Chapter 71 (Match)
*Gauntlet Match*
The main event of the match was ready to begin. At ringside, Queen Bee sat in a fold-up chair with her World Championship belt on her shoulder. She sat smugly with one leg over the other while the first two competitors made their entrance.
The first one was someone Queen Bee knew all too well. Maria Crawford took the stage snapping her whip left and right before stepping into the ring. She tossed it away before the next competitor came. Platinum Mask marched from the stage receiving a mix of boos and cheers from the fans. She just kept walking until she got in the ring across from Crawford.
"At last, we've arrived at the main event of the night! This next match is a gauntlet mat! Whoever pins or submits their opponents faces the next wrestler who comes out to the ring! Last woman standing will face Queen Bee next week for her World Championship belt! The first ones in the ring are Maria Crawford and Platinum Mask! Let's see where this match will go!"
DING-DING!
Platinum Mask readied herself in a grappler's stance at the center of the ring. Maria Crawford took extra caution because she knew this woman wasn't normal. Platinum Mask reached out both her arms to grab Maria, but Crawford dodged out of the way and kicked her in the back of her leg. Platinum Mask, however, wasn't bothered by it and countered with a spinning backfist that sent Crawford down. Looking to finish her off quickly, Platinum Mask attempted to grab Crawford's legs for her Platinum Throw, but before she could, Crawford's legs slipped out of her grasp and she kicked Platinum Mask in the stomach.
Maria Crawford got back up and struck her knee right at Platinum Mask's face. With her down, Maria repeatedly stomped on her body. She then sat on her back and pulled her leg in a single leg Boston crab hold.
"Scream for me!" Maria commanded as she pulled harder. However, Platinum Mask only gritted her teeth. She then used her knee to move herself forward. Crawford tried to keep the two of them in place, but she was unsuccessful. Platinum Mask made it to the rope and Crawford was forced to let go.
At ringside, Queen Bee chuckled before taking a microphone. She spoke into it to get Crawford's attention. "Wow. And here, I thought you were this mighty dominator! And yet, you couldn't get one person to scream upon command? Tsk, tsk!"
Maria growled before leaning on the ropes in front of Queen bee. "You want another sleeper hold, jobber?"
"That news is old, lady!" Queen Bee retorted. "And speaking of old lady, let's talk about you!"
Seeing her opportunity, Platinum Mask got up and bounced off the ropes. She struck her forearm right at Maria's back making her gasp. She then tucked her arm underneath Crawford's legs and roll her over in a schoolboy pin.
1… 2… 3!
"Maria Crawford has been eliminated!"
Obviously, Maria was upset at losing so quickly. She was forced to leave the ring while Platinum Mask was still full of energy. Crawford glared an angry look at Queen Bee muttering about payback before leaving the arena.
After Platinum Mask's first victory was assured, the next woman came in with her entrance. Only, instead of her usual pose, Liza Surkova simply ran straight into the ring and tackle Platinum Mask. She grappled with her staying on top of her.
"You costed me my payback at Supernova, you masked bitch!" Liza shouted.
"You'd never understand!" Platinum Mask shouted.
"I don't have to!" Liza replied. "All I need to do is beat you so hard, you'll need that mask to hide the permanent bruises I'll leave you!"
Platinum Mask grabbed Liza's waist and pushed her off. The two of them stood and faced each other. They grabbed each other's shoulders and struggled for control. Platinum Mask then ducked down to wrap her arms around Liza's torso and drop her in a belly-to-belly suplex. She then hooked the Russian's leg.
1…
Liza kicked out and rolled back to a standing position. She charged at Platinum Mask and rained down a flurry of punches and kicks like the rabid MMA fighter she is. With one last high kick, Platinum Mask was knocked down to her side. Liza kicked her in the stomach making her cough. She kicked her again in the back making her yell.
Liza turned Platinum Mask on her back. She raised her foot up and prepared to stomp down on her face, but Platinum Mask caught the foot in her hand. She held onto it as she stood back up and the Russian MMA fighter struggled to keep her balance. Liza tugged her foot out of Platinum Mask's grasp and spun around for a discus clothesline. Platinum Mask ducked underneath and grabbed Liza from behind and launch her in a German suplex. She stayed there for the pin.
1… 2…
Liza Surkova managed to kick out. She returned to her feet just when Platinum Mask charged at her. She connected with a knee strike to her stomach making the MMA star cough. Thankfully for Liza, she managed to keep her footing and grab onto Platinum Mask's body. She picked her up before sending her down in a scoop slam.
With Platinum Mask down, Liza rolled her to her stomach and locked in a camel clutch. Instead of getting to referee to ask for a submission yet, Liza used one of her hands to continuously pound on Platinum Mask's vulnerable face.
"You and Eris both humiliated me." Liza said creeping her hand to the back of Platinum Mask's head. "I'll deal with your 'goddess' later, but for now, I'll settle with humiliating you by getting rid of your overrated mask."
Platinum Mask didn't like that. She wasn't going to let herself get unmasked. So she struggled out of Liza's grasp and plant her feet on the mat. With great effort, she brought herself up still with Liza on her shoulders. Of course, Liza forced her face down. After that, Liza went in front of Platinum Mask's face. She then placed her legs around Platinum's head, grabbed ahold of her arm, and locked her in her signature triangle hold. Platinum Mask was quickly losing consciousness to that.
"Give up, Platinum Mask!" Liza demanded. "Pass out or tap out!"
Platinum Mask struggled to keep moving. If she stopped, she'd black out. Thankfully, her struggles proved fruitful as she not only brought out of Liza's grip, she grabbed her legs as she stood up. She then spun around catching Liza by surprise with her Platinum Throw. When she was done, she released Liza and let her fall onto the mat. She then hooked the Russian's leg.
1… 2… 3!
"Liza Surkova has been eliminated!"
When Liza was pushed out of the ring, Platinum Mask was getting exhausted, which was good news for her next opponent, who was revealed to be Freya. The ice giantess went into the ring and joined in the gauntlet match.
Wasting no time, Freya grabbed Platinum Mask and tossed her to the corner. She then crashed onto her with a clothesline. She kept Platinum Mask propped at the corner and lifted her up letting her sit at the top turnbuckle. She climbed up to continue her attack, but Platinum Mask stopped her by punching her in the stomach and pushing her off. Freya crashed onto the mat.
Platinum Mask stood at the top turnbuckle and jumped off. She landed an elbow drop right at Freya's chest making her groan. Platinum Mask then raised Freya up before hitting her with a stomach punch. She was about to drop her with a suplex, but Freya kept her ground.
Freya escaped from Platinum Mask's guillotine hold and struck her stomach with both of her palms. She then knelt down behind her before crashing her back right on top of her knee. She kept her pressing there for a few seconds before letting go.
Freya lifted Platinum Mask up and decided to finish her off. She wrapped both of her arms around Platinum's chest area and crushed it between her arms. Platinum Mask gave out a loud scream in response to Freya's finishing move, the Polar Bearhug. She tried to pry her arms off, but Freya held her too tight. With no other choice, Platinum Mask tapped out onto Freya's back.
"Platinum Mask has been eliminated!"
After Freya let go and Platinum Mask rolled out of the ring, Western music played. Clementine Cirrus rode herself all the way to the ring and confronted Freya. They locked up in a collar-and-elbow tie-up before Clementine was pressed against the corner. Freya released just as the referee counted to two. Of course, that gave Clementine the opportunity to grab the top ropes around the corner, throw her legs up, and wrap them around Freya's head. She pushed herself off the ropes and landed on top of Freya's chest in a schoolgirl pin.
1…
Freya quickly shoved her shoulders up. Clementine picked herself up before spanking her own butt for the crowd. She dropped her butt down, but Freya slipped out letting it fall onto the mat. She then kicked at Clementine's face and got back up. She dragged Clementine to the center, rolled her over, and locked her in a Boston crab. She set herself down onto the cowgirl's back and continued to arch her.
"Clementine, do you give up?" the referee asked.
"NO!" Clementine responded. She crawled herself and reached out to grab the rope. When she did, the referee fold Freya to let go.
Freya waited for Clementine to get back up only to knock her down with a lariat. Freya fell down for an elbow drop, but Clementine dodged it. She then stood back up and landed her own elbow drop which connected. Clementine picked Freya up and threw her over to the ropes. Freya tried to counter with another lariat, but Clementine ducked and bent Freya backwards so she could trap her in a standing dragon sleeper hold.
"Pass out or tap out, sugar." Clementine said.
Freya however managed to escape from that hold by grabbing onto Clementine's arm and forcing it off of her head with great force. Clementine remedied that by slamming Freya to the ground. She then jumped and landed a banzai drop on Freya. She called for the referee.
1… 2…
Freya kicked out. She quickly got onto her feet and before Clementine knew it, she caught her in her Polar Bearhug. She squeezed hard offering the cowgirl the same choice she gave her before.
"Pass out or tap out."
Clementine gritted her teeth in response trying to find a way to escape. She felt like she had to tap out, but she didn't. Instead, out of instinct, she held out both her hands and clapped the sides of Freya's head. Freya let go and held onto her ears which gave Clementine her opportunity. She kicked Freya in the stomach and threw her over in a backdrop suplex that shook the ring. Clementine covered her.
1… 2… 3!
"Freya has been eliminated!"
Once Freya left, Clementine waited for the last woman to arrive. Much to everyone's excitement, Thunder Mana came into the ring. She casually stepped into the ring and met up with Clementine Cirrus at the center.
The two of them locked up with each other's arms. They struggled for control for a minute until they both let go. Thunder Mana then held her hands up challenging Clementine to a test of strength. The cowgirl shrugged and accepted taking ahold of Mana's hands. The two girls struggled for supremacy before Clementine's fatigue kicked in and she got down on one knee. Mana let go of Clementine's hands and picked her up by her head. She threw her to the corner and struck her with a shoulder tackle which sent her down. Mana grabbed Clementine's ankles and threw her upward before letting her back crash onto the mat. She then covered her.
1… 2…
Clementine managed to kick out. However, Thunder Mana picked Clementine up on her feet before striking her chest with a chop. Clementine gasped upon impact before striking with her own chop. They exchanged chops until Clementine struck more frequently. She ended it by tackling Thunder Mana down and mounting her. She reached back and grabbed both of Mana's legs holding her down.
1… 2…
Mana kicked out. Clementine then sat on her back and applied a camel clutch. She pulled hard making Thunder Mana gasp loudly. The former GWM champion gritted her teeth trying to get out.
"Thunder Mana, give up?"
Thunder Mana shook her head no.
Clementine let go to save her own energy. She let Mana try to get up, but she rolled her over with a schoolboy pin.
1… 2…
Before the count could be complete, Mana clapped her legs with Clementine's head in between to make her let go. Mana got up and waited for Clementine to get back up. When she did, Mana ran forward and struck her hard with her signature spear. Clementine dropped down with her arms handing Mana covered her for the pin.
1… 2… Thr…
Miraculously, Clementine got her shoulder up before the count could be complete. Mana was beginning to get frustrated. The grabbed the cowgirl's arms and pulled them back while pressing her foot down on her back. Clementine yelled feeling the pressure.
"Clementine, give up?" the referee asked.
"NO!" Clementine yelled out. Thunder Mana held the hold tighter, but the cowgirl wouldn't give in.
Clementine kept moving until she managed to plant her feet flat on the mat. She slowly started to get backup. Thunder Mana removed her foot, but kept her grip on Clementine's arms. Once the cowgirl could stand up straight, she bent her arms forward powering out of Thunder Mana's grip. She then brought her down with a tackle that carried her crashing right to the corner.
Thunder Mana fell to a sitting position, which Clementine saw as her chance. She went to the far side of the ring, turned to face Thunder Mana, and ran right towards her. She jumped and crashed right onto her with a bronco buster. A few bounces later, she pulled Mana out of the corner and covered her for the pin.
1… 2… Thre…
Much to everyone's surprise, Thunder Mana managed to get her shoulder up. Clementine rested on the ropes both exhausted and frustrated. She took a minute to take a breath while Thunder Mana struggled to return to her feet. It was clear that she was exhausted too. The two of them faced each other and decided to use the last of their remaining strength to finish the match.
The two competitors met at the center of the ring. They exchanged elbow strikes to each other's faces trying to get them down. They staggered, but they refused to fall. Clementine then brought Thunder Mana into a side headlock constricting her air flow. Thunder Mana managed to wrap her arms around Clementine's neck with her own side headlock. The two of them began to lose air, but they wouldn't let go of each other. After a few minutes, they both finally fell to the mat unresponsive. The referee inspected them. They were still conscious, but they had a hard time getting back up.
"I'm going to count to ten!" the referee said. "If you're not up by then, you're out! 1…"
The two girls heard the referee and began to try getting back up.
"2…"
Clementine and Thunder Mana would barely raise themselves up.
"3… 4… 5…"
Clementine managed to crawl to the ropes and use them to try and get up.
"6… 7… 8…"
Clementine Cirrus managed to pick herself up earning her place back into the match.
"9…"
Clementine looked and saw Thunder Mana. She shook her legs as she tried to stand back up straight, but it wouldn't happen. Her legs gave way and she fell down on her hands and knees.
"10! Ring the bell!"
DING-DING!
"WHOA! Now, that was epic! Six formidable competitors fought their hardest to stay in the gauntlet match! After an eye-opening final match, Clementine Cirrus remained on her feet earning her a title shot against Queen Bee next week!"
The crowd cheered loudly. Clementine Cirrus was too exhausted to welcome in the applause from her fans. Of course, that doesn't stop Queen Bee from getting into the ring and confronting her. She held up her hand for a shake.
"Congratulations, Clem. See you next week when you try to take my belt. Emphasis on 'try'."
Though Clementine was too tired to give back her fans' love, she had enough energy to shake the World Champion's hand.
"Looking forward to it, sugar."
"Another successful night! The first round of the faces have been won for the Yin-Yang Tournament, the Tag Team Champions have been crowned, someone gets a Free Pass into the second round of the Yin-Yang Tournament, and Queen Bee got herself a contender for next week! See you all then!"
Up in the skybox, Sayuri clapped her hands. "Well, not a bad night if I do say so myself. Ryuji, make a note of tonight's Yin-Yang Tournament winners so I can set them up for the second round."
"Already done, ma'am." Ryuji said. "By the way, I've noticed that we've been getting some complaints from some of our wrestlers regarding capacity in our personal gym. We have a lot of roster members and so few machines."
"Noted." Sayuri said. "I suppose that now's the time to start looking into making deals with other gyms."
Maria Crawford cursed under her breath in frustration. "That striped bitch! Who does she think she is? I didn't deserve to lose that quickly! She's so going to get it when…"
As soon as she started to pass through the locker room, she glanced through an open door and stopped when she saw a flicker of gold. She took a step back to peek in. Sitting alone in that locker room, she saw Jasper Jones holding what looked like a card in her hand. Maria widened her eyes seeing the Gold Card.
"Well, tonight's been quite eventful." Jasper thought to herself as she examined the card she convinced Sayuri Rogue to give her. "It probably wouldn't be too much trouble if I use this to win the World Championship from Queen Bee so that I can go into XAW a champion. Then again, that probably wouldn't be fair. I could've used it against Queen Bee at Supernova after her match against Diaz. The only problem is, I wouldn't have truly won it. It wouldn't be fair to take it from Queen Bee after her tiring match. I guess I'll have to find a better opportunity to use it."
Jasper sighed before heading into her locker. She put the Gold Card in, closed the door, and sealed it with a padlock. She exited the room which gave Maria Crawford the chance to sneak back into the locker room. She approached Jasper locker and examined the lock. It was a standard key lock. Maria pulled out a bobby pin she had on her person and grinned.
"Well, if Jones doesn't have the spine for it…"
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly made her entrance to her interview stage and presented herself to her audience and cameras. She turned to see her latest guest, a Chibi version of Platinum Mask.
"Welcome back to Xtrema Shorts!" Chibi Monica said. "You all know me! And I believe you know my guest, Platinum Mask, aka Princess Elodie Eastwind!"
Chibi Platinum Mask widened her eyes. "You know…"
"Not canonically, of course." Chibi Monica said. "Nothing in this segment will be canon, so you don't have to worry about telling the truth! You'll just have to answer standard questions along with questions asked by our audience members, including Awesome ax10! Got it?"
Chibi Platinum Mask took a breath. "You sure this won't affect me?"
"One-hundred precent."
"Then fire away."
"Excellent. Now, first question… How long have you been wrestling?"
"Well, Xtrema is my first wrestling experience, so just a few months."
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"Eris obviously. If it wasn't for that blackmail, I'd strangle her."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"I want so desperately to win the world's approval. But Eris is making that very complicated."
"What's the toughest match you've had so far?"
"Scarlette. She is what I call a natural wrestler fighting for a cause just like me. I admit that my win over her was a fluke, so I don't want to count it. I look forward to a rematch when she finally gets her head on straight."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Well, I study sports events and work out. As a member of the Kasparian royal family, I have to put on a mighty figure to show my people that I'm still strong."
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"
"Personally, I'd say a great wrestler is someone who fights for their dream."
"Do you have any interests besides wrestling?"
"I study political law. I know it's not fun for most, but as princess of Kasparia, it's my duty to."
"All right. Now that we're done with the standard question, let's move on to the personal ones asked by Awesome ax10. First, why is your Kasparia hated?"
"It all started at the Olympics. As a recognized nation, Kasparia was allowed to participate. But after our champions lost a couple of events, they lost their tempers and physically assaulted the winners in front of everybody. We were warned against doing it again, but it kept happening. Since then, we've been banned from international sporting events."
"How is Kasparia run?"
"We're mostly a militaristic matriarchal monarchy. We Kasparian royal women have strong figures to show our people that we're ready for any struggle."
"How does the outside world view Kasparia?"
"To the rest of the world, we're viewed as a nation of brutes and barbarians who hurt others. Other countries stopped backing us and our resources have been cut off. If we're ever involved in a war, we won't last a month. That's why I'm Platinum Mask, to show the world that Kasparians are capable of change and a sense of honor."
"Well, thank you for those words and insight into your life, your majesty. A few more words to our readers from Epiclot214. First, we've managed to update our list of matches for Xtrema Against the World. This is only a first draft and not our final decision, so feel free to give a second opinion. Here's what we have so far…
"Queen Bee and Kaito Marx vs The League of Evil (Wanna Be the Strongest in the World)
Team Spirit vs Candy Pair (Tiger Mask W)
The Killer Kitties vs The Fenrir Army (Wrestle Angels)
Atlantis Force vs Super Pirates (Wrestle Angels)
The Daughters of Darkness vs Death Hunters (Wrestle Angels)
The Galaxy Twins vs The Bella Twins (WWE)
Queen Bee vs Queen Elizabeth (Tiger Mask W)
Sayuri Rogue vs Jackal Tojo (Wanna be the Strongest in the World)
Clementine Cirrus vs Tina Armstrong (Dead or Alive)
Amazon Aqua vs Gouda Yuma (Welcom to El-Palacio)
Liza Surkova vs Mila (Dead or Alive)
N-Bomb vs Garm Takanashi (Wrestle Angels)
Freya vs Ms. Everest (my OC)
Mantis vs Yuri Ora (my OC)
Black Swan vs La Mariposa (Dead or Alive)
Kyoko Natsumi vs Makoto (Street Fighter)
La Calavera vs Maria Hirano (Foxboy614 OC)
Cleopatra vs Asuka (WWE)
Willow Powell vs Sakura Hagiwara (Wanna Be the Strongest in the World)
Thunder Mana vs Viper Tagaki (Tiger Mask W)
Diana Diaz vs Lady Kai II (my OC)
Kaito Marx vs Ran Aeko (Awesome ax10 OC)
Zelda Logan vs Ouka Shimusen (Welcome to El Palacio)
Sam Hamilton vs Alex Duncan (Awesome ax10 OC)
Platinum Mask vs The Obsidian Blade (Muscle Hustle)
Clover vs Aoife Leavy (Awesome ax10 OC)
Poison vs Ayah Gill (Awesome ax10 OC)
Maria Crawford vs Mari the Kid (Welcome to El Palacio)
Mercy vs Natasha Han (Wrestle Angels)
Scarlette vs Liza Gordon (Wrestle Angels)
Mewlie vs Leodora (my OC)
Madame Python vs Bunny Kisaragi (Welcome to El Palacio)
Eris vs Ledy Cody (Wrestle Angels)
Azraella Bloodstone vs Joker Lady (Wrestle Angels)
Neko Girl vs Mai Nagasawa (Wrestle Angels)
Calypso vs Laura Matsuda (Street Fighter)
Starla vs The Spike (Wrestle Angels)
Isebella vs Dusty Lola (Wrestle Angels)
Carly X vs Charlotte Flair (WWE)
Jasper Jones vs Darkstar Chaos (Wrestle Angels)
Charlie Hart vs Payne Fox (Tiger Mask W)
Hotrina vs Bunny Bomber (Wrestle Angels)
Artemis Creed vs Sachiko Kanda (Wrestle Angels)
"And that's it so far. The only ones left remaining who've yet to have opponents are The Storm Ligers, Eris and Platinum Mask, Diana Diaz and Poison, the Skunk and Mantis, Scarlette and Clover, and Black Swan and Madame Python for the tag teams. We've also got the Skunk, Midnight, Carina, Luna, Jun Juli, and Electra Sinders for the singles. If anyone has any suggestions or different ideas for who should face who, we'd love to hear them. Also, we're still looking for an opponent for Sayuri Rogue to face at the next match card. Some suggestions would help with that too. Any and all comments are welcome."