don't change hands after DQ's." Jamie correctly states "So how can they justify them being champions after they got DQed."

"Well someone will have some explaining to do after that but..." Ben trails off a little "It won't be me. Someone should be getting sacked in the morning though."

"Where does it leave us as a team?" Jamie asks.

Ben looks at him across the table, draining the last of his beer and looking blank faced.

"Do you wanna go for the titles again?" Ben asks.

"Not really" Jamie responds "We had them for a while."

"Me neither if I'm being completely honest." Ben replies "It's a tough one considering how far we built them up and the controversy does make me sit there and wonder if we should get them back because the legacy of the belts are kinda getting pissed on at the moment but they sort of stole them, so I don't wanna be pissy and make a grab for them back."

"It's not like we haven't beat them in the past." Jamie replies "We can take them off them if we wanted to without the need to use their underhand tactics."

"Right..." Ben says slowly

"But where does this leave us as a team?" Jamie asks Ben, a serious, yet concerned look on his face.

Ben runs his fingers along his chin, looking at Jamie.

"To be honest." Ben starts, his mind ticking over as he tries to find the right words "I don't think I wanna be wrestling as often as I did. I think I wanna slow it down a bit, just really get involved when people want me to rather than half arse it."

"What do you mean by that?" Jamie asks.

"Well..." He pauses as he looks for the right words. "In tag matches, we'd plod along, avoiding the title match so we don't become champs again, doesn't give us too many options, or rivalries, friendly or not. I'm happy to team with ya whenever, but I'm pretty happy on being a card filler."

"Maybe it's time you set your sights to the top." Jamie says supportively.

Ben scoffs as the suggestion, shaking his head firmly.

"You're not the first person to say that to me." Ben says with a laugh "But like I told everyone else who says that, I ain't interested in all that malarkey. This place is built on people crying for titles. I mean look at Travis for example, all he's about is 'I want a title'. He tells everyone under the sun with every chance that he gets that he wants a title. It doesn't matter if it's in front of an SCW camera, or talking to someone backstage. Every new person that walks through the revolving door of SCW instantly want titles without working for it, and that ain't me."

"You have worked for it." Jamie counters "Hell, if anyone deserves it on the roster, it's you."

Ben once again shakes his head.

"Maybe mate, but you gotta have the interest, the drive to wanna do this and I have neither" Ben says in a calming, reassured tone "Title belts don't overly interest me. Putting in the effort like some champs do is a lot of work. Going for top belts, nah, not for me."

Ben holds his finger up.

"Though about us as a team." Ben starts "I'm happy to team with ya as and when we're needed, but don't let that stop you from getting out there and getting a good go at the belts, the single ones."

Jamie looks at Ben as if he is crazy, but Ben shrugs his shoulders.

"What?" He starts "J2H has been crying out for new challengers and you could be it. Despayre has had to work with Travis. You know you would be more entertaining than that tosser. James Tuscini has had a stranglehold on that roulette title, who's to say you can't win it? Personally mate, I reckon people would love to see you get hold of one of those single belts"

Jamie raises an eyebrow

"Same could be said about you." He counteracts.

"But you don't have a bum foot right now and I do." Ben says pointing to the floor.

"Which you will be seeing a doctor about tomorrow" Jamie replies.

"What is it with you lot?" Ben says with a little bit of a smile "Besides, the best pain relief in the world is about to show up."

Ben points past Jamie, directly at Evie Baang, walking towards them with a big circle tray of shots, the tray filled from edge to edge with shot glasses containing many different colours. Next to her, Sam Marlowe also walks across with a similar tray containing twelve bottles of beer.

"See..." Ben comments "They get me. Liquid form pain relief."

Evie reaches the table first, causing Ben and Jamie to move the empty bottles out of the way as Evie places the round tray in the middle of the table. Sam approaches and Ben and Jamie start to take the bottles from the tray, places them around the table. Jamie shakes his head at the shots before looking at Evie.

"Got enough alcohol there?" He asks with a smile.

"No." She quickly comments back "But the tray could only hold so much."

Ben turns away with a smile as he lifts the beer bottle to his lips. Sam looks at Jamie with a warm smile.

"She got ya there, mate" Ben says with a chuckle.

"It's gonna be one of those nights." Jamie says with a groan as he looks at the tray of shots.

Ben nods in agreement as the camera fades out.

*******

24th October 2016

Sterile, clean, bleach smell. You can't smell it but Ben Jordan can. The morning after the night before so to speak is where we find ourselves now. Many shots were down, each one pushing Ben towards the decision he has lived up to. Go to the hospital and get the foot checked out. The join efforts of Jamie Dean, Sam Marlowe and Evie Baang, plus much alcohol had persuaded him to be there to check the injury from the night before.

His eyes casually browse through a magazine outside the doctors office of a private medical center, his eyes not focusing on the words as the effects of the alcohol had not exactly worn off. He looks around as a young woman also enters the room, nervously taking a seat a shuffling to get comfortable. Ben looks up just for  second as the woman glances across at the man in the blue jeans, leather jacket and baseball cap. Quickly he goes back to the magazine, but he sees the woman in the corner of his eye looking closer at him.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" The woman asks from across the room.

Ben lowers the magazine, looking at the woman.

"Don't think so love." He says casually.

"Aren't you that wrestler?" The woman says "Ben Jordan"

He lowers the magazine to his lap and looks up at her across the room.

"That I am." He says with a cheery tone.

The woman pulls out her phone.

"Would you mind if...." She says pointing to her phone.

"Nah, not at all." Ben replies, always happy to see a fan.

The woman moves across the room, sitting in the seat next to him and holding the phone up. Ben lens in, giving the woman a chance to snap a selfie with the smiling Cockney. The woman snaps the picture and puts her phone back in her pocket.

"Thank you." She says sincerely "I hope you're not here for something bad."

At that moment, a nurse exits the doctors office and looks towards him.

"Mr Jordan?" She says speaking in a questioning tone.

Ben nods back at the nurse before turning to look at the woman next to him.

"Only one way to find out I guess." He tells the woman "Have a cracking day."

Ben stands up, putting the crutches next to him under his arm, and starts to limp towards the doctors office. The nurse holds the door open for him as he gets there and he limps in, moving towards a chair opposite the desk of a man in his early forties, with thick dark hair, and a white jacket.

"Mr Jordan." He says greeting Ben "I'm Dr Ross. How are you feeling today?"

Ben hops around to the seat in front of the desk. He slowly eases himself down in to the chair and looks across at Dr Ross.

"Bit knackered but can't complain doc." Ben responds.

"Knackered?" The doctor questions, unintentionally mimicking Ben's accent.

"Just means tired" Ben explains "Bit of a late night last night, then getting here early this morning cause my friends made me rather than fly back to Cuba and put me plates up."

The doctor once again looks confused at Ben's terminology.

"Plates up?" He asks.

"Plates of meat." Ben responds casually "Means me feet mate. It's a bit of slang from back in London. We all talk like this where I'm from."

The doctor taps a pen on the desk, looking at Ben with intrigue.

"Very interesting Mr Jordan." The doctor says slowly "Anyway, I've looked at your scan."

He stands up, picking up a file from his desk and walks around the desk to an x ray reader on the wall and flicks a switch on the side, instantly lighting the box up. He reaches in to the folder and pulls out an X ray picture and places it on the box.

"As you might be able to see." He starts "There is no break, fracture or hairline fracture there in the slightest, which you can consider yourself very lucky for after I reviewed the video while I was waiting for the results to come back."

"Jump on youtube, eh doc?" Ben says with a laugh.

"Actually I do watch SCW from time to time." Dr Ross explains "I have a subscription, but sadly did not get to see the show live last night. I did however got to see it today to help me determine what the issue could be with you."

"I got many issues doc, but lets work on the physical one, eh?" He says jokingly "No breaks is blinding news."

"In some sense it is excellent news Mr Jordan." The doctor says "But it doesn't mean that you're perfectly fine."

"Oh?" Ben says with a curious tone to his voice.

"You have some ligament damage, and bruising to the bone. It's not too severe thankfully" the doctor tells him "You will however have to spend time resting."

"Two weeks with me feet up should do the trick" Ben says to himself.

The doctor retakes his seat, looking across at Ben, slowly shaking his head.

"More realistically six to eight weeks Ben." The doctor tells him "Depending on how fast it heals. If you're a slow healer, we could be looking more towards eight weeks."

"I heal pretty quickly." Ben says firmly "So I'll take a couple of weeks off work, put me plates up, do some light stuff for week three and four, step it up in weeks five and six and Bob's ya uncle, I'll be as right as rain."

"Actually Mr Jordan" Dr Ross says, cutting him off "Too much work on it will keep you out for a lot longer than eight weeks. It needs time to heal properly or you will never get through a match, it will become a target for others to make worse and may cause you to end up having surgery should the damage get worse, which will keep you out for a considerable amount to time."

"I've played Football Manager enough to know about painkilling injections given to players before a match to kick them through." Ben says with a serious, but almost questioning tone. "What if I stayed at work if I had to and just had them before a match, work through the pain."

"They are not a long term solution Mr Jordan." The doctor comments "In fact, they just mask the pain and any extra damage it may cause will still be there, yet masked for an hour at a time."

"That should be enough to get me through some stuff." Ben comments "I mean I wanted to give it up after last night, knock the whole thing on the head, but the old boss came back and said no more retirements while under contract and I accept that, so chances are I'll be in the ring soon. He likes to make the most of his entire roster, doesn't like people sitting on their arses doing nothing, so as I'm active there, chances are I'll be back to work in a couple of weeks."

The doctor rubs his chin as he looks towards his patient.

"I'm not saying it's impossible to get through a match on a painkilling injection." He muses "But it could do more long term damage than you would like."

"Well I won't see there and raise me hand to any extra stuff if that helps." Ben says "But if I gotta be there, maybe that will get me through the night to do my job. He could freeze me contract if I don't work it. With two months to go, I think I can push through the pain."

"I wouldn't recommend it." The doctor continues "I would personally take the contract freeze. That will give you time to heal up and return to the ring to see out whatever time you have left. I can even speak to your employers and inform them of this injury and get you the time you need off to recover."

Ben taps his chin, thinking about the doctors offer but shakes his head.

"No need doctor." Ben says "Thinking about it, my work schedule is pretty light. I'm off on the 30th. Dunno about the 7th, but know I'm off on the 14th for sure. May have to work on the 20th, then off till the forth at least. I reckon at max I'll be working physically a couple of dates over the next month at most. I can heal up in between and not worry about it all too much."

"If that is your plan." The doctor says in a cautious tone "Then I would strongly recommend rest as much as possible. Nothing too strenuous, nothing that would cause discomfort to your ankle at all."

"So I can sit in a boozer all day and that would be alright?" Ben asks with a cheery outlook.

"A boozer?" the doctor asks.

"A pub, a bar, something like that." Ben informs him. "I like in Cuba doc, I know many beach front boozers where I can sit from morning till night, watch the sun come up and go down and do absolutely bugger all, all day."

"If that means you won't be putting any weight or any pressure on it" The doctor starts "Then that would go a long way to helping."

"I can be a lazy git when I wanna be doc." Ben says with a calm shrug. "I don't mind doing nothing at all, cause I work me nuts off when I do have something to do."

"Good" the doctor says with a smile "That will certainly help. Do you live alone Mr Jordan?"

"I do" Ben replies

"You may want to consider getting someone to help you around the house while you're off your feet." The doctor suggests.

Ben shrugs his shoulder and shakes his head.

"Not necessary at all Doctor." Ben says calmly "I won't be short of offers if I wanted that, nor offers of a place to stay in America, but I'm happier to head on home to Cuba. Over here doctor, people see me as the wrestler who's on the television, or Internet. In Cuba, I'm just 'English Ben' as the locals call me. Much less stressful than being over here. I'm a firm believer of body and mind being one."

"What do you mean?" The doctor asks with genuine curiosity.

"Mind over matter doc." Ben tells him "It's like when I get ill, I tell myself that I'm not and recover. I get ill a lot and I have this friend and they're forever telling me to go to the doctors. Always telling me with the slightest issue to go doctors as if something is really, really wrong. Maybe it is, but I dunno. I just relax a few day, chill out a bit and before ya know it, I'm feeling blinding."

"I'm not sure that works when you have a physical problem like ligament damage Mr Jordan." The doctor says with a smile.

"You never know doc." Ben says looking up as if he's thinking "Few drinks, sitting in the Jacuzzi, betting the muscles all chilled out and relaxed, could do me the world of good."

The doctor looks at Ben with a smile.

"Positive attitude can go a long way." Ben says with a calm demeanour "It's never done me any harm. Still chairs to the leg though, does me more harm than I need."

Ben and the doctor share a smile.

"Anyway doc..." Ben starts "I best be on me way. I got a plane to catch back to Cuba and relax for a little bit. Better drop a message to the three who got me here in the first place too. No doubt they will be inviting me to hang out with them for a while."

"Make sure next time you're in the area that you swing by again." Dr Ross tells him. "I would love to keep track of your progress."

"Of course doc." Ben says "Take it easy mate."

Ben pulls himself to his feet, reaching out and shaking the doctors hand as the scene fades to black.  

*******

27th October 2016

"This geezer is doing my damn head in here!" A gruff sounding Ben says.

Havana, Cuba, home to the former SCW champion known as Ben Jordan is where we find ourselves now. Sitting at a beach side bar, a not so happy look sits on his face as he sits at a table, a laptop in front of him as he looks past it, looking over the sea front, the waves on this warm day lapping against the harbour wall. He glances out at the fishing boats, moving gently across the waves. He sits wearing short trousers, beige and cut off just around the calf area, as well as a white, short sleeved buttoned up shirt. To the right of the laptop sits a cold beer in a glass, lit up by the early afternoon sun. He watches the people walk past him, some giving him a quick nod as they go about their day. Ben casts his eye at the laptop, seeing another notification on Twitter.

"If it's this fella again..." He grumbles to himself. "Dave don't know when to leave things alone."

Dave, a nickname given to Eyesnsane by Ben in a recent promo. Things had heated up with the two stemming back to the rumours of Ben's retirement when he lost the tag team championship, a plan quickly nixed by Hot Stuff on his return, yet Eyesnsane wanted to be the one to end the career of the Englishman and he wasn't quiet about it. Nor was he quiet about actually winning the tag title.

"Really wasn't quiet." Ben says turning his face to the camera. "He got a bad case of verbal diarrhoea today. Please, continue."

Verbal diarrhoea was putting it lightly as Eyesnsane continued to mock Ben for his loss, mock Ben for taking two falls, generally mock Ben for everything he could think of.

"Everything." Ben comments as he looks at the computer screen again. "And now he wants to meet me in the parking lot... What are we, twelve?"

He shakes his head as he looks at the screen.

"Oi! You! Outside!" Ben says in a mocking tone.

Ben quickly turns his head towards the camera.

"I don't get people like him." Ben says to the camera "He wins a match, good for him but then needs to take the piss out of someone who helped build the division he just became a champion in. Without me making it me mission at the time to keep the division going, probably wouldn't be a division there now."

Ben looks back to the screen, his hand around the beer glass, pondering his next move as he looks around.

"Technically, I shouldn't really be in the ring cause me banged up foot." He ponders "But on the other hand, Dave needs filling in. Someone's gotta burst his bubble a little bit and shut him up. His partner whacks me with a chair and he acts like he deserves it. Need to drag him down a peg or two."

Ben quickly types something in response to Eyesnsane, looking at the screen for a few seconds before hitting send. Ben looks back at the camera.

"Now what I've just done people, is accept his offer to meet him in the parking lot buuuuuuutttttt" Ben says with a grin "I've give him the chance to brag a little bit more. I've give him the chance to knock me sparko if he wants to justify his brags. I'll take his match, but no point going out there for a brawl to end in a pin."

Ben picks up the nearby beer and raises it to his lips, but another notification appears on his screen from Eyesnsane. He lowers the beer down on the table and takes a closer look.

"Get to drink that one in a minute." He says to himself "Right, looks like Dave's accepted that match, so lets get Christian to book it."

Ben types in another tweet, this time aimed towards SCW co-owner Christian Underwood.

"That's that settled then." Ben comments "I know Christian will book that one. Pretty much giving the fans what they want and he likes that so now, we relax."

Ben picks up the beer and moves it towards his lips, but the sound of Skype distracts him. He looks at the screen, seeing the name "Sammi" appear. Ben sighs as he lowers the beer once more.

"I'll get to this pint in a minute. I swear." He says as he clicks the button to accept the call.

The face of Sam Marlowe appears on the screen, a not pleased look on her face as Ben leans back in his chair.

"Sam..." Ben starts.

"A parking lot brawl Ben?" Sam says, cutting to the chase, her tone clearly not happy with her friend.

"Well he's been talking shit today." Ben says justifying his choice "And he's been driving me around the bend a bit, so someone's gotta shut that jub up. He seems to be targeting me, so fuck it. I figure I might as well knock him in to the middle of next week. Well, not next week, but the week after."

"Ben, you do know he's very much in to MMA, right?" Sam says, concern creeping in to her voice.

"I did not know that." Ben responds "Neither do I give a monkeys. Some people need a slap and he is some people today."

"Aren't you forgetting about your foot?" Sam says pointing down.

"I never forget about me foot." Ben replies "Helps me to stand up a bit."

An unimpressed look comes from the screen and Ben shrugs his shoulders.

"Me foot will be fine." Ben reassures her "It's feeling tons better already. I can walk again without crutches sometimes. By the time that match will roll around, it will be in a lot better shape and I'll be alright. I'm not even worried about taking on this fella. It's a fight in a car park. You don't need to be too technical with that stuff. Just gotta bounce his nut off a few motors and be done with it."

"It's a little more complicated than that." Sam explains "Besides, after last week, you think he's not gonna come up with something else to cheat you out of a win?"

Ben lifts his head up to the sky, thinking for just a few seconds before looking down at the screen.

"Oh, I expect he has something up his sleeve." He says waving his finger at the camera "But I also think that he is over confident. He's on a high thinking he deserves that title belt he's carrying around. He's buzzing at the fact that he ended a six month or so run. He thinks he could take on the world right now, but it's gonna bite him on the arse."

Sam looks uncomfortably at Ben.

"Are you sure you have this?" She asks seriously

"As sure as sure can be." Ben replies "He thinks making someone pass out is a good thing, but it's piss poor compared to a knock out. I got this."

"Alright." Sam says, still a tone of unsurely in her voice "I better go to class. I will see you on Sunday?"

"You will, I will be back for the next show." Ben tells her "You have a great day."

Sam waves towards Ben as the image of her disappears from the screen. Ben reaches for the beer and wraps his hands around the glass.

"Finally..." He says to himself, pulling the beer towards his lips.

Before he can take a sip of the beer, again, the Skype tone plays in the background. Ben rolls his eyes.

"Oh for fu..." He mumbles.

Putting the beer down, he hits the button with his free hand and the face of Jamie Dean appears on the screen. Before he can talk, Jamie takes over.

"What are you thinking, huh?" He says firmly "Are you out of your mind challenging that guy when you shouldn't be anywhere near work at this point until you heal up? And a parking lot brawl, knock out to win against a guy who has been training to do that to people for years? You must have hit your head hard last Sunday. We should have got your head checked while you was seeing doctor."

Ben smiles at Jamie down the camera.

"And good morning to you sunshine" Ben says with a laugh. "Who's bed did you get out of the wrong side of today?"

"I never got his name." Jamie replies while looking at his nails.

"Couldn't have been that good." Ben replies with a laugh.

"Don't try and deflect this conversation Benjamin!" Jamie says firmly. "I woke up, I put some coffee on, I went to on Twitter and this is happening. Wanna explain yourself there?"

"Sure." Ben says casually "I was sitting out here in the sun, doing what the doctors told me. I was resting, I was relaxed, I was chilled out and calm, and then Bertie big bollocks there really got my goat and I decided he needed a dry slap."

Jamie looks around his room before looking back at Ben.

"In English please?" He says.

"Bitch got mouthy, needs slapping" Ben says sharply.

"Oh, that explains it all." Jamie says with a shrug. "I can see you wanting to hit him for those comments, but a parking lot brawl?"

"Yeah." Ben responds. "See, he thinks he's played in to his own hands with that but he really hasn't. What he's done has pulled himself in to a place he thinks I'm uncomfortable but I grew up in a boozer, I've been in more rows than people think I have been. I've had to get involved in a lot of stuff so I can take a whack or two. He thinks he has pulled me in to this one himself but instead, what he's done is played in to my hands a bit."

"Secret street fighter past you haven't told me about Ben?" Jamie asks with an arched eyebrow.

"Nah, only street fighter in my past was in the arcades." Ben says with a laugh. "But you're worrying over nothing. I wouldn't have said that if I couldn't handle meself mate. I got this. He'll be sure he has this one and that'll be his undoing."

Ben leans back in his chair.

"Honestly mate." Ben says seriously "Once it gets booked, you got nothing at all to worry about concerning me."

"And the foot?" Jamie asks.

"It will be perfectly fine by the time I attempt to shove it up his jacksey."  Ben says with a smile.

"Alright." Jamie says, knowing he won't get through to his friend. "I gotta head out, but I'll call you a little later."

"Sounds good mate." Ben says with a wave "Have a good un!"

He clicks a button and ends the conversation before reaching down to the beer, lifting it up and looking at it.

"It's been a long time coming baby." He says looking at the glass "But I believe in destiny and this is yours"

Once again before he can take even a sip, his screen lights up again with sounds of Skype for the third time. Ben looks at the beer.

"This is just not meant to be." He tells the beer.

He clicks a button to see Evie Baang face pop up on his screen. Ben raises his finger to stop Evie from talking.

"Are you also calling to tell me I'm a nut nut for challenge Dave to a knock out to win match?" Ben asks "I've had Sam and Jamie both call me to tell me I'm round the bend."

Evie licks her lips as she smiles towards Ben.

"The opposite Benny boy." Evie says with her thick Australian accent "I was actually calling to tell you how you could not only knock him out, but kill him in under four seconds with a nerve hold."

Ben turns to look towards the camera.

"Now this is some advice I could use." He says to the camera. "I wouldn't actually use it."

He looks innocent down the camera.

"Honestly." He proclaims.

He turns back to Evie on the screen.

"So tell me more."

The scene fades out as Ben goes back to his conversation with Evie, leaving us to wonder.... Did he ever get a chance to drink that beer.

*******

The camera starts with a tight shot of Ben Jordan's face. He looks in to the camera with a smile on his face. The area seems dark but spotlights from random directions seem to be on him. He winks down the camera before he starts to speak.

"Alright people." A smile crosses his face as he says his opening line.

He looks side to side before continuing.

"I know you've been watching on what's been happening lately." He starts calmly "I'm sure you're probably wondering too what the hell am I thinking with a dodgy peg, gonna have a tear up with a geezer used to these kinda things. Why would I even put meself in this position where the truth is, I can get bloody hurt. Why would good natured Ben wanna drop to a level of fighting in a car park with a geezer who's not all there in the head?"

Ben waves his finger at the camera.

"Well it's simple." Ben starts "See I grew up in a pub, right? In the east end of London, a place where most people don't drift unless they're from that area. Pretty much the bad part of London where very few wanted to be. Now me, I grew up in it and there's some good people around, there's also a lot of bullshitters around and Eyesnsane falls in to the latter category."

Ben shrugs his shoulders as he looks down the camera again.

"East London wasn't and still isn't just rife with crooks and criminals." Be says honestly "But it was and is full of bullshitters, people who can't handle themselves, so they put on this front and hopes the other geezer backs down. Don't get me wrong, there's a bunch of hard men all over London, but the east end used to breed them all. Now a bullshitter would always try and score points off legit hard me. They'll happily give it the big un, then act crazier than they are in hope that the tough guys would back down and this is exactly what Eyesnsane is."

Ben pauses for just a second, looking for his next words.

"Now I ain't saying I'm a hard man, or that I'm this big tough guy." Ben exclaims while waving his finger. "But I am an eastender, I have the Cockney DNA running through me and that stops me from backing down to someone who uses a crazy front to try and get himself a step up, to make someone scared of them. Let me tell you this, I ain't scared of this little act at all that he has on, by east London roots won't let me back down, so it's come down to this."

Ben puts his arms out, the camera moving out to show Ben standing in a circle of cars, wearing blue jeans and a grey shirt, with the face of Trigger from Only Fools and Horses on it, with the caption underneath spelling out the words 'Alright, Dave?'. Standing in the middle of their headlights, Ben continues.

"It's come down to this." He says pointing around "Two grown men having a punch up in a car park, because someone's crazy front didn't actually work."

Ben puts his palms out in front of him.

"The crazy thing works on some, but you must be a right plonker if you think it would work on me when you consider my circle of friends in SCW alone." Ben states "I get on with all, don't give a monkeys if they're sane or not, Dave, so did you really think this I'm as crazy as they come bollocks would have any baring on me?"

Ben shakes his head from side to side.

"Doesn't even hit my top fifty of the craziest people I've met in my life." He says confidently "Maybe not even in my top one hundred. There's been so many nut jobs buzzing in and out my life, a geezer on Twitter giving it the I'm crazy act ain't gonna cut it. What am I meant to be scared of here? The fact that you're an ungrateful, non-gracious bellend, or the fact that you use animated gifs when you have absolutely bugger all to say? Which is it that's meant to make me run in fear and hide."

Ben puts his hands out in front of him.

"Maybe it's those crazy eyes you got going on behind the keyboard that's meant to scare me?" Ben asks "Can't be them to me, because I'm gonna smack them straight on Sunday."

Confidence flows from Ben as he continues.

"There's nothing about you that actually scares me." Ben says with a confident tone "Not one thing at all. I mean take a look at yourself. You sit there with a partner who is having an identity crisis, you spend most of your time sitting backstage and messing around with a dog, and act like a twonk on Twitter, hiding behind a keyboard and trying to make yourself look tough."

Ben's face turns in to a frown.

"Then you mock people who had been champions for months, thinking you're gonna be something special." He says with the frown still on his face. "Yet apparently we're the one's who brag? Me and JD won the titles, first thing I did was take to Twitter and give a shit ton of respect to Lord Raab for the challenge, and he didn't slaughter us."

Ben's eyes widen as he looks down the camera.

"You know who Lord Raab is?" Ben says "This is a guy who likes no one. This is a guy who only lets his clothes get close to him because they have to. He doesn't have a nice bone in his body, but when I mentioned another match to him because I loved the competition, he didn't try and rip my head off, he didn't even call me an idiot. He was oddly gracious and willing to go again, but you, even compared to Lord Raab, are a complete and utter dick son."

Ben composes himself for a few seconds.

"I bet ya didn't know that the tag division was being considered to be shut down before me and Jonesy won the belts, and before me and Jamie won the belts." Ben says firmly "I spoke to Christian about stretching me wings in the tag division, and he told me the whole story, so without me, you wouldn't have a title, and you'd probably be jobbing to Steve Ramone and Travis Nathaniel Andrews, so a little appreciation wouldn't be a bad thing"

Ben runs his hand across his chin.

"I do get why you was all excited." A slight smile appears as the words come out "You was a title virgin in SCW so now you're all excited and wanna tell the world that you have a belt. Tag titles was my first title here too, but I didn't go around telling everyone, their mum and their dog that I was a champion. I didn't go piss on the former champions. I went about my business as usual and a lot that happens in this business is about respect, and you have none of that. You don't know the meaning of the word."

Ben shakes his head.

"At least Jon Dough came out it with a little dignity with his apology" Ben starts "But right now, I wouldn't trust Jon Dough as far as I could throw him and I trust you even less, so I know you're gonna probably have an ace up your sleeve to try and swing things in your direction. I know you're gonna hide little things around the parking lot to use to your advantage, but I couldn't give a damn, Dave. You know what you are, Dave?"

Ben's face looks serious as he points down the camera.

"You're a melt!" Ben states firmly "You could have walked up to me and ran that mouth of yours. Right up to me and said what you wanted but no, you melted behind a keyboard cause you don't have the knackers to do it. I was at Climax Control last week, and you spent your time pissing around as a street fighter character, the easiest boss around to beat I might add, cracking jokes. I was there and you're the one with the issue with me, but you melted like a snowflake in hell."

Ben pauses for a few seconds.

"Your bottle went." Ben says, the serious tone in his voice "Knowing that you challenged me to a parking lot brawl, your bollocks went and that was the end of you. This is a guy I'm meant to be scared of?"

Ben places his palms out in front of him.

"This is a guy who is gonna knock me out?" he says with a tilt of his head "Nah, don't think so mate."

Ben shakes his finger at the camera

"Really don't think so mate." Ben says with a smile "You played dress up rather than come see me and show me what you could do. Makes you nothing son."

Ben slowly shakes his head in disappointment.

"I don't care that you think you're a little MMA guy, or a street fighter boxer." He says firmly "I couldn't give a rats what you think you are, but it's time to burst your bubble, it's time to pop that balloon you got around ya, cause you ain't as good as you actually think you are. You're actually denser than school dinner custard mate."

Ben smiles down the camera.

"So you got trained to punch someone?" Ben says with a thumbs up. "Things like that just come naturally to some of us pal. Some things just seem to feel easier to some of us. I don't need to know to grab water when I'm thirsty but it happens anyway. I also don't need to know that if someone's trying to be a tough guy and try and knock me out, I get to try and knock them out first. It ain't rocket science, it's the laws of survival, and if you really are this guy who has been in a cage, then believe me pal, my instincts to survive will be worth a damn sight more than you think. This ain't a walk over for you like you might think it is. Just because I haven't surrounded myself by wire and had some sweaty geezer on top of me, doesn't mean I stand no chance at all. It means I will give it more because I have to. I will push myself to and beyond the limits just to shut you up."

Ben places his finger over his lips.

"Your big yap got you in to this Dave." Ben states "But after Sunday, maybe you'll think before you let that thing go off."

Ben shrugs and shakes his head.

"I know, it's more likely that they raise the Titanic than you keeping your trap shut but trust me, we all live in hope for that." He says with a sad tone. "But there Dave, lies my determination, to at least try and shut that gob of yours up. At least do all I can to keep those lips from flapping, if only for a little while. I ain't expecting ya to jump all over Twitter and actually show a little respect after I knock out a guy with an MMA style, but hopefully you will wander away with your tail between your legs for a little while and just pipe down."

Ben smiles widely as a thought comes to mind.

"It just dawned on me mate." Ben says with a grin "How embarrassing would it be for a guy trained for the fight game, to get flattened by Cockney fella with zero martial arts training... Could you even look at yourself in the mirror on Monday morning after I've done something like that, after you've suffered the embarrassment of being planted by an amateur."

Ben winces.

"That would be proper rough mate." Ben says slowly shaking his head "For me, I get done by you, I was in a street fight with a guy who's trained in proper beating someone up. No shame in that for me but for you. Could you imagine it?"

Ben nods his head fast, holding back a chuckle.

"I can imagine it funnily enough, cause that boys and girls, is exactly what's gonna happen." He says with an air of confidence. "I will do exactly that and make Dave see that he has wasted his entire life training for this, only to get knocked out by a bloke who prefers to watch those kinda sports on tele rather than actually being out there for them. Could you imagine dedicating your life to something, just putting in all the effort in the world. Eating right, training right, sacrificing normal every day things some of us take for granted, to step in to a fight with someone who while you were showing that dedication, going down the pub with his mates, only to see that it just wasn't enough to take out a beer loving Millwall fan that's spent more time having fun, than you have in the gym."

Ben bites his lower lip as he looks around.

"That would be a bit awkward for you, Dave." He says turning the left side of his lip down "Like really awkward. You gotta walk in the dressing room when you wake up after it's all said and done, walk in to Master Lily, who still rocks, dunno why she deals with a wrong un like you. Then you need to look at your own partner, while still seeing double, then look around all those disappointed faces in the room with ya, because you lot are like wolves, you bring everyone and literary their dog."

Ben looks at the camera a little closer.

"How's it gonna feel knowing that each and every one of them in the room will no longer see you as legitimate?" Ben asks "It's gonna feel pretty awful knowing that the respect you once held in there has completely gone down the pan and swam away because you couldn't knock out an untrained fella like me. That sinking feeling in ya stomach knowing that you've let everyone down getting beat up in ya own kinda environment is gonna be hell for you Dave."

Ben moves his head back

"But on the bright side" he starts "At least I've gave ya a heads up and now you got a couple of days to think about what you're gonna say to people after I whack ya."

Ben smiles

"Every cloud and all that" He says with a wink. "But anyway...."

Ben puts his hands together.

"I've taken up a lot of your time as it is." Ben says "So it's time to let you good people get back to your daily lives, and if ya anything like me, jump on Football Manager 17 that came out today. Dave, me old mucker. I will see you in a couple of days, feel free to come up with ya excuses and get ready to tell them, cause you're about to get knocked out by an untrained fella called Ben Jordan."

Ben winks at the camera.

"Laters people"

The camera fades out for the last time.