Chapter 16 (Match)
It's another night in Xtrema Arena where the fans are packing in the audience seats. The announcer went to her table and gave her declaration.
"Welcome back to Xtrema! Tonight, we've got very exciting matches! We're starting this with a six-woman battle royal to welcome six new women on the Xtrema roster! Next, we've got a no-disqualification match against heated rivals, Carly X and Neko Girl! Third, our Russian grappler, Liza Surkova, will go against the Mesopotamian, Ishtar! The last two matches will be qualifying matches for championships, Team Spirit vs Atlantis Force for the tag-team titles and Queen Bee vs Thunder Mana for the Xtrema Championship! I hope you're as excited as I am! So let's get the show on the road!"
Before the first match can begin, the Skunk was resting backstage. Seeing how she didn't have a match that night, she decided to relax in a hammock that she made. With her 24/7 title belt around her waist, she laid on top of the hammock and relaxed for a moment. That ended when a large shadow stood over her.
"Hey, do you mind?" the Skunk asked as she looked up. "You're blocking my light." She immediately regretted her mouth when she got a better look at he woman who towered over her: Diana Diaz. The Skunk panicked and jumped from the hammock and stood up with a nervous look on her face.
"Diana Diaz. How wonderful to see you. How have you been? Uh.. Shouldn't you be heading out to help your new partner?"
Diaz chuckled. "Why? I'm not going to bail her out and hold her hand. In this partnership, it's either sink or swim. In any case, I'm partly here to congratulate you. I heard what you did to that loser, Marx, and I just couldn't stop laughing."
"Oh… really?" the Skunk asked feeling a slight sense of relief. "Well, he is very fun to play with."
"Oh, I know." Diaz agreed. "And so do the rest of the roster. That's why we allowed him to stay this long. That, and for some reason, much of them think he's cute."
"He's cute to rub my ass over."
Diaz chuckled. "Well, in any case, get on your back."
The Skunk's smile stopped "What?"
"I said get on your back." Diaz motioned her hand and a referee walked in. "I told everyone I was going after all titles, and that includes your 24/7 Championship. So if you know what's good for you, get on your back and let me pin you. Otherwise, when I'm done, you'll have no belt and no legs. At least this way, you'll get to keep walking."
The Skunk was not liking this predicament. She wanted to escape, but the Dragon herself stood in her way. After one gulp, the Skunk laid down on her back letting Diaz place her foot over her shoulder. The referee began counting.
1… 2… 3!
Satisfied, Diaz took the belt and walked out. "Thanks for the belt."
The Skunk sighed. "Well, it as fun while it lasted. Maybe I'll torment Marx some more later on. Perhaps I can bring Mantis into it as well."
*The Newcomers Battle Royal*
After hearing of the new 24/7 Champion, the crowd was surprised. Diana Diaz was one belt closer to her goal.
"Diaz already took the belt from the Skunk?" Natsumi asked. "That was fast."
"Actually, it took longer than I thought it would." Kanae said.
Everyone's attention was turned back to the entrance ramp when Zelda Grif came over. She had no smile on her face. On the way to the ring, she cracked her knuckles and popped her fingers with a pull. She got into the ring and raised her fists into the air. After that, Jasper Jones came in dressed like a warrior. When she finished her entrance, Poison came in whipping her horse whip side to side. She gave it to the ring staff before finishing. Platinum Mask came in with all her glory majestically gracing the ring. No one could see her face, but they could see the fire in her eyes. Next, Clover came in screaming out and running to the ring. Everyone was shocked at her sheer size. Lastly, everyone was anticipating the sort of costume the wrestling cosplayer would have. She came out looking a lot like Moana. I mean, it was near identical to the Disney character herself. On her way to the ring, the crowd kept singing "How Far I'll Go" while Zelda growled silently in anger.
Once everyone got in their places, they had awaited for the bell to ring. Instead, Sayuri Rogue arrived from the entrance stage with a microphone in her hand.
"Hello, everyone! I know we're all eager to watch this match between these six newcomers, but before we do, I have a special announcement to make. Our next show after this won't be like any other show. I've been running Xtrema for a couple of years with no special show to show for it. Now, I finally made it. My resources pulled through and I've finally reached my goal. Ladies and gentlemen, our next show… will be our first every pay-per-view!"
The crowd cheered at the sound of that. The wrestlers were pretty stunned by that as well. Sayuri calmed everyone down and continued.
"Yes. Yes. But that's not all. One of these new girls…" She points at the wrestlers in the ring. "…Gets the opening match. So whoever wins this will get to start off the pay-per-view with whichever opponent I choose! So now, who gets to make the pay-per-view! Only one way to find out! Ring the bell!"
DING-DING!
Still in surprise of the announcement, the girls in the ring kept up their guard… except for Zelda who immediately went after Sam. She pushed her to the corner delivering loads of punches to her. Meanwhile, Platinum Mask engaged Jasper and Clover went for the offensive against Poison.
"Hey!" Sam shouted trying to cushion the blows Zelda was dealing. "You got something against me?"
Zelda reached out and grabbed Sam's throat. She squeezed and leaned in to her.
"This is pro wrestling, not a costume contest!" Zelda said angrily. "You think you can stroll in with a hula skirt and suddenly win the gold? No. You need to be stomped out."
Zelda threw Sam backwards landing her on her front. She then got on top of her and pulled her arms back while pushing her body down with her feet.
Platinum Mask started by sending a strong kick to Jasper's face. However, much to her surprise, Jasper didn't fall back. Jasper then grabbed Platinum Mask's head and threw it down on her knee. Plantinum Mask took a few steps backward disoriented from the knee strike. Then, she sensed that Jasper was charging at her, so she sent a kick to the side of her head to knock her aside.
Clover tried to take ahold of Poison, but the Mad Gear gangster flipped over the Irish giant and landed behind her. She then jumped to her back and applied a tight sleeper hold. Clover leaped back and slammed Poison to the turnbuckle making her let go. Clover then turned around to punch Poison, but she ducked and the punch actually landed on the turnbuckle. While that happened, Poison kicked one of Clover's legs and brought her to a kneeling position. She followed it by giving her a hard slap to the face making her fall to the side. While everyone else was distracted, Poison slipped underneath the bottom rope and hid underneath the ring. Clover got back up, but she couldn't find any sign of Poison.
"Where'd she go?" she asked herself. "One of the other bitches musta eliminated her already. In that case…" She turned around and got involved in Platinum Mask and Jasper Jones' tussle making it a three-way dance.
Meanwhile, Zelda trapped Sam back into the corner. She then choked her there with her foot. The cosplayer was gasping for air. Zelda let go letting Sam cough. Zelda then went to the center before running back hitting Sam with a dropkick. With her weakened enough, Zelda attempted to throw Sam out of the ring for the first elimination. However, Sam stood her ground and kicked Zelda back. Sam got to the top rope and jumped hitting Zelda with her own dropkick that collided her to Platinum Mask and Jasper Jones.
Taken aback by Zelda's shove, Platinum Mask pushed her away. Zelda was upset about this and jumped on her with a Lous Thez Press followed by a flurry of punches. That was when Clover came by and lifted Zelda off of the masked wrestler. Clover balled up her fists and slammed them on the sides of Zelda's head making her yell and cover her ears.
Platinum Mask looked back and saw Sam Hamilton resting on the turnbuckle. She approached her and the two of them clashed in a collar-and-elbow tie-up, which Platinum Mask won easily pushing the cosplayer down. Platinum Mask grabbed Sam's legs and held her in a Boston crab hold. Grabbing the ropes wasn't going to help Sam in this match.
During the Boston crab, Clover was dealing with Jasper and Zelda. Zelda recovered from the bash she had and charged at Clover. The Irish bruiser was about to clothesline her, but Zelda ducked and kicked the back of her leg. Clover knelt down giving Zelda the opportunity to grab her head and bash it down on the mat disorienting her.
With Clover temporarily busy, Zelda went to work on Jasper. She tackled the Savage Queen fanatic and held her with a headlock. Zelda held on while Jasper struggled to escape. Zelda planned to hold on until she passed out, but Jasper proved to be stronger than that. Much to the gimmick-hater's surprise, Jasper managed to wrap her arms around Zelda's body and squeeze. Zelda was surprised by the bearhug and let go of Jasper's head in response to it. Jasper then dropped her in a suplex. Jasper was about to lift her back up until Clover pushed her aside.
"She's mine!" Clover declared.
Clover helped Zelda back on her feet, but the latter was tired and dizzy from fighting so many opponents at once. Clover found her chance. She balled up her fists and sent a strong uppercut up Zelda's head, knocking her back so hard, she flew over the top ropes and landed on the floor below.
"Zelda Griff has been eliminated!"
Clover turned around to face her other opponents, but Jasper surprised her with a very strong punch that send Clover to the corner. At the same time, Sam was able to use leverage from the rope to break out of Platinum Mask's submission hold. She held onto her back and looked at her opponents. Jasper saw the two of them and approached them.
"Listen, girls," Jasper said, "It's clear that Clover's the bigger threat."
"I suppose." Platinum Mask said.
"Where are you going with this?" Sam asked.
"I say we triple-team her." Jasper proposed. "A temporary truce until we eliminate her. Then, we'll finish it."
"Sounds fair." Platinum Mask said.
"Fine by me." Sam replied.
As Clover got out of the corner, the three girls charged at her and grabbed her. Sam Hamilton caught Clover by surprise by grabbing her legs. Jasper Jones wrapped her arms around Clover's torso. Lastly, Platinum Mask jumped on Clover's back with a sleeper hold.
The four of them held that position for a minute. After that, Clover looked like she was about to faint. But much to everyone's surprise, Clover broke out and pushed Jasper and Platinum Mask away. As for Sam, Clover lifted her up with both hands and tossed her outside of the ropes. Sam caught onto the top rope before she could fall, but Clover rebounded from the other side of the ring and knocked Sam off with her shoulder.
"Sam Hamilton has been eliminated!"
"You're welcome." Clover mocked. Then Jasper and Platinum Mask pushed her to the ropes.
The two wrestlers grabbed their opponent's legs and tried to lift them up, throwing her off. Clover shifted much of her weight to keep herself from being eliminated. When she landed on her feet in the ring, Jasper and Platinum Mask grabbed Clover's arms and with all of their strength, managed to lift her up from her feet. They then used their combined might to throw her over the ropes and apron. But at the same time, Clover's legs wrapped themselves around Jasper's head. As she was thrown off, Jasper fell over the ropes with her.
"Clover and Jasper Jones has been eliminated!"
Platinum Mask took a breath. Her arms were exhausted from the throw, but she was confident in herself. But she noticed that there wasn't a finishing bell. She then remembered the announcer calling out who has been eliminated.
"Zelda, Sam, Clover, Jasper…" she counted. "What happened to…"
BAM!
Poison finally revealed herself knocking Platinum Mask to the mat facedown. She then hit her with a barrage of stomps under her red high heels. She then sent one strong stomp right on her head making her black out. Finally feeling confident, Poison decided to end the match, but in a way they would all remember. She dragged Platinum Mask to the corner and set her up on the top turnbuckle.
With the masked wrestler propped up, Poison walked to the far corner of the ring. With a sadistic grin, she ran right to her opponent and flew toward her with a high kick. Her foot connected, but Poison was surprised when Platinum Mask wasn't knocked off. Instead, she grabbed the Mad Gear member's leg and held her up. Poison didn't like where it was going. Platinum Mask threw Poison out of the ring. As the gangster's back made impact with the ground, the bell rang.
DING-DING!
"Poison has been eliminated! The winner of this battle royal is… Platinum Mask! She gets to open up the upcoming pay-per-view! Let's give her a big hand!"
Platinum Mask took in all the praise the crowd was giving her. She was proud of herself.
In a minute, Platinum Mask left the ring and went backstage. As soon as he knew she was alone, she removed her mask revealing a fair, beautiful face with platinum hair, blue eyes, and silky-white skin pure as snow.
"Not a bad start." She thought to herself. "Elodie, you've really done well for yourself. Once I'm done, Kasparia will be welcome back into international leagues." She placed her mask back on and continued into the locker room.
*Carly X vs Neko Girl*
Carly X made her usual entrance, but one thought still haunted her mind. She kept thinking about her mother contacting Thunder Mana instead of her. She had to win this one to prove herself to her. After she was done, Neko Girl prowled through the stage with a confident grin pointed at her opponent. For this match, neither of their seconds showed up, not Mewlie nor Thunder Mana.
"This is a rematch that we've been waiting for, everyone! This is a no-disqualification match! Everything is fair game! Neko Girl calls this a catfight and she is known as the princess of catfighting, so she could have the advantage! Meanwhile, we've heard rumors that Carly X is going through some personal issues that are making her mad! This could either strengthen her resolve or hinder her victory! Only one way to find out!"
DING-DING!
Carly X made the first move running to Neko Girl. She tackled her to the corner, but Neko Girl countered by scratching her in the face. Carly X jumped back yelling in pain, but Neko Girl didn't stop there. She grabbed Carly's hair and pulled her down to the ring without letting go. She sat on Carly's back and held her head up by her hair. She then transitioned her hands to catch Carly's mouth in a double-fishhook. The claws made it even hurt more.
"Come on! Give us a smile! You're loving this, aren't you?"
"Carly X," the referee said, "Do you give up?"
"No!" Carly responded.
Carly managed to escape by swinging her head back hitting Neko Girl in the face. Neko Girl got off to mend her face. Carly got back up and sent a strong kick to her opponent's face. Neko Girl rolled out of the ring to gather her bearings. Carly jumped over the rope to splash on her, but the cat girl managed to see it coming and jump out of the way letting her land face-first on the floor.
Neko Girl looked to a front-row fan holding a soda bottle and had an idea. She swiped it from his hand, opened it up, and poured it right on Carly's head soaking her.
"You better wash yourself after this, blondie. Then again, that'll be a first, won't it?"
Carly had enough. She immediately darted and tackled Neko Girl to the ground. She applied a crossface STF and kept her there. After a minute, Neko Girl sunk her teeth into Carly's arm making her let go and yell. When Carly got back up, Neko Girl grabbed her face and sunk her claws in. Carly yelled at the pain until Neko Girl threw her back into the ring.
While Carly tries to recover in the ring, Neko Girl looked under it looking for a weapon to use. She found a steel chair, but set it aside. She found a kendo stick, but it wasn't enough. Finally, she had chosen an aluminum baseball bat and smiled. Neko Girl got back to the ring while Carly was on one knee. She raised her baseball bat preparing to swing it down.
"Good night, Carly!" Neko Girl shouted.
Neko Girl swung the baseball bat down aimed at Carly's head, but at the last second, the Stylish Tiger managed to grab the bat before it hit her. She looked back up at Neko Girl with fire in her eyes. She removed the baseball bat and swung it herself at Neko Girl's stomach. She then swung it up her head knocking her backward to the center of the ring. She appeared to be knocked out. Carly X then went for the cover.
1… 2…
Neko Girl kicked out of that revealing herself to be not as unconscious as everyone thought. Carly went to pick the baseball bat up again while Neko Girl went to the ropes and hung off the apron for a second. She then turned back to Carly with a certain smile on her face.
"Where's your mom, Carly?" she taunted.
That set the spark. Carly X's fires of determination quickly became roaring flames of anger. All she could see was red. Without thinking, Carly X ran toward her opponent preparing to barrage her with baseball bat strikes. But she never got the chance.
At the last second, Neko Girl lifted the steel chair she pulled out earlier and swung it at Carly X making her fly to the side. The Stylish Tiger was half-unconscious when she fell to the nearby ropes and rested on it. Neko Girl threw her chair down and approached Carly. She grabbed her arms and tied the ring ropes around them. Carly tried to move, but she couldn't.
"Time for my new scratching post!" Neko Girl screeched in excitement. She raked both her claws down Carly's stomach making her yell in pain. She then went right behind Carly and applied the sleeper hold. Carly couldn't fight back because her arms were tied. Carly tried to hold out, but she was basically knocked out.
Satisfied, Neko Girl released Carly X from the ropes and threw her to the ground. She crouched down and performed her signature pounce over the ropes. She splashed down right on top of Carly's prone body and hooked her leg for the pin.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
"Now, that was a brutal match, everyone! Clearly, Neko Girl's experience with no rules and tactical psychology managed to earn her win for tonight! With both girls having one win over the other, one has to wonder if there'll be a tie-breaking match soon!"
"One more thing." Neko Girl said.
She stepped outside the ring and reached underneath the apron looking for something specific. She pulled out a large, metal trash can. She rolled it into the ring before stepping back in. After setting it upright, she picked Carly up and tossed her into the trash can leaving her legs hanging out.
"I always knew you were trash, X-tra Lame!" Neko Girl laughed. "But this is the proof! And if you ever cross me again, you're headed for the dumpster!"
Neko Girl continued laughing as she walked out of the ring. As she left, the security team ran in to help Carly out of the can.
*Liza Surkova vs Ishtar*
It was time for the Visitor's Match. Liza Surkova came out first looking pumped up for her match. As she entered the ring, her opponent cam in with a high-collar white top with golden outlines. She had on gold elbow pads with a gold and silver armband at her right bicep. She had on black, fingerless MMA gloves that matched her black gold bikini. Short chain mail skirt with gold hoops. She had on a band band on right thigh and her knees that had the same design over her gold, open-toed, high platform-heeled shoes. Her entrance attire came with a Mesopotamian crown and a golden snake staff in her hand. She was accompanied by a leopard that spooked the audience.
As she entered the ring, Ishtar removed her crown and staff. She was about to begin before Liza spoke out.
"Hold on a minute!" she shouted in her native Russian accent. She pointed at the leopard. "What is that?"
"Oh, him?" Ishtar asked. "That's Enkido, my faithful companion. He's with me."
Liza was about to speak again, but Sayuri Rogue appeared on the stage with a microphone in her hand. She sighed and spoke.
"Not so fast, Ishtar. We have rules in Xtrema and while you're here, you're expected to follow them. And one of those rules is, no animals allowed at ringside."
"But Enkido's my confidant." Ishtar replied.
"I don't care." Sayuri replied. "Send him backstage or I'm calling the match for Liza."
Ishtar wanted to argue some more, but she didn't want to lose on a technicality. She turned to her pet, gestured to him, and sent him back up the ramp. Enkido took a moment look glare angrily at Sayuri, but she glared back to show she wasn't afraid. As soon as the leopard had left, Sayuri addressed the crowd again.
"That'll be all. Whenever you're ready."
Liza and Ishtar looked at each other with fires of determination and anger in their eyes. They were more than ready to test their skills on each other.
"Well, that was a close one! Thankfully, we can have ourselves a match without having to worry about a wild animal! Now, we can get onto our battle of MMA titans! Liza Surkova and Ishtar are both legends in the octagon, but how will they do inside the squared circle?"
DING-DING!
Liza and Ishtar met up in the center of the ring and held each other in a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Liza made the first move by running behind Ishtar and holding her chest back. Ishtar responded by raising her boot and stomping on Liza's foot. The Russian cried out releasing her hold. Ishtar swung a spinning backfist that knocked Liza backward. With Liza Surkova on the ground, Ishtar knelt down and grabbed Liza with a headlock.
"Come on, Surkova! You wanna win? Show some effort!"
Liza didn't like how little she was treated. She raised her fist and started pounding on Ishtar's back a few times. After a fifth, Ishtar let go and slumped to the corner. Liza got back up and dragged Ishtar to the center of the ring. She then grabbed her arm applying a Fujiwara armbar. Ishtar winced at the strain.
"What about you?" Liza taunted back. "Why don't you show some more effort?"
Ishtar growled in anger. The referee asked if she gave up, but she refused. Instead, she flipped herself over and held Liza on her back hooking the pin.
1… 2…
Liza kicked out before the referee could count to three. Ishtar went for a submission hold, but Liza countered with a throw to the ropes. Ishtar went to bounce off, but Liza went and kneed her in the gut as she hit the ropes. Ishtar fell to the ground with her hands covering her stomach. Liza used the ropes to jump high and land her foot on the Mesopotamian's back.
Liza waited at the corner for Ishtar to get up on her knees. When she did, Liza ran toward her to deliver a knee strike, but before her knee made impact, Isthar grabbed Liza's leg and sent her down to the side landing her on the ropes. She then rolled her over for a leverage pin.
1… 2…
Liza kicked out leaving Ishtar frustrated. She went on top of the Russian and hit her head with a barrage of punches. She got on top of Liza's back and pulled her head up with a camel clutch. Liza went to escape, but Ishtar kept that hold on.
After a minute, Liza escaped the camel clutch by picking herself up on her feet and dropping Ishtar with a stunner. Seeing her down, Liza went to the ropes and bounced off ready for a leg drop. She jumped up to extend her leg, but before she could land, Ishtar rolled out of the way. Liza landed her leg on the mat while Ishtar got back up. She took the opportunity to continuously stomp on every part of Liza's body.
"There!" she exclaimed. "Now, I think you're ready for Mushussu."
"Mushu-what?" Liza asked.
In an instant, Ishtar laid on top of Liza and wrapped her arms and legs around her body. In just a second, Liza's entire body had been constricted in Ishtar's finishing move. Ishtar tightened the hold as Liza struggled to breathe. After a few minutes of struggling, Liza's hands started to fall. The referee picked up her hand and let it drop.
1…
2…
The referee dropped Liza's hand for a third time, but the Russian woke herself up by biting her tongue. She then gained her second wind and shoved herself side to side much to Ishtar's surprise. Eventually, Liza managed to each the ropes. Ishtar finally let go as soon as the referee counted to four.
"How?" she asked in surprise. "How did you break out of that?"
"I can't afford to lose." Liza replied. "I've got too much riding on this!" She then sent a punch so quick, Ishtar didn't notice until it hit her face. With her caught off guard, Liza grabbed her arm and brought her down in a triangle choke hold.
Ishtar's arm was stretched out while her head was being crushed between Liza's legs. She was held very tightly with her air slowly being depleted.
"Give up!" Liza demanded.
Ishtar wouldn't submit. She just kept getting angrier. Then, out of instinct, she opened her mouth and sank her teeth into Liza's thigh without the referee noticing.
"GAH!" Liza shouted as she released the triangle choke and tended to her leg. "SON OF A…" Out of fury, she picked up Ishtar's head and crashed into it with her own.
"AH!" Ishtar yelled holding onto her forehead. "You headbutted me!"
"You bit my leg!"
"You headbutted me!"
"YOU BIT MY FRICKIN' LEG!"
Ishtar responded with a furious yell and charged at Liza. The two of them were sent flying over the ropes. They spent the next few moments struggling. They tried to gain the advantage of each other pushing them to the apron and barricade and alternating. They didn't even care about the match anymore. They were just too angry to care. That's why…
DING-DING!
The sound of the bell woke the two MMA fighters up. They looked to the announcer's table to understand what was going on.
"Well, that's certainly an interesting outcome! Despite being formidable opponents, Liza and Ishtar's anger allowed them both to stay outside of the ring! The referee counted to ten and was forced to call it a double count-out!"
"What?" Liza gasped. "Are you kidding me?"
"That's a stupid way to end this!" Ishtar shouted.
Liza glared at Ishtar angrily. "This is your fault!"
"My fault? You were the one who wouldn't tap out right away! And if Enkidu was here, I'd have won for sure!"
"Well, guess what! I'm a dog person!"
The two of them continued to throw exchanges at each other when the security team came by to separate the two.
In the skybox, Sayuri Rogue watched the two below. She had Ryuji by her side.
"Well, that didn't feel satisfying." Sayuri said. "I pit those two together because they have so much in common too. Do you think I should've lifted that no-pets rule, Ryuji?"
"Rules are rules for a reason, ma'am." Ryuji said. "Besides, you came up with the rule yourself."
"True." Sayuri agreed. "Well, there's nothing left to do but enjoy the rest of the show, set up the pay-per-view, and hear what the fans have to say about that. Hopefully, there won't be any more surprises."
Famous last words.
Author's Note: Not too bad if I say so myself. As for the match between Liza vs Ishtar, I was really on the fence. I felt like Liza deserved a win, but at the same time, Ishtar seemed pretty tough. So I thought I'd use this. Hope that's okay. Next time, we get Team Spirit vs Atlantis Force along with Queen Bee vs Thunder Mana.
Any and all comments are welcome.