Post by kjcasey42 on Apr 12, 2018 19:16:08 GMT
“The following match, is scheduled for one fall, with a twenty minute time limit!” The ring announcer bellowed. Then, the lights went out in the arena, drawing an excited buzz from the crowd. Then, an air raid siren blared over the loudspeakers as a pair of red searchlights scanned the crowd. Said crowd crescendoed into a raucous cheer as the searchlights stopped at the entranceway, finding their target. There, a petite woman stood, pulling her black fingerless MMA-style gloves on as she looks out to her fans. As the sirens faded, the lights came back up and Manowar’s “Warriors of the World” began playing on the loudspeakers.
WARRIORS OF THE WORLD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dll329ggLIY
KANAKO AKIYAMA
“Introducing first, from Los Angeles, California...She stands five foot two inches tall, and weighs in at one hundred ten pounds...She is the Modern Day Ronin...This is KANAKO AKIYAMA!!”
For this match with veteran superstar AJ Swann, Kanako wore her familiar black leather jacket over a sparkly red crop top with black trim that showed off her impressive abs and matching gym shorts. Red wrestling shoes with black kickpads and black kneepads completed the outfit. She had issued the open challenge on FAWN’s youtube channel out of a combination of anger and frustration, but she was taken aback that someone with the Hardcore Heratbreaker’s status had answered her call. Therefore, she was taking this bout very seriously, remaining focused on the task at hand and keeping the showboating and slapping hands with ringside fans to a minimum. She walked up the ringside steps and, before stepping through the ropes, breathed a sigh of relief to see Al Carpenter in the ring as the assigned referee for this match. Not that she had a particular like or dislike for Carpenter; She was just glad it wasn’t Merle. The man seemed to be a thorn in her side since day one in FAWN, costing her more than a couple victories due to his bad calls. She shook her head as she tried to put the thought out of her mind, as she knew she needed to focus. She stepped through the ropes and pumped her fist to all four sides of the ring, eliciting cheers from the fans on each side in turn. She then backed into the nearest corner to wait for her opponent’s arrival and to let Al pat her down, which he did as she took off her jacket.
“Hey, Kanako.” Al greeted her as he began his inspection, to which the Modern Day Ronin simply nodded and grunted. “Merle wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry for blowing it in your match with Marvela Marcille. He would’ve done so himself, but, well...he kinda thinks you’re avoiding him..”
“Well, at least he’s right about one thing. Tell him I accept his apology, and please don’t bring his name up again.” She answered tersely. Al nodded and finished his inspection in silence, as Kanako’s music faded out.
"Anybody tell you I'm a fighter?
Wanna start a fire, I'm the lighter,
If you think you burn bright, I burn brighter,
Never tire,
Did they tell you I'm a fighter?"
AJ SWANN
“And her opponent, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...She stands five feet, four inches tall and weighs in at one hundred sixteen pounds...She is the Hardcore Heartbreaker...This is A...J...SWANN!”
Many of those assembled sang along to the opening of Sumo Cyco’s ‘Fighter’ though they abandoned their karaoke efforts to roar their love for the Guitar Heroine when she stormed the stage. Already going full bore, AJ bounded down the ramp, slapping hands with as many ringside fans as she could reach. A natural redhead, tonight Swann's hair was strictly on the blue end of the spectrum. She's dressed in a white sports-bra top and matching bikini briefs, the bottoms supported by a thin, crooked red belt and sporting a bright red lipstick kiss mark on the right cheek. Located directly in the center of her modest bosom, meanwhile, was a red cartoon heart--cracked slightly at the top, and dripping blood from the bottom. The rest of her ensemble consisted of a pair of black gloves, the upper side adorned with a skeletal print, a crimson bandana tied tight but-not-too-tightly around her right wrist, torn and tattered red fishnets, as well as red pads and boots.
Leaping onto the apron, Swann paused just long enough to wipe her boots on the apron, then slipped a leg between the ropes. Pulling her body through the cables in one swift motion, AJ bounded toward the nearest corner, hopping up onto the middle buckle. Thrusting her arms overhead, Swann let out a triumphant cry, giving the crowd a display of tongue that would make Gene Simmons proud as she raised the horns with both hands--a gesture that's met with a gleeful roar from tonight's capacity crowd.
As Al checked AJ’s gear, Kanako strode to meet her in the center of the ring. When Al finished his inspection, she held her hands out to her, which AJ gladly took, smiling, although Kanako was looking a bit more serious than AJ.
“Thank you for answering my call.” the Japanese girl began, “I gotta be honest, though, I never imagined someone on your level would be willing to face me.”
“I’ve been watching you,” AJ was quick to answer, letting go of her opponent’s hands, “and you’re real good. And you’ve been getting a bit of a raw deal lately, and I can feel for your frustration.” She then held up her index finger, “But! Don’t think that I’m just going to roll over for you because I feel sorry for you. You’ve gotta earn your wins around here!”
Kanako flashed a sly grin, “That’s all I ever wanted! Let’s go!” And with that, Al called for the opening bell to start the match and the two fan favorites began to circle each other…
At the 7:00 mark….
The first seven minutes of the match have gone by like a blur, with both women trading blows, holds, and high-flying maneuvers at a blistering pace, with neither one being able to get a lasting advantage over the other. The fans have been on their feet from the start, with more than one “THIS IS AWE-SOME!” chant starting up. The Guitar Heroine had just planted Kanako with a running hooking clothesline, following her In Utero inverted atomic drop, and was now ascending to the top turnbuckle.
IN UTERO + CLOTHESLINE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJMfrWI34a0
Unfortunately, we’ll never know what AJ had planned as, just as AJ was perched on the top rope, Kanako popped up from her prone position and broke into a dash, running up the turnbuckle to splatter the Hardcore Heartbreaker to the mat with a top rope ippon-seoi-nage judo armdrag.
IPPON-SEOI-NAGE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGHQrj09O-g&t=19s
FINALLY, the two fan favorite beauties have come to a stop, with AJ ‘s back arching in pain from the impact of the throw and Kanako, rolling over on her knees, working to catch her breath.
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
As both women slowly got to their feet, they looked around at the fans who were showering them with approval. A satisfied grin formed across both of their faces as their eyes met once more.
“Feels good, don’t it, rookie?” AJ remarked, prompting Kanako to reply with a slow nod. “Remember this, the next time you start to doubt yourself, Kanako. This…” she then pointed out to the crowd that was still chanting at them, “...this right here, is why we do what we do.” Kanako nodded again, recognizing the advice the veteran was giving her. The Hardcore Heartbreaker then broke into a smirk, “So remember that when I’ve got you on your back for three. You ready?” The Tokyo Tiger replied with a smirk of her own. She nodded and put her hands up and they circled each other anew.
At the 12:00 mark…
Kanako found herself regretting following the Guitar Heroine to the outside, as she quickly found the tables turned on her, getting irish whipped into the guardrail. She grunted as her back met the steel, but she didn’t stay there for long as AJ pulled her to her feet by her hair and walked her around the ring to the opposite side and prepared to repeat the painful process. AJ yelped in surprise when she found the second irish whip reversed and now it was her being sent crashing into the steel. Kanako quickly paid AJ back for the rough treatment moments ago by pulling her to her feet by her hair and hurling her back into the ring. She rolled back into the ring underneath the bottom rope after her and quickly got to her feet, stalking her prey. AJ was clutching her back as she struggled to get to her knees. As soon as she did, though, Kanako pounced, dashing at the Canadian cutie and leaping at her, going for a Shining Wizard right to her temple.
SHINING WIZARD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHreVqEhsY
Luckily for AJ, she was able to avoid the strike at the last possible moment. She was then able to trip the Japanese girl up and grab her leg. She then sat back on Kanako’s back and wrenched on the leg in a single leg Boston Crab.
SINGLE LEG BOSTON CRAB: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAl1eoQWhUs
Kanako yelled out in pain and thrashed about, trying to inch closer to the ropes to break the hold. When AJ decided Kanako had gotten far enough, she switched positions, transitioning the crab into one of her signature holds: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.
HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLslYdXah28
Now Kanako was outright screaming in agony as her tormentor pulled back on her chin. Al quickly scrambled to the mat and, after doing his duty to make sure the camel clutch was not a choke, asked Kanako if she wanted to submit, which of course she shook her head vigorously to (as much as she could, anyway).
“Come on, Kanako, give it up!” AJ pressed her, “You’re not going anywhere! There’s no shame in admitting when you’ve been caught out! Just give up so I can stop hurting you, because I can do this all night, sweetheart!”
“What do you say, Kanako? Do you want to give up?” Al asked again.
“Nuh-n-NOOOOOO!!” Kanako screamed, finally giving up trying to prise the Guitar Heroine’s hands from her chin and resumed trying to struggle to the ropes, putting her forearms down on the mat and dragging the two of them closer and closer, inch by painful inch. The fans had begun spurring on the two wrestlers, with one contingent chanting “TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!”, with another group answering with “PLEASE DON’T TAP! PLEASE DON’T TAP!” Finally, after what must have seemed like an eternity to the Japanese fighter, she finally made it to the ropes, getting her hand on the bottom rope with a wordless scream of determination.
AJ needed no prompting from the referee to break the hold, releasing the Modern Day Ronin and sitting back, looking at her opponent with a combination of surprise and approval. “Gotta hand it to you, Kanako. You are one tough bitch.” When Kanako visibly bristled at being called a bitch, AJ added, “And I mean that in the best way.” She smirked at Kanako, who smirked back as they both slowly got back to their feet, a little less steady then the last time they squared up, and they resumed hostilities.
At the 18:00 mark...
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
The fans had been whipped into a frenzy as the two wrestlers had been squaring off with each other for the last minute or so straight, exchanging stiff forearm shots to the chest, which became European-style uppercuts. Both women were becoming visibly angrier and angrier as the pace of the blows quickened. The noise from the fans was such that the ring announcer could scarcely be heard when he announced the two-minute warning. Not that it would’ve altered how Kanako and AJ were fighting if they had heard him, lost as they were in the back-and-forth exchange that reached its crescendo with them abandoning the forearms and resorted to rapid-fire punches to the face, which caused the fans to erupt in their approval. Finally, AJ shoved Kanako back roughly, and prepared to knock the Japanese fighter down with a stiff clothesline, only to be beaten to the punch by Kanako’s devastating spinning back fist, known as the Uraken.
URAKEN: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-IJQ4RSsDI
To her credit and to Kanako’s enduring respect, the Hardcore Heartbreaker staggered, but did not fall. Unfortunately for AJ, that meant that she was open for a follow-up, and Kanako was quick to do so, uncorking what was probably the stiffest superkick she’d ever delivered up to that point in her career!
SUPERKICK: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rsu_kiz31Q
Kanako didn’t wait to see her opponent puddle to the mat before she pointed to the top turnbuckle, a signal to the fans that she was ready to finish AJ off. Once again, the crowd buzzed as she ascended to the top. She took a brief moment to take a breath and gather herself before delivering her graceful but brutal Run Her Through finisher!
RUN HER THROUGH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXngOM-Lp7g
AJ gasped as the air rushed from her lungs upon impact. Kanako quickly collapsed on top of her opponent and hooked her leg.
ONE!
TWO!!
DINGDINGDING!!
Kanako and Al both looked up, then at each other, confused. Al got up and went over to the corner nearest to the timekeeper. “I didn’t call for a bell!” he yelled, exasperated, to which the timekeeper simply pointed at his wrist and shrugged, prompting a facepalm from the zebra.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the twenty minute time limit has expired. This contest has been ruled...a DRAW!”
The audience groaned in disappointment as Kanako sat back on her haunches, hands on her head and eyes wide in disbelief. “Are you KIDDING ME?!!” she screamed, echoing the sentiments of the gathered crowd.
Al shook his head, also disappointed at the unsatisfying ending. “I’m sorry, Kanako,” he said, trying to be comforting, but knowing his words would bring none, “that’s the problem when you put on a match like the two of you just did. Time seems to stand still, but unfortunately, it doesn’t.”
“FUCK!!” Kanako screamed out again in frustration, getting to her feet. AJ, too, was slowly getting to her feet, shaking the cobwebs and finding her breath again. Kanako was surprised to see the Hardcore Heartbreaker extend her hand to the Modern Day Ronin.
“Great match, rookie,” AJ started, offering her a weary smile, “Sucks about the ending, but that’s how it goes, I guess. Thanks for giving me a hell of a match. It’s gonna stand as one of my favorites.”
Kanako returned the handshake, but she wasn’t smiling. Before letting AJ’s hand go, she held up a single finger. “One more…” she said, a deadly serious expression on her face.
AJ sighed and ran a hand through her sweat-dampened hair before answering, “Look, kid...You gave me a hell of a match, and it’s something to be very proud of...But I have bigger fish to fry.”
Kanako kept her gaze on AJ, noticing that she was avoiding making eye contact. “Come on…” she pleaded her case, “You can’t be happy with how this match ended. Especially considering that I was a half-second away from putting you away.”
This got the Hardcore Heartbreaker’s attention, “Watch your mouth, rookie.” she growled, her expression changing to match Kanako’s
“I mean no disrespect, AJ. Maybe you would’ve kicked out, maybe not. The point is we’ll never know, and that has to bother you as much as it does me. Give me one more match...either prove that what I just did was a fluke, or let me prove that it wasn’t.”
AJ licked her lips as she let Kanako’s words turn over in her mind. “All right,” she began, “you want a rematch that badly, let’s do it. How does Spring Break sound?”
Kanako smiled, “I don’t have anything planned that night, as it turns out.” she sticks her hand out again to shake her rival’s, “I guess I’ll see you then.” AJ smiled and took Kanako’s hand again, but was mildly surprised to find herself pulled in close to her, “You’d better train hard, AJ,” Kanako cautioned, “as if this is going to be the biggest match of your career. Because it will be the biggest match of mine!”
AJ grinned and squeezed Kanako’s hand hard, pleased to find Kanako returning the gesture. “Good. Bring that fire, Kanako. You’re gonna need it.See you at Spring Break!” With that, she raised Kanako’s hand in a gesture of sportsmanship that was met with resounding applause from the FAWN faithful. The two women then hugged and left the ring separately, heading to the back and slapping hands with all the fans who would.
WARRIORS OF THE WORLD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dll329ggLIY
KANAKO AKIYAMA
“Introducing first, from Los Angeles, California...She stands five foot two inches tall, and weighs in at one hundred ten pounds...She is the Modern Day Ronin...This is KANAKO AKIYAMA!!”
For this match with veteran superstar AJ Swann, Kanako wore her familiar black leather jacket over a sparkly red crop top with black trim that showed off her impressive abs and matching gym shorts. Red wrestling shoes with black kickpads and black kneepads completed the outfit. She had issued the open challenge on FAWN’s youtube channel out of a combination of anger and frustration, but she was taken aback that someone with the Hardcore Heratbreaker’s status had answered her call. Therefore, she was taking this bout very seriously, remaining focused on the task at hand and keeping the showboating and slapping hands with ringside fans to a minimum. She walked up the ringside steps and, before stepping through the ropes, breathed a sigh of relief to see Al Carpenter in the ring as the assigned referee for this match. Not that she had a particular like or dislike for Carpenter; She was just glad it wasn’t Merle. The man seemed to be a thorn in her side since day one in FAWN, costing her more than a couple victories due to his bad calls. She shook her head as she tried to put the thought out of her mind, as she knew she needed to focus. She stepped through the ropes and pumped her fist to all four sides of the ring, eliciting cheers from the fans on each side in turn. She then backed into the nearest corner to wait for her opponent’s arrival and to let Al pat her down, which he did as she took off her jacket.
“Hey, Kanako.” Al greeted her as he began his inspection, to which the Modern Day Ronin simply nodded and grunted. “Merle wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry for blowing it in your match with Marvela Marcille. He would’ve done so himself, but, well...he kinda thinks you’re avoiding him..”
“Well, at least he’s right about one thing. Tell him I accept his apology, and please don’t bring his name up again.” She answered tersely. Al nodded and finished his inspection in silence, as Kanako’s music faded out.
"Anybody tell you I'm a fighter?
Wanna start a fire, I'm the lighter,
If you think you burn bright, I burn brighter,
Never tire,
Did they tell you I'm a fighter?"
AJ SWANN
“And her opponent, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...She stands five feet, four inches tall and weighs in at one hundred sixteen pounds...She is the Hardcore Heartbreaker...This is A...J...SWANN!”
Many of those assembled sang along to the opening of Sumo Cyco’s ‘Fighter’ though they abandoned their karaoke efforts to roar their love for the Guitar Heroine when she stormed the stage. Already going full bore, AJ bounded down the ramp, slapping hands with as many ringside fans as she could reach. A natural redhead, tonight Swann's hair was strictly on the blue end of the spectrum. She's dressed in a white sports-bra top and matching bikini briefs, the bottoms supported by a thin, crooked red belt and sporting a bright red lipstick kiss mark on the right cheek. Located directly in the center of her modest bosom, meanwhile, was a red cartoon heart--cracked slightly at the top, and dripping blood from the bottom. The rest of her ensemble consisted of a pair of black gloves, the upper side adorned with a skeletal print, a crimson bandana tied tight but-not-too-tightly around her right wrist, torn and tattered red fishnets, as well as red pads and boots.
Leaping onto the apron, Swann paused just long enough to wipe her boots on the apron, then slipped a leg between the ropes. Pulling her body through the cables in one swift motion, AJ bounded toward the nearest corner, hopping up onto the middle buckle. Thrusting her arms overhead, Swann let out a triumphant cry, giving the crowd a display of tongue that would make Gene Simmons proud as she raised the horns with both hands--a gesture that's met with a gleeful roar from tonight's capacity crowd.
As Al checked AJ’s gear, Kanako strode to meet her in the center of the ring. When Al finished his inspection, she held her hands out to her, which AJ gladly took, smiling, although Kanako was looking a bit more serious than AJ.
“Thank you for answering my call.” the Japanese girl began, “I gotta be honest, though, I never imagined someone on your level would be willing to face me.”
“I’ve been watching you,” AJ was quick to answer, letting go of her opponent’s hands, “and you’re real good. And you’ve been getting a bit of a raw deal lately, and I can feel for your frustration.” She then held up her index finger, “But! Don’t think that I’m just going to roll over for you because I feel sorry for you. You’ve gotta earn your wins around here!”
Kanako flashed a sly grin, “That’s all I ever wanted! Let’s go!” And with that, Al called for the opening bell to start the match and the two fan favorites began to circle each other…
At the 7:00 mark….
The first seven minutes of the match have gone by like a blur, with both women trading blows, holds, and high-flying maneuvers at a blistering pace, with neither one being able to get a lasting advantage over the other. The fans have been on their feet from the start, with more than one “THIS IS AWE-SOME!” chant starting up. The Guitar Heroine had just planted Kanako with a running hooking clothesline, following her In Utero inverted atomic drop, and was now ascending to the top turnbuckle.
IN UTERO + CLOTHESLINE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJMfrWI34a0
Unfortunately, we’ll never know what AJ had planned as, just as AJ was perched on the top rope, Kanako popped up from her prone position and broke into a dash, running up the turnbuckle to splatter the Hardcore Heartbreaker to the mat with a top rope ippon-seoi-nage judo armdrag.
IPPON-SEOI-NAGE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGHQrj09O-g&t=19s
FINALLY, the two fan favorite beauties have come to a stop, with AJ ‘s back arching in pain from the impact of the throw and Kanako, rolling over on her knees, working to catch her breath.
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
“THIS IS AWE-SOME!”
As both women slowly got to their feet, they looked around at the fans who were showering them with approval. A satisfied grin formed across both of their faces as their eyes met once more.
“Feels good, don’t it, rookie?” AJ remarked, prompting Kanako to reply with a slow nod. “Remember this, the next time you start to doubt yourself, Kanako. This…” she then pointed out to the crowd that was still chanting at them, “...this right here, is why we do what we do.” Kanako nodded again, recognizing the advice the veteran was giving her. The Hardcore Heartbreaker then broke into a smirk, “So remember that when I’ve got you on your back for three. You ready?” The Tokyo Tiger replied with a smirk of her own. She nodded and put her hands up and they circled each other anew.
At the 12:00 mark…
Kanako found herself regretting following the Guitar Heroine to the outside, as she quickly found the tables turned on her, getting irish whipped into the guardrail. She grunted as her back met the steel, but she didn’t stay there for long as AJ pulled her to her feet by her hair and walked her around the ring to the opposite side and prepared to repeat the painful process. AJ yelped in surprise when she found the second irish whip reversed and now it was her being sent crashing into the steel. Kanako quickly paid AJ back for the rough treatment moments ago by pulling her to her feet by her hair and hurling her back into the ring. She rolled back into the ring underneath the bottom rope after her and quickly got to her feet, stalking her prey. AJ was clutching her back as she struggled to get to her knees. As soon as she did, though, Kanako pounced, dashing at the Canadian cutie and leaping at her, going for a Shining Wizard right to her temple.
SHINING WIZARD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHreVqEhsY
Luckily for AJ, she was able to avoid the strike at the last possible moment. She was then able to trip the Japanese girl up and grab her leg. She then sat back on Kanako’s back and wrenched on the leg in a single leg Boston Crab.
SINGLE LEG BOSTON CRAB: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAl1eoQWhUs
Kanako yelled out in pain and thrashed about, trying to inch closer to the ropes to break the hold. When AJ decided Kanako had gotten far enough, she switched positions, transitioning the crab into one of her signature holds: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.
HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLslYdXah28
Now Kanako was outright screaming in agony as her tormentor pulled back on her chin. Al quickly scrambled to the mat and, after doing his duty to make sure the camel clutch was not a choke, asked Kanako if she wanted to submit, which of course she shook her head vigorously to (as much as she could, anyway).
“Come on, Kanako, give it up!” AJ pressed her, “You’re not going anywhere! There’s no shame in admitting when you’ve been caught out! Just give up so I can stop hurting you, because I can do this all night, sweetheart!”
“What do you say, Kanako? Do you want to give up?” Al asked again.
“Nuh-n-NOOOOOO!!” Kanako screamed, finally giving up trying to prise the Guitar Heroine’s hands from her chin and resumed trying to struggle to the ropes, putting her forearms down on the mat and dragging the two of them closer and closer, inch by painful inch. The fans had begun spurring on the two wrestlers, with one contingent chanting “TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!”, with another group answering with “PLEASE DON’T TAP! PLEASE DON’T TAP!” Finally, after what must have seemed like an eternity to the Japanese fighter, she finally made it to the ropes, getting her hand on the bottom rope with a wordless scream of determination.
AJ needed no prompting from the referee to break the hold, releasing the Modern Day Ronin and sitting back, looking at her opponent with a combination of surprise and approval. “Gotta hand it to you, Kanako. You are one tough bitch.” When Kanako visibly bristled at being called a bitch, AJ added, “And I mean that in the best way.” She smirked at Kanako, who smirked back as they both slowly got back to their feet, a little less steady then the last time they squared up, and they resumed hostilities.
At the 18:00 mark...
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
“FIGHT FOR-EV-ER!!”
The fans had been whipped into a frenzy as the two wrestlers had been squaring off with each other for the last minute or so straight, exchanging stiff forearm shots to the chest, which became European-style uppercuts. Both women were becoming visibly angrier and angrier as the pace of the blows quickened. The noise from the fans was such that the ring announcer could scarcely be heard when he announced the two-minute warning. Not that it would’ve altered how Kanako and AJ were fighting if they had heard him, lost as they were in the back-and-forth exchange that reached its crescendo with them abandoning the forearms and resorted to rapid-fire punches to the face, which caused the fans to erupt in their approval. Finally, AJ shoved Kanako back roughly, and prepared to knock the Japanese fighter down with a stiff clothesline, only to be beaten to the punch by Kanako’s devastating spinning back fist, known as the Uraken.
URAKEN: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-IJQ4RSsDI
To her credit and to Kanako’s enduring respect, the Hardcore Heartbreaker staggered, but did not fall. Unfortunately for AJ, that meant that she was open for a follow-up, and Kanako was quick to do so, uncorking what was probably the stiffest superkick she’d ever delivered up to that point in her career!
SUPERKICK: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rsu_kiz31Q
Kanako didn’t wait to see her opponent puddle to the mat before she pointed to the top turnbuckle, a signal to the fans that she was ready to finish AJ off. Once again, the crowd buzzed as she ascended to the top. She took a brief moment to take a breath and gather herself before delivering her graceful but brutal Run Her Through finisher!
RUN HER THROUGH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXngOM-Lp7g
AJ gasped as the air rushed from her lungs upon impact. Kanako quickly collapsed on top of her opponent and hooked her leg.
ONE!
TWO!!
DINGDINGDING!!
Kanako and Al both looked up, then at each other, confused. Al got up and went over to the corner nearest to the timekeeper. “I didn’t call for a bell!” he yelled, exasperated, to which the timekeeper simply pointed at his wrist and shrugged, prompting a facepalm from the zebra.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the twenty minute time limit has expired. This contest has been ruled...a DRAW!”
The audience groaned in disappointment as Kanako sat back on her haunches, hands on her head and eyes wide in disbelief. “Are you KIDDING ME?!!” she screamed, echoing the sentiments of the gathered crowd.
Al shook his head, also disappointed at the unsatisfying ending. “I’m sorry, Kanako,” he said, trying to be comforting, but knowing his words would bring none, “that’s the problem when you put on a match like the two of you just did. Time seems to stand still, but unfortunately, it doesn’t.”
“FUCK!!” Kanako screamed out again in frustration, getting to her feet. AJ, too, was slowly getting to her feet, shaking the cobwebs and finding her breath again. Kanako was surprised to see the Hardcore Heartbreaker extend her hand to the Modern Day Ronin.
“Great match, rookie,” AJ started, offering her a weary smile, “Sucks about the ending, but that’s how it goes, I guess. Thanks for giving me a hell of a match. It’s gonna stand as one of my favorites.”
Kanako returned the handshake, but she wasn’t smiling. Before letting AJ’s hand go, she held up a single finger. “One more…” she said, a deadly serious expression on her face.
AJ sighed and ran a hand through her sweat-dampened hair before answering, “Look, kid...You gave me a hell of a match, and it’s something to be very proud of...But I have bigger fish to fry.”
Kanako kept her gaze on AJ, noticing that she was avoiding making eye contact. “Come on…” she pleaded her case, “You can’t be happy with how this match ended. Especially considering that I was a half-second away from putting you away.”
This got the Hardcore Heartbreaker’s attention, “Watch your mouth, rookie.” she growled, her expression changing to match Kanako’s
“I mean no disrespect, AJ. Maybe you would’ve kicked out, maybe not. The point is we’ll never know, and that has to bother you as much as it does me. Give me one more match...either prove that what I just did was a fluke, or let me prove that it wasn’t.”
AJ licked her lips as she let Kanako’s words turn over in her mind. “All right,” she began, “you want a rematch that badly, let’s do it. How does Spring Break sound?”
Kanako smiled, “I don’t have anything planned that night, as it turns out.” she sticks her hand out again to shake her rival’s, “I guess I’ll see you then.” AJ smiled and took Kanako’s hand again, but was mildly surprised to find herself pulled in close to her, “You’d better train hard, AJ,” Kanako cautioned, “as if this is going to be the biggest match of your career. Because it will be the biggest match of mine!”
AJ grinned and squeezed Kanako’s hand hard, pleased to find Kanako returning the gesture. “Good. Bring that fire, Kanako. You’re gonna need it.See you at Spring Break!” With that, she raised Kanako’s hand in a gesture of sportsmanship that was met with resounding applause from the FAWN faithful. The two women then hugged and left the ring separately, heading to the back and slapping hands with all the fans who would.