Post by dsb on Nov 26, 2019 1:01:05 GMT
The inmates were feeling quite spirited after the previous show of Autumnal carnage and their mood only grew more rambunctious when the Announcer stepped into the ring and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit and is a No Disqualification Match! Introducing first, hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the Soul Survivor and a the Hope of a Dark Tomorrow, I give to you ‘BAD’ PENNY TREMBLAY!
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yo7l43Yoo
Harrenhal’s basement went dark as the speakers came on, the low hum of a guitar and a repetition of vaguely ecclesiastical ‘oh’s’ that marked the beginning of Thirty Seconds to Mars’s ‘Walk on Water’. The gloom was nearly omnipresent, and the combination of ghostly blue lights at floor level and a thin carpet of dry ice fog only added to the claustrophobic, disorienting atmosphere.
Can you even see what you're fighting for?
Bloodlust in a holy war.
Listen up hear the patriots shout,
'Times are changing.'
In the end the choice was clear,
Take a shot in the face of fear.
Fist up in the firing line.
'TIMES ARE CHANGING!'
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
Penny materialized with the chorus, the Angriest Acolyte rising up on a mechanical lift hidden in the dark so it looked as though she appeared from thin air. Claiming the stage alone thanks to the heathen Queen’s pyrrhic ‘victory’ late in the summer, Miranda Wainright’s ‘Bad Penny’ stretched her arms wide and tilted her head back, Penny listening to some guidance meant only for her ears. Thus sanctified by the wisdom of Midnights past, Tremblay headed for the killing floor that those less blessed called a squared circle. For tonight’s wicked work she wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks. Ignoring the reaching, judging hands of the basement dwellers (save to slap them away if one dared draw too close) Tremblay made her way down the ramp, then hurried up the steel steps, climbed onto the empty corner and sprang from there to the center of the ring, where she dropped to her knees facing the hard camera A detail noted by those with particularly sharp vision, Penny wore copper-colored eye shadow, a sartorial detail that made it look like the coins placed over the eyes of the dearly departed. Standing after an appropriate stretch of genuflection, Tremblay got to her feet and strolled to the nearest corner where she immediately set to work removing the top turnbuckle.
More than a little concerned by this task, Merle the referee hurried over to ask, “What’re you doing, Penny?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she replied without looking his way. “I’m preparing the battlefield for slaughter. Now either shut up and help or get out of my way.”
Frowning, the official cleared off and raised one more prayer asking for as little bloodshed as possible.
“And introducing her opponent, hailing from Stillwater Minnesota, she stands at five feet five inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and thirty-five pounds. She’s one Sweet Disaster… BRIDGET STROUD!”
BE LEGENDARY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmidz2s4scM
The gloom of Tremblay’s arrival gave way to a vibrant purple and a dozen spotlights played over every inch of the Madhouse basement while the speakers launched into Pop Evil’s ‘Be Legendary’ Above the entryway the ‘tron flicked through a montage of selections from Stroud’s growing highlight reel interspersed with footage of her scaling a handful of sheer rock cliffs. The random sweep of lights continued through most of the first verse, though their pace seemed to increase as the sound system roared:
Our name in stone, forever more.
We want more!
We want more!
We want more!
BRIDGET STROUD:
The spots honed in on the entryway with the third recitation and Bridget exploded through the curtain, the former rock-climber turned indy wrestling darling turned FAWN breakout skidding to a stop at the top of the stage just to throw her arms up for a brawny double bicep flex. Chants of ‘SWEET DIS-AS-TER!’ rang out at once, a building roar crafted by fans of her indy stint as well as the new fans she’d made since storming the scene earlier in the year.
Stroud’s usual megawatt smile faltered ever so slightly when she honed in on Penelope, but it was back full force well before she turned around on one heel and swung her hips in time to their chant while pointing to the ‘Sweet Disaster’ stretched across her purple briefs.
Another about-face followed shortly thereafter and the copper-skinned brunette hardbody took off down the ramp, Bridget going with arms outstretched to return the favor to everyone who greeted her so warmly. For the inaugural AHE of her FAWN tenure, Stroud chose purple trunks, a halter-style bikini top with one cup done in matching purple and the other in a pumpkin orange, purple and orange armbands that crisscrossed at bicep and forearm to meet at wrist and shoulder, orange pads with a purple splatter pattern and purple wrestling boots that ended a few inches shy of her knees. A study in frenetic energy the entire way to ringside, Bridget made a high-speed circuit of the front row, then leapt to the apron to the top rope and stayed there for a good five seconds, Stroud just watching Tremblay with an angry, predatory glare. Eventually she dropped to the canvas and offered elbows, knees, wrists and ankles to the official. Her eyes however remained on Penny and Penny alone.
Finishing her ominous work as the bell clanged, Penelope stalked toward Bridget with the shorn piece of canvas bunched in one hand. “Take it off.” she told Stroud, the willowy brunette indicating padded turnbuckle directly behind her opponent. “Go on sweetheart, I won’t attack while your back is turned. Where’s the fun in that?”
Rather than comply, Bridget leaned back against the corner and propped her elbows on the top rope. “You’ll pardon me if I don’t take you at your word. It means less than shyt, as far as I’m concerned.”
Tremblay’s dark eyes narrowed. “I most certainly will not.” she threw the pad at Stroud’s face only for Sweet Disaster to swat it aside. “You can either remove the cover with your fingers now… or with your teeth sometime later on to--”
Bridget came out of the corner in a fast stalk, her hands already raised and curled into claws aimed at the other wrestler’s ha--CRAAACK!
Penny flicked a hand through the shorter woman’s defenses to simply belt a slap across her rival’s mouth! The Angriest Acolyte followed with a rough handful of hair and she wrenched Stroud’s head back at a sharp angle, but Bridget simply plowed forward and pwak-pwak-PWAAAKED a trio of quick body blows into the bendy-back’s trim midsection! Snarling at the encroachment, Penny crooked her slappin’ hand into a spade and raaaaaaaaked it down the side of Stroud’s face before tacking on a high Kneelift to the guNO!
Bridget threw her hips backward to avoid the worst of the blow while simultaneously hunching forward to wrap both arms around Tremblay’s exposed gam. Yanking Penny’s leg high enough to make her hop on one foot, Stroud halved her grip so she could snatch a retaliatory handful of hair. “This how you like it, brat?” she hissed in the midst of shaking Tremblay’s noggin to and fro. “I thought this was supposed to be a street fight but if you want to pull hair like a JV cheerleader I can do that EEERRRRGGGGHHHH!”
Penny snapped a jab into her rival’s mouth, hunched forward and caught her in a Front Facelock. Bearing down until Stroud was forced to release her leg, Tremblay yoked up on the hold to make the brat squirm, then crooked her left arm into a tire iron and thwhap-thwhap-THWHAPPED a trio of Overhand Forearm Smashes against her upper back. All this squirming took places within inches of the ropes, yet neither brunette made any effort to reach for them. This wasn’t due to the stipulation (which rendered breaks utterly ineffectual) but because they were hyper-focused on inflicting punishment on the hated other. To that end Bridget went low, hooked her arms around Tremblay’s upper thighs and powered her off the mat with a single effortful grunt. Grinning despite the forearm gouging into her windpipe, Stroud ‘hupped’ Tremblay a little higher and marched toward her opponent’s corner with every intention of introducing Penny’s spine to the steel she’d so considerately unsheathed before the bell.
A good and just plan if ever there was one, unfortunately Penelope had no intention of playing along, as Bridget discovered when Tremblay grabbed hold of her purple & white togs and pulled ‘em like a ripcord! “Oh you cheap bytcHRRRGGHH!” Stroud crumpled to one knee as Penny returned to the mat, Miranda’s last True Believer working the Front Facelock tighter than ever.
“Don’t tell me you’d succumb to such tawdry tactics.” Tremblay sneered even as she forced the wedgie to ride higher and higher. “Surely you’ve faced worse scrapes and gouges from all those mountains you’ve tamed. Oh, that’s right…” Penny abandoned the wedgie, curled those fingers into a claw and began to drag her nails up the curve of Stroud’s back over and over again. “…the mountains don’t fight back, do thEYWHOOAAAANNNNGGGGHHHH!”
Bridget cinched her arms around the other brunette’s upper thighs and muscled her over one shoulder, wedgie be damned. Charging even as she muscled Tremblay into place, Bridget made for the nearest corner where she slung her burden forward and down so that Penny BWUUUNGED spine-first into the exposed steel ring! Bludgeoned with her own petard, Tremblay shrieked aloud and would’ve collapsed to her haunches if Bridget hadn’t shifted her coil north to the other brunette’s waist and used it to drag her toward the center of the squared circle. Soon as they were clear of the buckles Stroud dipped her knees and popped her hips to take Tremblay on a smooth two-hundred and seventy degree ride that ended with her slamming full force into the thinly-sheathed plywood.
T’was as pretty a Northern Lights Suplex as you’d find anywhere, yet Stroud mustn’t have believed it’d keep her rival down for the count because rather than hold the bridge she immediately somersaulted over the former Churchgoer to land on her feet. This shift allowed Stroud to muscle Tremblay off the deck to deliver a second Northern Lights, this one even higher and tighter than the first! Stroud kept the bridge this time, the rookie phenom going up on tiptoe to keep Penny glued down through the…
ROLLING NORTHERN LIGHTS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJALxZqNq9I
ONE…
TWO…
Tremblay reached up, hooked an index finger into her opponent’s navel and gouged down deep, forcing Stroud to break the pin just after ‘TWO!’ Frowning as she scrambled to one knee, Bridget brushed off the attack, then laid claim to Penelope’s wrist to scrape her off the mat as quickly as possible. Soon as she vertical Stroud took a step back and slung the taller wrestler toward the corner with an Irish--NOT TONIGHT! Tremblay dug her heels in deep, then lashed out with her free hand to rake Sweet Disaster’s eyes!
“RRRHHH! Sneaking bytWHOAANNNGGGHHH!”
Penny doubled down on her foe’s wrist and did some whipping of her own, the Angriest Acolyte putting so much into her effort that she went down flat on her stomach in the aftermath. As for Bridget, she careened toward the buckle so fast that she didn’t have to time to spin around before she BWUUUUNGED sternum-first against the bare steel! Jaw dropping open in breathless surprise, Stroud bounced back from the impact with her both hands cupping her shoulders in a ‘don’t hurt me’ sort of hug. Turning her back on the corner without really thinking about it, the stunned battler had yet to open her eyes by the time she returned to the center of the ring. This didn’t bother Tremblay in the slightest as it meant she didn’t have to check the wind-up on the Bytch Slap she CRAAACKED across her opponent’s cheek!
Bridget’s head snapped backward and then went in an entirely different direction when the willowy witch slipped an arm through her legs and scooped Bridget up onto her right shoulder. The Basement Dwellers had half a heartbeat to think ‘Body Slam’ and then Penny sat out full force to THWHONK the back of Stroud’s head and shoulders into the canvas with a viciously quick Michinoku Driver II! The sheer angle of the head-drop left Bridget a sprawled starfish, though this arrangement proved quite fleeting as Stroud promptly stretched out across the flattened fighter’s chest and hooked the far leg for…
MICHINOKU DRIVER II:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7OgrGL1QDc
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Bridget shot a hand into the air, saving herself from a swift, ignominious dismissal from the Madhouse festivities. “That’s cute, it’s like you think you actually have a chance.” Penny hissed in the midst of filling her hands with Bridget’s hair. “It will be my pleasure to show these idiots just how hapless you are outside the carefully controlled confines of reality television and cherry picked opponents.”
Yuuuuhhh…. you came looking for me, brat.” Stroud huffed, still very much short of breath following that disgusting collision with the buckle. “Didn’t stop me from beating YOUR ass, did EERRRRRRRHHHH!”
Penelope wrenched Bridget’s head back and forth like a terrier shaking its favorite toy. The fans voiced strenuous objections to Tremblay’s treatment of her opponent’s locks, but both Bridget and Merle were forced to endure until the Angriest Acolyte decided to end the punishment by peeling her opposition off the canvas. Stroud tried for an immediate clench, got a thigh slapped broadside across her tummy for the trouble. Penny followed with a quick Headbutt between the eyes, then slipped one arm through Bridget’s thighs and hooked the other over a shoulder.
Though built like the archetypal ‘bendyback’, Tremblay possessed remarkable strength for her size as evidenced by the effortless way she scooped Sweet Disaster up onto her right shoulder. “You like thrills, don’t you, brat?” Penny cupped the base of Bridget’s neck to keep her trapped in place while she strode toward one of the exposed turnbuckles. “The thrill of danger, the possibility of calamity, all those things make your nasty little heart beat that much faster, don’t they?”
“Cuuuhhh… crushing you into the mat is all the thrill I need these days, you wiNNNNGGGGGGHHH!”
Tremblay went up on tiptoes and simply tossed Bridget into the corner, the smaller brunette’s lower back hitting that gleaming steel with a low, ugly BWUUUNG! Stroud landed on the back of her head and shoulders with all the grace of a falling boulder, the impact stunning her to such an extant that she didn’t even think to wrap a hand around the bottom rope before Penny laid claim to her ankles and draaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged her out of the corner.
“Your crushing days are behind you, rock climber.” Tremblay sniffed before she twined her fingers in Stroud’s hair and slowly hauled her to boot-leather. “By the time I’m finished you’ll be so ruined you’ll be lucky to land a job teaching an intro course at that shytty Minnesota NGH! NGH! NGH!”
Bridget pounded a trio of hooks into her opponents’ breadbasket, then snatched a handful of hair and wrenched back until Penny was looking into the overhead lights. Another punch forced Tremblay to cede some ground that she would’ve tried to regain if Stroud hadn’t clamped a hand over her lower face and squeeeeeeeeeeeezed ‘til her knuckles showed white. “Talk all the shyt you want about me, honey.” she grunted. “But watch your goddamned mouth when it comes to my AAARRRRRRGGGHHH BYTCH!”
Penny made no effort to free her mug from Stroud’s grasp, instead she curled both hands into claws and RAKED them across her opponent’s eyes! Bridget abandoned the Claw and shoved the Last True Believer as hard as she could, however she didn’t achieve the desired separation because Penny caught one wrist in both hands. From there she whipped around in a half circle, then planted her feet and yanked Stroud forward with every bit of venom she could muster. Leaning to the right with her arms spread wide, Tremblay cinched a snug grip around the smaller brunette’s waist and muscled her into the sky through two-hundred and seventy nauseating degrees, the trip ending with Bridget THWHUMPING spine-first against Penelope’s posted knee.
TILT-A-WHIRL-BACKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZZT1XU4hA
Bridget bounced high enough to drop her clear of the Tremblay’s leg if she hadn’t caught Stroud at chin and thigh and pushed her right back down atop the encroaching joint! “GIVE UP!” ‘Bad’ Penny demanded even as she tried to touch the crown of Bridget’s skull to the mat. “GIVE UP OR THE NEXT MOUNTAIN YOU CLIMB WILL BE A WHEELCHAIR RAMP!” Eyes shut tight against the icy agony, Bridget planted her feet as she best could and tried to push her way up, but Penny put a stop to that by clawing and gouging at the prone wrestler’s mouth and nose. “Ask her.” Tremblay snarled at Merle. “See if the little wannabe has had eneeerrrgggghhh… leggo Stroud! I said let go goddamOOOOWWWWW!”
Bridget grabbed hold of the hand cupping her chin and squeezed ‘til she felt bones grind! Scrambling to verticality without actually freeing her hand, Penny planted one foot and drove the other into Sweet Disaster’s ribs more than half a dozen times! “You’ve got a strong grip, bytch.” Tremblay huffed once she’d pulled her aching hand clear of the trap. “But strong hands don’t make up for a weak will. And you’re as weak as any I’ve ever encountered.”
Stroud promptly contradicted this assertion by rolling onto her stomach and clambering to all fours. This display didn’t merely irritate Tremblay, it offended her to the core of her very being. Channeling this disgust into a particularly emphatic double handful of hair, Penny hauled the other brunette to her feet, a position she occupied for perhaps a heartbeat before the Angriest Acolyte hopped up and landed on her tush, all the better to THWHONK Stroud’s face against the thinly-sheathed plywood.
SIT-OUT FACEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sll-3Pm7RqM
Still in possession of the grounded grappler’s tresses, Tremblay wrenched her head back, then slid forward and threaded her legs around that vulnerable noggin. What followed wasn’t a traditional Headscissors by any stretch of the imagination, rather Penny was effectively sitting crosslegged with her ankles pressed in snug to Stroud’s hips. From there she hunched over Bridget’s trapped pate and reached out to hook her fingers under the smaller wrestler’s kneepads. Pulling both legs up and back allowed Tremblay to shift her grip to Stroud’s ankles and then she really poured it on, Penny leaaaaaaaaaaaaning and squeeeeeeeeeezing to punish Bridget’s vertebrae with a vile crossbreed of Headscissors and Boston Crab!
“You’re finished.” Tremblay asserted to her flushed, rasping prey. “You’re not even hanging by a thread, I’m dangling you over the edrrrrgggghhhhhh.” Penny growled in surprise and pain as palmed her hands over the tops of the bendyback’s thighs and dug in. “Get your hands off me, Stroud.” Penelope demanded when several constrictions of her own hold did nothing to loosen Bridget’s hold.
“Whuuuuhhhh… what’s the problem, Penny?” Sweet Disaster huffed. “You’re the one holding me up. You want this to stop? Let me GUUUUHHHHHHHHH!”
Tremblay sent a vile pulse through her stems and leaned back ‘til the crown of her skull was flush against the mat. “I’m going to break your spirit, bytch.” the Angriest Acolyte promised. “Break it into a million pieces if it’s the last thing F*CK WHOOOAAAHHH!”
Bridget wrested her feet free Penny’s grasp and though the thump of legs on canvas was anything but pleasant, she ignored the pain to scramble to her knees as quickly as she could. Doing so stacked Tremblay on her shoulders so the rock climber pressed herself against those upturned haunches in hopes of keeping Penny down through…
ONE…
TWO…
The Last True Believer lifted a shoulder simultaneous with ‘TWO’. Not only that, she filled both hands with the other brunette’s hair and pulled like she meant to liberate Stroud’s scalp from the rest of her skull. Wriggle all you want, brat.” she snarled. “You don’t leave until you beHEYWHOOOAAAAHHH!”
Rather than try for a second cover, Bridget crouched as deep as she could, then popped her hips and sloooooooowly hoisted the bendyback off the canvas! Unable to believe that Stroud could endure such strain for more than a few seconds, Penelope bore down on the Scissors and continued ripping at her opponent’s locks, but Bridget didn’t stop lifting until she’d positioned the taller woman up on her shoulders. The Basement Dwellers roared for a Powerbomb so Bridget obliged them, not by slamming Tremblay against the canvas, but by stomping over to one of those exposed steel turnbuckles! Penny realized what the witch had in mind and she shook her head ‘no, no, no’, alas Sweet Disaster paid her no mind whatsoev-- “NNNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Bridget BWUUUUNGED her rival spine-first into the unadorned rung! Penny’s grips exploded on impact and she would’ve bounced outta the corner in a classic ‘Flair Flop’ if Stroud hadn’t muscled her back against the post with a rough two-handed shove. “Don’t think so, baby.” the rock climbing standout huffed as she mounted the second rope. “You don’t get to tumble down the mountain until I’ve scuffed ya up good.”
Penny grimaced, reached for Stroud’s encroaching tummy and took a Bionic Elbow to the crown of her skull for the trouble. Quick to drape the taller wrestler’s arms over the top rope, Bridget caught a big handful of hair and wrenched Tremblay’s head back while she raised her other fist overhead. That was more than enough to prime the FAWNatics for what came next, meaning they tolled each and every punch Stroud caromed offa her rival’s hairline.
‘ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!’
Bridget raised both hands high, looking for all the world like she was searching for a high five from someone on that side of the arena. Instead she hopped back and dropped to the mat while bringin’ those hands down to CRAAACK Tremblay’s chest!
The Falling Overhead Chop earned a sympathetic groan from those assembled, though most of them forgot all about such tender feelings as soon as Bridget stuffed a shoulder into Penny’s tummy and muscled her into a seat on the bare turnbuckle. Allowing herself a moment to move the willowy warrior’s legs to the far side of the strands, Stroud climbed onto the second rope and cinched both arms around Tremblay’s waist. Snuggled in close against Penny’s right flank, Bridget gathered her strength, then muscled the other brunette out of her seat and dropped straight back to fling Penelope halfway across the squared circle with an Avalanche Gutwrench Suplex! Tremblay landed with a shriek, bobbled to her knees and crumpled onto her chest, one hand pressed tight to the small of her back.
AVALANCHE GUTWRENCH SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q3AzWHuNFk
The sold-out crowd roared at Bridget to go for a cover, unfortunately the return to terra firma had re-aggravated the ache in her own vertebrae and she could currently do little more than pound a fist against the thinly-sheathed plywood.
Careful to allow both his charges a slow internal five count, Merle gave the wounded brunettes an extra few seconds just to be careful and when they still didn’t rise he called a reluctant “ONE!” The crowd joined in immediately thereafter, meaning the whole Madhouse basement echoed with their chorus of ‘TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE…’
Bridget rolled to all fours and powered to verticality with barely suppressed roar. Elsewhere Penny fought to a seat, the former Churchgoer keeping one hand on the mat while the other worked at the kinks in her lower ba-- Stroud rushed by on the right, bounced off the ropes directly in front of her seated adversary and took to the skies in an odd sort of sideways Senton that THWHUMPED her hip and shoulder into the other brunette’s chest!
Rolling through the landing to finish on her feet, Stroud tossed up her hands and bellowed “C’MON!” much to the delight of those assembled. Bolstered by the returned cheers, Bridget circled around to Penny’s feet, took hold and wedged those boots under her armpits. Hands locked tight, she hoisted Tremblay up so the Angriest Acolyte was stacked on her shoulders, then rolled her onto her stomach and stepped over into a DEEP Boston Crab!
“AAARRRRRHHHHHH!” Penny wailed as the hold put even more strain on her throbbing back. “GET OFFA ME YOU MISERABLE POSEUR BYTCHHHHEERRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!”
Stroud raised her rump, slammed it into the hollow of Tremblay’s back and slid her perch a little higher north. “Who the hell are you calling a poseur, loser?” Bridget snapped in the midst of drawing the toes of Penny’s boots that much closer to the nape of her neck.
Shaking her head ‘no!’ to stop the ref from asking any more stupid questions, Tremblay reached up and back in search of Bridget’s hair. When she didn’t find that she crooked her hand into a claw and raaaaaaaaaaaked Sweet Disaster’s back three times in rapid succession. She finished by hooking her fingers around the strap of Stroud’s sports-bra top and pulling it as far as the material would go, Bridget already gritting her teeth in anticipation of the whip-like CRAAACK when Penny let go. Tremblay had expected Stroud to abandon her hold after such a nasty sting, so she was both disappointed and angry when Stroud wrenched the Crab that much tighter. Hands and cheek pressed flat to the mat, Penelope hissed, “GODDAMMIT GET YOUR FAT ASS OFF MEAAAAAARRRRGGGGHH!”
Bridget rose up and slid back several more inches, the purple-clad battler driving her tush into Tremblay’s shoulders with obvious disdain. “You want out, honey? QUIT!”
“NEVER!” Penny reached back a second time and dragged her nails along her opponent’s thighs. Stroud hissed and shifted her position to discourage more clawing, so Tremblay scored her a second and third ti-NO! Penny caught the other brunette’s wrists and immediately got to her feet which in turn hauled the Last True Believer into a spine-wrenching inversion of the traditional Rocking Horse Crab!
REVERSE ROCKING HORSE CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=acZlAARxvyM
“HOW’S THAT, HUH? HOW’S THAT, PENNY?” Stroud barked down at the beleaguered bendyback as she swung her back ‘n forth in the hellacious suspended Cradle.
“What do you say, Penny? Do you give?” Merle asked Tremblay after she’d spent almost ten seconds swinging like a painful pendulum.
“NO!” Penelope answered through clenched teeth. “Phony little slut doesn’t have the nerve to make megggrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!”
Bridget wanted nothing more than to prove her foe a blubbering liar, however the Rocking Horse was an energy intensive hold and she could feel her arms and thighs beginning to burn with strain. Which wasn’t to say she was just gonna let Tremblay drop, that’d be way too kind for a witch like her. A single glance over her shoulder confirmed that the corner wasn’t too far behind, so she carefully backed up until she was only inches from the buckles. “Tuuuhhh… too bad you didn’t take the pads off all the buckles.” she huffed. “I’d love to bounce your head off each and every one of ‘em.”
“Muuuhhh… more posing.” Tremblay grunted. “You’d lose your nerve at the first sight of bloNGH!”
Bridget swung the bundled brunette backward to bounce her noggin into the bottom turnbuckle. This didn’t have nearly the impact of a traditional turnbuckle smash, not that it stifled the crowd’s enjoyment thereof in the slightest. Nodding as the cheers got louder and louder, Bridget bopped Penny’s head another half dozen times, then pulled her up on both ends and simply let go, leaving the bendyback to THWHUMP flat on her face, chest and belly.
Tremblay landed with a groan, reached under the bottom rope and tried to draaaag her way out onto the-- Stroud caught her by the ankles and tugged in the opposite direction. “Don’t even think about running from me, Tremblay.” Sweet Disaster threatened. “Not after all the shyt you’ve EEERRRGGGGHH!”
Penny barrel rolled onto her back and drove a short kick into the point of her opponent’s left shin! Stroud cried out, collapsed to one knee and reached for a handful of long, dark ha-- the Angriest Acolyte beat her to it with a handful of waistband, which she used to yank Bridget into a throat-first collision with the middle rope! Stroud began to cough at once, the penitent grappler drawing her features away from the rubber-coated steel to ensure a modicum of safety while “HEEERRGGAAAAHHHHHH STAAAAAAAAAAHHHP!”
Penny sidled in behind her prey, forced Stroud’s face against the rope and began to yank her head back and forth! “Why would I EVER run from you, bytch?” Tremblay hissed even as she scraped Bridget‘s eye sockets over the rope. “You’re not an obstacle. You’re not a challenge. You’re a speed bump to be run down!”
Stroud protested this observation with a series of vehement shrieks that, while loud, did nothing to lessen the other brunette’s enthusiasm. Making the most of tonight’s stipulation, Tremblay pulled her rival’s sputtering face away from the rubber-coated steel, then pushed down on the back of Bridget’s noggin to slide it beneath the second strand. From there she pulled up and back, wrenching Sweet Disaster’s neck against the rope at a hateful angle! “Enjoying the view you pampered little brat?” Penny asked in a tone of poisoned sweetness. “I know I am.”
“Go f*ck yourself!” Stroud fought hard to get a knee on the mat, but with Tremblay squatting on the small of her back it was close to impossible. Increasingly frustrated with the awkward position, Sweet Disaster reached up and back and after some fumbling and swatting, caught hold of her attacker’s long locks. Bridget yanked hard enough to wrench Penelope’s head to one side, but the Angriest Acolyte refused to give up her domineering perch. Instead she plastered a slap to the left side of Stroud’s face, then slipped a four-fingered claw into her opponent’s mouth! “Pull all you want!” she hissed over the trapped brunette’s garbled cries. “I can always get a haircut, face transplants are much more difficult to arrange, from what I understanEEEEERRRRHHHH BYTCH!”
Bridget made no response, save to continue chewing on her rival’s encroaching fingers. More than willing to show the game show contestant what she was capable of, Tremblay curled her free hand around Stroud’s right ear and twisted like she meant to peel it off the side of her head! Bridget squealed in surprise and pain which allowed Penny to free her fingers after another second of toothy trauma. Tremblay stood at once, the scowling bendyback shaking the sting from her hand as she backed toward the far side of the ring. There was no standing in the cards for Bridget Stroud, she merely withdrew her head from the ropes, then laid out flat and dragged herself out onto the apron. Hooking an arm around the bottom rope as a sort of anchor, Bridget took several deep breaths and massaged the base of her neck with “NNNNNNNGGGGGHHHH!” Penny charged in, went low and THWHUMPED both boots into the small of Stroud’s aching back!
The strength of the Baseball Slide demolished Bridget’s hold on the bottom rope and sent her tumbling to the floor to land awkwardly on her chest and belly. The last True Believer came up on one knee, then threaded her legs under the bottom rope and slipped out like she was dipping beneath a limbo bar. “Get up.” Tremblay demanded as she circled around the prone grappler. “You can kiss the floor on your own f*cking time, right now I’m not finished with you.”
“Snuuuhhhhh… snide bytch.” Stroud grunted as she began to rise. “Sooner or later I’m going to shut your moutHHEERRRGGGGHHHHHH!”
Penny dropped to a knee behind her slumped prey and deftly trapped Stroud’s left arm in a Half Nelson. In the same breath she reached over with her right hand, took possession of Bridget’s wrist and pulled it tight across Sweet Disaster’s throat!
COBRA CLUTCH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGHm2VVGCl0
“You know what the Cobra Clutch means, little girl? It means that somewhere, Miranda is thinking of you. And she wants you to suffer!” Tremblay kissed Stroud’s temple just because she could, then wrenched the Clutch back ‘n forth for a good five seconds. “Give up.” she snarled when Bridget refused to stop squirming. “Just lay down and die like a good little poseMMMRRRRGGGHHH!”
Penny had leaned in close to deliver her demand and she paid a powerful price when Stroud reached over that shoulder and ‘smecked’ an Iron Claw atop her surprised face! Bridget’s position and leverage were garbage but that didn’t stop the rock climber from trying to crush the other brunette’s head like an apple. “Why don’t YOU give up, cupcake?” she gasped. “Feels like your skull will give out before my airHHRRRRK!”
Penny yoked up on her own grip so Bridget did the same, the tangled rivals just torturing the hated other with their hold of choice. With no count to spur them back to the squared circle there was no rush to break the stalemate, but after another fifteen seconds or so Bridget did push back on Penny’s head and pivot to one knee. From there it was a slow ascent to verticality for both brunettes, their progress stalled by the heavy toll of Clutch and Claw. Once there the pace picked up immediately because Bridget threw every bit of her weight into Penny, which in turn sent both ladies stumbling across the narrow aisle to “RRRGGGGHHHH!” Tremblay groaned in muffled anguish as her lower back collided with the apron directly beside the ring-post.
The Cobra Clutch finally gave way and Stroud pulled loose with a grateful wheeze. Redoubling her efforts on the Iron Claw, Bridget snuggled in close and murmured, “I wonder, is Miranda thinking about you right now, Penny? Maybe if you scream loud enough she’ll hear you at whatever monastery she--”
Bad Penny hooked an arm around the back of Stroud’s neck, twisted slightly and jerked her opponent into a THWONKING forehead-on-steel collision! Securing her first deep breath in what felt like forever once she got Stroud’s damned hand offa her face, Penelope shoved Bridget backward, but stopped her from getting too far away with a hand wrapped around her throat. “You should know better than to ask questions you don’t want answered, brat.” Tremblay cooed to her adversary in the midst of catching a handful of purple waistband.
Stroud coughed and clamped a hand around Penny’s wrists, the smaller brunette squeezing to grind bones. The Angriest Acolyte sneered but refused to relinquish her hooks. Spinning in a half circle, she rammed Bridget’s lower back against the apron once, twice, three times! After that she drew back for what looked like a fourth go, only now she yanked Stroud into the air, pivoted mid-lift and THWHUNKED her flat against the apron with a truncated Choke Slam! Stroud jolted like she’d been struck by lightning, a reaction that didn’t subside even after Tremblay forced her back into the ring with a rude shove.
APRON CHOKE SLAM:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RY9P__NlmU
Penny returned the apron shortly thereafter, though rather than slip through the ropes she made her way to the nearest corner and climbed to the top turnbuckle. Claiming the high rent district as her own with all the confidence of FAWN’s nimblest Lightweights, Tremblay looked out upon the Basement Dwellers and muttered, “Happy Halloween you disgusting heathens.” Then she sprang into the aether, the longhaired bendyback executing a flawless mid-air toe touch at the apex of her ascent, then stretching out full length half a heartbeat before she--THAWHAM-“NNNNNNNGGGGGGHHHH!”
Penelope’s ‘Dying Breath’ came out more like a gutted wheeze because Stroud raised her knees at the last possible second! Bounced away from the traitorous landing site, Tremblay landed on hip and shoulder and rolled a short distance before coming to rest curled in a semi-fetal ball.
As for Bridget, she struggled to her knees and smashed a palm against the mat in hopes of rallying the crowd to her side. In this she was successful as the AHE throng picked up the beat at once. On her feet within a couple more seconds, Stroud trudged over to the other brunette and drove a heel into her ribs without really thinking about it. “Yuuuuhh… you’ve made a habit out of slamming me into the hardest goddamned surfaces you can find.” Bridget huffed. “It’s about time I returned the favor.”
Tremblay’s answer was nothing more than a soft groan, not nearly the argument she would’ve needed to prevent Sweet Disaster from dragging her upright. Didn’t stay there long though, she’d barely registered the shift in vantage point when Stroud blew that all to hell with a Toe Kick to the belly. A Standing Headscissors followed, as did a brawny Waistlock and no one was really surprised when Bridget swung the taller wrestler into a seat on her shoulders. Already close to one of the exposed corners, Stroud turned in a half circle and charged across the squared circle to make sure she had a full head of steam before she BWUUUNGED Tremblay spine-first into the turnbuckle!
BUCKLE BOMB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFad_YK1kIY
Penny’s jaw dropped in a silent scream, the rest of her dropped with the telltale ‘plop’ of butt on canvas. The zealot’s arms shot straight up on impact and for one startled heartbeat Bridget thought the willowy witch might grab the ropes and just pop to her feet. This turned out to be a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, not because Tremblay managed it under her own power but because Stroud caught hold of one wrist and yanked her up and out of the corner. Stepping away from the corner even as Penny blundered into her clutches, Sweet Disaster hooked her right arm across Tremblay’s chest while her left spidered around to opposing waistband for a secure handful thereof. “Back bothering you? Here’s a distraction.” The last word was still on her lips when Bridget dipped her knees and muscled Tremblay into the sky while simultaneously yanking the stretchy material as high the human anatomy would allow! Maintaining the wedgie in a vise-grip until Penny’s legs swung beneath her controlling arm, Bridget laid out on her right side, putting every bit of her hundred and thirty plus pounds into the Rocked Bottoms that PLANTED her archrival against the canvas!
ROCKED BOTTOMS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmboQR00mwM
Tremblay’s tremulous stems shot up like tent-spikes so Bridget helped herself to both, the rock climber trappin’ ‘em in a tight bundle that showed off that wedgie in agonizing detail. Not that this salacious view distracted Merle in the slightest, he just swooped in beside his charges and slapped the mat…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Tremblay powered free and flopped to her stomach, one hand massaging the small of her back, the other gingerly tending to those mistreated trunks. “Don’t even think about it, sweet cheeks.” Stroud swatted Penny’s hand aside and undid all that comforting work with another malicious yank. “You can pull these out when the match is over!”
“Yuuuhhhh… you vile bytch.” Tremblay grumbled. “Humbling’s too good for the likes of you. I’m going to AARRRHHHH STAAAAAAAAAHHHHPP!”
Bridget could’ve used a Wristlock or even a handful of hair to make the other brunette stand, but she stuck with the wedgie because she was going to knock the snotty ‘tude out of Tremblay’s tone if it was the last thing she did. Switching over to the aforementioned Wristlock only after she’d warmed those pert glutes with a hard swat, Sweet Disaster pointed Penelope at another corner and sent her on her way with an Irish Whip. Stroud followed no less than two steps behind, meaning Miranda’s last True Believer had absolutely no time to prepare for the Clothesline that Bridget THWHAPPED against her sternum immediately after she BWUUUUNGED against that cold-steel ring!
Tremblay’s legs betrayed her once more and she would’ve crumpled to her butt (or possibly flopped flat on her face) if Stroud hadn’t kept her glued in place with that bludgeoning arm. “Catch your footing, Penny.” Bridget murmured. “You wouldn’t want to fall off the mountain, would you?”
The Angriest Acolyte didn’t have the breath or energy to respond, which was fine with Stroud because she’d heard more than enough already. Still, she was wasn’t about to let Tremblay escape the buckles without paying a powerful price, so she mounted the second rope and buried her right hand in the other brunette’s hair. Left fist already raised, Bridget pumped it for the Basement Dwellers, then picked out a spot on Tremblay’s hairline to improve with the vigorous and repeated application of her knuckles. More than happy to help keep tabs on the Bad Penny’s sins, the AHE crowd counted off, ‘ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!’
Bridget paused and opened her cocked fist, Sweet Disaster delaying the finale until Penelope looked up to see--“MMPPPPRRRRHHH!” The purple-clad battler shot that hand down to affix an eye-watering, temple crushing Iron Claw to her opponent’s face!
“Give up.” Stroud leaaaaaaaaaaaned in and down, Sweet Disaster bouncing in place to put that much more pressure on Tremblay’s skull. “Give up, dammit. You know I don’t have to let you go until RRRRRRGGGHHHHH!” Bridget grimaced, shook her head ‘no’ while Penny tried to split her up the middle with a vengeful wedgie. “Pull all you want, babe.” Stroud gripped her left wrist in her right hand to strengthen her on the other woman’s face. “My tights are tougher than your dainty little skuLLOOOOOHHHH YOU BYTCH!”
Tremblay halved the wedgie, palmed her free hand against the other brunette’s encroaching tummy and jabbed her fingers deep into Stroud’s crotch! The Claw shimmied, actually got tighter for a moment, so Penny redoubled her own efforts, the desperate bendyback working her pair of underhanded grips in agonizing tandem until--THERE! Bridget finally let go and Tremblay slipped away like a breath of cool graveyard air.
Practically doubled over with nausea in the wake of Penelope’s callous escape, Stroud grabbed the top rope with one hand while the other tended to the fires down bel--“AAAAAWWWWW GAAAAAAWD!” Bridget sobbed in abject agony when Bad Penny stepped in and THUMPED a short Uppercut into the center of her aching undercarriage!
“There’s not a power in the universe, higher or otherwise, that can help you now, bytch.” Tremblay sneered as she swatted her foe’s protecting hands aside. “Though perhaps it’ll allow you the mercy of a quick end if you plead loud enough!”
“Skuuuhhh…. SCREW YOU!” Bridget moaned. “I’ll never plead for HEY! DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT-NO! GODDAMMIT LET ME OUTTA--”
THWHACK!
Always happy to make a bad situation worse, Penny reached through Bridget’s splayed legs, grabbed a double handful of hair and pulled down until she could tuck the nape of Sweet Disaster’s neck against the exposed steel. The resultant position was more awkward and embarrassing than painful, though that changed the instant Tremblay shuffle-stepped forward and pasted a Super Kick to her opponent’s defenseless face!
TURNBUCKLE TRAPPED SUPER KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAVIZdia6Xc
Stroud shivered like a dead leaf in a high wind, but Penny’s wicked human knot didn’t come undone until the Angriest Acolyte pulled her from the corner and onto the point of her right shoulder. Carefully shifting from a Waistlock to dual grips on the smaller brunette’s biceps, Tremblay muscled Bridget into a high Crucifix, then took off toward the opposite corner at a flat-out run. The Basement Dwellers shouted for Stroud to wriggle free, to find some sort of escape hatch before it was too late to-- Penny ground to a stop several feet shy of the exposed buckles and slung Bridget the rest of the way, the purple-clad battler meeting the steel with a horror movie worthy BWOOOONG! Bridget’s jaw dropped in a silent scream, the pain simply too big to find its way past her frozen vocal cords.
LAST NIGHT OF SADNESS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXR7s4yIBeQ
Yet Sweet Disaster never collapsed. Her feet found the canvas and she lurched from the corner, one hand outstretched in search of her opponent’s-- Penny CRAAACKED Stroud across the cheek with hard Bytch Slap and immediately dipped ‘round behind, her right hand pressed against Bridget’s tummy in a half Waistlock while she worked her head beneath the other brunette’s left armpit. In the next moment she reached between Stroud’s thighs to secure a totally unnecessary grip on her rival’s crotch, an encroachment Bridget barely registered before Tremblay muscled her up onto the point of one shoulder and-- Bad Penny twisted beneath her burden and laid out flat, the wicked bendyback drawing her knees across her chest to ensure Bridget THAWHAMMED down atop those bony joints with every bit of her weight!
SPINE TREMBLAR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PejsE9P3Utg
Stroud bounced off like she’d been launched from a trampoline, the rock climber turning a loopy half circle in mid-air so she landed flat on her face, chest and stomach. The canvas was still thrumming from that impact when Tremblay caught her by waistband and bra strap to tug her onto her back whereupon the Last True Believer collected both legs in snug bundle and rolled Stroud into a Back Press that pointed her butt at the lights for…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Bridget escaped the predicament with a convulsive twist of her hips, the last-second escape earning roars from both Penelope and the crowd, albeit for entirely different reasons. “THAT WAS THREE!” Tremblay shrieked at Merle in the midst of walking him into the nearest corner. “THE PAMPERED LITTLE BRAT IS FINISHED!”
“She’s not though, Penny.” the ref replied as bravely as he could. “You want her finished? Try harder.”
Penny raised a hand like she meant to slap the taste out of his mouth only to run it through his hair in decidedly predatory fashion. “As you wish my small, oblivious friend. But I hope you’re prepared for the consequences.” Turning away before the ref could offer a reply, Tremblay stalked over to Bridget, who was still stretched out on her left side clutching at the small of her back. “Should’ve stayed down, rock climber.” Penny hissed once she’d laid claim to the prone brunette’s ankles. “Now you get to fall that much farther.”
“Kuuuuuhhh… kiss my ass, Tremblay.” Stroud tried to bicycle her feet free of Penny’s grasp with no noticeable success. “The fall doesn’t scare me and neither do AAAWWWWWWHHHH F*CK!”
Penelope stretched her prey’s legs wide and simply stamped on Bridget’s crotch before planting that foot (her right) beside Stroud’s left hip. From there she crossed Bridget’s legs over her encroaching thigh and deftly turned Sweet Disaster onto her stomach. Excruciating pain shot through Stroud’s lower back, so much so that she didn’t even consider not pressing her hands to the source of her suffering. This proved a decisive mistake as Tremblay collected her arms in a tight Double Chickenwing and sank into a deep crouch which in turn pulled Bridget a good six inches off the mat.
LIAR'S CHAIR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ib5F5EXrrg
“SUBMIT!” Penny demanded of her wailing adversary. “SUBMIT, YOU BYTCH!”
“F*CK YOU!” Bridget bawled. “YOU’RE NOT GONNA OOOOHHHHH GAAAAAAAAAHHHHDD STAAAAAAAAAAAHP!” Tremblay rocked the Liar’s Chair up and down, Stroud swaying in place for almost ten seconds before she tapped her own right thigh half a dozen times.
Merle called for the bell at once, but the CLANG wasn’t enough for Penny, nor was the Announcer’s confirmation of “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via submission… PENNY TREMBLAY!”
“SAY IT!” she demanded of the whimpering warrior. “SAY IT OR I’LL BREAK YOU IN HALF!”
“Do your worst you evil bytch.” Stroud hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re gonna wait a long ti--”
“Let her go, Penelope.” Merle interrupted. “Let her go right now or I’ll reverse the decision. Don’t test me.”
Penny let Bridget drop with a weary thud, unfortunately Sweet Disaster’s calamity wasn’t over quite yet. Plunging a hand into Stroud’s sweat-damp hair, Tremblay peeled her off the mat in stages, reeled her into that Half Waistlock and earned a round of truly poisonous vitriol by subjecting Bridget’s traumatized vertebrae to a second Spine Tremblar!
No bouncing this time around, Stroud simply slopped off her attacker’s knees to finish up stretched out in a facedown sprawl. “You’re finished.” Tremblay murmured to the devastated brunette. “This mountain is far beyond you, little girl.”
No response was the only response that mattered and that’s what Penelope got, much to her satisfaction. Pushing to her feet, she planted a boot on the conquered slope of Bridget’s glutes and treated herself to a few haughty victory poses before vacating the ring so Merle and the medics could tend to the mewling, smoldering wreckage of Bridget Stroud.
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yo7l43Yoo
Harrenhal’s basement went dark as the speakers came on, the low hum of a guitar and a repetition of vaguely ecclesiastical ‘oh’s’ that marked the beginning of Thirty Seconds to Mars’s ‘Walk on Water’. The gloom was nearly omnipresent, and the combination of ghostly blue lights at floor level and a thin carpet of dry ice fog only added to the claustrophobic, disorienting atmosphere.
Can you even see what you're fighting for?
Bloodlust in a holy war.
Listen up hear the patriots shout,
'Times are changing.'
In the end the choice was clear,
Take a shot in the face of fear.
Fist up in the firing line.
'TIMES ARE CHANGING!'
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
Penny materialized with the chorus, the Angriest Acolyte rising up on a mechanical lift hidden in the dark so it looked as though she appeared from thin air. Claiming the stage alone thanks to the heathen Queen’s pyrrhic ‘victory’ late in the summer, Miranda Wainright’s ‘Bad Penny’ stretched her arms wide and tilted her head back, Penny listening to some guidance meant only for her ears. Thus sanctified by the wisdom of Midnights past, Tremblay headed for the killing floor that those less blessed called a squared circle. For tonight’s wicked work she wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks. Ignoring the reaching, judging hands of the basement dwellers (save to slap them away if one dared draw too close) Tremblay made her way down the ramp, then hurried up the steel steps, climbed onto the empty corner and sprang from there to the center of the ring, where she dropped to her knees facing the hard camera A detail noted by those with particularly sharp vision, Penny wore copper-colored eye shadow, a sartorial detail that made it look like the coins placed over the eyes of the dearly departed. Standing after an appropriate stretch of genuflection, Tremblay got to her feet and strolled to the nearest corner where she immediately set to work removing the top turnbuckle.
More than a little concerned by this task, Merle the referee hurried over to ask, “What’re you doing, Penny?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she replied without looking his way. “I’m preparing the battlefield for slaughter. Now either shut up and help or get out of my way.”
Frowning, the official cleared off and raised one more prayer asking for as little bloodshed as possible.
“And introducing her opponent, hailing from Stillwater Minnesota, she stands at five feet five inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and thirty-five pounds. She’s one Sweet Disaster… BRIDGET STROUD!”
BE LEGENDARY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmidz2s4scM
The gloom of Tremblay’s arrival gave way to a vibrant purple and a dozen spotlights played over every inch of the Madhouse basement while the speakers launched into Pop Evil’s ‘Be Legendary’ Above the entryway the ‘tron flicked through a montage of selections from Stroud’s growing highlight reel interspersed with footage of her scaling a handful of sheer rock cliffs. The random sweep of lights continued through most of the first verse, though their pace seemed to increase as the sound system roared:
Our name in stone, forever more.
We want more!
We want more!
We want more!
BRIDGET STROUD:
The spots honed in on the entryway with the third recitation and Bridget exploded through the curtain, the former rock-climber turned indy wrestling darling turned FAWN breakout skidding to a stop at the top of the stage just to throw her arms up for a brawny double bicep flex. Chants of ‘SWEET DIS-AS-TER!’ rang out at once, a building roar crafted by fans of her indy stint as well as the new fans she’d made since storming the scene earlier in the year.
Stroud’s usual megawatt smile faltered ever so slightly when she honed in on Penelope, but it was back full force well before she turned around on one heel and swung her hips in time to their chant while pointing to the ‘Sweet Disaster’ stretched across her purple briefs.
Another about-face followed shortly thereafter and the copper-skinned brunette hardbody took off down the ramp, Bridget going with arms outstretched to return the favor to everyone who greeted her so warmly. For the inaugural AHE of her FAWN tenure, Stroud chose purple trunks, a halter-style bikini top with one cup done in matching purple and the other in a pumpkin orange, purple and orange armbands that crisscrossed at bicep and forearm to meet at wrist and shoulder, orange pads with a purple splatter pattern and purple wrestling boots that ended a few inches shy of her knees. A study in frenetic energy the entire way to ringside, Bridget made a high-speed circuit of the front row, then leapt to the apron to the top rope and stayed there for a good five seconds, Stroud just watching Tremblay with an angry, predatory glare. Eventually she dropped to the canvas and offered elbows, knees, wrists and ankles to the official. Her eyes however remained on Penny and Penny alone.
Finishing her ominous work as the bell clanged, Penelope stalked toward Bridget with the shorn piece of canvas bunched in one hand. “Take it off.” she told Stroud, the willowy brunette indicating padded turnbuckle directly behind her opponent. “Go on sweetheart, I won’t attack while your back is turned. Where’s the fun in that?”
Rather than comply, Bridget leaned back against the corner and propped her elbows on the top rope. “You’ll pardon me if I don’t take you at your word. It means less than shyt, as far as I’m concerned.”
Tremblay’s dark eyes narrowed. “I most certainly will not.” she threw the pad at Stroud’s face only for Sweet Disaster to swat it aside. “You can either remove the cover with your fingers now… or with your teeth sometime later on to--”
Bridget came out of the corner in a fast stalk, her hands already raised and curled into claws aimed at the other wrestler’s ha--CRAAACK!
Penny flicked a hand through the shorter woman’s defenses to simply belt a slap across her rival’s mouth! The Angriest Acolyte followed with a rough handful of hair and she wrenched Stroud’s head back at a sharp angle, but Bridget simply plowed forward and pwak-pwak-PWAAAKED a trio of quick body blows into the bendy-back’s trim midsection! Snarling at the encroachment, Penny crooked her slappin’ hand into a spade and raaaaaaaaked it down the side of Stroud’s face before tacking on a high Kneelift to the guNO!
Bridget threw her hips backward to avoid the worst of the blow while simultaneously hunching forward to wrap both arms around Tremblay’s exposed gam. Yanking Penny’s leg high enough to make her hop on one foot, Stroud halved her grip so she could snatch a retaliatory handful of hair. “This how you like it, brat?” she hissed in the midst of shaking Tremblay’s noggin to and fro. “I thought this was supposed to be a street fight but if you want to pull hair like a JV cheerleader I can do that EEERRRRGGGGHHHH!”
Penny snapped a jab into her rival’s mouth, hunched forward and caught her in a Front Facelock. Bearing down until Stroud was forced to release her leg, Tremblay yoked up on the hold to make the brat squirm, then crooked her left arm into a tire iron and thwhap-thwhap-THWHAPPED a trio of Overhand Forearm Smashes against her upper back. All this squirming took places within inches of the ropes, yet neither brunette made any effort to reach for them. This wasn’t due to the stipulation (which rendered breaks utterly ineffectual) but because they were hyper-focused on inflicting punishment on the hated other. To that end Bridget went low, hooked her arms around Tremblay’s upper thighs and powered her off the mat with a single effortful grunt. Grinning despite the forearm gouging into her windpipe, Stroud ‘hupped’ Tremblay a little higher and marched toward her opponent’s corner with every intention of introducing Penny’s spine to the steel she’d so considerately unsheathed before the bell.
A good and just plan if ever there was one, unfortunately Penelope had no intention of playing along, as Bridget discovered when Tremblay grabbed hold of her purple & white togs and pulled ‘em like a ripcord! “Oh you cheap bytcHRRRGGHH!” Stroud crumpled to one knee as Penny returned to the mat, Miranda’s last True Believer working the Front Facelock tighter than ever.
“Don’t tell me you’d succumb to such tawdry tactics.” Tremblay sneered even as she forced the wedgie to ride higher and higher. “Surely you’ve faced worse scrapes and gouges from all those mountains you’ve tamed. Oh, that’s right…” Penny abandoned the wedgie, curled those fingers into a claw and began to drag her nails up the curve of Stroud’s back over and over again. “…the mountains don’t fight back, do thEYWHOOAAAANNNNGGGGHHHH!”
Bridget cinched her arms around the other brunette’s upper thighs and muscled her over one shoulder, wedgie be damned. Charging even as she muscled Tremblay into place, Bridget made for the nearest corner where she slung her burden forward and down so that Penny BWUUUNGED spine-first into the exposed steel ring! Bludgeoned with her own petard, Tremblay shrieked aloud and would’ve collapsed to her haunches if Bridget hadn’t shifted her coil north to the other brunette’s waist and used it to drag her toward the center of the squared circle. Soon as they were clear of the buckles Stroud dipped her knees and popped her hips to take Tremblay on a smooth two-hundred and seventy degree ride that ended with her slamming full force into the thinly-sheathed plywood.
T’was as pretty a Northern Lights Suplex as you’d find anywhere, yet Stroud mustn’t have believed it’d keep her rival down for the count because rather than hold the bridge she immediately somersaulted over the former Churchgoer to land on her feet. This shift allowed Stroud to muscle Tremblay off the deck to deliver a second Northern Lights, this one even higher and tighter than the first! Stroud kept the bridge this time, the rookie phenom going up on tiptoe to keep Penny glued down through the…
ROLLING NORTHERN LIGHTS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJALxZqNq9I
ONE…
TWO…
Tremblay reached up, hooked an index finger into her opponent’s navel and gouged down deep, forcing Stroud to break the pin just after ‘TWO!’ Frowning as she scrambled to one knee, Bridget brushed off the attack, then laid claim to Penelope’s wrist to scrape her off the mat as quickly as possible. Soon as she vertical Stroud took a step back and slung the taller wrestler toward the corner with an Irish--NOT TONIGHT! Tremblay dug her heels in deep, then lashed out with her free hand to rake Sweet Disaster’s eyes!
“RRRHHH! Sneaking bytWHOAANNNGGGHHH!”
Penny doubled down on her foe’s wrist and did some whipping of her own, the Angriest Acolyte putting so much into her effort that she went down flat on her stomach in the aftermath. As for Bridget, she careened toward the buckle so fast that she didn’t have to time to spin around before she BWUUUUNGED sternum-first against the bare steel! Jaw dropping open in breathless surprise, Stroud bounced back from the impact with her both hands cupping her shoulders in a ‘don’t hurt me’ sort of hug. Turning her back on the corner without really thinking about it, the stunned battler had yet to open her eyes by the time she returned to the center of the ring. This didn’t bother Tremblay in the slightest as it meant she didn’t have to check the wind-up on the Bytch Slap she CRAAACKED across her opponent’s cheek!
Bridget’s head snapped backward and then went in an entirely different direction when the willowy witch slipped an arm through her legs and scooped Bridget up onto her right shoulder. The Basement Dwellers had half a heartbeat to think ‘Body Slam’ and then Penny sat out full force to THWHONK the back of Stroud’s head and shoulders into the canvas with a viciously quick Michinoku Driver II! The sheer angle of the head-drop left Bridget a sprawled starfish, though this arrangement proved quite fleeting as Stroud promptly stretched out across the flattened fighter’s chest and hooked the far leg for…
MICHINOKU DRIVER II:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7OgrGL1QDc
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Bridget shot a hand into the air, saving herself from a swift, ignominious dismissal from the Madhouse festivities. “That’s cute, it’s like you think you actually have a chance.” Penny hissed in the midst of filling her hands with Bridget’s hair. “It will be my pleasure to show these idiots just how hapless you are outside the carefully controlled confines of reality television and cherry picked opponents.”
Yuuuuhhh…. you came looking for me, brat.” Stroud huffed, still very much short of breath following that disgusting collision with the buckle. “Didn’t stop me from beating YOUR ass, did EERRRRRRRHHHH!”
Penelope wrenched Bridget’s head back and forth like a terrier shaking its favorite toy. The fans voiced strenuous objections to Tremblay’s treatment of her opponent’s locks, but both Bridget and Merle were forced to endure until the Angriest Acolyte decided to end the punishment by peeling her opposition off the canvas. Stroud tried for an immediate clench, got a thigh slapped broadside across her tummy for the trouble. Penny followed with a quick Headbutt between the eyes, then slipped one arm through Bridget’s thighs and hooked the other over a shoulder.
Though built like the archetypal ‘bendyback’, Tremblay possessed remarkable strength for her size as evidenced by the effortless way she scooped Sweet Disaster up onto her right shoulder. “You like thrills, don’t you, brat?” Penny cupped the base of Bridget’s neck to keep her trapped in place while she strode toward one of the exposed turnbuckles. “The thrill of danger, the possibility of calamity, all those things make your nasty little heart beat that much faster, don’t they?”
“Cuuuhhh… crushing you into the mat is all the thrill I need these days, you wiNNNNGGGGGGHHH!”
Tremblay went up on tiptoes and simply tossed Bridget into the corner, the smaller brunette’s lower back hitting that gleaming steel with a low, ugly BWUUUNG! Stroud landed on the back of her head and shoulders with all the grace of a falling boulder, the impact stunning her to such an extant that she didn’t even think to wrap a hand around the bottom rope before Penny laid claim to her ankles and draaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged her out of the corner.
“Your crushing days are behind you, rock climber.” Tremblay sniffed before she twined her fingers in Stroud’s hair and slowly hauled her to boot-leather. “By the time I’m finished you’ll be so ruined you’ll be lucky to land a job teaching an intro course at that shytty Minnesota NGH! NGH! NGH!”
Bridget pounded a trio of hooks into her opponents’ breadbasket, then snatched a handful of hair and wrenched back until Penny was looking into the overhead lights. Another punch forced Tremblay to cede some ground that she would’ve tried to regain if Stroud hadn’t clamped a hand over her lower face and squeeeeeeeeeeeezed ‘til her knuckles showed white. “Talk all the shyt you want about me, honey.” she grunted. “But watch your goddamned mouth when it comes to my AAARRRRRRGGGHHH BYTCH!”
Penny made no effort to free her mug from Stroud’s grasp, instead she curled both hands into claws and RAKED them across her opponent’s eyes! Bridget abandoned the Claw and shoved the Last True Believer as hard as she could, however she didn’t achieve the desired separation because Penny caught one wrist in both hands. From there she whipped around in a half circle, then planted her feet and yanked Stroud forward with every bit of venom she could muster. Leaning to the right with her arms spread wide, Tremblay cinched a snug grip around the smaller brunette’s waist and muscled her into the sky through two-hundred and seventy nauseating degrees, the trip ending with Bridget THWHUMPING spine-first against Penelope’s posted knee.
TILT-A-WHIRL-BACKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZZT1XU4hA
Bridget bounced high enough to drop her clear of the Tremblay’s leg if she hadn’t caught Stroud at chin and thigh and pushed her right back down atop the encroaching joint! “GIVE UP!” ‘Bad’ Penny demanded even as she tried to touch the crown of Bridget’s skull to the mat. “GIVE UP OR THE NEXT MOUNTAIN YOU CLIMB WILL BE A WHEELCHAIR RAMP!” Eyes shut tight against the icy agony, Bridget planted her feet as she best could and tried to push her way up, but Penny put a stop to that by clawing and gouging at the prone wrestler’s mouth and nose. “Ask her.” Tremblay snarled at Merle. “See if the little wannabe has had eneeerrrgggghhh… leggo Stroud! I said let go goddamOOOOWWWWW!”
Bridget grabbed hold of the hand cupping her chin and squeezed ‘til she felt bones grind! Scrambling to verticality without actually freeing her hand, Penny planted one foot and drove the other into Sweet Disaster’s ribs more than half a dozen times! “You’ve got a strong grip, bytch.” Tremblay huffed once she’d pulled her aching hand clear of the trap. “But strong hands don’t make up for a weak will. And you’re as weak as any I’ve ever encountered.”
Stroud promptly contradicted this assertion by rolling onto her stomach and clambering to all fours. This display didn’t merely irritate Tremblay, it offended her to the core of her very being. Channeling this disgust into a particularly emphatic double handful of hair, Penny hauled the other brunette to her feet, a position she occupied for perhaps a heartbeat before the Angriest Acolyte hopped up and landed on her tush, all the better to THWHONK Stroud’s face against the thinly-sheathed plywood.
SIT-OUT FACEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sll-3Pm7RqM
Still in possession of the grounded grappler’s tresses, Tremblay wrenched her head back, then slid forward and threaded her legs around that vulnerable noggin. What followed wasn’t a traditional Headscissors by any stretch of the imagination, rather Penny was effectively sitting crosslegged with her ankles pressed in snug to Stroud’s hips. From there she hunched over Bridget’s trapped pate and reached out to hook her fingers under the smaller wrestler’s kneepads. Pulling both legs up and back allowed Tremblay to shift her grip to Stroud’s ankles and then she really poured it on, Penny leaaaaaaaaaaaaning and squeeeeeeeeeezing to punish Bridget’s vertebrae with a vile crossbreed of Headscissors and Boston Crab!
“You’re finished.” Tremblay asserted to her flushed, rasping prey. “You’re not even hanging by a thread, I’m dangling you over the edrrrrgggghhhhhh.” Penny growled in surprise and pain as palmed her hands over the tops of the bendyback’s thighs and dug in. “Get your hands off me, Stroud.” Penelope demanded when several constrictions of her own hold did nothing to loosen Bridget’s hold.
“Whuuuuhhhh… what’s the problem, Penny?” Sweet Disaster huffed. “You’re the one holding me up. You want this to stop? Let me GUUUUHHHHHHHHH!”
Tremblay sent a vile pulse through her stems and leaned back ‘til the crown of her skull was flush against the mat. “I’m going to break your spirit, bytch.” the Angriest Acolyte promised. “Break it into a million pieces if it’s the last thing F*CK WHOOOAAAHHH!”
Bridget wrested her feet free Penny’s grasp and though the thump of legs on canvas was anything but pleasant, she ignored the pain to scramble to her knees as quickly as she could. Doing so stacked Tremblay on her shoulders so the rock climber pressed herself against those upturned haunches in hopes of keeping Penny down through…
ONE…
TWO…
The Last True Believer lifted a shoulder simultaneous with ‘TWO’. Not only that, she filled both hands with the other brunette’s hair and pulled like she meant to liberate Stroud’s scalp from the rest of her skull. Wriggle all you want, brat.” she snarled. “You don’t leave until you beHEYWHOOOAAAAHHH!”
Rather than try for a second cover, Bridget crouched as deep as she could, then popped her hips and sloooooooowly hoisted the bendyback off the canvas! Unable to believe that Stroud could endure such strain for more than a few seconds, Penelope bore down on the Scissors and continued ripping at her opponent’s locks, but Bridget didn’t stop lifting until she’d positioned the taller woman up on her shoulders. The Basement Dwellers roared for a Powerbomb so Bridget obliged them, not by slamming Tremblay against the canvas, but by stomping over to one of those exposed steel turnbuckles! Penny realized what the witch had in mind and she shook her head ‘no, no, no’, alas Sweet Disaster paid her no mind whatsoev-- “NNNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Bridget BWUUUUNGED her rival spine-first into the unadorned rung! Penny’s grips exploded on impact and she would’ve bounced outta the corner in a classic ‘Flair Flop’ if Stroud hadn’t muscled her back against the post with a rough two-handed shove. “Don’t think so, baby.” the rock climbing standout huffed as she mounted the second rope. “You don’t get to tumble down the mountain until I’ve scuffed ya up good.”
Penny grimaced, reached for Stroud’s encroaching tummy and took a Bionic Elbow to the crown of her skull for the trouble. Quick to drape the taller wrestler’s arms over the top rope, Bridget caught a big handful of hair and wrenched Tremblay’s head back while she raised her other fist overhead. That was more than enough to prime the FAWNatics for what came next, meaning they tolled each and every punch Stroud caromed offa her rival’s hairline.
‘ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!’
Bridget raised both hands high, looking for all the world like she was searching for a high five from someone on that side of the arena. Instead she hopped back and dropped to the mat while bringin’ those hands down to CRAAACK Tremblay’s chest!
The Falling Overhead Chop earned a sympathetic groan from those assembled, though most of them forgot all about such tender feelings as soon as Bridget stuffed a shoulder into Penny’s tummy and muscled her into a seat on the bare turnbuckle. Allowing herself a moment to move the willowy warrior’s legs to the far side of the strands, Stroud climbed onto the second rope and cinched both arms around Tremblay’s waist. Snuggled in close against Penny’s right flank, Bridget gathered her strength, then muscled the other brunette out of her seat and dropped straight back to fling Penelope halfway across the squared circle with an Avalanche Gutwrench Suplex! Tremblay landed with a shriek, bobbled to her knees and crumpled onto her chest, one hand pressed tight to the small of her back.
AVALANCHE GUTWRENCH SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q3AzWHuNFk
The sold-out crowd roared at Bridget to go for a cover, unfortunately the return to terra firma had re-aggravated the ache in her own vertebrae and she could currently do little more than pound a fist against the thinly-sheathed plywood.
Careful to allow both his charges a slow internal five count, Merle gave the wounded brunettes an extra few seconds just to be careful and when they still didn’t rise he called a reluctant “ONE!” The crowd joined in immediately thereafter, meaning the whole Madhouse basement echoed with their chorus of ‘TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE…’
Bridget rolled to all fours and powered to verticality with barely suppressed roar. Elsewhere Penny fought to a seat, the former Churchgoer keeping one hand on the mat while the other worked at the kinks in her lower ba-- Stroud rushed by on the right, bounced off the ropes directly in front of her seated adversary and took to the skies in an odd sort of sideways Senton that THWHUMPED her hip and shoulder into the other brunette’s chest!
Rolling through the landing to finish on her feet, Stroud tossed up her hands and bellowed “C’MON!” much to the delight of those assembled. Bolstered by the returned cheers, Bridget circled around to Penny’s feet, took hold and wedged those boots under her armpits. Hands locked tight, she hoisted Tremblay up so the Angriest Acolyte was stacked on her shoulders, then rolled her onto her stomach and stepped over into a DEEP Boston Crab!
“AAARRRRRHHHHHH!” Penny wailed as the hold put even more strain on her throbbing back. “GET OFFA ME YOU MISERABLE POSEUR BYTCHHHHEERRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!”
Stroud raised her rump, slammed it into the hollow of Tremblay’s back and slid her perch a little higher north. “Who the hell are you calling a poseur, loser?” Bridget snapped in the midst of drawing the toes of Penny’s boots that much closer to the nape of her neck.
Shaking her head ‘no!’ to stop the ref from asking any more stupid questions, Tremblay reached up and back in search of Bridget’s hair. When she didn’t find that she crooked her hand into a claw and raaaaaaaaaaaked Sweet Disaster’s back three times in rapid succession. She finished by hooking her fingers around the strap of Stroud’s sports-bra top and pulling it as far as the material would go, Bridget already gritting her teeth in anticipation of the whip-like CRAAACK when Penny let go. Tremblay had expected Stroud to abandon her hold after such a nasty sting, so she was both disappointed and angry when Stroud wrenched the Crab that much tighter. Hands and cheek pressed flat to the mat, Penelope hissed, “GODDAMMIT GET YOUR FAT ASS OFF MEAAAAAARRRRGGGGHH!”
Bridget rose up and slid back several more inches, the purple-clad battler driving her tush into Tremblay’s shoulders with obvious disdain. “You want out, honey? QUIT!”
“NEVER!” Penny reached back a second time and dragged her nails along her opponent’s thighs. Stroud hissed and shifted her position to discourage more clawing, so Tremblay scored her a second and third ti-NO! Penny caught the other brunette’s wrists and immediately got to her feet which in turn hauled the Last True Believer into a spine-wrenching inversion of the traditional Rocking Horse Crab!
REVERSE ROCKING HORSE CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=acZlAARxvyM
“HOW’S THAT, HUH? HOW’S THAT, PENNY?” Stroud barked down at the beleaguered bendyback as she swung her back ‘n forth in the hellacious suspended Cradle.
“What do you say, Penny? Do you give?” Merle asked Tremblay after she’d spent almost ten seconds swinging like a painful pendulum.
“NO!” Penelope answered through clenched teeth. “Phony little slut doesn’t have the nerve to make megggrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!”
Bridget wanted nothing more than to prove her foe a blubbering liar, however the Rocking Horse was an energy intensive hold and she could feel her arms and thighs beginning to burn with strain. Which wasn’t to say she was just gonna let Tremblay drop, that’d be way too kind for a witch like her. A single glance over her shoulder confirmed that the corner wasn’t too far behind, so she carefully backed up until she was only inches from the buckles. “Tuuuhhh… too bad you didn’t take the pads off all the buckles.” she huffed. “I’d love to bounce your head off each and every one of ‘em.”
“Muuuhhh… more posing.” Tremblay grunted. “You’d lose your nerve at the first sight of bloNGH!”
Bridget swung the bundled brunette backward to bounce her noggin into the bottom turnbuckle. This didn’t have nearly the impact of a traditional turnbuckle smash, not that it stifled the crowd’s enjoyment thereof in the slightest. Nodding as the cheers got louder and louder, Bridget bopped Penny’s head another half dozen times, then pulled her up on both ends and simply let go, leaving the bendyback to THWHUMP flat on her face, chest and belly.
Tremblay landed with a groan, reached under the bottom rope and tried to draaaag her way out onto the-- Stroud caught her by the ankles and tugged in the opposite direction. “Don’t even think about running from me, Tremblay.” Sweet Disaster threatened. “Not after all the shyt you’ve EEERRRGGGGHH!”
Penny barrel rolled onto her back and drove a short kick into the point of her opponent’s left shin! Stroud cried out, collapsed to one knee and reached for a handful of long, dark ha-- the Angriest Acolyte beat her to it with a handful of waistband, which she used to yank Bridget into a throat-first collision with the middle rope! Stroud began to cough at once, the penitent grappler drawing her features away from the rubber-coated steel to ensure a modicum of safety while “HEEERRGGAAAAHHHHHH STAAAAAAAAAAHHHP!”
Penny sidled in behind her prey, forced Stroud’s face against the rope and began to yank her head back and forth! “Why would I EVER run from you, bytch?” Tremblay hissed even as she scraped Bridget‘s eye sockets over the rope. “You’re not an obstacle. You’re not a challenge. You’re a speed bump to be run down!”
Stroud protested this observation with a series of vehement shrieks that, while loud, did nothing to lessen the other brunette’s enthusiasm. Making the most of tonight’s stipulation, Tremblay pulled her rival’s sputtering face away from the rubber-coated steel, then pushed down on the back of Bridget’s noggin to slide it beneath the second strand. From there she pulled up and back, wrenching Sweet Disaster’s neck against the rope at a hateful angle! “Enjoying the view you pampered little brat?” Penny asked in a tone of poisoned sweetness. “I know I am.”
“Go f*ck yourself!” Stroud fought hard to get a knee on the mat, but with Tremblay squatting on the small of her back it was close to impossible. Increasingly frustrated with the awkward position, Sweet Disaster reached up and back and after some fumbling and swatting, caught hold of her attacker’s long locks. Bridget yanked hard enough to wrench Penelope’s head to one side, but the Angriest Acolyte refused to give up her domineering perch. Instead she plastered a slap to the left side of Stroud’s face, then slipped a four-fingered claw into her opponent’s mouth! “Pull all you want!” she hissed over the trapped brunette’s garbled cries. “I can always get a haircut, face transplants are much more difficult to arrange, from what I understanEEEEERRRRHHHH BYTCH!”
Bridget made no response, save to continue chewing on her rival’s encroaching fingers. More than willing to show the game show contestant what she was capable of, Tremblay curled her free hand around Stroud’s right ear and twisted like she meant to peel it off the side of her head! Bridget squealed in surprise and pain which allowed Penny to free her fingers after another second of toothy trauma. Tremblay stood at once, the scowling bendyback shaking the sting from her hand as she backed toward the far side of the ring. There was no standing in the cards for Bridget Stroud, she merely withdrew her head from the ropes, then laid out flat and dragged herself out onto the apron. Hooking an arm around the bottom rope as a sort of anchor, Bridget took several deep breaths and massaged the base of her neck with “NNNNNNNGGGGGHHHH!” Penny charged in, went low and THWHUMPED both boots into the small of Stroud’s aching back!
The strength of the Baseball Slide demolished Bridget’s hold on the bottom rope and sent her tumbling to the floor to land awkwardly on her chest and belly. The last True Believer came up on one knee, then threaded her legs under the bottom rope and slipped out like she was dipping beneath a limbo bar. “Get up.” Tremblay demanded as she circled around the prone grappler. “You can kiss the floor on your own f*cking time, right now I’m not finished with you.”
“Snuuuhhhhh… snide bytch.” Stroud grunted as she began to rise. “Sooner or later I’m going to shut your moutHHEERRRGGGGHHHHHH!”
Penny dropped to a knee behind her slumped prey and deftly trapped Stroud’s left arm in a Half Nelson. In the same breath she reached over with her right hand, took possession of Bridget’s wrist and pulled it tight across Sweet Disaster’s throat!
COBRA CLUTCH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGHm2VVGCl0
“You know what the Cobra Clutch means, little girl? It means that somewhere, Miranda is thinking of you. And she wants you to suffer!” Tremblay kissed Stroud’s temple just because she could, then wrenched the Clutch back ‘n forth for a good five seconds. “Give up.” she snarled when Bridget refused to stop squirming. “Just lay down and die like a good little poseMMMRRRRGGGHHH!”
Penny had leaned in close to deliver her demand and she paid a powerful price when Stroud reached over that shoulder and ‘smecked’ an Iron Claw atop her surprised face! Bridget’s position and leverage were garbage but that didn’t stop the rock climber from trying to crush the other brunette’s head like an apple. “Why don’t YOU give up, cupcake?” she gasped. “Feels like your skull will give out before my airHHRRRRK!”
Penny yoked up on her own grip so Bridget did the same, the tangled rivals just torturing the hated other with their hold of choice. With no count to spur them back to the squared circle there was no rush to break the stalemate, but after another fifteen seconds or so Bridget did push back on Penny’s head and pivot to one knee. From there it was a slow ascent to verticality for both brunettes, their progress stalled by the heavy toll of Clutch and Claw. Once there the pace picked up immediately because Bridget threw every bit of her weight into Penny, which in turn sent both ladies stumbling across the narrow aisle to “RRRGGGGHHHH!” Tremblay groaned in muffled anguish as her lower back collided with the apron directly beside the ring-post.
The Cobra Clutch finally gave way and Stroud pulled loose with a grateful wheeze. Redoubling her efforts on the Iron Claw, Bridget snuggled in close and murmured, “I wonder, is Miranda thinking about you right now, Penny? Maybe if you scream loud enough she’ll hear you at whatever monastery she--”
Bad Penny hooked an arm around the back of Stroud’s neck, twisted slightly and jerked her opponent into a THWONKING forehead-on-steel collision! Securing her first deep breath in what felt like forever once she got Stroud’s damned hand offa her face, Penelope shoved Bridget backward, but stopped her from getting too far away with a hand wrapped around her throat. “You should know better than to ask questions you don’t want answered, brat.” Tremblay cooed to her adversary in the midst of catching a handful of purple waistband.
Stroud coughed and clamped a hand around Penny’s wrists, the smaller brunette squeezing to grind bones. The Angriest Acolyte sneered but refused to relinquish her hooks. Spinning in a half circle, she rammed Bridget’s lower back against the apron once, twice, three times! After that she drew back for what looked like a fourth go, only now she yanked Stroud into the air, pivoted mid-lift and THWHUNKED her flat against the apron with a truncated Choke Slam! Stroud jolted like she’d been struck by lightning, a reaction that didn’t subside even after Tremblay forced her back into the ring with a rude shove.
APRON CHOKE SLAM:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RY9P__NlmU
Penny returned the apron shortly thereafter, though rather than slip through the ropes she made her way to the nearest corner and climbed to the top turnbuckle. Claiming the high rent district as her own with all the confidence of FAWN’s nimblest Lightweights, Tremblay looked out upon the Basement Dwellers and muttered, “Happy Halloween you disgusting heathens.” Then she sprang into the aether, the longhaired bendyback executing a flawless mid-air toe touch at the apex of her ascent, then stretching out full length half a heartbeat before she--THAWHAM-“NNNNNNNGGGGGGHHHH!”
Penelope’s ‘Dying Breath’ came out more like a gutted wheeze because Stroud raised her knees at the last possible second! Bounced away from the traitorous landing site, Tremblay landed on hip and shoulder and rolled a short distance before coming to rest curled in a semi-fetal ball.
As for Bridget, she struggled to her knees and smashed a palm against the mat in hopes of rallying the crowd to her side. In this she was successful as the AHE throng picked up the beat at once. On her feet within a couple more seconds, Stroud trudged over to the other brunette and drove a heel into her ribs without really thinking about it. “Yuuuuhh… you’ve made a habit out of slamming me into the hardest goddamned surfaces you can find.” Bridget huffed. “It’s about time I returned the favor.”
Tremblay’s answer was nothing more than a soft groan, not nearly the argument she would’ve needed to prevent Sweet Disaster from dragging her upright. Didn’t stay there long though, she’d barely registered the shift in vantage point when Stroud blew that all to hell with a Toe Kick to the belly. A Standing Headscissors followed, as did a brawny Waistlock and no one was really surprised when Bridget swung the taller wrestler into a seat on her shoulders. Already close to one of the exposed corners, Stroud turned in a half circle and charged across the squared circle to make sure she had a full head of steam before she BWUUUNGED Tremblay spine-first into the turnbuckle!
BUCKLE BOMB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFad_YK1kIY
Penny’s jaw dropped in a silent scream, the rest of her dropped with the telltale ‘plop’ of butt on canvas. The zealot’s arms shot straight up on impact and for one startled heartbeat Bridget thought the willowy witch might grab the ropes and just pop to her feet. This turned out to be a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, not because Tremblay managed it under her own power but because Stroud caught hold of one wrist and yanked her up and out of the corner. Stepping away from the corner even as Penny blundered into her clutches, Sweet Disaster hooked her right arm across Tremblay’s chest while her left spidered around to opposing waistband for a secure handful thereof. “Back bothering you? Here’s a distraction.” The last word was still on her lips when Bridget dipped her knees and muscled Tremblay into the sky while simultaneously yanking the stretchy material as high the human anatomy would allow! Maintaining the wedgie in a vise-grip until Penny’s legs swung beneath her controlling arm, Bridget laid out on her right side, putting every bit of her hundred and thirty plus pounds into the Rocked Bottoms that PLANTED her archrival against the canvas!
ROCKED BOTTOMS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmboQR00mwM
Tremblay’s tremulous stems shot up like tent-spikes so Bridget helped herself to both, the rock climber trappin’ ‘em in a tight bundle that showed off that wedgie in agonizing detail. Not that this salacious view distracted Merle in the slightest, he just swooped in beside his charges and slapped the mat…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Tremblay powered free and flopped to her stomach, one hand massaging the small of her back, the other gingerly tending to those mistreated trunks. “Don’t even think about it, sweet cheeks.” Stroud swatted Penny’s hand aside and undid all that comforting work with another malicious yank. “You can pull these out when the match is over!”
“Yuuuhhhh… you vile bytch.” Tremblay grumbled. “Humbling’s too good for the likes of you. I’m going to AARRRHHHH STAAAAAAAAAHHHHPP!”
Bridget could’ve used a Wristlock or even a handful of hair to make the other brunette stand, but she stuck with the wedgie because she was going to knock the snotty ‘tude out of Tremblay’s tone if it was the last thing she did. Switching over to the aforementioned Wristlock only after she’d warmed those pert glutes with a hard swat, Sweet Disaster pointed Penelope at another corner and sent her on her way with an Irish Whip. Stroud followed no less than two steps behind, meaning Miranda’s last True Believer had absolutely no time to prepare for the Clothesline that Bridget THWHAPPED against her sternum immediately after she BWUUUUNGED against that cold-steel ring!
Tremblay’s legs betrayed her once more and she would’ve crumpled to her butt (or possibly flopped flat on her face) if Stroud hadn’t kept her glued in place with that bludgeoning arm. “Catch your footing, Penny.” Bridget murmured. “You wouldn’t want to fall off the mountain, would you?”
The Angriest Acolyte didn’t have the breath or energy to respond, which was fine with Stroud because she’d heard more than enough already. Still, she was wasn’t about to let Tremblay escape the buckles without paying a powerful price, so she mounted the second rope and buried her right hand in the other brunette’s hair. Left fist already raised, Bridget pumped it for the Basement Dwellers, then picked out a spot on Tremblay’s hairline to improve with the vigorous and repeated application of her knuckles. More than happy to help keep tabs on the Bad Penny’s sins, the AHE crowd counted off, ‘ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!’
Bridget paused and opened her cocked fist, Sweet Disaster delaying the finale until Penelope looked up to see--“MMPPPPRRRRHHH!” The purple-clad battler shot that hand down to affix an eye-watering, temple crushing Iron Claw to her opponent’s face!
“Give up.” Stroud leaaaaaaaaaaaned in and down, Sweet Disaster bouncing in place to put that much more pressure on Tremblay’s skull. “Give up, dammit. You know I don’t have to let you go until RRRRRRGGGHHHHH!” Bridget grimaced, shook her head ‘no’ while Penny tried to split her up the middle with a vengeful wedgie. “Pull all you want, babe.” Stroud gripped her left wrist in her right hand to strengthen her on the other woman’s face. “My tights are tougher than your dainty little skuLLOOOOOHHHH YOU BYTCH!”
Tremblay halved the wedgie, palmed her free hand against the other brunette’s encroaching tummy and jabbed her fingers deep into Stroud’s crotch! The Claw shimmied, actually got tighter for a moment, so Penny redoubled her own efforts, the desperate bendyback working her pair of underhanded grips in agonizing tandem until--THERE! Bridget finally let go and Tremblay slipped away like a breath of cool graveyard air.
Practically doubled over with nausea in the wake of Penelope’s callous escape, Stroud grabbed the top rope with one hand while the other tended to the fires down bel--“AAAAAWWWWW GAAAAAAWD!” Bridget sobbed in abject agony when Bad Penny stepped in and THUMPED a short Uppercut into the center of her aching undercarriage!
“There’s not a power in the universe, higher or otherwise, that can help you now, bytch.” Tremblay sneered as she swatted her foe’s protecting hands aside. “Though perhaps it’ll allow you the mercy of a quick end if you plead loud enough!”
“Skuuuhhh…. SCREW YOU!” Bridget moaned. “I’ll never plead for HEY! DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT-NO! GODDAMMIT LET ME OUTTA--”
THWHACK!
Always happy to make a bad situation worse, Penny reached through Bridget’s splayed legs, grabbed a double handful of hair and pulled down until she could tuck the nape of Sweet Disaster’s neck against the exposed steel. The resultant position was more awkward and embarrassing than painful, though that changed the instant Tremblay shuffle-stepped forward and pasted a Super Kick to her opponent’s defenseless face!
TURNBUCKLE TRAPPED SUPER KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAVIZdia6Xc
Stroud shivered like a dead leaf in a high wind, but Penny’s wicked human knot didn’t come undone until the Angriest Acolyte pulled her from the corner and onto the point of her right shoulder. Carefully shifting from a Waistlock to dual grips on the smaller brunette’s biceps, Tremblay muscled Bridget into a high Crucifix, then took off toward the opposite corner at a flat-out run. The Basement Dwellers shouted for Stroud to wriggle free, to find some sort of escape hatch before it was too late to-- Penny ground to a stop several feet shy of the exposed buckles and slung Bridget the rest of the way, the purple-clad battler meeting the steel with a horror movie worthy BWOOOONG! Bridget’s jaw dropped in a silent scream, the pain simply too big to find its way past her frozen vocal cords.
LAST NIGHT OF SADNESS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXR7s4yIBeQ
Yet Sweet Disaster never collapsed. Her feet found the canvas and she lurched from the corner, one hand outstretched in search of her opponent’s-- Penny CRAAACKED Stroud across the cheek with hard Bytch Slap and immediately dipped ‘round behind, her right hand pressed against Bridget’s tummy in a half Waistlock while she worked her head beneath the other brunette’s left armpit. In the next moment she reached between Stroud’s thighs to secure a totally unnecessary grip on her rival’s crotch, an encroachment Bridget barely registered before Tremblay muscled her up onto the point of one shoulder and-- Bad Penny twisted beneath her burden and laid out flat, the wicked bendyback drawing her knees across her chest to ensure Bridget THAWHAMMED down atop those bony joints with every bit of her weight!
SPINE TREMBLAR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PejsE9P3Utg
Stroud bounced off like she’d been launched from a trampoline, the rock climber turning a loopy half circle in mid-air so she landed flat on her face, chest and stomach. The canvas was still thrumming from that impact when Tremblay caught her by waistband and bra strap to tug her onto her back whereupon the Last True Believer collected both legs in snug bundle and rolled Stroud into a Back Press that pointed her butt at the lights for…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Bridget escaped the predicament with a convulsive twist of her hips, the last-second escape earning roars from both Penelope and the crowd, albeit for entirely different reasons. “THAT WAS THREE!” Tremblay shrieked at Merle in the midst of walking him into the nearest corner. “THE PAMPERED LITTLE BRAT IS FINISHED!”
“She’s not though, Penny.” the ref replied as bravely as he could. “You want her finished? Try harder.”
Penny raised a hand like she meant to slap the taste out of his mouth only to run it through his hair in decidedly predatory fashion. “As you wish my small, oblivious friend. But I hope you’re prepared for the consequences.” Turning away before the ref could offer a reply, Tremblay stalked over to Bridget, who was still stretched out on her left side clutching at the small of her back. “Should’ve stayed down, rock climber.” Penny hissed once she’d laid claim to the prone brunette’s ankles. “Now you get to fall that much farther.”
“Kuuuuuhhh… kiss my ass, Tremblay.” Stroud tried to bicycle her feet free of Penny’s grasp with no noticeable success. “The fall doesn’t scare me and neither do AAAWWWWWWHHHH F*CK!”
Penelope stretched her prey’s legs wide and simply stamped on Bridget’s crotch before planting that foot (her right) beside Stroud’s left hip. From there she crossed Bridget’s legs over her encroaching thigh and deftly turned Sweet Disaster onto her stomach. Excruciating pain shot through Stroud’s lower back, so much so that she didn’t even consider not pressing her hands to the source of her suffering. This proved a decisive mistake as Tremblay collected her arms in a tight Double Chickenwing and sank into a deep crouch which in turn pulled Bridget a good six inches off the mat.
LIAR'S CHAIR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ib5F5EXrrg
“SUBMIT!” Penny demanded of her wailing adversary. “SUBMIT, YOU BYTCH!”
“F*CK YOU!” Bridget bawled. “YOU’RE NOT GONNA OOOOHHHHH GAAAAAAAAAHHHHDD STAAAAAAAAAAAHP!” Tremblay rocked the Liar’s Chair up and down, Stroud swaying in place for almost ten seconds before she tapped her own right thigh half a dozen times.
Merle called for the bell at once, but the CLANG wasn’t enough for Penny, nor was the Announcer’s confirmation of “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via submission… PENNY TREMBLAY!”
“SAY IT!” she demanded of the whimpering warrior. “SAY IT OR I’LL BREAK YOU IN HALF!”
“Do your worst you evil bytch.” Stroud hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re gonna wait a long ti--”
“Let her go, Penelope.” Merle interrupted. “Let her go right now or I’ll reverse the decision. Don’t test me.”
Penny let Bridget drop with a weary thud, unfortunately Sweet Disaster’s calamity wasn’t over quite yet. Plunging a hand into Stroud’s sweat-damp hair, Tremblay peeled her off the mat in stages, reeled her into that Half Waistlock and earned a round of truly poisonous vitriol by subjecting Bridget’s traumatized vertebrae to a second Spine Tremblar!
No bouncing this time around, Stroud simply slopped off her attacker’s knees to finish up stretched out in a facedown sprawl. “You’re finished.” Tremblay murmured to the devastated brunette. “This mountain is far beyond you, little girl.”
No response was the only response that mattered and that’s what Penelope got, much to her satisfaction. Pushing to her feet, she planted a boot on the conquered slope of Bridget’s glutes and treated herself to a few haughty victory poses before vacating the ring so Merle and the medics could tend to the mewling, smoldering wreckage of Bridget Stroud.