[Simon Jones]

 Wednesday 12th March

The scene opens to show the living room of the home of Simon Jones, in Las Vegas, with two brown leather sofas in clear view - opposite the camera is one sofa, while the other is adjacent to it, to the right-hand side of the shot; in the background of the shot, beyond the living room, the dining room can just about be seen, the table and chairs being partially visible.

In the foreground of the shot, slowly pacing around the living room, is Simon; he is wearing black jeans and a royal blue Birmingham City F.C. jersey. Simon continues to amble about the room, until he is disturbed by the voice of his wife, Jacqueline, who is heard from off camera.

Jacqueline: 'What's up with you?'

From the left-hand side of the shot, Jacqueline then walks into view; she is wearing white jeans and a pink tunic. Simon turns to look at Jacqueline, before responding.

Simon: 'Nothing.'

Jacqueline: 'Nothing? If there's nothing wrong, then why are you so restless? Is it because Blues are playing - is that it?'

Simon: 'No, it's not that; my Dad is the one that gets anxious when there's a match going on and he's not there - not me. No, it's...'

Simon pauses, and then quickly glances to his left, towards one of the sofas, before looking back at Jacqueline.

Simon: 'Go on, take a seat, and I'll tell you what's up.'

Simon walks to the sofa that is to the right-hand side of the shot, and sits down - as he does so, Jacqueline strides over to the other sofa, and sits there; the couple then turn to face each other.

Jacqueline: 'Right, I'm like a stalk of corn.'

Simon frowns.

Simon: 'You what?'

Jacqueline smiles, as she replies.

Jacqueline: 'I'm all ears.'

Simon chuckles slightly at his wife's joke.

Simon: 'Alright, well, the reason why I was acting fidgety, is because of my match this weekend.'

Jacqueline: 'You mean your semi-final match in the Blast from the Past tournament?'

Simon nods his head.

Simon: 'Yup, that's the one.'

Jacqueline: 'So what's the issue? I can't remember the last time that I saw you looking so on edge about something wrestling-related - you weren't like this prior to either of the two matches that you have had in the tournament so far; is it because you're now in the semi-finals, and because of how close you are to winning the tournament - are you feeling under pressure?'

Simon replies, with a serious expression on his face.

Simon: 'Jacqui, I'm a two-time SCW Heavyweight Champion - I don't have any difficulty coping with pressure, I thrive on it. And as for possibly winning the tournament, Brandi and I may be in the semi-finals, but we're still only halfway towards getting our hands on the silverware - we have to concentrate on getting through our semi-final, first, before we can even begin to consider winning the final.'

Jacqueline: 'So what is the issue, then?'

Simon: 'It's to do with our opponents.'

Jacqueline: 'Ben Jordan and Song?'

Simon: 'Yeah - or Team Bong, if you prefer.'

Jacqueline: 'I think I'll stick with calling them by their individual names: Ben Jordan and Song.'

Simon shrugs his shoulders.

Simon: 'Suit yourself.'

Jacqueline: 'So, what is it then - what is it about your opponents that has gotten you so troubled?'

Simon looks away from Jacqueline, as he fidgets nervously; he then looks back at his wife, and responds.

Simon: 'I like Ben - that's what the problem is.'

Jacqueline smirks.

Jacqueline: 'Have you told Ben how you feel about him?'

Simon frowns again.

Simon: 'What? What are you...'

Simon's voice trails off; it then dawns on him, what Jacqueline is implying.

Simon: 'Oh, I see; you're on rare form today.'

Jacqueline's smirk broadens into a grin.

Jacqueline: 'I just wanted to be sure that I don't have a rival for your affection to worry about, you know, aside from our daughter. But seriously, why is having Ben as one of your opponents such a dilemma for you? You've had opponents in the past that you liked, such as Trent Shanahan and Angelo Vialetti, in ACW, but you didn't have any qualms about stepping in the ring against them.'

Simon shakes his head.

Simon: 'No, there's a difference; I respected Trent Shanahan, I respected Angelo Vialetti - and I respected plenty of the other opponents that I've had during my career. But I've never previously found myself up against an opponent, who I've gotten on with away from the ring as well I get on with Ben.'

Now it is Jacqueline's turn to frown.

Jacqueline: 'Haven't the two of you already been opponents, before? I don't recall it bothering you then.'

Simon: 'Yes, we have; twice, in fact, and both times also in tag team matches - but the circumstances were different on those occasions. The first time that we were opponents, in February last year, Ben may already have been a mainstay in ACW, but I'd only been there a couple of months, so I barely knew him. Now admittedly, by the time of our second encounter, last July, I'd gotten to know him better - but Ben and I still weren't as friendly then as we are now.'

Simon glances down at the floor, before looking back to Jacqueline.

Simon: 'Plus, in both of those matches - a tag team gauntlet match, and a normal tag team match - whilst it was always probable that we would end up in the ring, against one another, it still wasn't guaranteed. But on Sunday, barring the unlikely event that Brandi and Song occupy the ring for the entirety of the match - which would leave Ben and I standing on the apron, twiddling our thumbs - he and I are certain to clash swords at some point.'

Simon leans forward, and looks towards the floor again.

Jacqueline: 'Well, while you are working on how you are going to be able to defeat Ben Jordan this Sunday, I'm facing the prospect of another weekend - the fifth in a row - of not having you here with me; since the week you had off following My Bloody Valentine, you and I haven't spent a weekend together.'

Simon raises his head, to look at Jacqueline.

Simon: 'I know; I know that you miss me not being here, leaving you to care for Matty on your own - and you know how much I miss the pair of you, whilst I'm away. We've had it worse, though - remember fifteen or so months ago, when I first joined ACW, and you were stuck in the UK, working out your notice, forcing us to spend over a month apart? Going so long without seeing you ate away at me every day. But that's all part of the sacrifices that have to be made, in the life of a wrestler.'

Silently, and slowly, Jacqueline nods her head, a single time.

Simon: 'As for my current situation, of being away from you for so many weekends in a row, well, in that regard, I suppose I'm just a victim of my own success - if I wasn't so successful, then I wouldn't be required to make as many appearances. And there are plenty of wrestlers - inside and outside SCW - that would love to trade places with me. But you know, if you asked me to give it all up - so that we could be a normal family - I'd do so in a heartbeat.'

Jacqueline now shakes her head.

Jacqueline: 'No, Simon; I wouldn't ask you to quit wrestling - that would be selfish of me. I just miss you when you're not here, that's all.'

Simon: 'I know you do, Jacqui - because like I said, when I'm not here, I miss you, too.'

Simon gets up from the sofa that he is sat on, and walks over to Jacqueline, to take a seat alongside her; as Simon puts his left arm around Jacqueline, she turns to look at her husband.

Simon: 'Just think though, three weeks from now, once Blaze Of Glory III has come and gone - and I've hopefully added the accolade of winning the Blast from the Past tournament to my name - we'll be back at home in the UK, ahead of the tour of Africa, in the company of all of our friends and family.'

That brings a smile back to Jacqueline's face.

Jacqueline: 'I am looking forward to that.'

Simon: 'As am I.'

Jacqueline's smile widens slightly.

Jacqueline: 'Is Jason going to be coming back to the UK with us?'

Simon: 'Your guess is as good as mine; I assume he will be, although the last time that I asked him about it, he was non-committal.'

Jacqueline: 'Have you discussed your dilemma with him? About having a friend for an opponent, I mean.'

Simon: 'Discuss that with Jase?'

Simon shakes his head.

Simon: 'No. Jase wouldn't be able to understand my mindset - there are only three people that he would consider friends, who are connected to the time that he has spent in wrestling: his trainer, his former manager, and me; Jase wouldn't empathise with me - he would poke fun at me.'

Jacqueline: 'Yeah, you're probably right about that.'

Simon's brow becomes furrowed.

Simon: 'You know, I've just remembered a comment that Drake Green made to Elise LeBlanc, in the run up to the classic match that he had with Ben Jordan last May, in ACW.'

Jacqueline: 'Which is?'

Simon: 'Well, it was ten months ago that Drake said it, so I can't remember the exact wording, but it was something along the lines of, although he liked Ben Jordan, he also had the ability to hate Ben, and that would give him the edge in the match.'

Jacqueline: 'Drake won that match, didn't he?'

Simon nods.

Simon: 'Indeed he did.'

Jacqueline: 'Perhaps being able to hate Ben Jordan did give him the edge, then.'

Simon: 'Perhaps.'

Jacqueline: 'You don't sound convinced.'

Simon: 'It's not that - I'm just anticipating you asking me whether or not I have the ability to be able to hate Ben.'

Jacqueline: 'And, do you?'

Simon: 'I think we've already established that I don't.'

Jacqueline: 'Why not? You hate the Villa.'

Simon laughs.

Simon: 'Yes, I do - but being a Blues fan, that comes naturally. Hating one of my opponents, though? Unless they give me a reason to really, properly loathe them - like Casey Williams did, repeatedly - then no, I'm not capable of that.'

Jacqueline: 'So if you're not able to hate Ben Jordan, then how are you going to be able to cope - and more importantly, how are you going to be able to win - come Sunday, when you find yourself stood inside the ring, staring across at him?'

Simon sighs.

Simon: 'I'll have to put our friendship to one side, for the duration of the match - I'll have to put the fact that we're mates to the back of my mind, and look upon him in the same way that I would if I was in the ring with, say, Deavon Justice, or Connor Murphy.'

Jacqueline: 'Can you do that?'

Simon: 'I can - because I'll have to; I'm used to having hurdles to overcome during my matches, usually physical ones, sometimes mental ones - and this is just another hurdle for me to have to overcome, albeit an emotional one. Well, on Sunday, I'll aim to clear that hurdle, like Dai Greene in the four hundred metres hurdles, on his way to winning gold in the 2011 World Championships - and try to avoid ending up like Dai Greene in last year's World Championships, when he was eliminated in the semi-finals.'

Simon removes his arm from around Jacqueline; he then reaches into the pocket of his jeans, and pulls out a mobile phone.

Jacqueline: 'What are you doing?'

Simon: 'I just want to check to see how Blues got on against Burnley - it should be full-time by now.'

Simon turns his attention to the phone, tapping the phone's screen a few times with his thumb.

Simon: 'They drew, three all.'

Satisfied, Simon puts the phone back in his pocket, and then turns to face Jacqueline.

Jacqueline: 'Sounds like an entertaining match.'

Simon: 'It would appear so; hopefully Ben and I, together with Song and Brandi Shotze, can serve up an equally entertaining spectacle for the fans on Sunday - with an even better result, as far as I'm concerned.'

As Simon leans towards Jacqueline, to kiss his wife, the scene fades to black.


The scene opens to show shining marble floors and striking red lanterns, in the lobby of Caesars Palace; the front desk of the hotel and casino can be seen in the background. In the centre of the lobby is a statue of three Roman goddesses, and a fountain; stood in front of the combination of statue and fountain, is Simon Jones, who is wearing navy blue jeans and a light grey t-shirt.

Simon's head is currently lowered, as he is looking down at the SCW heavyweight title, which he is holding with both hands; Simon raises his head, to look at the camera, and begins to speak.

Simon: 'Don't worry, I haven't come here to gamble the title away on a hand of poker - or, for that matter, any of the other games that can you can partake in here.'

Simon smirks.

Simon: 'Since I moved to Las Vegas, earlier this year, I've not exactly been a regular visitor to the strip; when it comes to gambling, rather than cards, or roulette, I prefer to gamble on horses, or greyhounds - and I prefer to actually do so at the track, rather than at somewhere like the Race Book that they have here.'

Simon places the heavyweight title over his right shoulder.

Simon: 'Over a dozen years since I first came to this country, it still amazes me that - unlike in the UK - sports betting is illegal in the vast majority of the states. But anyway, casino or not, I didn't come to Caesars Palace to tell you about my gambling habits - I chose to use the elegant furnishings of the lobby here, as a backdrop while I discuss the match that I'll be involved in this Sunday, when I'll again be teaming with Brandi Shotze, in the semi-finals of the Blast from the Past tournament, against the duo of Ben Jordan and Song.'

Simon turns to his left, to look at the statue/fountain for a moment, before turning back to the camera, and continuing.

Simon: 'A few weeks ago, following the conclusion of the first round, and with the pre-tournament favourites having been eliminated, I overheard some people discussing who the new favourites were. And the general consensus seemed to be that Ben Jordan and Song had become the favourites - although I've since heard Steve Ramone allege that he and Odetter Ryder are the...'

Simon's voice trails off; he then raises his left hand to his face, and scratches his forehead.

Simon: 'That reminds me, there's something else - or rather, someone else - that I'd like to address. And that someone is one of the two men that will be competing in the other semi-final: Steve Ramone. In particular, I want to pass comment on something that Ramone tweeted recently, when he claimed to have won titles in bigger promotions than SCW.'

Simon claps his hands slowly.

Simon: 'Well done Steve, what a great endorsement for the company that you work for - I'm sure that Mark Ward and Christian Underwood were both delighted with you, when you made that statement.'

Simon ceases clapping his hands.

Simon: 'The next time that you get caught up in a flame war, Steve, try being a bit more tactful. Should our respective teams both advance to the final of Blast from the Past, I'll look forward to the nonsense that I'll no doubt be on the receiving end of; but for now, it's time to turn my attention back to my semi-final opponents.'

Simon sighs.

Simon: 'It's at this time, just a handful of days before a match, that we wrestlers are expected to talk negatively about our opponents, doing things such as pointing out their deficiencies, whether real or imagined. But this week, in "the Cockney King" - or "the Cockney Kid," as I've heard Steve Ramone refer to him at least once - I find myself up against an opponent that I can't really think of a bad word to say about.'

Simon looks down at the floor for a couple of seconds; he then looks up again, at the camera, and continues.

Simon: 'As I expect everyone is aware, Ben and I are both ACW alumni. And if you trawl through the ACW archives, going back twelve months or so, you can find at least two clips of me stating that Ben Jordan was the number one wrestler in ACW - and that was said months before he ever got his hands on the top title in ACW. Of course, Ben isn't the first opponent I've had that I hold in high regard - as an example, just under two weeks ago, there was Giani Di Luca. But even with Di Luca, I could still find something to be critical about - however, other than to question his choice of football team, I just can't do that with Ben. I mean, how can I speak unfavourably about a man, who last March won the Super J Cup, and then awarded the shot at the NWA Cruiserweight Championship - which he had earned - to me?'

Simon shrugs his shoulders.

Simon: 'I can't; I'm just glad I didn't blow the opportunity that he presented me with.'

Simon readjusts the heavyweight title.

Simon: 'Ben and I share many of the same traits: our nationality, obviously; our love of football; our work ethic. We also both took a bit of an unusual route to get to where we are - and I don't mean that I drove along US 95, instead of I-215. No, see, Ben is a publican-turned-wrestler, and I'm a student-turned-wrestler-turned-clerk-turned wrestler again. Another thing that I assume we share, is a determination to win the Blast from the Past tournament. Now sure, Ben was a reluctant entrant into the tournament, but that was also the case last year, when JJ Dixon asked him to represent ACW in the Super J Cup - and as I mentioned just moments ago, he won that tournament. So, having reached the semi-finals, I expect that he will be wanting to go on to win Blast from the Past, too. Whatever happens on Sunday, once the match is over, one thing is guaranteed: for one of us, either Ben or myself, our aspirations of winning the tournament will be left in tatters - I just hope I'm not the one that will be told, "better luck next year."'

Simon quickly glances over his right shoulder, catching a glimpse of the statue/fountain again, before looking back at the camera.

Simon: 'I've already touched briefly upon the beautiful game, but Ben, mate, I'll leave the football analogies to you. Instead, there's something else that I want to refer to - returning again to last year, and something that you said to Lucian Frost, ahead of the finals of the Super J Cup. Now, for those with a short memory, like Ben, Frost was also one of the final four in the Super J Cup, but he was in the other semi-final, against Misty. And so I want to remind everyone of something that stuck in my head - some words that Ben had for Frost, when he was discussing his potential opponents for the final: Ben wanted the final to be between him and Frost, because he believed that a match involving the two of them could be something special - a great match.'

Simon puts his left hand on his hip.

Simon: 'I'm paraphrasing, but you get the gist of it. I think there's two reasons that has stuck in my head: firstly, because unlike Ben, I wanted Misty, and not Frost, to be his opponent in the final; and secondly, because with the way that things panned out, Ben did indeed miss out on that match with Frost. But here you are again, Ben, twelve months later, in the semi-finals of another tournament. And you know that I'm not going to be cannon fodder, like Canadian Crippler.'

Simon takes his hand away from his hip, to pat the heavyweight title.

Simon: 'We have a chance to put on the kind of match that you wanted to have with Frost: a match that, regardless of who wins, we'll be able to look back fondly on. You had some great matches in ACW, most notably with Drake Green, but on Sunday there's the opportunity for you to have a great match in SCW, with me. Jon Dough has made it known that he's not bothered whether or not he wins his matches, he's more concerned with entertaining the fans - I hope some of that attitude has rubbed off on Song, and that she and Brandi Shotze will also contribute towards making it a memorable match. So let's show Vegas how it's done - well, we'll be in Northridge on Sunday, but that's close enough.'

Simon rubs his chin.

Simon: 'Last Monday, ahead of my match in the quarter-finals, against Gene Banton Junior and Amy Marshall, I mentioned that if I was to win that match, I was going to have to conquer a couple of bad omens - something that I did of course manage to do. But again, this week, there's a bad omen or two, in my way - and less abstract than the ones from last week. You see, Ben Jordan and I have been opponents on two occasions in the past, both occasions in tag team matches, and with Ben emerging victorious both times - so if I'm going to reach the final of the tournament, I'll have to do something that I've not done before. However, I think that the outcome of the match this Sunday is likely to come down to what happens between our partners. Now, Brandi Shotze has played a huge role in our team getting this far, having pinned Lizzie Short and Amy Marshall in our two previous matches - and as talented as Song is, I believe that, when push comes to show, Brandi will be able to get the better of her, to send our team through to the final.'

Simon nods his head.

Simon: 'In just over two weeks, SCW will stage Blaze Of Glory III - an event at which I am already guaranteed to be competing, but with the shape of my match yet to be determined. Well, after Sunday, things should be a lot clearer. I just hope that the first defence of my second reign as Heavyweight Champion, is going to have to wait until after Blaze Of Glory; we'll all soon find out.'

As Simon stands staring towards the camera, the scene fades to black.