Post by hawkeye on Aug 8, 2022 23:23:12 GMT
It's Knight time, folks! The Intercontinental champion, Victoria Hackenschmidt is defending her belt tonight against an unknown opponent. The giant German is entering the eighth month of her reign. There's a long way to go, but every now and then there's the odd whisper in the locker room, in the stands, in the comment sections and on Social Media. Could Victoria be the one to match, or even break Jenny Jacobs' record for the longest title reign? For that to be considered, The Knight has to beat whoever dares challenge for the title tonight.
TURNADOT- FINALE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoTa-b7cUw0
The air fills with a full orchestra playing alongside powerful, classically trained singers. The audio of Giacomo Puccini’s three-stage opera feels perfectly appropriate with the sight of the stage illuminated with blinding white spotlights. All focused on the towering sentinel that is the Intercontinental champion.
Victoria drinks in the uproarious response the FAWNatics give her; most to all of them will change their attitudes once the bell rings, but they always love her when the music’s playing. Hackenschmidt takes a calming breath through her nose and sets down the ramp. The German giant stands tall and armourless for the second time in her career, except for her head. She wears her usual silver Corinthian helmet that protects the back and sides of her skull but leaves her high-boned cheeks free with a strip of metal stretched down from the center opening to cover her nose. The helm is smooth other than an artful etching that circles the top of the skull resembling a bejewelled crown. The most crucial thing on Victoria’s person is around her waist, the Intercontinental Championship belt. Under the spotlight, it shines as the brightest beacon to any potential challenger, employed by FAWN or not, to try and pry it from The Valiant One’s grasp.
Head bowed in silent prayer; her hands clutch a cross-hilted broadsword nearly four feet in length, a replica of a family heirloom that hung over the fireplace in her family estate in Hesse. One of two, the other now in possession of the World Champion, Dayna Erza, having defeated Hackenschmidt for it at March to War.
She WILL wrest her honour from Dayna’s grasp, but that’s something to think about on a different night. Shaking off negative thoughts with a mighty roar, Victoria flexes her powerful arms and hefts the replica blade up to a cheering audience, then onto her shoulder before beginning her march towards the ring, the spotlights following her every step.
"Standing at 5 feet 11 inches and weighing in at 152 pounds!! From Phoenix, Arizona, by way of Hesse, Germany!! She is The Valiant One!! The Intercontinental Champion, Victoria “The Knight” Hackenschmidt!!!”
VICTORIA HACKENSCHMIDT
Constant bedevilment from a toxic wrestling fanbase and upheavals in her personal life led Victoria to make some changes to ease the pressure on her soul, such as removing most of the armour from her entrance. The IC champ marches to the ring in her white halter top, revealing miles of lightly toned, pale tummy with matching boy-cut shorts that cling to her tight hindquarters. White boots and knee pads looking newly shined, and an elbow-length fingerless white glove on her right arm; all her gear has thin black lines that weave and intersect to resemble the plate armour she usually wears to the ring.
Before the bell, Victoria tries to keep her mind on the match ahead, but she still reaches her free arm out to Hi-Five FAWNatics, leaning over the guardrail. The Valiant One briefly detours to a set of steel steps where a solid-looking metal box with a small slit cut into the top sat by the ring apron. Hackenschmidt takes the sword off her shoulder and swiftly swings it in a broad circle before plunging it down into the box with one smooth motion.
As her music dies down, the entrance euphoria dies along with it. A switch flips for the Orlando audience, and the air fills with a cacophony of noise; the majority of the FAWNatics boo and jeer the Towering Teuton. The feral fans want a champ that shows a little more skin or has a colourful demeanour. Since splitting from her tag partner, Danica Dadal, the audience dislikes Hackenschmidt’s ‘boring and prudish’ personality. At least, that’s how they describe it in the hate mail sent to the arena, the league's headquarters, her home, and on every social media platform.
As she finds her corner, Victoria scans the crowd and sees some pockets of support amongst a sea of jeers. A few signs bear her name or image, many of them displaying a new moniker she has mixed feelings about, Blood Knight. She shrugs to herself, “Well, support is support. Better this than them superimposing pictures of hardwood floors over my chest.”
The music in the arena switched gears, swiftly changing to the twange of steel guitars as a country jam swept across the arena. “Thank God I’m a Country Girl” began to sound, gaining traction with the audience as the mysterious opponent for the German Giant appeared.
“Thank God I’m a Country Girl” www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1P76BZfgn8
Ariane Jones made her way onto the stage, a mixed reaction from the crowd. Most were still on her side, cheering the red-flannel wearing cowgirl as she tipped her hat to the crowd. As always, she appeared in her standard leather cowboy boots, jacket and hat. Her short jean shorts and red flannel were her standard wear for years, and a hit with the crowds.
“And her challenger, standing 5 feet, seven inches and weighing in at 150 pounds. Hailing from the black hills of South Dakota. Your FAWN Country Cowgirl, Ariane Sophie Jones!”
ARIANE SOPHIE JONES
The redhead nodded to the music, before bouncing forward with a “Yeeeeehaw” as pyro shot off around her. The shout was returned by several in the audience, while others decided on a second cheer that had become popular after her disastrous and humiliating three-second loss to Rue Ann a few months back.
“Three Count Cowgirl,” rang out with a fervor from as many as shouted back her trademark shout.
Thankfully, the Country Cowgirl had learned to ignore the jeers, focusing on
the fans around her that were cheering her name, slapping hands as she jogged down to the ring. Nearing the ring she hopped off the pre-positioned trampoline, leaping up over the top rope to the cheer of the crowd. Rolling to her feet, she hopped her way over to the ring ropes near Victoria, climbing onto them to another raucous cheer.
She hard-earned quite the fanbase, despite the rough few months against the hillbilly devil Rue Ann, and those cheers buoyed the Dakotan wrestler a lot heading into this match.
Which she needed after agreeing to this match with management. She’d expected something quite different being invited to Bethany’s office, and certainly not a match against the reigning IC champion, Victoria.
She wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and trained hard for this moment, and wasn’t about to waste it.
The redhead gave one last Texan-sized cheer to the crowd, before turning to Victoria. Giving her opponent a quick nod, she tipped her hat in respect before heading to her own corner, hanging her hat from the turnbuckle before removing her leather jacket. Her music mellowed out as she turned to face her opponent, bouncing on her feet to prep for what she knew would be an even tougher match than any before in FAWN.
Kanako had given her a few pointers about Victoria. They’d watched a few videos of her matches, and while Ariane felt she was ready for this match, she also realized that across from her stood a warrior and champion.
She grinned.
“Gonna be a fun night, huh, Victoria?” she yelled across to her opponent.
Victoria felt a good energy from the American across the ring, she was still cautious, however, too many humiliations have been suffered from a lowered guard. But this Jones person seems like a stand-up person at first glance. She nods and smiles politely, “It will! Good luck to you!”
Ariane grins and shadow boxes a bit to warm up, “Same to you!”
The official raises the belt in the center of the ring and turns to face all four sides of the arena before handing it to an attendant, he motions for the bell.
DINGDING!!
The two Destroyers march out of their corners on a straight path to their opponent, clashing in the middle with an Elbow and Collar. As they locked horns to get a feel for the other’s strength, Both Victoria and Ariane could tell the other’s physique held a lot more power than was advertised, which is saying something for both of them! Having tamed more than one bull in her time, Ariane knew trying to outpower The Knight at the beginning was a no-go; she slips behind Victoria taking her in a Hammerlock. Victoria bites her lip and begins to reverse the hold, but Ariane switches over to a tight side Headlock, putting the squeeze on the German’s noggin while pressing against the point of her hip. Victoria didn’t have the luxury of studying tape beforehand, but professionally wrestling since she was a teenager gave Hackenschmidt the ring sense that Jones was shifting her weight for a Headlock Driver, known in her repertoire as a Hoedown. Victoria scuffs her ears yanking her head free from Ariane’s arm and circles her arms around the redhead’s waist for a German Suplex, or as she calls it, a Suplex.
Ariane feels Hackenschmidt's brawny arms surround her and instinctively grapevines her leg around Vic’s, halting the throw before her feet can leave the mat. She reaches between her legs and grabs one of Victoria’s feet upending The Knight on her butt before she turns around. Victoria has no want to find out what Jones has planned so she pulls her legs in and pushkicks the Country girl away, Ariane back rolls to her feet as Hackenschmidt Kips Up. The two silently take a measure of each other as the FAWNatics award the show of wrestling with cheers and applause.
Ariane was happy with the opening chain of moves, getting a feel for her opponent as the pair circled one another. “Pretty good moves there. And here I thought that all European wrestlers were stiff. That was as smooth as freshly creamed butter.”
The Knight was a bit puzzled by the comment. Was it a compliment for her wrestling ability, or an insult against the traditions of European wrestling? She shook her head. She didn’t need thoughts distracting her. She would simply show the self-proclaimed cowgirl opposite her what she could do.
The pair locked horns again in a second elbow and collar. The two pushed against each other, gaining very little against the other, before Victoria stepped back, pulling Ariane quickly towards the ropes while still tied up. The bounce off the ropes loosens Ariane’s grip enough to where Victoria is able to lower her shoulder and drill Ariane’s gut with a spear. A second follows quickly nearly bending Ariane between the top and middle rope. With a speed belaid by her size, she backs up, grabs hold of Ariane’s legs and yanks with all her power.
Luckily for the redhead, her grip on the ropes was tighter than the blonde’s grip on her ankles. Ariane clung tight to the ropes, bringing The Knight’s momentum to a dramatic halt.
But not her grip.
With the champion off-kilter, Ariane drew her legs back drawing Victoria closer, only to push backwards with a heavy grunt. The kick-shove knocked Victoria off her feet, though she was swiftly able to reclaim her defensive stance as Ariane climbed off the ropes. As Victoria stood, Ariane rushed forward, ducking under a clothesline, bouncing off the opposite ropes, only to barely duck under a big boot kick.
The redhead recovered barely behind her opponent, sending a quick elbow to the blonde’s back, sending her off-kilter. Victoria windmills her arms to keep from teetering over and is about to succeed, so Ariane gives her a Hip Check to the gym-hardened glutes that’s the final nudge needed to knock Victoria onto the mat. The Knight gets her hands out in time to keep her classically beautiful face from touching the mat, but can’t keep Ariane from grabbing her ankles and somersaulting forward, rolling up Victoria like a cheap rug and seamlessly trapping her in a Reverse Boston Crab.
LONELY NIGHTS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOjhvoV-AgY
The Valiant One bites down a groan as the grappler from Grand Rapids uses her spine as a pulling machine, Ariane rises out of the crouch to lower the boom on her lower back, the boom being her farm-strong, but city-sexy behind. Victoria grunts with each blow and utters a restrained groan when Ariane pulls harder on her legs to increase the arc of the Crab. Ariane gives The Knight another painful tug before giving Hackenschmidt an out.
“What’d do ya say, Miss Hackenschmidt? Wanna hand me the title now before I make you a few inches taller?”
The Champion pounds each palm flat on the canvas and pushes herself up before responding, politely but strained through pain, “I must respectfully decline, Miss Jones. I will be escaping in but a moment.”
Ariane had a clever yet friendly retort on her tongue ready to fire, but she feels the stems in her hands turn to steel and slowly straighten out against her will. Through sheer power, Victoria begins to uncurl under Jones and forces the awed challenger to rise. The impressed fans give Victoria applause for her ungodly strength when Jones rolls with the proverbial momentum and turns away from The Knight while keeping a grip on Victoria’s thighs. A quick breath through her cute nose later, and Ariane swings the gigantic German off the mat, over her shoulders into a ring-shaking Alabama Slam!
ALLEMANDE DOWN
youtu.be/PYR9BSYdHAw?t=3
Thawm! The air leaves Victoria in a rushed, hoarse yell as she hits the hard ring floor with her whole back. Stunned by pain and blood rushing to her head from centrifugal force, she stares up at Ariane; The Country Girl’s red hair is backlit beautifully by the house lights, she gives the champion a wink and Victoria’s heart skips a beat. It’s never good to have a crush, or the beginnings of, on your opponent.
Feeling the German was distracted, the Black Hills Beauty took quick advantage, locking up the German’s legs into a figure four in the few moments that Victoria seemed lost to the world. It wasn’t until the move was locked in did the blonde realize her predicament as the pain began.
(Figure Four Leglock)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t-YXQCMYTQ
“So…” Ariane said with a grunt as she pushed into the taller woman’s knee with her foot. “I heard y’all have done gone and whooped everyone’s hides that…” she pushed hard again with her foot, gaining a pained grunt from her stoic opponent… “challenged for this here title, Victoria. Can I call y’all Vic?” She added the last bit with another push against the already tortured knee.
“Umm, yes. You may call me that-ark!” Victoria is a bit overwhelmed by her congenial opponent’s friendly banter and her technique. If this is a strategy, Hackenschmidt can’t knock its effectiveness.
Ariane beamed. “Sounds good Vic! Almost as good as a yield would be about right now. Think y’all could do that for me?” As an extra effort, Ariane really pushed hard into the blonde’s knee.
“I would say that would be an affront,” Victoria said through gritted teeth. “Also, you’re much too close.”
“Eh?” Was all Ariane could get out before the taller woman used that height advantage, twisted her body enough to clap both hands on either side of Ariane’s head.
The redhead, immediately disoriented, released her opponent’s leg, feeling dizzy as Victoria hobbled to her feet, testing out her leg while grabbing Ariane’s at the same time. Pulling the Dakotan’s leg around her neck, she yanked hard and stood to her full height, leaving Ariane bent awkwardly, leg in a painful hold and hanging upside down in a high-level stretch muffler.
“Now, would you be so kind as to submit?”
The redhead furiously shook her head, flailing about while inverted, trying to grab hold of anything.
“Well…GAH…this is…a pickle…”
Ariane grits her teeth, trying to calm herself as the statuesque blonde beauty held Ariane aloft as she walked around the ring, continuing to yank on Ariane’s leg. The redhead, always kept too far away from the ropes, did the only thing she could do, and reached for Victoria’s arm. Grabbing hold, she began yanking herself up to gain leverage to free her leg, when the German noticed her movements.
With practice ease, Victoria helped to pull Ariane up a little higher, before slamming her down back first onto the mat in a modified powerbomb, holding her down for a quick count.
The referee was quick to slide in, going for a one. Yet before their hand could hit the mat once, Ariane bucked out of the pin attempt, flipping over and away from her opponent. Victoria continues her painful work and traps the Country Gal in a tight Headlock on the canvas; the German’s powerful arm exerts pressure that makes Ariane quickly flush, her skin nearly matching her hair, The Knight ignores a smattering of boos from the crowd along with rude calls of “Rest hold!” A properly applied Headlock can end a match. It can’t all be backflips and dives to the outside.
Victoria pumps the hold and Ariane’s body jerks in pain like she’s just gotten a shock, “I must say, you are several steps above the calibre of contenders I’ve faced recently. I was starting to worry I scared all the real competition off.”
She slowly starts to bring Ariane to her feet while keeping her skull trapped in the crushing vice of her arm; Ariane paws at the unmovable Knight and has to focus past the crushing sensation to answer back. "Y'all...like getting...this close...to yer opponents?"
Victoria gets a touch of red in her cheeks and nearly doubles the strength in the submission out of embarrassment. Jones’ panicked thrashings are almost unnoticed by Vic as she tries to push past the perceived awkwardness, “I like to be on good terms with my adversary when possible. ‘Feuds’ are more or less a Western concept.”
Hackenschmidt releases Ariane and straightens her sister Destroyer up; she reaches between her legs and grips the back of Ariane's waistband as Hackenschmidt grabs her over the shoulder and lifts her for a Bodyslam. The blonde keeps the redhead suspended on a shoulder for a beat to carry her deeper into the ring and away from the safety of a ropebreak. Ariane starts wriggling like a worm on a hook and slips out of the hold behind Vic and yanks The Knight’s head back with an Inverted Headlock, the struggling Victoria is bent back as Ariane raises a long, strong and sexy leg, kicking it down across Victoria’s chest.
SUMMER CRUSH
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qRrjdLc8Cw
The Deutschland Dominator is flattened to the mat and rendered breathless by the South Dakotan’s leg. The referee drops to the mat, astutely seeing Victoria’s shoulders are flat, and the champion is potentially out of the match.
ONE!
TWO!!
Victoria heaves herself to the side, breaking the pin. Ariane gives an unseen nod of respect and gets back to breaking this wild mare; she drags Victoria to verticality by the hip and arm and sends Victoria away with an Irish Whip- Victoria bears down and reverses the Whip. Ariane is speeding toward the cables with a determined German on her heels, Ariane turns and hits the cables with her back giving her a great view of the bottom of Hackenschmidt’s boot as it barrels toward her face!
Whiff!
“Auop!”
Ariane ducks and darts away in time, letting Victoria’s boot and leg sail overhead, the rest of her body following along. The champion ends up uncomfortably straddling the rope and bracing herself for balance.
The champion hears a hiss near her. Turning her head, she spies Ariane making the sound as she’s running off the opposite ropes. “That looks painful, let me help ya out!”
As Victoria struggled to get her trapped leg off the top rope, Ariane connected her forearm to the back of The Knight’s head, nearly taking it off in the process. The force of the lariat is enough to send the blonde toppling the rest of the way over the top rope, with Ariane following right after, though in a much more controlled fall.
Victoria landed painfully onto the mats outside the ring on her back, arching in pain as she shook her head from it getting knocked against the ring apron.
“Whelp, looks like the timed bonus level is about ta begin.”
“Huh?”
Victoria was perplexed momentarily, but only for that moment as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her stomach from behind.
“Up we go!”
The cowgirl grunted, lifting and pulling Hackenschmidt first off the ground, then up, then over in a massive show of strength. Ariane hefted her like a haybale into the suplex, slamming the German’s head and shoulders onto the mat, again stunning the proud warrior.
“Whew…you tall gals are bigger than ya look. Doing alright down there?” Ariane asked as the referee called for both women to get back into the ring. The cowgirl sent a thumbs up to the referee as they hit the two count, grabbing Victoria as best she could by the hair and the back of her shorts and hauling her up.
“Probably shouldn’t ruin the announcer’s table again…those are expensive…” Ariane grumbled before shrugging while re-adjusting her grip on the German. The redhead sent a few solid blows onto the recovering woman's back, before walking in front of her, pushing the blonde’s head between her thighs and grabbing her waist in preparation to pick her up.
“Ya comfy down there girl?” the redhead asked while making sure to clench her abs for the coming lift to put Victoria into her Bronco Breaker (Styles Clash).
The move was naught to be.
As Ariane went to lift up her opponent while the ref was at the count of four, Victoria pinwheels her legs, breaking the lift and reversing the momentum. With a rush of movement, the German Grappler latched her arms around Ariane’s legs, and with a mighty warcry, lifts and tosses Ariane head over heels over top of her.
The cowgirl landed harshly on her back as Victoria gained both cheers and boos from the crowd at the immense show of power.
“Are you alright down there?” Vic asked in reply to Ariane’s earlier question. The redhead actually nodded, bringing a slight smile to the blonde’s face. “Alright, then up you go again.”
Hauling up the slightly woozy redhead, the blonde bombshell grabbed a tight hold of Ariane’s shorts, while latching an arm around her neck, then proceeded to hoist her up and over her shoulder. Darting forward, she pulled Ariane forward, slamming the Dakotan’s shoulder straight into the ring apron in a brutal-looking shoulder breaker.
It was a good thing that she had gone for the ring apron as the target, for as she let go of Ariane, who tumbled face-first onto the apron, she hears the referee reaching the count of seven.
Ever the professional, she shoves a limp Ariane further into the ring, before climbing onto the apron herself, sliding between the middle and top rope as her groggy opponent made it to her hands and knees, her hair spilling over and obscuring her face.
Victoria reached down to pick up the redhead, who replied with an elbow to Vic’s gut. As the German let out a cry of pain, Ariane sent a backhanded forearm across Victoria’s chest, straightening up her opponent as she herself got to her feet. Seeing that it had staggered her, the Black Hills Beauty sent another forearm slap against her opponent’s chest to the “oooohhhs” of the crowd.
The Knight recovered quite quickly, responding with a forearm smack of her own against Ariane’s bulging bosom, gaining her own set of “aaaaahhh’s” from the crowd.
The two powerhouses began trading blows, each growing louder than the last. One stinging, sharp blow made Ariane cry out in pain, turning around clutching her chest, only to turn and send a wicked-sounding smack right onto Vic’s chest. Victoria grimaces and staggers back, clutching her throbbing puppies; Ariane smells blood in the water and winds up for the biggest Chop of the night, her arm whips out ready to send Victoria’s bruising boobs into the third row when Victoria ducks Ariane’s scythe of a limb and dashes behind the Country Gal. The redhead lets out a breath in a rough exhale as Hackenschmidt’s arms circle Jones’ ribs and lift her off her feet.
“H-hey! Hands off the hardbody!” Ariane sputters hoarsely as Victoria carries her to center ring and turns that tight hug into a Bearhug; The Knight takes on a furious expression as she flexes every muscle in her body as she wrenches the Cowgirl side to side like a grizzly attacking a too curious hiker. The tips of Ariane’s boots drag along the canvas as she fruitlessly tries to kick her way free; she digs her fingers into Victoria’s steel-like forearms threatening to break her ribs. Victoria feels the American slightly open up the Bearhug, so she doubles down on the pressure squeezing a squawk from Ariane. She can tell how strong the challenger is, so Victoria isn’t giving her a chance to get out… plus in this position, Ariane’s long, crimson hair is in Victoria’s face, and it smells lovely.
The FAWNatics are not ready to give up on Ariane Jones, so they fill the air with a rallying chant to give the patriotic powerhouse a second wind.
ARI-ANE!!
ARI-ANE!!
ARI-ANE!!
ARI-ANE!!
The love of the fans does indeed refuel Ariane’s fire! Her body trembles with pain and effort as she braces her feet against Victoria’s thighs and takes hold of The Knight’s arms compacting her middle. Sounding like a truck with a struggling engine and moving at half the speed, Ariane twists around to face Victoria. Well, more like bust to face, Victoria is carrying Ariane, so as the redhead turns, Vic’s getting a faceful of the South Dakotan's Black Hills. The -- champion in her recent history has had trouble with top-heavy opponents, the root cause being mental scarring from her buxom ex-partner Danica Dadal. Jones would never be mistaken for a Dunbar or a Kennedy, but the redhead's lovelies are quite sizable and QUITE distracting for the flustered Hackenschmidt.
The challenger's thrashings make her baps rub and scrub against Victoria's shocked face. The absence of Ariane’s arms around her head tells the champion that this isn’t a Front Sleeper and is purely incidental, so the self-chastising Hackenschmidt is instantly overcome with embarrassment. She sputters some kneejerk apologies for the accidental motorboating, but Victoria’s rambling is unintelligible when muffled by Ariane’s chest.
“Mmpf farry! Fis iwis nomp whomp I iwtiwnded!”
Victoria thinks Ariane's increased wriggling is anger from The Knight’s perceived faux pas. What they are is Ariane worming her arms under the German Giant’s brawny pair. An impossible feat before, but Victoria’s grip has loosened the slightest bit now that her focus is split from making The Black Hills Beauty tap from a Bearhug, and Ariane’s Hills currently enveloping her face. With a final jerk, Ariane shoots her limbs under Hackenschmidt’s, the motion having the added benefits of placing the Red Haired Mare’s boots flat on the canvas, and freeing Hackenschmidt’s face from the Jugg smother. Both women are red in the face and gasping for air but for different reasons; Jones’ arms wrap around Victoria’s waist and clasps her hands tightly. Victoria pumps on the hold to keep the lead with competing Bearhugs and feels Ariane’s body shiver against her own. The Rodeo Queen’s cheek is pressed against The Knight’s clavicle as she breathlessly asks her a question.
“Hey Vic, ever been bull riding?”
Victoria blinks, “No, I have not had the opportunity. Why do you aaAAAH!”
Ariane’s hold on the champion turns shockingly tight as she swings Victoria like a dance partner and squashes her against the canvas with a Belly To Belly Suplex. Victoria’s hug disintegrates while Ariane’s maintains; she hauls the larger woman back to her feet and repeats the throw, crushing Victoria between the hard ring floor and a hard body that’s soft in the right places. The Knight’s looking more like a peasant as Jones drags her up, loose limbed and head a wobble. Ariane breathes through her nose and completes the trifecta with one more Belly To Belly, this time she impressively flings the giant overhead and lets Hackenschmidt soar and crash like a doomed Zepplin!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKV8R_S1lQQ
After hitting the trifecta of pain, Ariane took a second to sit on the mat, gaining her breath back after the absolutely brutal bearhug that her opponent had caught her with.
Dang that girl’s got strength! she thought to herself before crawling over to the sprawled-out, starfished form of the champion. Ariane pulled up a leg and rested on top of Vic, hoping maybe she’d done enough.
The referee slid in and hit the mat.
“ONE..! KICKOUT!!”
I reckon not…Ariane thought alongside a verbal chuckle. She slowly got to her feet, hauling up a stumbling Hackenschmidt, before sending repeated elbows against the German’s face. The force whips her head back and forth as she stumbles backwards faster and faster until she hits the corner turnbuckle, her arms wrapping around the top rope as she tries to clear her blurry vision.
“Meine güte..” Ariane hears Vic mumble before the cowgirl takes off towards the opposite corner post. Turning around, she points at the woozy champion, then bolts across the ring, leaping at the final moment into a brutal lariat that lifted the champion off her feet and nearly over the ropes. The Rodeo Queen landed on the middle ropes, while the German Knight flops to the mat.
“Y’all want to see me take this gal on a County Ride?!”
The resounding applause and shouts of “YES! YES! YES!” gives Ariane a chuckle. Bouncing on the ropes to get some leverage, she finally lifts off the ropes, pulling herself to a perfect vertical in the corner. Gravity eventually took hold, just as Victoria looks up to see the County Wildcat speeding down towards her in a Pendulum Bronco Buster known as the County Ride.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOsvobY1y5o
The redhead bounced hard off Vic’s chest, gaining an audible groan from the German Giant. Ariane let the momentum carry her into a second, shorter bronco buster, before standing up straight in the corner, unwittingly giving Victoria a full frontal face of her jean shorts.
The Teutonic Warrior’s face turns crimson, even in her dizzy state, before Ariane pulled her up and out of the corner. Turning about, she delivers a quick snapmare to the champion, leaving Hackenschmidt sitting and dazed further.
Grabbing hold of the champion’s arms, Ariane pulled backwards while placing a boot into the small of Victoria’s back.
“Let me hear ya say a submission, and I’ll stop.”
If Victoria was known for her hardiness in the ring, she was also well known for her stubbornness. Even with the pain coursing through her body and back, she stubbornly refused to utter even a groan. Instead, she focused entirely on trying to move her arms forward and out of the cowgirl’s grip.
And to most people’s shock in the audience, as well as to Ariane’s bemusement and somewhat growing nervousness…
…she was succeeding.
Slowly, but surely, she was getting her arms forward, weakening the hold.
“Strong as a Budweiser Clydesdale this one is,” Ariane mutters, before stomping hard on Vic’s back and then releasing her arms before she could find herself in a precarious position. Running past the reeling blonde, Ariane bounces off the far ropes, and runs forward into a Meteora, smashing both knees into Vic’s chest.
The move leaves Victoria in pain on the mat, with Ariane speedily grabbing one of her opponent’s leg for a pin attempt while sitting atop her.
“One…!”
“Tw-KICKOUT!”
Victoria lunged her shoulder off the mat, knocking a semi-flustered cowgirl off as well.
The former rodeo queen couldn’t help but chuckle. “Dang girl, I can see why y’all are the champion around here.”
“...Danke…” replied a nearly breathless Victoria, her chest rising and falling heavily on the canvas.
Ariane pats the German on her shoulder before pulling her up. “But ya ain’t gonna be that for long, sugar!” With a heavy grunt, the redhead flings Victoria across the ring, bouncing her off the ropes while she leaned back against the ropes behind her and shot off after her opponent like a rocket.
While feeling bruised, Victoria still had her wits about her and on the return off the ropes, attempted a Clothesline, only for the cowgirl to duck it at the last second. The Knight skids to a halt and turns around, only for her eyes to widen as Ariane has already bounced off the ropes a second time, connecting her forearm into Vic’s chest for a brutal lariat that flipps the German Destroyer three-sixty, smacking her face hard into the mat.
Cheers rang through the audience, though there were still catcalls of “Three Count Cowgirl” breaking through every now and then. “That’s right I’ll get the three count!!” she barks back at the fans as she pulls Victoria back up.
Her attention should have been on the champion, who as Ariane pulls her up, slams three elbows straight into Ariane’s gut. The blows bow the cowgirl over, though somehow she grits her teeth through it, landing a return elbow to the small of the taller woman’s back.
Victoria crumpled back to the mat, as a nearly breathless Ariane rubbed her stomach. “Dang girl, ya got the boniest elbows I’ve been hit with. Gotta get some meat on them bones.”
Grabbing one of Vic’s arms, Ariane flipped the German over, then grabbed the other arm and pulled up on both, leaving her upper back and head off the mat.
“Hope y’all don’t mind a Stampede!”
“I do mind a-” was all Victoria got out before Ariane let loose with a flurry of stomps to Victoria’s elevated chest and stomach. The Black Hills Beauty released the blonde on the final stomp, smashing her into the mat, before dropping on top of her and lifting a leg for a pin.
“One…!”
…
“Two…!”
TH-NOOOOO! Kickout!!”
Victoria lurched to the side, leaving a frustrated Ariane to pound the mat once before flipping Victoria back over and hooking the leg a second time.
“One.!”
…
“Tw-Kickout!!!”
Ariane smacked the mat again before narrowing her eyes at the champion. “Dang it girl, y’all got more guts than a mama grizzly protectin’ her cubs!”
Victoria groaned back. “I would not otherwise be champion…if I gave up.”
The reply left Ariane nodding. “Well, I’d reckon its time to end this then. Nice facing ya, Vic!”
Ariane decided against soccer kicking her opponent onto her front, as The Knight has shown her more respect than most of her opponents had. Instead, she rolled her over, before wrangling her legs and intertwining them with her own. A quick slap on both of Hackenschmidt’s sides allowed Ariane to grab her arms, then roll backwards into a Romero Ceiling hold.
The crowd knew what was coming.
Victoria, apparently did not.
“Final Ride” www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPGaE7GfZ-0
After locking in the Romero, Ariane slowly drew Victoria’s face back until she locked in a chin lock, finalizing her finishing move she called, the Final Ride.
The referee drew closer to the pair as Victoria flailed within the hold, silent save for a few grunts and gasps.
“If ya submit the pain will stop…” Ariane added as the referee asked if Hackenschmidt would submit.
The German stubbornly shook her head as best she could. Grasping at the hands pulling her neck back at such an awkward angle. Ariane wrenched the Knight back, momentarily sending the blonde’s arms flailing once more and a single cry of pain to escape the German’s lips.
Yet she didn’t submit.
Maybe she’s like Kanako and doesn’t submit?...Ariane wondered as she kept a mental clock ticking of how long she had the champion in the submission.
After a solid minute of holding and wrenching back, with no submission from the German, and the signs of struggle not slowing, the Country Cowgirl did what she normally never did.
She released the hold.
The audience’s cheers turned to confusion as Ariane released the chin lock then shoved Victoria forward while pulling her legs down, sending the German in a modified flapjack onto the mat.
Victoria was left sprawled on the mat, gasping for breath as a perplexed Ariane ran a hand through her hair.
“Dang girl…what’s it gonna take to defeat ya!”
Slowly making her way to her feet, Ariane looked over the prone German who was somehow making her way to her feet.
“Well, as grand-papy used to say, go big or go home.”
With those words spoken, the redheaded beauty helped Victoria to her feet, but left her woozy in the middle of the ring while she climbed up the nearest turnbuckle. Standing with one foot atop the turnbuckle, Ariane cupped her hands around her mouth, and let out an ear-splitting “Yeeeeeeeeehaww!!!!” to the crowd. One that the raucous crowd returned full heartedly. Turning her eyes back to the prize, the redheaded Dakotan focused on steadying herself on the top rope, readying herself for the Star Spangled Spike, a brutal top rope shotgun kick.
“Star Spangled Spike” www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ULnxzkpnI8
With another warcry, Ariane leapt at Victoria, hoping this would put her away.
But Hackenschmidt did the unthinkable.
Ariane’s preparation and revving up the crowd had given the champion enough time to get her wits about her enough to see what was happening. As Ariane leapt forward for the shotgun kick, Victoria was ready.
Grabbing a hold of the American Cowgirl’s legs, the German translated all that forward momentum down in a brutal powerbomb that shook the ring and left Ariane screaming silently from the pain.
Though the champion didn’t release her grip. Instead, Victoria, showing off the power she was known for since even before entering FAWN, managed to lift Ariane back up until she was fully vertical above Victoria, who held the redhead up by her legs alone. The redhead shook her head frantically, waving her arms trying to throw her opponent off balance to no avail.
Victoria dropped Ariane back first onto the mat from nearly eight feet up.
The mat shook as she bounced off the mat, the patriotic cowgirl ending up spread eagle in the middle of the ring as Victoria gasped for breath above her.
Victoria dropped onto the prone Dakotan, lifting a leg up for a pin attempt.
“Good form today,” she muttered as the referee began the count. “But not enough.”
“One.!”
…
“Two..!”
…
“Thre—NO KICKOUT!!!”
At the last possible second, Ariane jerked to life, managing a shoulder off the mat.
The crowd was in shock.
So was Victoria.
“Du bist eine lebhafte Frau,” she muttered in amazement to the cowgirl, who lay on her side, gasping for air.
“ich bein ein berliner" the panting redhead says exhaustedly. It means 'I am a jelly pastry,' but it's the only German she knows. Victoria’s a bit confused by this statement, but Ariane does seem sweet, so she’ll let it pass.
Victoria pulls Ariane to a seat by the opening in The Cowgirl’s red flannel and puts her in a Headlock as she takes a grip on her jean shorts by the hip. In another impressive show of strength, Victoria deadlifts her sister Destroyer to Highnoon with a Suplex and holds her there for three seconds (long enough for a picture) before falling back to complete the move with a ring-shaking slam.
Victoria maintains her hold on Ariane and back somersaults into a straddle and pulls her challenger up with a Front Facelock, she squeezes the South Dakotan’s chin between bicep and forearm as she leads her to the nearest corner.
“You have been an excellent change of pace,” Victoria compliments while throwing Jones into the corner with a short but impactful Irish Whip, “It’s good to face a real wrestler and not a sadist or a hitwoman.”
“Y’all…are welcome…” Ariane replied hoarsely as she slammed into the corner post and watched the towering German approach. She wasn’t sure what she was planning, but she knew she didn’t want what Victoria was selling.
With the remaining strength she had, and a slight wince from that impactful Irish Whip, Ariane used the turnbuckle and ropes to her advantage, pushing off them while jumping, managing to latch her legs around Victoria’s neck as the taller woman approached. Pulling the stunned warrior towards her, Ariane latched her thighs right around The Knight’s head.
“Finally…all those years barrel racing come in handy,” Ariane said as she wrapped her arms around the ropes to provide more stability in the impromptu headscissors.
For her part, Victoria wasn’t sure what to do as she played the horse's part to Ariane’s barrel rider, as the eyes and nose were currently stuffed right up against the cowgirl’s tight jean shorts. She struggled, yet all that seemed to do was cause the jugs of her redheaded opponent to bounce hypnotically in their plaid toned harness.
A crimson blush flushed across Victoria’s face as she grasped at her opponent’s legs to try to pry them apart, only to be rewarded with a tighter squeeze.
“So…ya give yet?”
“...nien!”
The referee came over to start a five-count for Ariane to release the hold. The redhead nodded, intent on holding onto the headscissors as long as she could ride it out. The Black Hills Beauty was grateful Hackenschmidt wasn’t bucking as much as the bulls she rode back in her rodeo days, attributing it to exhaustion on the German woman’s part, oblivious to the fact the redness in her opponent’s face came more from the welling heat created from the sensual hold.
At the count of five, which seemed more like a ten count, Ariane unlatched herself from the ropes and pushed off, spinning downwards into an impromptu hurricarana. With the strength built up from a decade of barrel racing, she kept hold of the headscissors into a real submission as they landed awkwardly in the center of the ring. Ariane checked her hold, making sure it was tight as the referee approached.
Checking on Victoria, the referee had to ask, “Do you submit?”
For her part, Victoria did a stand-up job of shaking her head as best she could. The haze of being trapped between Ariane’s thighs watching her bouncing chest wore off as the oxygen depletes from her lungs. Knowing she couldn’t stay mesmerized by the beautiful redhead at risk of losing the match, The Knight switched from attempting to dislodge the grip around her neck, to standing.
Ariane realized what was happening seconds before disaster, as Victoria managed to make it to her knees. Releasing the headscissors, Ariane coiled her legs in front of her and blasted a double-barreled kick right into the standing Hackenschmidt’s chest, knocking her clean off her feet and onto her back.
A less tired Ariane would have scrambled forward for a pin, but tired Ariane was.
Gotta finish this now… Ariane thought as she wobbled to unsteady legs. She watched as a just-as-unsteady Victoria was wobbling to her own feet, clasping her neck as she sucked in deep breaths. The two wrestlers managed to stand at roughly the same time, Ariane letting loose a “Yeeeeeehaw!” being the only signal of what was to come.
Victoria managed to get to her feet, just as Ariane hopped back slightly, then jumped forward, sending a Cowgirl Kick directly into Victoria’s face.
“Sweet Chin Music” www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGKLrob8X5c
The fans in the FAWNatorium were on their feet, roaring in excitement as the Stately German reeled back from the blow.
She stumbled back once…
Twice…
Then to the surprise of everyone in the arena, Victoria leaned back forward, shaking her head from the brutal kick.
Ariane was left aghast for a moment that somebody had not only survived her patented move, but was still standing. She finally recovered enough to where she closed her mouth and decided if one didn’t work, then a second was in order.
Just as Victoria recovered from the first one and locked eyes with Ariane, The Knight was blessed with a second helping of a Cowgirl Kick to the mouth.
Again Victoria stumbled backwards…
Once…
Twice…
Three times…
…but again to the shock of the crowd and Ariane, Victoria was still standing…and recovering.
The crowd were on their feet screaming in excitement now as the Intercontinental Champion was standing tall as a redwood.
Ariane shook her head, and in a growing rage from the apparent no-selling of one of her biggest moves, let loose a gutteral growl, before launching a third Cowgirl Kick straight into Victoria’s face.
The towering German stumbled backwards into the corner this time, holding herself up and refusing to go down.
“What is it gonna take for you to stay down!” Ariane shouted as she stomped towards Hackenschmidt. Losing her cool, she slammed a few elbows into the blonde’s head, before grabbing her by her neck and top towards the center of the ring.
“Time for y’all to watch the Dakotan Sunset, sweetie.” she stated, launching a knee into Victoria’s stomach.
The knee strike bent her over, as Ariane leaned underneath her opponent to grab Victoria’s knees. If the Cowgirl Kick didn’t get the job done, then a Dakotan Sunset definitely should.
“Dakotan Sunset” www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzu-g-7Lps0&t=486s
Just as Ariane is about to work her arms around Hackenschmidt’s oddly sturdy gams, they’re trapped behind her back with a Double Underhook. Ariane spits a near cuss “Darn!” and braces herself for another hard landing against the ring floor as she’s lifted off the mat, but finds herself in a new and ever-burning pain as Hackenschmidt keeps her at a 30-degree angle. Keeping the Underhooks locked, Victoria arches her back forcing the back of Jones’ head and shoulders against her lower abdomen; The Cowgirl shrieks and kicks wildly in the air as her bodyweight tortures her neck, and spinal cord!
ZUGSPITZE
youtu.be/es_CfKtMkVw?t=2050
It’s such a simple move, but it’s devastating to watch and worse to feel; The Knight’s strength is waning, but she’s still strong enough to hold Jones in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time. The sweating blonde orders Ariane “Submit!” The challenger refuses to give in even when being threatened with time on the shelf. Ariane feels like a bull's got her by the arms and flailing her around, which has happened before. Even still, she screams a rejection “Nonono!!”
To Ariane, it feels like her arms are being ripped from her sides, the pain almost as bad as when she narrowly avoided being gored by a bull during her rodeo days. The pain seared through as her muscles felt close to tearing.
“Do you submit?” Was the repeated question.
Ariane continued to shake her head, the cowgirl becoming lightheaded from being held upside down for so long as the blood rushed to her brain. Tears, coming from the intense, burning agony in her arms, dripped down her face onto the mat.
“Do you submit?”
“NoooooooOOOO!!!” was the pain-ridden, agonized cry from the cowgirl.
Victoria lets out an exasperated breath and lowers Ariane back to the canvas, unwilling to injure the pleasant, if persistent, redhead. Ariane’s legs shake like a newborn fawn when she’s back on solid ground, feeling far less put together than at the start of the match. She’s mustering the strength for a Back Body Drop when the Cowgirl's stomach lurches as she’s raised once again; in an act of strange mercy Victoria doesn’t apply the Double Underhook lift, instead raising Jones till she’s upside down and boots to house lights. The Knight kicks her legs straight out and falls to a seat, driving Ariane’s skull into the covered plywood floor with a Piledriver!
RISENDING
youtu.be/U4DvxFMk3_4?t=37
The FAWNatics release an echoing OOOHHH!!! Seeing Jones rebound out of a divet in the mat she made with her own skull. Jones falls facedown on the mat, no motion to indicate consciousness aside from a slight twitch in her left buttock. Victoria tiredly flips the South Dakotan face up with a Half Nelson and flops on top of her in a North/South pin, their heaving bellies push into each other’s faces as the ref makes his count.
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOO!!!
With what must be pure instinct, Ariane bucks like a damn Clydesdale throwing Victoria off! Ariane lies back, spreadeagled and panting while Victoria’s on her side, shocked and dismayed, pondering what will it take?
Champion and challenger lay on the mat in exhaustion as an audience of thousands applaud the two women’s efforts. After giving them a few moments to rest, the official starts a ten count to get the match going again. The Valiant Victoria and the Amazing Ariane start to move at a count of four and make it to unsteady feet simultaneously. Victoria takes a breath and seems to regain her balance while Ariane remains wobbly; the Cowgirl can’t get her limbs to move as she wants and won’t be able to make another move, but she’s going to go out standing, dang it. Their eyes meet, and a huffing and puffing Victoria gives Ariane a silent nod of respect to acknowledge her strength, a nod that the cowgirl returns.
After that tiny oasis of peace comes rapid violence; Hackenschmidt lowers and shoots an arm between Ariane’s legs, lifting the American onto her shoulders with a Fireman’s Carry. The Knight throws Jones into the air and spins swiftly on the spot; as the Cowgirl’s boots touch the canvas Victoria’s fist blasts into Ariane’s chin with a Discus Punch!
THE IRON HAND
youtu.be/oMvXgKKLZCY?t=593
Ariane gets a knuckle duster that leaves her spotless! Her crimson hair flares in a wide circle as she twists and falls to the mat in an unconscious heap. The official can tell with one look that the cowgirl's out and rears an arm back for the Timekeeper when Victoria grabs him by the wrist.
“Wait, wait,” A weary but determined Victoria waves him off, “she wouldn’t want to lose like that.”
Victoria drops into a heavy seat by Ariane’s side and leans back against the downed redhead. The German pulls in Ariane’s far leg as a show of respect and security while the referee does his job.
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!!!
DINGDINGDING!!
“Your winner and still Intercontinental Champion, Victoria Hackenschmidt!”
The Knight let go of Ariane’s leg and sighed in relief. That was a tough one. Victoria pats Ariane’s heaving belly like they’re old friends before trudging to her feet. Her orchestra music fills the air almost but not quite drowning out the outpouring of boos from the audience, the FAWNatics really wanted Ariane to take the belt. Victoria shrugs and lifts a fist to the crowd and gets jeered in return, “I get it. I like her too.”
The official hands the winner her championship and raises The Knight’s hand again to the same reaction. Victoria ignores them and wearily steps over to Ariane who was barely beginning to stir. When she finally opened her eyes, Victoria looked down at her with concern, backlit by the lights.
"Hey, great match. Can you stand?” she asked, offering her hand.
"Sure can…?" After attempting to stand, only to fall back to the mat with a groan of pain, Ariane shook her head. "Maybe give me an hour or two. Y’all are free to join me." She patted the mat, an obvious joke, and one that brings a slight blush to Victoria’s face as she looked down at her former challenger. She glanced down from the redhead’s face, down her body, noticing her now stretched-out shirt revealing a rather luscious pair of melons.
“Uh…how about later…” Vic’s blush only worsened as she looked towards the ref while offering her hand, Ariane taking it gratefully and being helped up. "Got one mean punch there, Vic."
Vic smiled, grateful as Ariane appeared to notice her near wardrobe malfunction and tightened it up. "Danke, you are an excellent fighter. We should face each other again sometime."
"Looking forward to that." Ariane pops her neck and winces. "Though let’s give it a month or two before the rematch. I want to feel my limbs before we face off again." The cowgirl chuckled a bit, wincing at the end of each laugh.
"Take your time." In a rare moment of pride, Victoria pats the faceplate of the title belt on her shoulder. "I'll still be here."
Ariane nods, then pats the faceplate. "Keep her warm for me." Ariane stumbles towards the ropes, waving at the crowd as she's about to leave. "Oh," she calls over her shoulder as she began slipping through the ropes. "BBQ tonight, y'all are invited."
Victoria's face brightens in surprise "Oh! Danke." It had been a long time since things have been so cordial post match. “I'll bring something."
"Sounds like a plan. We'll share more info in the back. Take care now!" Ariane points towards Victoria with one hand and finger guns at her with a wink, then shouted to the crowd. “Your IC champion, Victoria!!” The crowd loudly cheered the IC champion as Ariane hopped off the apron to make her way up the ramp, leaving Victoria to celebrate her retention.
TURNADOT- FINALE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoTa-b7cUw0
The air fills with a full orchestra playing alongside powerful, classically trained singers. The audio of Giacomo Puccini’s three-stage opera feels perfectly appropriate with the sight of the stage illuminated with blinding white spotlights. All focused on the towering sentinel that is the Intercontinental champion.
Victoria drinks in the uproarious response the FAWNatics give her; most to all of them will change their attitudes once the bell rings, but they always love her when the music’s playing. Hackenschmidt takes a calming breath through her nose and sets down the ramp. The German giant stands tall and armourless for the second time in her career, except for her head. She wears her usual silver Corinthian helmet that protects the back and sides of her skull but leaves her high-boned cheeks free with a strip of metal stretched down from the center opening to cover her nose. The helm is smooth other than an artful etching that circles the top of the skull resembling a bejewelled crown. The most crucial thing on Victoria’s person is around her waist, the Intercontinental Championship belt. Under the spotlight, it shines as the brightest beacon to any potential challenger, employed by FAWN or not, to try and pry it from The Valiant One’s grasp.
Head bowed in silent prayer; her hands clutch a cross-hilted broadsword nearly four feet in length, a replica of a family heirloom that hung over the fireplace in her family estate in Hesse. One of two, the other now in possession of the World Champion, Dayna Erza, having defeated Hackenschmidt for it at March to War.
She WILL wrest her honour from Dayna’s grasp, but that’s something to think about on a different night. Shaking off negative thoughts with a mighty roar, Victoria flexes her powerful arms and hefts the replica blade up to a cheering audience, then onto her shoulder before beginning her march towards the ring, the spotlights following her every step.
"Standing at 5 feet 11 inches and weighing in at 152 pounds!! From Phoenix, Arizona, by way of Hesse, Germany!! She is The Valiant One!! The Intercontinental Champion, Victoria “The Knight” Hackenschmidt!!!”
VICTORIA HACKENSCHMIDT
Constant bedevilment from a toxic wrestling fanbase and upheavals in her personal life led Victoria to make some changes to ease the pressure on her soul, such as removing most of the armour from her entrance. The IC champ marches to the ring in her white halter top, revealing miles of lightly toned, pale tummy with matching boy-cut shorts that cling to her tight hindquarters. White boots and knee pads looking newly shined, and an elbow-length fingerless white glove on her right arm; all her gear has thin black lines that weave and intersect to resemble the plate armour she usually wears to the ring.
Before the bell, Victoria tries to keep her mind on the match ahead, but she still reaches her free arm out to Hi-Five FAWNatics, leaning over the guardrail. The Valiant One briefly detours to a set of steel steps where a solid-looking metal box with a small slit cut into the top sat by the ring apron. Hackenschmidt takes the sword off her shoulder and swiftly swings it in a broad circle before plunging it down into the box with one smooth motion.
As her music dies down, the entrance euphoria dies along with it. A switch flips for the Orlando audience, and the air fills with a cacophony of noise; the majority of the FAWNatics boo and jeer the Towering Teuton. The feral fans want a champ that shows a little more skin or has a colourful demeanour. Since splitting from her tag partner, Danica Dadal, the audience dislikes Hackenschmidt’s ‘boring and prudish’ personality. At least, that’s how they describe it in the hate mail sent to the arena, the league's headquarters, her home, and on every social media platform.
As she finds her corner, Victoria scans the crowd and sees some pockets of support amongst a sea of jeers. A few signs bear her name or image, many of them displaying a new moniker she has mixed feelings about, Blood Knight. She shrugs to herself, “Well, support is support. Better this than them superimposing pictures of hardwood floors over my chest.”
The music in the arena switched gears, swiftly changing to the twange of steel guitars as a country jam swept across the arena. “Thank God I’m a Country Girl” began to sound, gaining traction with the audience as the mysterious opponent for the German Giant appeared.
“Thank God I’m a Country Girl” www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1P76BZfgn8
Ariane Jones made her way onto the stage, a mixed reaction from the crowd. Most were still on her side, cheering the red-flannel wearing cowgirl as she tipped her hat to the crowd. As always, she appeared in her standard leather cowboy boots, jacket and hat. Her short jean shorts and red flannel were her standard wear for years, and a hit with the crowds.
“And her challenger, standing 5 feet, seven inches and weighing in at 150 pounds. Hailing from the black hills of South Dakota. Your FAWN Country Cowgirl, Ariane Sophie Jones!”
ARIANE SOPHIE JONES
The redhead nodded to the music, before bouncing forward with a “Yeeeeehaw” as pyro shot off around her. The shout was returned by several in the audience, while others decided on a second cheer that had become popular after her disastrous and humiliating three-second loss to Rue Ann a few months back.
“Three Count Cowgirl,” rang out with a fervor from as many as shouted back her trademark shout.
Thankfully, the Country Cowgirl had learned to ignore the jeers, focusing on
the fans around her that were cheering her name, slapping hands as she jogged down to the ring. Nearing the ring she hopped off the pre-positioned trampoline, leaping up over the top rope to the cheer of the crowd. Rolling to her feet, she hopped her way over to the ring ropes near Victoria, climbing onto them to another raucous cheer.
She hard-earned quite the fanbase, despite the rough few months against the hillbilly devil Rue Ann, and those cheers buoyed the Dakotan wrestler a lot heading into this match.
Which she needed after agreeing to this match with management. She’d expected something quite different being invited to Bethany’s office, and certainly not a match against the reigning IC champion, Victoria.
She wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and trained hard for this moment, and wasn’t about to waste it.
The redhead gave one last Texan-sized cheer to the crowd, before turning to Victoria. Giving her opponent a quick nod, she tipped her hat in respect before heading to her own corner, hanging her hat from the turnbuckle before removing her leather jacket. Her music mellowed out as she turned to face her opponent, bouncing on her feet to prep for what she knew would be an even tougher match than any before in FAWN.
Kanako had given her a few pointers about Victoria. They’d watched a few videos of her matches, and while Ariane felt she was ready for this match, she also realized that across from her stood a warrior and champion.
She grinned.
“Gonna be a fun night, huh, Victoria?” she yelled across to her opponent.
Victoria felt a good energy from the American across the ring, she was still cautious, however, too many humiliations have been suffered from a lowered guard. But this Jones person seems like a stand-up person at first glance. She nods and smiles politely, “It will! Good luck to you!”
Ariane grins and shadow boxes a bit to warm up, “Same to you!”
The official raises the belt in the center of the ring and turns to face all four sides of the arena before handing it to an attendant, he motions for the bell.
DINGDING!!
The two Destroyers march out of their corners on a straight path to their opponent, clashing in the middle with an Elbow and Collar. As they locked horns to get a feel for the other’s strength, Both Victoria and Ariane could tell the other’s physique held a lot more power than was advertised, which is saying something for both of them! Having tamed more than one bull in her time, Ariane knew trying to outpower The Knight at the beginning was a no-go; she slips behind Victoria taking her in a Hammerlock. Victoria bites her lip and begins to reverse the hold, but Ariane switches over to a tight side Headlock, putting the squeeze on the German’s noggin while pressing against the point of her hip. Victoria didn’t have the luxury of studying tape beforehand, but professionally wrestling since she was a teenager gave Hackenschmidt the ring sense that Jones was shifting her weight for a Headlock Driver, known in her repertoire as a Hoedown. Victoria scuffs her ears yanking her head free from Ariane’s arm and circles her arms around the redhead’s waist for a German Suplex, or as she calls it, a Suplex.
Ariane feels Hackenschmidt's brawny arms surround her and instinctively grapevines her leg around Vic’s, halting the throw before her feet can leave the mat. She reaches between her legs and grabs one of Victoria’s feet upending The Knight on her butt before she turns around. Victoria has no want to find out what Jones has planned so she pulls her legs in and pushkicks the Country girl away, Ariane back rolls to her feet as Hackenschmidt Kips Up. The two silently take a measure of each other as the FAWNatics award the show of wrestling with cheers and applause.
Ariane was happy with the opening chain of moves, getting a feel for her opponent as the pair circled one another. “Pretty good moves there. And here I thought that all European wrestlers were stiff. That was as smooth as freshly creamed butter.”
The Knight was a bit puzzled by the comment. Was it a compliment for her wrestling ability, or an insult against the traditions of European wrestling? She shook her head. She didn’t need thoughts distracting her. She would simply show the self-proclaimed cowgirl opposite her what she could do.
The pair locked horns again in a second elbow and collar. The two pushed against each other, gaining very little against the other, before Victoria stepped back, pulling Ariane quickly towards the ropes while still tied up. The bounce off the ropes loosens Ariane’s grip enough to where Victoria is able to lower her shoulder and drill Ariane’s gut with a spear. A second follows quickly nearly bending Ariane between the top and middle rope. With a speed belaid by her size, she backs up, grabs hold of Ariane’s legs and yanks with all her power.
Luckily for the redhead, her grip on the ropes was tighter than the blonde’s grip on her ankles. Ariane clung tight to the ropes, bringing The Knight’s momentum to a dramatic halt.
But not her grip.
With the champion off-kilter, Ariane drew her legs back drawing Victoria closer, only to push backwards with a heavy grunt. The kick-shove knocked Victoria off her feet, though she was swiftly able to reclaim her defensive stance as Ariane climbed off the ropes. As Victoria stood, Ariane rushed forward, ducking under a clothesline, bouncing off the opposite ropes, only to barely duck under a big boot kick.
The redhead recovered barely behind her opponent, sending a quick elbow to the blonde’s back, sending her off-kilter. Victoria windmills her arms to keep from teetering over and is about to succeed, so Ariane gives her a Hip Check to the gym-hardened glutes that’s the final nudge needed to knock Victoria onto the mat. The Knight gets her hands out in time to keep her classically beautiful face from touching the mat, but can’t keep Ariane from grabbing her ankles and somersaulting forward, rolling up Victoria like a cheap rug and seamlessly trapping her in a Reverse Boston Crab.
LONELY NIGHTS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOjhvoV-AgY
The Valiant One bites down a groan as the grappler from Grand Rapids uses her spine as a pulling machine, Ariane rises out of the crouch to lower the boom on her lower back, the boom being her farm-strong, but city-sexy behind. Victoria grunts with each blow and utters a restrained groan when Ariane pulls harder on her legs to increase the arc of the Crab. Ariane gives The Knight another painful tug before giving Hackenschmidt an out.
“What’d do ya say, Miss Hackenschmidt? Wanna hand me the title now before I make you a few inches taller?”
The Champion pounds each palm flat on the canvas and pushes herself up before responding, politely but strained through pain, “I must respectfully decline, Miss Jones. I will be escaping in but a moment.”
Ariane had a clever yet friendly retort on her tongue ready to fire, but she feels the stems in her hands turn to steel and slowly straighten out against her will. Through sheer power, Victoria begins to uncurl under Jones and forces the awed challenger to rise. The impressed fans give Victoria applause for her ungodly strength when Jones rolls with the proverbial momentum and turns away from The Knight while keeping a grip on Victoria’s thighs. A quick breath through her cute nose later, and Ariane swings the gigantic German off the mat, over her shoulders into a ring-shaking Alabama Slam!
ALLEMANDE DOWN
youtu.be/PYR9BSYdHAw?t=3
Thawm! The air leaves Victoria in a rushed, hoarse yell as she hits the hard ring floor with her whole back. Stunned by pain and blood rushing to her head from centrifugal force, she stares up at Ariane; The Country Girl’s red hair is backlit beautifully by the house lights, she gives the champion a wink and Victoria’s heart skips a beat. It’s never good to have a crush, or the beginnings of, on your opponent.
Feeling the German was distracted, the Black Hills Beauty took quick advantage, locking up the German’s legs into a figure four in the few moments that Victoria seemed lost to the world. It wasn’t until the move was locked in did the blonde realize her predicament as the pain began.
(Figure Four Leglock)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t-YXQCMYTQ
“So…” Ariane said with a grunt as she pushed into the taller woman’s knee with her foot. “I heard y’all have done gone and whooped everyone’s hides that…” she pushed hard again with her foot, gaining a pained grunt from her stoic opponent… “challenged for this here title, Victoria. Can I call y’all Vic?” She added the last bit with another push against the already tortured knee.
“Umm, yes. You may call me that-ark!” Victoria is a bit overwhelmed by her congenial opponent’s friendly banter and her technique. If this is a strategy, Hackenschmidt can’t knock its effectiveness.
Ariane beamed. “Sounds good Vic! Almost as good as a yield would be about right now. Think y’all could do that for me?” As an extra effort, Ariane really pushed hard into the blonde’s knee.
“I would say that would be an affront,” Victoria said through gritted teeth. “Also, you’re much too close.”
“Eh?” Was all Ariane could get out before the taller woman used that height advantage, twisted her body enough to clap both hands on either side of Ariane’s head.
The redhead, immediately disoriented, released her opponent’s leg, feeling dizzy as Victoria hobbled to her feet, testing out her leg while grabbing Ariane’s at the same time. Pulling the Dakotan’s leg around her neck, she yanked hard and stood to her full height, leaving Ariane bent awkwardly, leg in a painful hold and hanging upside down in a high-level stretch muffler.
“Now, would you be so kind as to submit?”
The redhead furiously shook her head, flailing about while inverted, trying to grab hold of anything.
“Well…GAH…this is…a pickle…”
Ariane grits her teeth, trying to calm herself as the statuesque blonde beauty held Ariane aloft as she walked around the ring, continuing to yank on Ariane’s leg. The redhead, always kept too far away from the ropes, did the only thing she could do, and reached for Victoria’s arm. Grabbing hold, she began yanking herself up to gain leverage to free her leg, when the German noticed her movements.
With practice ease, Victoria helped to pull Ariane up a little higher, before slamming her down back first onto the mat in a modified powerbomb, holding her down for a quick count.
The referee was quick to slide in, going for a one. Yet before their hand could hit the mat once, Ariane bucked out of the pin attempt, flipping over and away from her opponent. Victoria continues her painful work and traps the Country Gal in a tight Headlock on the canvas; the German’s powerful arm exerts pressure that makes Ariane quickly flush, her skin nearly matching her hair, The Knight ignores a smattering of boos from the crowd along with rude calls of “Rest hold!” A properly applied Headlock can end a match. It can’t all be backflips and dives to the outside.
Victoria pumps the hold and Ariane’s body jerks in pain like she’s just gotten a shock, “I must say, you are several steps above the calibre of contenders I’ve faced recently. I was starting to worry I scared all the real competition off.”
She slowly starts to bring Ariane to her feet while keeping her skull trapped in the crushing vice of her arm; Ariane paws at the unmovable Knight and has to focus past the crushing sensation to answer back. "Y'all...like getting...this close...to yer opponents?"
Victoria gets a touch of red in her cheeks and nearly doubles the strength in the submission out of embarrassment. Jones’ panicked thrashings are almost unnoticed by Vic as she tries to push past the perceived awkwardness, “I like to be on good terms with my adversary when possible. ‘Feuds’ are more or less a Western concept.”
Hackenschmidt releases Ariane and straightens her sister Destroyer up; she reaches between her legs and grips the back of Ariane's waistband as Hackenschmidt grabs her over the shoulder and lifts her for a Bodyslam. The blonde keeps the redhead suspended on a shoulder for a beat to carry her deeper into the ring and away from the safety of a ropebreak. Ariane starts wriggling like a worm on a hook and slips out of the hold behind Vic and yanks The Knight’s head back with an Inverted Headlock, the struggling Victoria is bent back as Ariane raises a long, strong and sexy leg, kicking it down across Victoria’s chest.
SUMMER CRUSH
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qRrjdLc8Cw
The Deutschland Dominator is flattened to the mat and rendered breathless by the South Dakotan’s leg. The referee drops to the mat, astutely seeing Victoria’s shoulders are flat, and the champion is potentially out of the match.
ONE!
TWO!!
Victoria heaves herself to the side, breaking the pin. Ariane gives an unseen nod of respect and gets back to breaking this wild mare; she drags Victoria to verticality by the hip and arm and sends Victoria away with an Irish Whip- Victoria bears down and reverses the Whip. Ariane is speeding toward the cables with a determined German on her heels, Ariane turns and hits the cables with her back giving her a great view of the bottom of Hackenschmidt’s boot as it barrels toward her face!
Whiff!
“Auop!”
Ariane ducks and darts away in time, letting Victoria’s boot and leg sail overhead, the rest of her body following along. The champion ends up uncomfortably straddling the rope and bracing herself for balance.
The champion hears a hiss near her. Turning her head, she spies Ariane making the sound as she’s running off the opposite ropes. “That looks painful, let me help ya out!”
As Victoria struggled to get her trapped leg off the top rope, Ariane connected her forearm to the back of The Knight’s head, nearly taking it off in the process. The force of the lariat is enough to send the blonde toppling the rest of the way over the top rope, with Ariane following right after, though in a much more controlled fall.
Victoria landed painfully onto the mats outside the ring on her back, arching in pain as she shook her head from it getting knocked against the ring apron.
“Whelp, looks like the timed bonus level is about ta begin.”
“Huh?”
Victoria was perplexed momentarily, but only for that moment as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her stomach from behind.
“Up we go!”
The cowgirl grunted, lifting and pulling Hackenschmidt first off the ground, then up, then over in a massive show of strength. Ariane hefted her like a haybale into the suplex, slamming the German’s head and shoulders onto the mat, again stunning the proud warrior.
“Whew…you tall gals are bigger than ya look. Doing alright down there?” Ariane asked as the referee called for both women to get back into the ring. The cowgirl sent a thumbs up to the referee as they hit the two count, grabbing Victoria as best she could by the hair and the back of her shorts and hauling her up.
“Probably shouldn’t ruin the announcer’s table again…those are expensive…” Ariane grumbled before shrugging while re-adjusting her grip on the German. The redhead sent a few solid blows onto the recovering woman's back, before walking in front of her, pushing the blonde’s head between her thighs and grabbing her waist in preparation to pick her up.
“Ya comfy down there girl?” the redhead asked while making sure to clench her abs for the coming lift to put Victoria into her Bronco Breaker (Styles Clash).
The move was naught to be.
As Ariane went to lift up her opponent while the ref was at the count of four, Victoria pinwheels her legs, breaking the lift and reversing the momentum. With a rush of movement, the German Grappler latched her arms around Ariane’s legs, and with a mighty warcry, lifts and tosses Ariane head over heels over top of her.
The cowgirl landed harshly on her back as Victoria gained both cheers and boos from the crowd at the immense show of power.
“Are you alright down there?” Vic asked in reply to Ariane’s earlier question. The redhead actually nodded, bringing a slight smile to the blonde’s face. “Alright, then up you go again.”
Hauling up the slightly woozy redhead, the blonde bombshell grabbed a tight hold of Ariane’s shorts, while latching an arm around her neck, then proceeded to hoist her up and over her shoulder. Darting forward, she pulled Ariane forward, slamming the Dakotan’s shoulder straight into the ring apron in a brutal-looking shoulder breaker.
It was a good thing that she had gone for the ring apron as the target, for as she let go of Ariane, who tumbled face-first onto the apron, she hears the referee reaching the count of seven.
Ever the professional, she shoves a limp Ariane further into the ring, before climbing onto the apron herself, sliding between the middle and top rope as her groggy opponent made it to her hands and knees, her hair spilling over and obscuring her face.
Victoria reached down to pick up the redhead, who replied with an elbow to Vic’s gut. As the German let out a cry of pain, Ariane sent a backhanded forearm across Victoria’s chest, straightening up her opponent as she herself got to her feet. Seeing that it had staggered her, the Black Hills Beauty sent another forearm slap against her opponent’s chest to the “oooohhhs” of the crowd.
The Knight recovered quite quickly, responding with a forearm smack of her own against Ariane’s bulging bosom, gaining her own set of “aaaaahhh’s” from the crowd.
The two powerhouses began trading blows, each growing louder than the last. One stinging, sharp blow made Ariane cry out in pain, turning around clutching her chest, only to turn and send a wicked-sounding smack right onto Vic’s chest. Victoria grimaces and staggers back, clutching her throbbing puppies; Ariane smells blood in the water and winds up for the biggest Chop of the night, her arm whips out ready to send Victoria’s bruising boobs into the third row when Victoria ducks Ariane’s scythe of a limb and dashes behind the Country Gal. The redhead lets out a breath in a rough exhale as Hackenschmidt’s arms circle Jones’ ribs and lift her off her feet.
“H-hey! Hands off the hardbody!” Ariane sputters hoarsely as Victoria carries her to center ring and turns that tight hug into a Bearhug; The Knight takes on a furious expression as she flexes every muscle in her body as she wrenches the Cowgirl side to side like a grizzly attacking a too curious hiker. The tips of Ariane’s boots drag along the canvas as she fruitlessly tries to kick her way free; she digs her fingers into Victoria’s steel-like forearms threatening to break her ribs. Victoria feels the American slightly open up the Bearhug, so she doubles down on the pressure squeezing a squawk from Ariane. She can tell how strong the challenger is, so Victoria isn’t giving her a chance to get out… plus in this position, Ariane’s long, crimson hair is in Victoria’s face, and it smells lovely.
The FAWNatics are not ready to give up on Ariane Jones, so they fill the air with a rallying chant to give the patriotic powerhouse a second wind.
ARI-ANE!!
ARI-ANE!!
ARI-ANE!!
ARI-ANE!!
The love of the fans does indeed refuel Ariane’s fire! Her body trembles with pain and effort as she braces her feet against Victoria’s thighs and takes hold of The Knight’s arms compacting her middle. Sounding like a truck with a struggling engine and moving at half the speed, Ariane twists around to face Victoria. Well, more like bust to face, Victoria is carrying Ariane, so as the redhead turns, Vic’s getting a faceful of the South Dakotan's Black Hills. The -- champion in her recent history has had trouble with top-heavy opponents, the root cause being mental scarring from her buxom ex-partner Danica Dadal. Jones would never be mistaken for a Dunbar or a Kennedy, but the redhead's lovelies are quite sizable and QUITE distracting for the flustered Hackenschmidt.
The challenger's thrashings make her baps rub and scrub against Victoria's shocked face. The absence of Ariane’s arms around her head tells the champion that this isn’t a Front Sleeper and is purely incidental, so the self-chastising Hackenschmidt is instantly overcome with embarrassment. She sputters some kneejerk apologies for the accidental motorboating, but Victoria’s rambling is unintelligible when muffled by Ariane’s chest.
“Mmpf farry! Fis iwis nomp whomp I iwtiwnded!”
Victoria thinks Ariane's increased wriggling is anger from The Knight’s perceived faux pas. What they are is Ariane worming her arms under the German Giant’s brawny pair. An impossible feat before, but Victoria’s grip has loosened the slightest bit now that her focus is split from making The Black Hills Beauty tap from a Bearhug, and Ariane’s Hills currently enveloping her face. With a final jerk, Ariane shoots her limbs under Hackenschmidt’s, the motion having the added benefits of placing the Red Haired Mare’s boots flat on the canvas, and freeing Hackenschmidt’s face from the Jugg smother. Both women are red in the face and gasping for air but for different reasons; Jones’ arms wrap around Victoria’s waist and clasps her hands tightly. Victoria pumps on the hold to keep the lead with competing Bearhugs and feels Ariane’s body shiver against her own. The Rodeo Queen’s cheek is pressed against The Knight’s clavicle as she breathlessly asks her a question.
“Hey Vic, ever been bull riding?”
Victoria blinks, “No, I have not had the opportunity. Why do you aaAAAH!”
Ariane’s hold on the champion turns shockingly tight as she swings Victoria like a dance partner and squashes her against the canvas with a Belly To Belly Suplex. Victoria’s hug disintegrates while Ariane’s maintains; she hauls the larger woman back to her feet and repeats the throw, crushing Victoria between the hard ring floor and a hard body that’s soft in the right places. The Knight’s looking more like a peasant as Jones drags her up, loose limbed and head a wobble. Ariane breathes through her nose and completes the trifecta with one more Belly To Belly, this time she impressively flings the giant overhead and lets Hackenschmidt soar and crash like a doomed Zepplin!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKV8R_S1lQQ
After hitting the trifecta of pain, Ariane took a second to sit on the mat, gaining her breath back after the absolutely brutal bearhug that her opponent had caught her with.
Dang that girl’s got strength! she thought to herself before crawling over to the sprawled-out, starfished form of the champion. Ariane pulled up a leg and rested on top of Vic, hoping maybe she’d done enough.
The referee slid in and hit the mat.
“ONE..! KICKOUT!!”
I reckon not…Ariane thought alongside a verbal chuckle. She slowly got to her feet, hauling up a stumbling Hackenschmidt, before sending repeated elbows against the German’s face. The force whips her head back and forth as she stumbles backwards faster and faster until she hits the corner turnbuckle, her arms wrapping around the top rope as she tries to clear her blurry vision.
“Meine güte..” Ariane hears Vic mumble before the cowgirl takes off towards the opposite corner post. Turning around, she points at the woozy champion, then bolts across the ring, leaping at the final moment into a brutal lariat that lifted the champion off her feet and nearly over the ropes. The Rodeo Queen landed on the middle ropes, while the German Knight flops to the mat.
“Y’all want to see me take this gal on a County Ride?!”
The resounding applause and shouts of “YES! YES! YES!” gives Ariane a chuckle. Bouncing on the ropes to get some leverage, she finally lifts off the ropes, pulling herself to a perfect vertical in the corner. Gravity eventually took hold, just as Victoria looks up to see the County Wildcat speeding down towards her in a Pendulum Bronco Buster known as the County Ride.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOsvobY1y5o
The redhead bounced hard off Vic’s chest, gaining an audible groan from the German Giant. Ariane let the momentum carry her into a second, shorter bronco buster, before standing up straight in the corner, unwittingly giving Victoria a full frontal face of her jean shorts.
The Teutonic Warrior’s face turns crimson, even in her dizzy state, before Ariane pulled her up and out of the corner. Turning about, she delivers a quick snapmare to the champion, leaving Hackenschmidt sitting and dazed further.
Grabbing hold of the champion’s arms, Ariane pulled backwards while placing a boot into the small of Victoria’s back.
“Let me hear ya say a submission, and I’ll stop.”
If Victoria was known for her hardiness in the ring, she was also well known for her stubbornness. Even with the pain coursing through her body and back, she stubbornly refused to utter even a groan. Instead, she focused entirely on trying to move her arms forward and out of the cowgirl’s grip.
And to most people’s shock in the audience, as well as to Ariane’s bemusement and somewhat growing nervousness…
…she was succeeding.
Slowly, but surely, she was getting her arms forward, weakening the hold.
“Strong as a Budweiser Clydesdale this one is,” Ariane mutters, before stomping hard on Vic’s back and then releasing her arms before she could find herself in a precarious position. Running past the reeling blonde, Ariane bounces off the far ropes, and runs forward into a Meteora, smashing both knees into Vic’s chest.
The move leaves Victoria in pain on the mat, with Ariane speedily grabbing one of her opponent’s leg for a pin attempt while sitting atop her.
“One…!”
“Tw-KICKOUT!”
Victoria lunged her shoulder off the mat, knocking a semi-flustered cowgirl off as well.
The former rodeo queen couldn’t help but chuckle. “Dang girl, I can see why y’all are the champion around here.”
“...Danke…” replied a nearly breathless Victoria, her chest rising and falling heavily on the canvas.
Ariane pats the German on her shoulder before pulling her up. “But ya ain’t gonna be that for long, sugar!” With a heavy grunt, the redhead flings Victoria across the ring, bouncing her off the ropes while she leaned back against the ropes behind her and shot off after her opponent like a rocket.
While feeling bruised, Victoria still had her wits about her and on the return off the ropes, attempted a Clothesline, only for the cowgirl to duck it at the last second. The Knight skids to a halt and turns around, only for her eyes to widen as Ariane has already bounced off the ropes a second time, connecting her forearm into Vic’s chest for a brutal lariat that flipps the German Destroyer three-sixty, smacking her face hard into the mat.
Cheers rang through the audience, though there were still catcalls of “Three Count Cowgirl” breaking through every now and then. “That’s right I’ll get the three count!!” she barks back at the fans as she pulls Victoria back up.
Her attention should have been on the champion, who as Ariane pulls her up, slams three elbows straight into Ariane’s gut. The blows bow the cowgirl over, though somehow she grits her teeth through it, landing a return elbow to the small of the taller woman’s back.
Victoria crumpled back to the mat, as a nearly breathless Ariane rubbed her stomach. “Dang girl, ya got the boniest elbows I’ve been hit with. Gotta get some meat on them bones.”
Grabbing one of Vic’s arms, Ariane flipped the German over, then grabbed the other arm and pulled up on both, leaving her upper back and head off the mat.
“Hope y’all don’t mind a Stampede!”
“I do mind a-” was all Victoria got out before Ariane let loose with a flurry of stomps to Victoria’s elevated chest and stomach. The Black Hills Beauty released the blonde on the final stomp, smashing her into the mat, before dropping on top of her and lifting a leg for a pin.
“One…!”
…
“Two…!”
TH-NOOOOO! Kickout!!”
Victoria lurched to the side, leaving a frustrated Ariane to pound the mat once before flipping Victoria back over and hooking the leg a second time.
“One.!”
…
“Tw-Kickout!!!”
Ariane smacked the mat again before narrowing her eyes at the champion. “Dang it girl, y’all got more guts than a mama grizzly protectin’ her cubs!”
Victoria groaned back. “I would not otherwise be champion…if I gave up.”
The reply left Ariane nodding. “Well, I’d reckon its time to end this then. Nice facing ya, Vic!”
Ariane decided against soccer kicking her opponent onto her front, as The Knight has shown her more respect than most of her opponents had. Instead, she rolled her over, before wrangling her legs and intertwining them with her own. A quick slap on both of Hackenschmidt’s sides allowed Ariane to grab her arms, then roll backwards into a Romero Ceiling hold.
The crowd knew what was coming.
Victoria, apparently did not.
“Final Ride” www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPGaE7GfZ-0
After locking in the Romero, Ariane slowly drew Victoria’s face back until she locked in a chin lock, finalizing her finishing move she called, the Final Ride.
The referee drew closer to the pair as Victoria flailed within the hold, silent save for a few grunts and gasps.
“If ya submit the pain will stop…” Ariane added as the referee asked if Hackenschmidt would submit.
The German stubbornly shook her head as best she could. Grasping at the hands pulling her neck back at such an awkward angle. Ariane wrenched the Knight back, momentarily sending the blonde’s arms flailing once more and a single cry of pain to escape the German’s lips.
Yet she didn’t submit.
Maybe she’s like Kanako and doesn’t submit?...Ariane wondered as she kept a mental clock ticking of how long she had the champion in the submission.
After a solid minute of holding and wrenching back, with no submission from the German, and the signs of struggle not slowing, the Country Cowgirl did what she normally never did.
She released the hold.
The audience’s cheers turned to confusion as Ariane released the chin lock then shoved Victoria forward while pulling her legs down, sending the German in a modified flapjack onto the mat.
Victoria was left sprawled on the mat, gasping for breath as a perplexed Ariane ran a hand through her hair.
“Dang girl…what’s it gonna take to defeat ya!”
Slowly making her way to her feet, Ariane looked over the prone German who was somehow making her way to her feet.
“Well, as grand-papy used to say, go big or go home.”
With those words spoken, the redheaded beauty helped Victoria to her feet, but left her woozy in the middle of the ring while she climbed up the nearest turnbuckle. Standing with one foot atop the turnbuckle, Ariane cupped her hands around her mouth, and let out an ear-splitting “Yeeeeeeeeehaww!!!!” to the crowd. One that the raucous crowd returned full heartedly. Turning her eyes back to the prize, the redheaded Dakotan focused on steadying herself on the top rope, readying herself for the Star Spangled Spike, a brutal top rope shotgun kick.
“Star Spangled Spike” www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ULnxzkpnI8
With another warcry, Ariane leapt at Victoria, hoping this would put her away.
But Hackenschmidt did the unthinkable.
Ariane’s preparation and revving up the crowd had given the champion enough time to get her wits about her enough to see what was happening. As Ariane leapt forward for the shotgun kick, Victoria was ready.
Grabbing a hold of the American Cowgirl’s legs, the German translated all that forward momentum down in a brutal powerbomb that shook the ring and left Ariane screaming silently from the pain.
Though the champion didn’t release her grip. Instead, Victoria, showing off the power she was known for since even before entering FAWN, managed to lift Ariane back up until she was fully vertical above Victoria, who held the redhead up by her legs alone. The redhead shook her head frantically, waving her arms trying to throw her opponent off balance to no avail.
Victoria dropped Ariane back first onto the mat from nearly eight feet up.
The mat shook as she bounced off the mat, the patriotic cowgirl ending up spread eagle in the middle of the ring as Victoria gasped for breath above her.
Victoria dropped onto the prone Dakotan, lifting a leg up for a pin attempt.
“Good form today,” she muttered as the referee began the count. “But not enough.”
“One.!”
…
“Two..!”
…
“Thre—NO KICKOUT!!!”
At the last possible second, Ariane jerked to life, managing a shoulder off the mat.
The crowd was in shock.
So was Victoria.
“Du bist eine lebhafte Frau,” she muttered in amazement to the cowgirl, who lay on her side, gasping for air.
“ich bein ein berliner" the panting redhead says exhaustedly. It means 'I am a jelly pastry,' but it's the only German she knows. Victoria’s a bit confused by this statement, but Ariane does seem sweet, so she’ll let it pass.
Victoria pulls Ariane to a seat by the opening in The Cowgirl’s red flannel and puts her in a Headlock as she takes a grip on her jean shorts by the hip. In another impressive show of strength, Victoria deadlifts her sister Destroyer to Highnoon with a Suplex and holds her there for three seconds (long enough for a picture) before falling back to complete the move with a ring-shaking slam.
Victoria maintains her hold on Ariane and back somersaults into a straddle and pulls her challenger up with a Front Facelock, she squeezes the South Dakotan’s chin between bicep and forearm as she leads her to the nearest corner.
“You have been an excellent change of pace,” Victoria compliments while throwing Jones into the corner with a short but impactful Irish Whip, “It’s good to face a real wrestler and not a sadist or a hitwoman.”
“Y’all…are welcome…” Ariane replied hoarsely as she slammed into the corner post and watched the towering German approach. She wasn’t sure what she was planning, but she knew she didn’t want what Victoria was selling.
With the remaining strength she had, and a slight wince from that impactful Irish Whip, Ariane used the turnbuckle and ropes to her advantage, pushing off them while jumping, managing to latch her legs around Victoria’s neck as the taller woman approached. Pulling the stunned warrior towards her, Ariane latched her thighs right around The Knight’s head.
“Finally…all those years barrel racing come in handy,” Ariane said as she wrapped her arms around the ropes to provide more stability in the impromptu headscissors.
For her part, Victoria wasn’t sure what to do as she played the horse's part to Ariane’s barrel rider, as the eyes and nose were currently stuffed right up against the cowgirl’s tight jean shorts. She struggled, yet all that seemed to do was cause the jugs of her redheaded opponent to bounce hypnotically in their plaid toned harness.
A crimson blush flushed across Victoria’s face as she grasped at her opponent’s legs to try to pry them apart, only to be rewarded with a tighter squeeze.
“So…ya give yet?”
“...nien!”
The referee came over to start a five-count for Ariane to release the hold. The redhead nodded, intent on holding onto the headscissors as long as she could ride it out. The Black Hills Beauty was grateful Hackenschmidt wasn’t bucking as much as the bulls she rode back in her rodeo days, attributing it to exhaustion on the German woman’s part, oblivious to the fact the redness in her opponent’s face came more from the welling heat created from the sensual hold.
At the count of five, which seemed more like a ten count, Ariane unlatched herself from the ropes and pushed off, spinning downwards into an impromptu hurricarana. With the strength built up from a decade of barrel racing, she kept hold of the headscissors into a real submission as they landed awkwardly in the center of the ring. Ariane checked her hold, making sure it was tight as the referee approached.
Checking on Victoria, the referee had to ask, “Do you submit?”
For her part, Victoria did a stand-up job of shaking her head as best she could. The haze of being trapped between Ariane’s thighs watching her bouncing chest wore off as the oxygen depletes from her lungs. Knowing she couldn’t stay mesmerized by the beautiful redhead at risk of losing the match, The Knight switched from attempting to dislodge the grip around her neck, to standing.
Ariane realized what was happening seconds before disaster, as Victoria managed to make it to her knees. Releasing the headscissors, Ariane coiled her legs in front of her and blasted a double-barreled kick right into the standing Hackenschmidt’s chest, knocking her clean off her feet and onto her back.
A less tired Ariane would have scrambled forward for a pin, but tired Ariane was.
Gotta finish this now… Ariane thought as she wobbled to unsteady legs. She watched as a just-as-unsteady Victoria was wobbling to her own feet, clasping her neck as she sucked in deep breaths. The two wrestlers managed to stand at roughly the same time, Ariane letting loose a “Yeeeeeehaw!” being the only signal of what was to come.
Victoria managed to get to her feet, just as Ariane hopped back slightly, then jumped forward, sending a Cowgirl Kick directly into Victoria’s face.
“Sweet Chin Music” www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGKLrob8X5c
The fans in the FAWNatorium were on their feet, roaring in excitement as the Stately German reeled back from the blow.
She stumbled back once…
Twice…
Then to the surprise of everyone in the arena, Victoria leaned back forward, shaking her head from the brutal kick.
Ariane was left aghast for a moment that somebody had not only survived her patented move, but was still standing. She finally recovered enough to where she closed her mouth and decided if one didn’t work, then a second was in order.
Just as Victoria recovered from the first one and locked eyes with Ariane, The Knight was blessed with a second helping of a Cowgirl Kick to the mouth.
Again Victoria stumbled backwards…
Once…
Twice…
Three times…
…but again to the shock of the crowd and Ariane, Victoria was still standing…and recovering.
The crowd were on their feet screaming in excitement now as the Intercontinental Champion was standing tall as a redwood.
Ariane shook her head, and in a growing rage from the apparent no-selling of one of her biggest moves, let loose a gutteral growl, before launching a third Cowgirl Kick straight into Victoria’s face.
The towering German stumbled backwards into the corner this time, holding herself up and refusing to go down.
“What is it gonna take for you to stay down!” Ariane shouted as she stomped towards Hackenschmidt. Losing her cool, she slammed a few elbows into the blonde’s head, before grabbing her by her neck and top towards the center of the ring.
“Time for y’all to watch the Dakotan Sunset, sweetie.” she stated, launching a knee into Victoria’s stomach.
The knee strike bent her over, as Ariane leaned underneath her opponent to grab Victoria’s knees. If the Cowgirl Kick didn’t get the job done, then a Dakotan Sunset definitely should.
“Dakotan Sunset” www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzu-g-7Lps0&t=486s
Just as Ariane is about to work her arms around Hackenschmidt’s oddly sturdy gams, they’re trapped behind her back with a Double Underhook. Ariane spits a near cuss “Darn!” and braces herself for another hard landing against the ring floor as she’s lifted off the mat, but finds herself in a new and ever-burning pain as Hackenschmidt keeps her at a 30-degree angle. Keeping the Underhooks locked, Victoria arches her back forcing the back of Jones’ head and shoulders against her lower abdomen; The Cowgirl shrieks and kicks wildly in the air as her bodyweight tortures her neck, and spinal cord!
ZUGSPITZE
youtu.be/es_CfKtMkVw?t=2050
It’s such a simple move, but it’s devastating to watch and worse to feel; The Knight’s strength is waning, but she’s still strong enough to hold Jones in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time. The sweating blonde orders Ariane “Submit!” The challenger refuses to give in even when being threatened with time on the shelf. Ariane feels like a bull's got her by the arms and flailing her around, which has happened before. Even still, she screams a rejection “Nonono!!”
To Ariane, it feels like her arms are being ripped from her sides, the pain almost as bad as when she narrowly avoided being gored by a bull during her rodeo days. The pain seared through as her muscles felt close to tearing.
“Do you submit?” Was the repeated question.
Ariane continued to shake her head, the cowgirl becoming lightheaded from being held upside down for so long as the blood rushed to her brain. Tears, coming from the intense, burning agony in her arms, dripped down her face onto the mat.
“Do you submit?”
“NoooooooOOOO!!!” was the pain-ridden, agonized cry from the cowgirl.
Victoria lets out an exasperated breath and lowers Ariane back to the canvas, unwilling to injure the pleasant, if persistent, redhead. Ariane’s legs shake like a newborn fawn when she’s back on solid ground, feeling far less put together than at the start of the match. She’s mustering the strength for a Back Body Drop when the Cowgirl's stomach lurches as she’s raised once again; in an act of strange mercy Victoria doesn’t apply the Double Underhook lift, instead raising Jones till she’s upside down and boots to house lights. The Knight kicks her legs straight out and falls to a seat, driving Ariane’s skull into the covered plywood floor with a Piledriver!
RISENDING
youtu.be/U4DvxFMk3_4?t=37
The FAWNatics release an echoing OOOHHH!!! Seeing Jones rebound out of a divet in the mat she made with her own skull. Jones falls facedown on the mat, no motion to indicate consciousness aside from a slight twitch in her left buttock. Victoria tiredly flips the South Dakotan face up with a Half Nelson and flops on top of her in a North/South pin, their heaving bellies push into each other’s faces as the ref makes his count.
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOO!!!
With what must be pure instinct, Ariane bucks like a damn Clydesdale throwing Victoria off! Ariane lies back, spreadeagled and panting while Victoria’s on her side, shocked and dismayed, pondering what will it take?
Champion and challenger lay on the mat in exhaustion as an audience of thousands applaud the two women’s efforts. After giving them a few moments to rest, the official starts a ten count to get the match going again. The Valiant Victoria and the Amazing Ariane start to move at a count of four and make it to unsteady feet simultaneously. Victoria takes a breath and seems to regain her balance while Ariane remains wobbly; the Cowgirl can’t get her limbs to move as she wants and won’t be able to make another move, but she’s going to go out standing, dang it. Their eyes meet, and a huffing and puffing Victoria gives Ariane a silent nod of respect to acknowledge her strength, a nod that the cowgirl returns.
After that tiny oasis of peace comes rapid violence; Hackenschmidt lowers and shoots an arm between Ariane’s legs, lifting the American onto her shoulders with a Fireman’s Carry. The Knight throws Jones into the air and spins swiftly on the spot; as the Cowgirl’s boots touch the canvas Victoria’s fist blasts into Ariane’s chin with a Discus Punch!
THE IRON HAND
youtu.be/oMvXgKKLZCY?t=593
Ariane gets a knuckle duster that leaves her spotless! Her crimson hair flares in a wide circle as she twists and falls to the mat in an unconscious heap. The official can tell with one look that the cowgirl's out and rears an arm back for the Timekeeper when Victoria grabs him by the wrist.
“Wait, wait,” A weary but determined Victoria waves him off, “she wouldn’t want to lose like that.”
Victoria drops into a heavy seat by Ariane’s side and leans back against the downed redhead. The German pulls in Ariane’s far leg as a show of respect and security while the referee does his job.
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!!!
DINGDINGDING!!
“Your winner and still Intercontinental Champion, Victoria Hackenschmidt!”
The Knight let go of Ariane’s leg and sighed in relief. That was a tough one. Victoria pats Ariane’s heaving belly like they’re old friends before trudging to her feet. Her orchestra music fills the air almost but not quite drowning out the outpouring of boos from the audience, the FAWNatics really wanted Ariane to take the belt. Victoria shrugs and lifts a fist to the crowd and gets jeered in return, “I get it. I like her too.”
The official hands the winner her championship and raises The Knight’s hand again to the same reaction. Victoria ignores them and wearily steps over to Ariane who was barely beginning to stir. When she finally opened her eyes, Victoria looked down at her with concern, backlit by the lights.
"Hey, great match. Can you stand?” she asked, offering her hand.
"Sure can…?" After attempting to stand, only to fall back to the mat with a groan of pain, Ariane shook her head. "Maybe give me an hour or two. Y’all are free to join me." She patted the mat, an obvious joke, and one that brings a slight blush to Victoria’s face as she looked down at her former challenger. She glanced down from the redhead’s face, down her body, noticing her now stretched-out shirt revealing a rather luscious pair of melons.
“Uh…how about later…” Vic’s blush only worsened as she looked towards the ref while offering her hand, Ariane taking it gratefully and being helped up. "Got one mean punch there, Vic."
Vic smiled, grateful as Ariane appeared to notice her near wardrobe malfunction and tightened it up. "Danke, you are an excellent fighter. We should face each other again sometime."
"Looking forward to that." Ariane pops her neck and winces. "Though let’s give it a month or two before the rematch. I want to feel my limbs before we face off again." The cowgirl chuckled a bit, wincing at the end of each laugh.
"Take your time." In a rare moment of pride, Victoria pats the faceplate of the title belt on her shoulder. "I'll still be here."
Ariane nods, then pats the faceplate. "Keep her warm for me." Ariane stumbles towards the ropes, waving at the crowd as she's about to leave. "Oh," she calls over her shoulder as she began slipping through the ropes. "BBQ tonight, y'all are invited."
Victoria's face brightens in surprise "Oh! Danke." It had been a long time since things have been so cordial post match. “I'll bring something."
"Sounds like a plan. We'll share more info in the back. Take care now!" Ariane points towards Victoria with one hand and finger guns at her with a wink, then shouted to the crowd. “Your IC champion, Victoria!!” The crowd loudly cheered the IC champion as Ariane hopped off the apron to make her way up the ramp, leaving Victoria to celebrate her retention.