The Dusty Gym

On a dusty street in the middle of Aston Birmingham there is a building, where screams and blood go hand in hand with sweat and tears, this is the place i have come to, this is where it all began for me, for the match in which i plan to take part in, i’m going to need to be here, to find something i lost 7 years ago, to find something that may have been lost longer than that.

The place is called Dans gym, its previous owner once saw a crazed uncontrollable teenager with no regard for his or anyone else’s safety, or respect for anyone and taught him how to control that rage.

It’s been years since i set foot in this hallowed place, years since i even thought of trying to get in touch with the animal inside, to see what if anything was still lurking in the shadows of my own mind, god only knows what James is thinking, he must think i’m nuts coming back here, hell i think i’m nuts but this, this is something i need to prove to myself more than anyone else.

Flaming Tables is a match i first brought to TXI many moons ago, it was a match that i was a master at, much like wielding my trusty sledgehammer, the flaming table is a mere extension of my psyche, with it i can unleash devastating destruction on any man before me who i call foe, but to prepare for such a match the right frame of mind is needed, and this is why after so long i have returned home.

I have come back to Aston, to this small gym not only to get physically ready for this match, but to prepare psychologically as well, as this is the only place i know that will allow me to find my inner demon if you will, but more importantly i’m hoping to find that little piece of myself i left here when i retired in 2003, for that is the most important piece of me i need to not only win but also to survive a flaming tables match.
4 years ago i didn’t have it for that charity match, thats how i got hurt, this time i wont be leaving this gym till i find it, for the piece of me that is missing, is that defining piece of me that liked to hurt people, that liked to put people on the shelf, to injure to cripple, to go to the most outlandish of ways to torture someone in the ring.

That side of me hasn’t been seen or heard of in years, the man Chi Reto met with is nothing more than an empty shell of what was, don’t get me wrong i’m happy with my life, but to win this match i need to be more than the shell, Paul Midlandson, he just won’t cut the mustard James Midlandson won’t make it out of the starting gate.

However Brummy Midlandson and Darkside Numpty, those iconic bastards of the BpA, those perverted lunatics who would quite happily kick the living crap out of each other as well as everyone else, those 2 psychopaths, those two Monsters, they will quite happily sit at the gates of hell with tables aflame drinking beer while sat in deckchairs, and that’s exactly who we need for this match.

“Well this place hasn’t changed at all has it?” James asks breaking me from my thoughts.

“No, not really” I reply, “But its exactly what we need, but I have to ask James, why did you sign up for this, it’s not like you have anything to prove to the world, we all know your crazy!”

“Well i couldn’t let you go through this crap alone could I?” He replies “And anyway it’s not like i had a choice about it really, once i found out what the match was i knew there was no way in hell i was letting you go alone and have all the god damn fun was I?”

“Spoken like a true psychopath James” I state he just laughs at me and walks over to a broken speed ball on the floor.

“This place is going to need fixing up Paul if you are serious about this” he says well trying to attempt to repair the speedball onto its board.

“This place is a goldmine of knowledge and psychological gifts my friend, and i want those gifts more than physical prowess” I state James just looks at me like I’ve gone a lot more crazy than normal.

“You do realise that the Flaming Tables match requires a certain amount of physical fitness right?” He asks

“Of course i know that, but do you really think i came here for fitness James? I came here because i need something from this place, i need the old school attitude i had when i trained here when we first started out” I tell him.

“Yeah i know what your after Paul, your after Brummy, much like i went looking for Darkside all those years ago, don’t think i don’t know what your up to man, hell i know you better than your wife dude, she might not understand why you took this match but i do, i know what you want!” He states

“Ok so enlighten me James, just what am i after?” I ask.

“You want to carve out your legacy, make sure you’re not forgotten as a footnote in the wrestling history books, you want the Shand’s, Arnolds and Reto’s of this world to remember your name and to fear it, so don’t bullshit me man i know!”

The look on my face must be a picture because after that little speech of his James face just breaks out into a smile followed by full on laughter, then i start bawling out laughing.

“Jesus Christ James you actually had me there, I really thought you were serious then” i laugh at him.

Still smiling at me he says “A lot of that is the truth Cuz, i know you still think you have something to prove, and i’m here to help you put this crap behind you so you can get on with your life”

“And here was me thinking you just wanted to set people on fire” i smile at him. “I’m here because i need to go to that place where pain means nothing, where the only thing i want, is to inflict damage and cause chaos much like i used to, correction like the way we used to, i don’t want to half arsed this, i want to steal this god damn show” i tell him.

“Ok i get your point, you want to make an example of whoever is stupid enough to lock horns with us, i get that, hell i respect that, but i want to know which part of you i’m going to be stepping into the ring with, because if its the family man of the last 7 years and not good old Sledgehammer wielding Brummy, we don’t stand a chance” Throwing the broken speedball at me James waits for me to answer.

“That’s why we are here dumb ass, I need to get in touch with my inner Brummy, as Chris would say, so lets get started” i say throwing the speedball back at James.

“Well you get in touch with your inner Psycho, i’m going for lunch you need anything?” he asks

“No i’m good i’ll hang here and relax while you head out just lock the door on your way out” I reply

“Whatever you say Cuz, i’ll bring you back a sandwich or something” he calls as he leaves the room.

It’s a bit chilly here in the old gym so i pull up the hood on my black hoodie and start to fish inside the duffle bag on the ground to grab my Ipod, sitting down on the ground i start to flick through the playlists until i find the one i’ve been looking for, as Avenged Sevonfolds Beast and the Harlot starts to play in my earphones i sit down next to the wall and close my eyes, starting to visualise the carnage i’m about to inflict.