The scene opens to show Simon Jones sat at a circular table, staring at the camera; he is wearing a pair of black trainers, navy blue jeans, and a zipped up black coat. There are three other unoccupied chairs positioned around the table, with one to the left of Simon, and another pair opposite. Behind Simon is a window, through which can be seen what appears to be the inside of a restaurant.
Simon opens his mouth and exhales, his breath visibly condensing; when he next opens his mouth, he begins to speak.
Simon: 'Another week and another big match for me in SCW - having failed in my last match to become the number one contender for the SCW heavyweight title, this Sunday I'll find myself challenging for the tag team titles instead. When I appeared on camera two weeks ago to discuss the match that I would be competing in at the special Halloween-themed edition of Climax Control, I was stood within the walls of Fort George, which is over there...'
Simon raises his right arm, and with his right index finger, he points towards the left of the shot, while continuing to gaze at the camera.
Simon: '...less than a mile away from where I am now.'
Simon frowns.
Simon: 'I'm not sure why I'm bothering to gesture in the direction, as I'm using a fixed camera to record this. And even if the camera could pan to the left, there are other buildings blocking the view towards Citadel Hill.'
Simon lowers his arm and continues.
Simon: 'Anyway, from Fort George two weeks ago, today I've come to Halifax's waterfront, and Ristorante aMano. And despite the cold weather, I've chosen to sit outside, so as not to disturb any of my fellow diners. Because I've got several things that I want to say - and not just about my upcoming match. In fact, the first thing that I would like to discuss - or perhaps that should be things - are some of the comments that were made by one of the three men that I faced in my most recent match: Kain.'
Simon turns his head and momentarily looks behind him, over his left shoulder, before looking back to the camera.
Simon: 'Kain responded to the remarks I made about the match that featured myself and him - along with Giani Di Luca and Nick Jones - by inferring that I was trying to intimidate him; Kain said that he "couldn't help but laugh." Well, we're in the same boat there, because I had to laugh when I heard Kain state that I was trying to intimidate him. I mean...'
Simon gets up from the chair; he then takes two steps towards the right of the shot, and stands so that no part of him is obscured by any of the surrounding furniture.
Simon: '...look at me - just look at me; I'm not even six feet tall. There's only one male on the SCW roster that is shorter than me, that being Despayre, who - coincidentally - is one of my opponents this Sunday. Added to that, three of the bombshells in SCW - Joanne Canelli, Gothika and Necra Octavian Kane - are tall enough that they could stand opposite me in the ring, and look me in the eye. So I ask you, anyone, who could I possibly intimidate?'
Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'Kain, nothing that I say is meant to intimidate you, or for that matter, any of my other opponents - not even Despayre; more on him - and Rage - later. No, the purpose of my words is to give you something to ponder - and admittedly to maybe try to plant the odd seed of doubt in your mind - but nothing more than that. And as far as being "a foolish, deluded dipshit" is concerned, Kain, if you want to find one of those, I think you ought to look a little closer to home.'
Simon turns to look at the chair that he had been sat in and takes a step towards it, but he then stops, and looks back to the camera.
Simon: 'Oh, Kain, you can drone on all you like about how you came by your nickname, but I repeat: I couldn't care less about it. And also, I was unaware that you and I are involved in a "war," as you put it. But then, we do both have aspirations of winning the SCW Heavyweight Championship, so I guess it is inevitable that we will do battle again at some point in the future.'
Simon retakes his seat and then looks at the camera again.
Simon: 'That's enough about that - on to what has happened since the beginning of this week. If you watched Climax Control last Sunday, you'll have seen me issue a challenge to Casey Williams for another match between the two us - which was my sole reason for being in Las Vegas last weekend. Casey subsequently accepted the challenge, and so it seemed all set that we would square off seven days later. Apparently though, the powers that be had other ideas, as much to my surprise - and no doubt, the surprise of everyone else - they opted to instead put myself and Casey in a match in which, rather than being opponents, we will be tag team partners. And as if it's not already big enough of an ask to expect two rivals to be able to function as a tag team, our opponents will be Despayre and Rage - the current SCW Tag Team Champions.'
The sound of a door opening and closing is then heard, and into view walks a waiter, carrying a cup and a saucer, which he then places on the table, in front of Simon.
Waiter: 'Here is your tea, sir; I apologise for the delay.'
Simon turns to look at the waiter.
Simon: 'That's okay; thank you.'
As the waiter turns away from the table and walks off, disappearing from view, Simon lifts up the cup with his right hand, and takes a sip of the tea; he then rests the cup on the saucer, and looks back at the camera.
Simon: 'Casey and I aren't the first pair of rivals to be in the situation of being forced to form an uneasy - albeit temporary - alliance. And I daresay that we won't be the last - if an example of that is needed, that the aforementioned Kain, and his bitter rival Goth, will also be tag team partners in a separate match at Climax Control, should suffice. But there is something about Sunday's main event that means that the team of myself and Casey could end up being more than just a temporary union - the thing that will provide us with an incentive, should one be needed, to do everything in our power to work together to be successful in that match: the SCW tag team titles will be at stake.'
A sudden gust of wind causes the camera to shake slightly; Simon raises his right hand to his head, as if to check that the wind has not disturbed his hair.
Simon: 'As recently as last month, at High Stakes III, Casey found himself teaming with a former adversary, in the shape of Damien Kingston. Prior to that match, Casey spoke to Damien, in the hope that they could put aside their dislike for each other, and work together as a team. Of course, Damien didn't prove to be that great of a tag team partner, and the match - against Ben Jordan and I - turned out to be more like a handicap match for Casey, rather than a tag team match. Casey, I can promise you that on Sunday, you will not find yourself in a repeat of that scenario from High Stakes - I will gladly put aside our differences, for one night at least, if not more, to work with you to try to win the tag team titles; I promise that you will able to rely on me, just like I know that Despayre and Rage will be able to rely on one another.'
Simon nods his head.
Simon: 'If Casey and I were to win the titles, then it would certainly put a new slant on our conflict, especially as I expect that we are bound to clash again in a one-on-one match at some point. I can appreciate that to some, such a set of circumstances would appear to be far from ideal, but that's the way things are in wrestling - it's the nature of the sport; one moment you can be opponents, the next you can be partners - or vice versa. So if I have to team with Casey to win the tag team titles, then so be it - should we defeat Despayre and Rage, I'll willingly put up with whatever issues that follow.'
With his right arm, Simon reaches towards his cup of tea, but he stops when the distant sound of a gunshot is heard.
Simon: 'There's clearly a lot of differences between my current home of Halifax, and Las Vegas, the home of Sin City Wrestling, but I'll give you an example of one such difference: in Halifax, when a gun goes off, it's noon...and I'll leave it at that.'
Simon smirks.
Simon: 'Returning to the matter at hand, I'll freely admit that, had I been able to select any member of the roster to be my partner for this match, Casey would not have been my first choice. In fact, had it been up to me, I would've been minded to pick one of the newcomers to SCW to be my partner - namely, Jon Dough. With Jon Dough, I think it makes a refreshing change to see someone else in SCW, like myself, who doesn't step into a ring and think that the outcome of the match is a foregone conclusion - if you don't take it for granted that you are going to win, then you are more likely to work harder to try to ensure that you don't lose, and as a consequence, you are then more likely to succeed. Such an attitude also means that you don't have to worry about looking silly if the match doesn't go your way - if you guarantee a victory and then proceed to lose, why should people then take any notice of what you have to say afterwards? So yes, I believe that Jon Dough would have been a good fit as tag team partner for me, but I'll settle for teaming with Casey.'
Simon again reaches towards the cup of tea with his right arm, which he lifts up and takes a drink from, before placing the cup back on the saucer.
Simon: 'Casey has at least been a tag team champion previously, both in SCW and elsewhere, which gives me cause for optimism that we may be able to beat Despayre and Rage on Sunday. I, on the other hand, have never held tag team gold before - but then, only twice before in my career have I challenged for tag team titles, with both of those occasions having been during my time in ACW. And given that the winning team in both matches was the talented duo of Mickey Carroll and Ben Jordan, there was no shame in failing to be victorious. Times have changed though, even if only a few months have passed - back then, for whatever reason, I was incapable of winning a tag team match, regardless of how much effort I put in, and regardless of who my partner was. Now though, I've won the last three tag team matches that I've been involved in, with a different partner in each match - come Sunday, I'd like to make it four wins in a row, with a fourth different partner, and exit the ring as one half of the new SCW Tag Team Champions.'
Simon sighs.
Simon: 'But to do that, we're going to have to overcome the current champions - the very capable team of Despayre and Rage.'
Simon quickly glances to his right, before looking back at the camera.
Simon: 'Earlier this year, I remember hearing Gabriel comment that whenever opposing teams were preparing to face him and Despayre, their opponents would make the mistake of ignoring Despayre, and put their focus solely on Gabriel - something that would usually contribute to the downfall of their opponents, and lead to a victory for Sinful Obsession. Well, I definitely won't be making that mistake - having officiated a six man tag team match five months ago, in which Despayre was involved, I've witnessed his ability at close quarters. And the following month, Despayre beat Goth, in a match that Goth had asked for - as we all know, since then, Goth has gone on to twice win the SCW heavyweight title, so the fact that Despayre has shown himself to be capable of defeating a man that is now a two-time Heavyweight Champion, should tell anyone all that they need to know about how good a wrestler Despayre is; Gabriel and others have stated that Despayre could be a star in the solo ranks, if he wanted to be - and I find it hard to argue with that assertion. So no, I absolutely won't make the mistake of underestimating Despayre - I just hope that Casey won't fall into that trap.'
Simon shakes his head.
Simon: 'With Gabriel having been sidelined through injury, at the hands of Giani Di Luca and James Huntington-Hawkes III, Despayre certainly could have found a worse replacement than Rage, who - like Gabriel - is a former Heavyweight Champion, and, prior to High Stakes, had already held the tag team titles. I suppose it is ironic that the match this Sunday, which will see me up against the only man in SCW that is shorter than me, will also see Rage facing the only member of the SCW roster that is bigger than he is. The perpetually-angry Sin of Wrath unequivocally lives up to his name, and he will present quite a test for me; despite my own reign as the SCW Heavyweight Champion, some people may still picture me as a cruiserweight, but I've fought men the size of Rage in the past, and been successful - I'm working towards a similar performance on Sunday.'
With his right arm, Simon reaches towards the cup of tea once more; after picking up the cup and taking a drink, he maintains his grip on the cup whilst continuing to talk.
Simon: 'Four weeks ago, I predicted that Despayre and Rage would beat Young Money at High Stakes III, to win the tag team titles - and I was satisfied to be proven right. I normally refrain from making predictions about my own matches, and this occasion will be no different. But with no-one seemingly capable of holding on to the heavyweight title for very long at the moment, needless to say, I'm aiming to have the Sins' time with the tag titles come to an equally abrupt end. I know that it will be far from easy, and not only because of how good Despayre and Rage are inside the six-sided ring, but also because, although the majority of the Seven Deadly Sins aren't related, they are as close as any family. And I know that the team of Casey Williams and myself is far from a perfect combination, but I've already caused at least one surprise in SCW, by winning the heavyweight title - I'm ready to be responsible for another surprise on Sunday, and leave Reno with one half of the tag team titles.'
As Simon raises the cup back to his mouth, the scene fades to black.
