Chapter 13: Next Challenge Match
Ron stood out on the mat at one end of The Pit, across the circle from Randy. It was Thursday, two weeks from the mission during which Ron had given one of the most wanted criminals on the planet a wedgie. A short time ago, Coach Winters had officially moved Ron into the 132-pound weight class. When you move to a new weight class you start at the bottom so Coach Winters had placed Ron's name below Randy and Owen. A few minutes ago Ron had beaten Owen to rise to 2nd string. Now he was challenging Randy for the varsity spot.
You needed to beat the current varsity wrestler twice in order to take the spot. Ron was surprised that he really wanted to be varsity. The past two weeks had seen the team wrestle two duels and two tournaments. One of the tournaments had been for only the varsity while the other had been held for non-varsity wrestlers. Ron had wrestled a total of seven matches and had won six of them. The first one had been close. He had been so nervous that he had quite literally forgotten to move, until his opponent had thrown him to his back much like Dave had done two weeks ago. Yet he had snapped out of it and had managed a win.
Both Coach Winters and Oscar had sat Ron down after that match. They all shared a laugh and the two had told Ron to relax on the mat and just wrestle like he had trained. It had felt good to laugh. It was the first time Ron could remember laughing like that. They all agreed that he had done something foolish but they were laughing at his actions, not at him. They all knew that he would never do it again. The matches had been good for Ron. He was now comfortable tangling with an opponent out on the mat.
So here he was, across the circle from Randy. Coach was the referee and Bruce was timing challenge matches just like last time. Bruce blew the whistle and the match was on. Ron took Oscar's advice; have a plan and execute it fast and hard. Don't give your opponent time to execute his plan. The two boys closed in on each other. Randy wanted to tie up but Ron refused. As Randy reached in, Ron blocked his hand up hard, similar to a martial arts Up-Block. Ron had a clear path to Randy's legs for just a moment.
A moment was all Ron needed. He shot a Double-Leg at Randy, using all of the speed and acceleration that two-plus years of tangling with super-villains can grant a teenager. Randy was too slow in reacting, Ron's shoulder hammered into his stomach and he staggered backwards. Ron didn't bother with the traditional 'lift and drop' finish to the Double-Leg; he had momentum and used it. He kept driving forward and swept one foot around and behind Randy's legs. Randy tripped and fell backwards. Ron was on top of him immediately, sliding a Half-Nelson around Randy's neck while he was still flailing and halfway to his back already. Ron quickly used the hold to force his opponent the rest of the way over. Randy tried to bridge his shoulders up but Ron kept his full weight on him and used his hold to pull up on Randy's head. Randy could only hold his bridge for a few seconds before Ron forced his shoulders down to the mat. Coach Winter's slapped the mat. Ron had won by pinfall.
The coach had two other boys wrestle a challenge match, in order to give Randy and Ron a chance to catch their breath before bringing them back out to the mat. "Okay you two," he said, "the winner of this match is the varsity 132-pounder." With that he had the boys shake hands and stand on the circle.
Bruce blew the whistle and it was on again. As Ron closed in on Randy he could see a look of resignation on his opponent's face. It was a shocking moment for Ron; the first time an opponent knew that he, Ron Stoppable, the neo-loser, was better at something. Randy made a fake for Ron's head then attempted a shot at Ron's legs. Ron reacted with the quick reflexes gained by over two years as Kim's sidekick, sprawling back with the agility of the school mascot and a practitioner of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar. Randy's move didn't have a chance of succeeding.
Ron's Cross-Face stopped Randy well short of his legs. Ron reached his left arm out and caught Randy's right ankle. Ron then used his Cross-Face as a lever, forcing Randy and himself to spin in a clockwise direction. Ron knew that Randy just wouldn't be able to match his spinning speed since he had control of one of Randy's arms (using the Cross-Face) and had a hold of one of Randy's ankles. It would only be a short time before Randy would be forced to collapse to the mat. Randy surprised Ron by moving his left leg forward and digging in his foot to resist the spin.
Ron reacted before either he or Randy could think about it. He let go of Randy's ankle and reached his left hand up inside of Randy's left knee to his left arm. Ron's right hand had a hold of Randy's left arm in a cross face, now that Ron's left hand also had a grip on Randy's left arm (by reaching up between Randy's legs) Randy was caught in a Cradle. Ron held on tight and rolled over, bringing Randy along and onto his back.
Randy desperately tried to break Ron's grip, trying to extend his body against Ron's confining hold. Ron kept his lower leg away and brought his upper knee up under Randy's butt, confining him further, reinforcing his hold, and tilting Randy even further up on his shoulders. The more Randy fought, the tighter Ron clamped down until:
Coach Winters slapped the mat to indicate the pin. Ron released Randy and jumped to his feet. He was just about to pump his arm in victory when he saw the expression on Randy's face. Instead of celebrating, Ron helped Randy up and encouraged him to practice hard and try to beat him during the next challenge. Ron had too much personal experience with losing to take pleasure in someone else's loss. Randy managed a weak smile, and congratulations, during the handshake. Then the coach raised Ron's hand to applause from the surrounding wrestlers. Ron was now Middleton's varsity, 132-pound wrestler.
"Oh, snap!" Ron thought, while several of his teammates surrounded him and congratulated him, "I don't think Kim expected me to make varsity this soon! I can even screw up a win."