Chapter 49 (Matches)

*Willow Powell vs Hotrina*

Before the next match could begin, the referee held up a box of thumbtacks for everyone to see. She placed it right at a neutral corner and called for the first entrant, who was Willow Powell. The Apocalypse Ring star strutted down the ramp and into the ring sporting her Hollywood-style sunglasses. Once she was done, she gave her shades to a ringside official and warned them not to even scratch them.

The next woman to make her entrance was Catrina "Hotrina" Horace. The popular pin-up girl wore only small shoes and a very revealing bikini which won the approval of most of the men and some of the women in the audience. She strutted shaking her "assets" to the crowd until she entered the ring. She gave a smug grin toward the irritated Willow Powell.

"This is going to be a hot, yet intense match, ladies and gentlemen! Another newcomer, Catrina Horace—also known as Hotrina—makes her debut against the movie star, Willow Powell. With this rivalry of looks starting, Willow raised the stakes by making this a thumbtack match! The rules are simple! Whoever can make their opponent fall into a pile of thumbtacks first wins! And since this is a hardcore match, anything goes! Let's get it on!"

DING-DING!

Instead of going to attack each other, Willow and Hotrina met up in the middle of the ring with their hands on their hips.

"Ready to pick thumbtacks out of your fat ass?" Hotrina asked.

"Smaller zan yours, bitch."

"Oh, please. The only thing I have that's bigger than yours are my boobs. Every guy wants them."

"Yeah, until zey realize zat zey're merely implants." Willow said. She placed one of her hands on Hotrina's left boob much to the delight of the crowd. "Zere's no way zese are real."

"You're just jealous." Hotrina said. "Now then…"

Hotrina ended the stardown by grabbing onto Willow's wrist that was on her breast. Willow freed herself by twisting her wrist to grab onto Hotrina's. The two exchanged holds on each other before the pin-up girl ended it by sending a strong slap across Willow's face. The movie star and attempted to slap back, but Hotrina dodged it and tripped her onto her back.

Hotrina straddled on top of Willow's chest and sent several slaps across her face left and right. She then leaned to her side and locked in a headscissor hold on the Apocalypse Star. Willow managed to slip out of that, got up before Hotrina could, and kicked her back down onto a sitting position. Willow then jumped to hit her with a dropkick. She then used her feet to push Hotrina out of the ring. That gave her the time she needed to go after the box of thumbtacks.

Willow opened up the thumbtack box and started spreading them in the space between one of the turnbuckles and the center of the ring. All that was left now was to land Hotrina on top of them. However, she wasn't getting the chance anytime soon.

Willow was grabbed from behind by Hotrina who suplexed her away from the thumbtacks. Willow got back up and charged right at Hotrina engaging her in a test of strength. Both girls pushed back until Willow gained the advantage as she began to push Hotrina right above the thumbtacks.

"You see zat?" Willow asked. "Zis is what real skill looks like. You rely on trashy moves because you don't have any talent at all!"

"We'll… see!" Hotrina growled.

Suddenly, the pin-up girl shot her knee right up Willow's stomach. She then Irish whipped her to the corner before chopping her across the chest as she returned. Willow fell down feeling stunned. Hotrina stood above her and blew kisses to the crowd right before slamming her butt right onto Willow's face further stunning her.

Feeling confident, Hotrina dragged Willow around the thumbtack pile and propped her onto the nearby corner. She raised her up to the top turnbuckle facing the crowd. She then got in between her legs and prepared to powerbomb her.

"It's over, ho!" Hotrina yelled as she began to push.

However, Willow gripped the ropes to keep her there. Not matter how hard Hotrina pushed, she couldn't bomb her opponent. Willow freed herself from the powerbomb attempt and turned around. She kicked Hotrina in the face before standing on her feet on top of the corner.

"You're right! It is over!" Willow shouted. She jumped right behind Hotrina and grabbed her by the waist. She fell behind her and dropped Hotrina in a sunset flip right on top of the thumbtacks. Hotrina screamed as she was getting punctured costing her the match.

DING-DING!

"OOH! That was brutal to watch, especially to a newcomer! Still, Willow proved that her experience gave her quite an edge over Hotrina who… Wait. What's this?"

While Willow blew kisses to the crowd, Hotrina noticed a loose lace to her top. She grinned before jumping behind Willow and pulling the string loosening her top. Willow screamed and blushed before quickly covering herself, but the back part of her outfit was already untied. If it weren't for her hands keeping her top up, it would fall off of her and reveal herself.

"WHAT ZE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Willow asked loudly.

"What?" Hotrina asked smugly. "Don't tell me you thought I'd leave you with your dignity did you? Not that you had any to begin with. Until next time, trash!" She laughed as she limped out of the ring to get her thumbtacks removed in the infirmary.

Ringside officials headed to Willow's aid with a towel to help her. She grumbled and cursed under her breath in French while she walked past the whistling fans.

Up in the skybox, Sayuri and Ryuji stared in surprise and disbelief.

"Well, that was a thing." Sayuri said. "It's like those playboy cover girls trying to one-up each other in the wrestling ring ten years ago."

"Should we punish her?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm sure that if we did, we'd lose fans. Horace is a favorite of theirs. Besides, it's not like anything was revealed anyway, so we're probably safe from a scandal. Well, let's get on with the next match."

*Jasper Jones vs Juri Sanada*

Jasper Jones made her entrance in her Spartan-armor-like outfit. She gave her battle cry before running and sliding into the ring. She gave one last cry before resting in her corner. Juri Sanada came next. She wore her black outfit with red outlines. She rushed into the ring and jumped over the top rope. She rested in her own corner waiting for the match to begin.

"This is certainly a battle of the ages! For today's visitor's match, we will be welcoming the ace and owner of the Miyabi Gym, Juri Sanada! And challenging her is our own warrior powerhouse, Jasper Jones! No one knows the true nature behind this match, but it's clear that these two aren't going to make it easy on each other!"

"Just to remind you," Jasper said, "If I win, you promise to tell me about what Elena Miyasawa was doing in your gym?"

"If you beat me, I'll tell you anything you want." Juri promised. "Now, ring the bell, ref!"

DING-DING!

Jasper quickly charged in to tackle Juri, but the Miyabi ace leaped out of the way. Jasper turned for a haymaker, but Juri ducked and countered with a kick to her shin. Of course, that didn't do anything to Jasper who immediately grabbed onto Juri's leg and tossed her across the ring with great force. Juri fell on her back surprised, but not unprepared. As Jasper bent down to grab Juri, she was surprised when Sanada caught her in a gogoplata. Jasper grunted as her head was being squeezed.

"Do you give up, Jones?" the referee asked.

"NO!" Jasper shouted. She raised her fist and slammed it right at Juri's stomach forcing her to let go.

Jasper stepped back to catch her breath while Juri returned to her feet. The two of them met back together for a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Juri ended the lock by hooking her arm into Jasper's and throwing her with a hip toss. With Jasper on the ground, Juri pulled at her arms in a surfboard stretch. Jasper grunted before standing up to her feet and freeing herself. She threw Juri to the ropes and went to crash at her with her back, but the Miyabi ace moved out of the way. Juri followed that up with a bulldog before hooking Jasper's leg for the pin.

1… 2…

Jasper kicked out. Juri then caught her opponent in a dragon sleeper. Jasper grunted feeling her leg being stretched. The referee went to ask if Jasper gave up, but before she could, the warrior woman shot her knee back striking at Juri in the face. Jasper got up and picked up Juri in a fireman's carry before dropping back in a Samoan drop. Juri groaned while Jasper hooked the leg.

1… 2…

Juri managed to kick out of the hold. Jasper raised Juri up on her feet before squeezing her in a tight bearhug. Juri was legitimately surprised to feel such a strong squeeze from a woman Jasper's size. She was clearly stronger than she looked.

"Sanada, do you give up?" the referee asked. Juri shook her head before getting crushed tighter.

Juri groaned some more until she shot her elbow right at Jasper's shoulder. She did it two more times before her opponent loosened her hold enough for her to escape. Juri took the opportunity to raise Jasper up before dropping her in her patented Juri Crash. She then followed it up with her finishing move, the Spider Lock. Jasper felt her neck being stretched further until she lost control of herself and tapped onto the mat.

DING-DING!

"It's over, folks! Both girls gave everything they had, Jasper's strength and Juri's skill, and tonight, Juri Sanada scored one for Miyabi!"

Juri helped Jasper up on her feet and shook her hand. "Good match."

"I suppose you wouldn't mind telling me about Elena then?" Jasper asked.

"Sorry. There's nothing for me to say." Juri replied before leaving the ring.

Jasper sighed before following. "I'm going to find out what's going on. Somehow…"

"OW!" Sam screamed as she felt a sting on her head from the ice pack.

"Calm yourself, Ms. Hamilton." Said the new nurse who's nametag read "Dr. Valerie Tyne". "You don't want a concussion do you?"

"Yeah, wouldn't that be a shame?" sarcastically asked the other patient, Hotrina. "Meanwhile, when are you getting back to me, doc? I've got about twenty thumbtacks on me!"

"In a minute." Dr. Tyne answered.

Suddenly, the door opened up and Claude Vitaly walked in. He gazed at worry at Sam. "Sam! Are you all right? Did Electra really do that much damage to you?"

"This wasn't from Electra." Sam said. "Well, maybe some of it, but the worst of it was from Zelda."

"Her again?" Claude asked. "What's her deal?"

"Who knows?" Sam asked. "I think she's just jealous. Anyway, thanks for coming over."

"Well, I figured you'd be in the infirmary after that brutal match, and I know you'd want to see this." Claude picked up his phone and played a video on it. He held it to Sam who stared in amazement.

The video showed two wrestlers exhausted nearing the end of their match, Sakura Hagiwara and Rio Kazama. Rio swung a backfist strike at Sakura, but the pop idol ducked under it and countered with a backflip kick that connected Rio's chin with both feet. Sakura then got on top of Rio and the referee counted down to three winning her the match. Sam laughed in amazement when the match ended.

"I don't believe it! She actually won! I knew she would do it!"

"Yeah." Claude said. "I knew it'd make you happy."

"Ugh!" Hotrina groaned in disgust. "Get a room, you two!"

*Queen Bee vs ?*

The main event of the night was about to begin. Queen Bee entered from the main stage with her championship belt held to the air. Kaito Marx stood right beside her as she got into the ring. She passed her belt to Kaito to hold and waited for her opponent.

Much to everyone's surprise, the next person to walk from backstage wasn't Eris. Instead, it was Poison sporting her tight, white top, her cut legless jeans, her gangster hat, and her red high heels. Diana Diaz followed her into the ring much to everyone's surprise and confusion, even Queen Bee's.

"Hold on! What's the big idea?" Queen Bee asked. "I'm supposed to be fighting Eris!"

"Oh, right. Her." Poison said. "Well, it seems that she's taken a tumble backstage and is unable to compete. I've taken it upon myself to fight in her stead."

"Are you kidding me?" Queen Bee asked. "You two obviously must have ambushed her!"

"Don't be a sour grape." Diaz said. "Just fight my manager. Don't tell me the champion, Queen Bee, is scared of one little change in the match card."

Queen Bee growled. "You know what? Fine! I accept your challenge!"

"Fine then! Bring it on!" Poison challenged. She crouched down and held both her fists up.

"Are we really letting this happen?" Ryuji asked up in the skybox.

"I admit, this is a sudden change," Sayuri said, "But it's probably for the best for this to lead up to Queen Bee and Diaz's match at Supernova. I say let it happen."

As Diaz left the ring, the announcer made her declaration. "Well, this is certainly a surprise! Instead of the Goddess of Chaos, Queen Bee will go against Diana Diaz's manager, Poison! How will this turn out? Let's get to the match and find out!"

DING-DING!

Queen Bee and Poison met at the center of the ring. Poison threw a punch, but Queen Bee ducked underneath and countered with a tackle to the ground. Queen Bee stood up hooking her arms around Poison's legs preparing for a Boston crab, but before she could, the pink-haired girl grabbed her by the ankle to stop her. Poison freed herself and stood back up while still holding onto Queen Bee's ankle. She grinned before dropkicking the champion.

Queen Bee raised herself up the middle rope, but Poison pressed her neck on it. The referee started counting and Poison got off as soon as she was at four. Queen Bee fell down on her back before Poison dropped down on her with an elbow drop. She then held her in a headlock. Queen Bee grunted at the pain until she noticed that Kaito was pushed the bottom rope to her direction. She took the opportunity before taking it from her boyfriend.

"Rope break!" the referee shouted before Poison let go.

"Don't tell me you needed the loser to help you out." Poison taunted.

Queen Bee made a comeback by quickly getting up and punching Poison in the face. She then tackled Poison to the corner with her shoulder. The champion kept pressing her shoulder right at Poison's abdomen until the referee broke them up. The gangster swung her fist, but Queen Bee grabbed her by the arm and threw her over her shoulder. That's when she attempted a pin.

1… 2…

Poison got out of that. Queen Bee picked her up and locked in a sleeper hold. Poison grunted at that, but ran backwards ramming the champion to the corner. The Mad Gear girl turned around to face her opponent, but Queen Bee caught her by surprise with a headbutt. She then grabbed her hair, knelt down, and slammed the back of her neck right at her knee.

Just then, Queen Bee noticed something. She saw the referee facing away from the two of them. She was arguing with Diana Diaz who was standing at the apron. Queen Bee growled and took a few steps away from Poison, but that turned into a mistake. The Mad Gear woman picked herself up right behind Queen Bee before raising her fist right between Queen Bee's legs. The ace gasped in surprise before Poison kicked her down on her face. Poison rolled her over as the referee turned back to the match.

1… 2…

Before the referee could finish, Kaito grabbed Queen Bee's arm and moved it right underneath the bottom rope. There referee broke the count and made Poison get off. However, Kaito realized the problem with his actions when Diana Diaz ran to him and pushed him down to the ringside floor. Diaz then proceeded to press her foot right on top of Kaito's back as he laid face down.

"Stay out of it, pipsqueak!" Diaz shouted. "Queen Bee doesn't need you!"

Queen Bee groaned again just as she saw Kaito being trampled by the human monster. She received her spirit and quickly raised Poison up with a fireman's carry. She dropped down onto her knees making an impact on Poison's back. She then raised her up again and dropped her again in a Samoan drop. The did it one more time before finishing with a muscle buster right at her knee. Queen Bee hooked Poison's leg for the pin for the referee.

"1… 2… 3!"

DING-DING!

"That's the end, everybody! Despite the last minute change in the match, Queen Bee prevailed over the rough woman from Mad Gear! Now, all that's left for her to do is to tangle against the woman who promised to be the Ultimate Champion!"

Queen Bee jumped outside the ring and pushed Diaz off of Kaito. "Shove off, ogre!"

"Don't tell me you actually care about this runt!" Diaz said. "He's way under your league! Besides, he shouldn't have helped you! You're strong enough to handle anything!"

"What?" Queen Bee asked. "Did you just do all this to make a point?"

"Well, I want you in top form for when we go up against each other." Diaz said. "If Eris beat you, then not only would that ruin your momentum, but that would probably make our Supernova match into a triple threat, and I want you all to myself."

Poison got out of the ring slowly while rubbing the back of her neck. Diaz met up with her and the two of them left the ring. Queen Bee helped Kaito up and moved him out of the audience's sight.

"Sorry about that." Queen Bee said.

"Don't worry." Kaito said. "I knew what I was getting into when I got into the same building as Diana Diaz. Still, her stomp didn't hurt as much as it should."

"Weird. Well, don't worry, Kaito. Come Supernova, I'll make her sorry she ever messed with either of us."

"All in all, not that bad of a night." Sayuri reviewed. "We introduced some of our new roster, we got a deal with Miyabi, and we're one week left from Supernova. All that's left is one more episode before we're set for the PPV."

"That's great." Ryuji said. "And now that Ms. Sanada's agreed to the Pandora Project, we can move on to the next on the list."

"And who is that?"

"Well… It appears to be… WWE."

Sayuri sighed. "I should have known. It seems that if I wish to convince Vince McMahon of anything, I'm going to have to negotiate with tact."

*Xtrema Shorts*

Chibi Monica stood in her office presenting a Chibi version of Sayuri Rogue.

"Welcome to Xtrema Shorts, everybody! It's time for our special interview with a certain member of Xtrema! Today, our special guest is none other than the Xtrema CEO and Shangri-La veteran, Sayuri Rogue!"

Chibi Sayuri waved. "Great to be here."

"Now then, Ms. Rogue, I'm sure you're already aware, but I'll explain the interview." Chibi Monica said. "I'll be asking you some standard questions along with some personal ones from our biggest reader, Awesome ax10. All you have to do is answer them."

"Easy enough." Chibi Sayuri said.

"Good. Now, the first question. How long have you been wrestling?"

"Half of my whole life in fact. The world of pro wrestling has been a world of mine since I was 13 years old."

"Do you have any dream opponents?"

"Is that a trick question? Well, obviously, I'd love to go against Jackal Tojo. It wouldn't be for the championship of course. Those days are behind me, but that doesn't mean I can't wrestle for fun, and nobody's more fun to me than Jacky."

"How do you feel about your fans?"

"I say keep them coming. That's all."

"What's the toughest match you've had so far?"

"Again, Jackal Tojo. I can count the number of times we fought in and out of the ring with more than four hands. Nobody keeps me on my toes like her."

"What do you do for fun?"

"Well, honestly, I like watching movies and having some pizza delivered to my home. It's quite a snug time for me to just relax, have a slice, and watch a feature film that I rented."

"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"

"That's a complicated answer for some people to understand. It's like asking a professional philosopher what they think the meaning of life is. Well, I'll try my best. To me, being a great wrestler is something you're born to do, but it's also something you can become. Anyone can be a great wrestler. That doesn't mean that everyone has the ability to be in the ring. It means that a great wrestler can come from anywhere. That's why I made Xtrema so diverse in terms of gimmicks and themes for each wrestler. I know these girls and Kaito have the potential to change the face of pro wrestling, and as long as they apply themselves and never give up, they can be the superstars that I know they can be."

"Do you have any other interests besides wrestling?"

"Well, it's hard to answer considering my work keeps me pretty busy, but if I had to answer, when I'm not working, I have been taking an interest in writing screenplays. I don't plan to publish them. I just enjoy taking the creative writing in my head and applying it on paper."

"All right. Now, onto the personal questions. Since you're the CEO, what's the toughest division you have to manage?"

"Well, so far, I only have one division in Xtrema so far consisting of all the other wrestlers. This might not be the answer you're looking for, but I guess I'll answer with the heels. They're always so wild and chaotic, so it's a challenge to keep them under control, especially with the new security I've hired."

"Out of all the wrestlers on the roster, which ones do you believe gives you the most headaches?"

"Well, Diana Diaz is certainly my first guess. Remember when she broke Lady Kai's neck? That created quite an uproar. And don't forget Liza Surkova. That woman is just never satisfied."

"And which wrestlers do you think is the most tolerable?"

"Well, I wouldn't say tolerable. That makes it sound like I don't care for either of them. But to answer your question, I'll say Queen Bee. She was quite a sympathetic girl when we first met. I guess that's why I gave her a push. Also, Jasper Jones has been quite helpful. I also like Scarlette and Thunder Mana. That's all I can say right now."

"Now, Awesome ax10 would like to know more about your history with Jackal. After all, Jackal used to be in Berserk and you weren't."

"Well, that's quite a story. I met Jacky when we first started our wrestling careers at a smaller gym in Kanto. And let me tell you, being the young, competitive teens we were, we really hated each other. We'd often compete against each other in multiple things such as workouts and jogging races and who can beat their opponent faster. Although, our contests sometimes end with fist fights between her and me, which got on our couch's nerves. One day, we finally got our transfers to different fields. Jacky was sent to wrestle in Berserk while I went to Shangri-La. We parted ways and I thought 'good riddance'. After coming to Shangri-La, the previous champion vacated her title and a tournament was held for the world championship. Obviously, I won, but some time after, Jacky was announced to be moving to Shangri-La. At first, I was frustrated, but over time, I began to see Jacky in a new light. I don't know exactly she's been through in Berserk, but it appears to have changed her. Suddenly, the blonde upstart bimbo I fought with became a lot more tolerable. Then, came the championship match between me and her. As we fought, my respect for her grew more and more. As I lost the title, our rivalry steadied into more intense, but a lot friendlier. We'd exchange the belt between us in our future matches. Sometimes, we lose it to our lesser rivals, but we always got them back and kept fighting over it. Normally, that'd be boring, but the fans never grew bored of it. After my last championship match with Jacky, I won the lottery and decided to start my own wrestling business. I parted ways with Jacky and went off to start Xtrema, and you know the rest."

"Wow. That sounds like quite a history. So if you could control the conditions of your next match against Jackal Tojo, how would you want to face her?"

"It'd have to be quite a show to watch and the fans would never get bored, so it'd have to be a long one too. I suppose an hour-long iron woman match would do the trick, one where falls would count anywhere, not just in the ring. You gotta admit, that's be awesome."

"All right. One last question, and this one comes from me. You always hold Jackal Tojo in high regards. What exactly is your relationship with her? I know she's your rival and your friend, but is there something more between the two of you?"

Chibi Sayuri chuckled before winking. "I'll leave that for you to decide."

"Well, thank you, Sayuri Rogue, for that enlightening interview. Remember, if anyone has any questions to ask, don't hesitate to. Any and all comments are welcome."