Post by bigfan on Dec 4, 2016 14:21:27 GMT
“Ladies and gentlemen! The following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, standing at 6’2” tall and weighing in tonight at 139lbs…she is known as The Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
The crowd buzz showed a definite increase in volume, but their tone would probably be described as disapproving as the lights dipped low. Whilst the Arctic Anomaly might not be well liked, her recent ascension from the Jungle and FAWNamania appearance meant that she was at least now known to most wrestling fans, and as such those in attendance were expecting to hear Radiohead at any second.
That expectation was not met. Instead an absolutely deafening thump of bass smashed into the arena. Followed by a second. A third. And a fourth. Then, as a slightly more rhythmic but no less low-pitched roar heralded the beginning of some new entrance music, a pair of giant grey-green eyes opened on the FAWNtron above the entranceway, appearing hyperreal as they blinked and the pupils dilated to adjust to the new light.
SIGUR ROS – BRENNISTEINN: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8
By this point the sonic assault of bass had been joined by a surprisingly delicate and beautiful voice, singing in a language which no-one in the audience and only a handful of people on the continent could understand. Astrid had clearly gone back to her Icelandic roots as an inspiration for her new entrance, and the smoke which masked her arrival for previous matches was also gone, the woman herself stepping straight out from the curtain into a pure white spotlight, those eyes on the screen above her still staring into the crowd.
ASTRID WHITE:
The Stranger began to make her steady way down to the ring. Those alongside the entranceway could see the same white over-the-knee muay thai boots she had always worn, serving to highlight the length of creamy-white thigh which extended up to a pair of midnight blue lycra briefs with a field of white stars picked out on them, cut to show a good half-inch of derriere. Her torso was shrouded in the fitted black leather jacket she had always worn in her ring entrance, although the hood had apparently been deepened to leave her entire face in shadow.
Indeed, the only way anyone could tell that the figure actually was Astrid White was that no one else on the roster possessed quite the same exaggerated height and slender frame. And that frame was still shrouded and still moving, bypassing the ring steps and walking confidently around to the side of the ring furthest from the entranceway.
With the music reaching a chorus the Stranger put one hand around the middle ring rope and used it as an anchor for a giant step up onto the apron. Then she slowly threaded her legs and body between the top and middle ropes, headed to the nearest ringpost, and stepped smoothly up to the second buckle as the music paused for another set of thundering bass heartbeats, these accompanied by a strobe of the low lighting…
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
The crash as the music roared back in was accompanied by Astrid rearing back her head to shake off the cowl and jacket, the house lights simultaneously flaring back on to illuminate her. And here were two more big visual changes, her artfully wavy bobbed hair had gone from chestnut brown to a pale blonde (FAWN’s chief hairstylist would later tweet that this was her natural colour; she had insisted on dyeing it during her time in the Jungle), while her meshed halter top was still white but now had a constellation of dark stars across the back. With the crowd showing some increasing approval of this striking new image, if not her previous behaviour, she put one hand to her face, fingers opening to reveal her eye and tilted her head so that the iris formed the bar in her ‘A’ sigil, before stepping lightly down and settling her back onto the buckles.
Taking his cue that the theatrics were finally done, the ring announcer raised the mic to his lips once more. “And her opponent, hailing from Western Australia, standing at 5’9” tall and weighing in tonight at 142 lbs…please welcome…the Powerhouse of Paraburdoo…JUSTINE FREEBOURNE!”
The unmistakable sound of Angus Young’s opening riff to ‘Thunderstruck’ burst out of the speakers and crackled into the crowd like electricity. Now there was no ambiguity in the response; this particular statuesque blonde had been a huge fan favourite since her first appearance back in 2010, and her frequent absences to collect a seemingly endless resume of titles and accolades back in Asia and Australasia had only made their hearts grow fonder. The song’s first chant of ‘THUN-DER’ was echoed loudly by pretty much everyone in attendance, and when Justine actually stepped through the curtain in time with the start of Brian Johnsons’ screaming vocal the roof was nearly blown off the building.
AC/DC – THUNDERSTRUCK www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM
No one could deny that the Awesome Aussie made quite a sight. Her usual teal boy-cut trunks and halter were accompanied by pure white boots and pads which only served to highlight the almost glowing sun kissed tan she had apparently picked up in her homeland. Justine was wearing a smile so wide it threatened to split her face in half and seemed ready to launch herself straight into her adoring public, but took a second to pull her golden hair into a loose ponytail and then quickly fix her chunky black belt at an angle across her hips.
JUSTINE FREEBORNE:
Then the amazon was off, zigzagging across the aisle to slap as many as possible of the outstretched hands which her opponent had totally ignored, then pausing at the bottom of the ramp to bust out a double bicep flex which showed off some seriously impressive artillery. This was complemented perfectly by the loud BOOM of white pyro bursting over her head, stoking the already noisy crowd a few decibels higher. Then, clearly beyond keen for her first appearance in a FAWN ring for over a year, Justine launched herself up the steps and into a vault over the ropes, taking a few steps on landing so that her second bicep flex was right in the centre of the ring.
With the audience at fever pitch all around her, Justine finally turned her focus on the woman whom she was here to fight, turning to give Astrid a head on view of just how much power she would be trying to deal with tonight. White gave nothing back beyond a faintly unimpressed gaze, but this only drove the Aussie’s smile a notch higher, and she even favoured the taller but lighter woman with a quick wink which betrayed her ironclad self-confidence. By this point senior referee Merle was ushering her back to the corner, Justine happy to comply but never taking her eyes off the baleful glare from across the ring.
The sound of the bell was accompanied by a final pop from the rowdy fans, a fact with Freebourne was quick to capitalise on, raising both arms for a rhythmic clap over her head which was immediately taken up by all in attendance. Then she stepped confidently out of the corner and began circling right, The Stranger mirroring her position almost exactly across the ring but maintaining a much more wary crouch.
After around 15 seconds the claps from the crowd had become resounding but the two fighters were no closer to each other than they had been before the bell rang. This was clearly not what Justine wanted from her first night back in her ‘home’ promotion and she made that clear, giving up any pretence of caution to stride to the centre ring and raise one hand invitingly. “Come on then skinny girl, let’s see what you’re bringing.”
Astrid stared warily at that raised hand for a second or two, but then seemed to reach a decision, taking two long steps forward and reaching both her own arms up in answer. Justine happily joined this clinch, her knuckles whitening as she gripped down and her whole body leaning in. White barely had time to put one foot out behind her to brace before the Aussie rolled her shoulders and reminded everyone why she was known as the pound-for-pound strongest in FAWN.
The impact was immediate, Astrid quickly finding both hands well behind her head and her whole body beginning to arch backwards under the pressure. Worse, Freebourne’s grinning face was now a few inches away from her own. “Not bad babe” she drawled, “but there’s a difference between being stronger than you look and being a powerhouse.”
White’s eyes narrowed a little, but she couldn’t really argue, that would have taken concentration away from not being pushed any further down. And despite all that effort she was failing, knees bending more by the second, shoulders moving further and further backwards in a vain attempt to keep her leverage. And then, inevitably, she felt the rough texture of the matt, first behind her hands and then her shoulders, her body now forced into a high bridge by the display of Australian might.
Justine’s smile had been visibly widening throughout this, her effort causing a few beads of sweat to appear on her forehead. She glanced down at the pale expanse of impressively toned stomach exposed by Astrid unfortunate position. “You’re pretty flexible, girl. Let’s see how far you can bend.” Justine’s tone was playful, but everyone in the arena could tell that what she had in mind to do next was probably not going to be fun for White.
And the Icelander clearly decided she wanted no part of that. As Justine raised one leg in preparation for delivering some hurt to the humiliation, Astrid kicked one long leg up, pushing off from the other one so that her body completed a neat backwards roll-come-flip. The move was hardly pretty, but it carried enough momentum to break Justine’s grip and leave the Stranger on her butt a few feet away.
Despite having missed the chance to inflict further pain, Justine was by now feeling even more confident than usual and ready to give the crowd a show. So instead of trying to press any advantage she might have gained, she stood back to her full height and busted out another brawny bicep flex, the audience cheering their approval. Astrid’s eyes had been cautious again as she rose to her feet but now even she gave a brief nod in recognition of the Aussie’s incredible strength, her expression suggesting benevolent acceptance of this fact rather than frustration.
Then, without dropping her gaze or even pausing to set her body, she fired out a surprisingly fast low side kick, her standing leg hopping forward to close the gap and ‘THWAP’ her boot into Justine’s thigh. The big blonde seemed completely unprepared for this, and she stepped hurriedly backwards as White swung her leg up and round again, narrowly missing a thrust kick then spinning onto her other leg to fire a crescent kick at the Aussie’s jaw. Justine had managed to get a guard up by this point but was then left grasping at air as the Stranger arced her heel back down, transforming into a hook kick to land with a meaty ‘THUMP’ on the tanned skin directly over her liver.
Astrid had clearly been looking for speed over power for that last blow, and as such it wasn’t too painful for Justine. Indeed the whole flurry had only actually resulted in a sting in her liver and dull throb from the initial leg kick. But Freeborne could recognise when someone was trying to send her a message, and White’s raised eyebrow and slightly cocky stance made her certain; the tall girl was showing off her skill in just the same way as Justine had her strength.
As usual, the Powerhouse from Paraburdoo decided to meet this challenge head on. “You’ve got some pretty fancy kicks there babe. Glad you’re not just here to be tall and weird or this would be a very short fight.” Justine quickly snapped the waistband of her bottoms back into place, readjusted her belt, and then reset into her aggressive crouch.
The Icelander’s face was impassive as ever but she did again arch an eyebrow and wave the blonde forward with a ‘bring it’ sort of gesture. Happy to oblige, Justine barrelled in, but stopped on a dime and stepped neatly out of the way as Astrid’s attempt at a surprise kick whiffed harmlessly through the air beside her. The tall girl had turned through 90 degrees to throw her failed suckerpunch and Justine took full advantage, stepping round to her back and hooking a waistlock which was quickly transitioned into a half nelson. Then in yet another display of power the blonde hauled up and bridged back to deliver a thunderous half-nelson suplex.
HALF NELSON SUPLEX
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P99a9dblNE )
The impact bounced Astrid free of the Aussie’s constricting grip and she quickly scrambled to all fours, one hand reaching up towards the impact point on the back of her head. Justine gave her no time for checking injuries however, delivering a nasty punt to the Icelander’s side and then hair hauling her up into a tight front facelock. White had a second to tug at the blonde’s encroaching arms before Justine popped her hips and dropped her HARD on her back courtesy of a snap suplex.
Pain radiated from Astrid’s spine, briefly overwhelming her instinct to get back to her feet as quickly as possible. This time the Icelander overrode them, choosing to take a second and catch a breath rather than stand straight up into another antipodean power move. Justine seemed briefly annoyed by not having her prey back upright again, but she got over this well by taking two quick run-steps and then leaping up and tucking one leg so that her outstretched knee was driven into White’s washboard stomach.
The Icelander sat up involuntarily, letting out a groan as her abdominals were crushed by 142lbs of Australian beef. Justine seemed pretty pleased with her handiwork so far but clearly wasn’t finished yet, launching a huge forearm smash into the stunned girl’s chest and then, as she slammed back to the matt, rolling her quickly over and hooking the leg for
ONE
TW…
Astrid’s loose knee shot off the matt and ‘SMECK’ed into Freeborne’s side. The Aussie lurched out of the pin, giving a gasping White a second to break way. She tried to use this momentum to turn over, only to have a strong hand grab her shoulder and another wind into her hair. Justine used the twin grips to yank her up to sitting and then to her feet.
Without offering the tall girl a second to offer a counter, Justine ploughed a short kneelift up into the Icelander’s abs, doubling her forward, and then bent to wrap a grip around the back of her suddenly trembly legs. The Aussie hauled up so she had Astrid in a sort of lopsided fireman’s carry, then broke half of her grip to reach back and pull her head over against her hip.
Having got her prey in position, Justine paused for a second to appreciate the crowd noise. Then she dropped suddenly to one knee, simultaneously hauling her burden around so that the hollow of Astrid’s neck impacted into her thigh with the full weight of her body behind it.
A.R.C. NECKBREAKER
White sprawled out of the impact onto her back, the haze in her head not quite preventing her from feeling her leg being hooked yet again for:
ONE…
TWO…
…and Astrid managed to throw her shoulder up, this time using the movement to push the Aussie away from her body and roll to all fours, still gulping in air and trying to roll the pain out of her neck. Seated a few feet away, Justine took a second to breathe out the slight disappointment and then rose back to her feet. “Sorry for the rush treatment girl. I didn’t think you’d be ready to go so early but I had to make sure…”
No response seemed to be forthcoming from the wheezing Icelander, so Justine stepped in and readied for another barrage. She took a firm grip on Astrid’s star-spangled top with one hand and her bottoms in another, using the fabric like a harness to get the tall girl back to her feet again. Then she took a step back to give herself some space then pushed off her back leg and swung both up into what would have been a gorgeous dropkick if White hadn’t stepped to the side and pushed her away with both hands.
The airborne rotation came as some surprise to Justine, who ended up crashing back to earth on her side instead of landing on all fours as she had expected. White was looming over her though, one foot raised up high and then dropped down HARD into an axe kick which landed HARD on her sternum. Freeborne let out an involuntary groan at the impact but managed to get her hands up to catch hold of the boot as it sailed back down for a second attempt.
Astrid didn’t seem the least bit phased by her leg being captured, she simply rocked up on her other tiptoe and then sharply bent both knees, dropping into what would have been a pretty painful landing if Freeborne’s chest and tummy hadn’t taken most of the impact. The Aussie clutched at her suddenly compressed torso and rolled away, White scrambling quickly back to vertical and running quickly past her. Having sucked a few big breaths in and made it to her knees, the Awesome Aussie heard the telltale ‘bwung’ of a rope-assisted run and spun her head up just in time to have it nearly taken off courtesy of the brutal running kneestrike which Astrid liked to call ‘Fear of Flying’
RUNNING KNEE
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq3EANnzoUw )
Justine’s head flew backwards and bounced nastily off the ring matt, her vision now full of stars and fog. The Stranger had knee-skidded to a stop a few feet away and was quickly back over, hair hauling her up onto shaky legs and then stepping backwards and slamming a side kick into Justine’s reeling chest. The blonde reeled back woozily and raised both hands in an attempt to ward off a second shot; and attempt which completely failed as Astrid hopped forward on her standing leg and flicked out a hook kick which curved around the Aussie’s hasty guard and smashed full-force into her temple.
Hoping to see Justine go down from the shot, Astrid pivoted into her follow-through and was only slightly disappointed to see the big blonde still standing, albeit listing dangerously to one side and blinking quickly in the harsh ring lights. Rolling her eyes a little, the Icelander reached out to cradle the back of Freeborne’s head almost tenderly. The position became a lot less tender when Astrid tucked her elbows together and pulled down, the muay thai clinch supporting her to fire one knee and then the other into southern-hemisphere stomach.
Justine dropped her hands immediately to try to protect her belly, leaving her vulnerable when White instead hopped up and hauled down so that her thigh was forcibly driven into Justine’s forehead. Then, breaking the clinch, Astrid jumped higher and brought her other knee CAROMING up into the point of Freeborne’s chin. This was finally enough to take the Awesome Aussie off her feet, her head reeling back from the impact and the rest of her body following suit. Astrid dived on as soon as the blonde hit the deck and had a leg hooked for…
ONE
TW…
Her head might have been temporarily full of cobwebs but Justine still had plenty left in her body, as demonstrated when she raised her free hand and pushed hard enough to send the Stranger rolling quite some distance away. After sitting up and checking her mouth for blood after that last high knee, Freeborne turned to the Icelander and croaked “not bad babe, but all your friends in Japan will tell you that it takes a lot more than that to put me down”
“I don’t have any friends, Ms Freeborne.” Astrid rose to her haunches as she broke her silence but didn’t seem ready to get back to fighting quite yet. “But I know that you do. Lots of people, in Australia, America, Japan, all around the world, and they all think you’re lovely.”
“You’ll learn that about me, cobber. No hard feelings, no worries. Even after I’ve kicked your ass all over this ring you’ll still want to be me matWHOAH…”
Accelerating out of her crouch, Astrid thundered back into the breach and tried for a second flying knee. This attempt was considerably less successful than the first, Justine’s reflexes quick enough to duck out of the way and leave her tumbling into an awkward knee-first landing on the matt. This was humiliating enough in and of itself but became downright dangerous as she started to rise and felt Aussie hands quickly grasping her back and then hooking a tight front facelock.
“Have to be quicker than that girl! But like I said, no hard feelings.” Justine hooked one hand around her opponent’s thigh and lifted her burden up to about two o’clock, holding her there for a few impressive seconds. Then she let that weight drop again, simultaneously dipping to one knee so that Astrid’s tenderised shin landed across the posted thigh with all her weight behind it.
Astrid let out a yelp and dropped to her side, both hands trying to massage away the sudden flood of pain in her knee. But the Awesome Aussie was motoring now and clearly wasn’t in the mood for waiting on her opponent. The powerhouse had White up on her feet in a second, snaking both arms around her torso and lifting up for a brawny bearhug, then popping her hips and bridging over into a belly to belly suplex which rocked the ring.
BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCfGlNJMS10 )
From Astrid’s point of view the ache in her knee had been overshadowed by a much deeper and more insistent ache which ran from the back of her neck and down most of her spine. And then she felt strong hands around her ankle, Freeborne using the limb as a pivot to haul her onto her front. By this time the Stranger had worked out what was coming, but she was pretty much powerless to resist as Justine pulled her captured leg up and back as if for a classic Half Boston, except with Justine’s body placed to the side so that even more lateral pressure was placed on both her knee and her back.
CROSS CRAB
Immediately both of the aches in Astrid’s body were stoked into flame, and she reached one hand urgently back to try to act as a brace on her nastily torqued knee. Justine and the referee were apparently in conversation about asking her a question, but the Icelander tried to tune this and the pain out to keep some composure so that when the stripes finally dropped to her level and asked “what do you say, Astrid, want me to end this?” she could respond with just an icy glare and shake of the head rather than the moan of pain which wanted to escape her lips.
Up above, Justine was back grinning again. “Still not quite ready to go to bed, Astrid? Don’t be too stubborn now, your knee could pop right out if I use all my strength.” She poured in a little extra power by way of illustration, being rewarded with a low groan from the snared Icelander and a fresh round of questioning from the referee. Apparently White’s response was still in the negative, because he stopped questioning and she heard the trapped girl’s voice speaking to her from down below.
Speech was hard in this predicament and even someone as controlled as Astrid couldn’t quite keep the pain out of her voice, but she managed to speak up surprisingly strongly. “Wh..why would I want to q-quit when we still have so much…more to…talk about, Ms Freeborne? You say you have no worries, but I…I disagree...”
Justine turned her head slightly to respond, and the Stranger picked this moment to spring into action. Pressing her body up slightly off the canvas she ducked her head down between her posted arms and crunched up her body, ending up in a sort of hunched forward roll. The momentum and leverage from those long legs was enough to topple Justine back off balance. Astrid ended up in a seated position and immediately stated massaging some of the feeling back into her knee joint, but she kept her eyes locked on the Aussie who was steadily rising back to her feet and still had that grin on her lips.
“What’s that then cobber? What’s this big worry you think I’ve gotta get off my chest?” White didn’t respond verbally, but she sprung to her feet and rotated through a spinning back elbow which would have taken Justine’s head off if the surprised battler hadn’t swayed away. Her hands were up to counter any follow up immediately, But Astrid, who had continued her rotating motion, fired her shot much lower, swinging out a boot to THWACK into the meat of Justine’s thigh.
For the first time in a few minutes both women were standing up and within easy reach of each other. Justine was the first to try taking advantage of this swinging both hands round into what would have been a collar-and-elbow if Astrid’s knee hadn’t lifted straight into her breadbasket halfway there. The big blonde folded involuntarily forward around the impact and White was quick to capitalise, hooking a slightly sloppy facelock and jumping both legs forward, her arms taking the straining as she powered up to vertical suplex position, but no further. With Justine kicking her legs out to try to overbalance them, Astrid didn’t feel confident in getting her all the way over, so instead she shifted her grip slightly and dropped to her back to complete an equally nasty Snap Brainbuster
SNAP BRAINBUSTER
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCGX7DvbDXA )
The impact broke Freeborne free of the Stranger’s grasp and she instinctively rolled over onto her front to prevent a pin, hands up clutching at the ache in the back of her head. Unfortunately this meant that her back was completely open, and Astrid again took advantage. She kneewalked over to the big blonde, ensuring that the near arm was between her legs, then reached around and linked her arms so that Justine’s neck and shoulder were encircled. Then the pushed forward into a slightly burdened somersault which brought the Awesome Aussie along for the ride, both arms now trapped and pressure pouring onto her neck.
CRUCIFIX NECK CRANK
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RIKDPdR-uM&t=94s )
Both grapplers knew well that a fully locked in neck crank had potential to be not just a match ender but a potentially injurious hold. The referee knew this too, which was why he was quick to slide in and check for legality. Luckily he needn’t have; despite the disadvantageous position Justine was using all her considerable power and experience to avoid having her neck fully trapped, and Astrid had to settle for controlling both the stronger girl’s arms whilst leaving one of her own free. She fired off a couple of quick elbows into of Freeborne’s straining décolletage but seemed to be more keen to talk at this point.
“What I mean, Ms Freeborne, is that If you are not worried then you should be. You have won every notable tag title in Asia and Australasia. Three-time Dual Dragons champion, OZWWA world and tag champion several times over. You are rated by Gladiatrix magazine as the second strongest wrestler in FAWN pound-for-pound, and arguably the best Australian of your generation.”
Straining on the bad side of the Crucifix, Justine’s voice was slightly cracked but still maintaining the happy air she’d kept up all match. “So…you can read then? Good on yer. Are you saying I should be worried because of how much smoke you want to blow up my ass?”
Astrid rammed another elbow into her cleavage to quieten her back down, this one threatening to disturb the turquoise material that was already struggling to contain her chest. “All those things are true, Ms Freeborne, and yet here you are fighting a relative rookie on the early card. You lost every time you have stepped up in FAWN, your only real successes carried on the backs of others. People cheer for you ,but they cheer a lot more when you get humiliated. Ms Freeborne, why can’t you win the big one?”
By this point Justine had felt Astrid’s sharp elbows over a dozen times, and she was getting pretty sick of it, even more so when the Icelander switched to swinging at her unprotected head. The ropes weren’t too far away but that would mean a humiliating worm-like crawl with her legs to get there, and the Awesome Aussie was really not about that. Instead she brought that power back into play again, first windmilling her legs to roll onto her side, then bringing her new leverage into play by heaving at the arm trapped between White’s pale thighs. The trap didn’t budge for a second, but with a little jostling she was able to free herself and swung blindly up at where she knew Astrid’s head would be.
The wild shot was true, Astrid taking it square in the temple and releasing the other half of the crucifix in a heartbeat. She rolled away quickly, wanting to get out of range before she got back to her feet. A few yards away Justine quickly adjusted her top and checked the angry red marks which the encounter ha left on there, but then made a show of popping back to her feet and snapping her waistband back in place too, as if to emphasize that she was just getting started.
“Now listen here mate. I don’t mind you whinging on like a pommie about things I have and haven’t won, but goin’ after a girl’s tits is kind of a bitch move. I thought you were into all that Japanese honour stuff they like to go on about? Anyway, I’m still saying no hard feelings but those beestings are fair game from now onnnARGH SHIT!!.”
It appeared that Astrid White didn’t respond well to threats, in this case challenging it head on by charging forward and hooking round another leg so that the heel of her boot impacted hard with the meat of Justine’s bikini. Pausing for a second as the big blonde staggered back and again checked her cups, Astrid snarled “I reasoned that if everyone in America wants to flaunt their bosom then there is no shame in my making them regret it.” To illustrate this point the Stranger dived forward again, lighting up the still-reeling Aussie with a forearm smash.
“Anyway Ms Freeborne, even aside from your embarrassing failure on this continent, there is a more pressing worry. Despite all your power, experience, or looks, people aren’t that interested. In fact there’s only one question they really want to ask you, and it’s the one I want to ask you too:”
“What’s it like being friends with Sue Burlingame?”
Justine’s face finally betrayed some of her annoyance at the new girl’s yammering, but she didn’t want to lose her temper. “Well, for starters, if Sue wants to say something she’ll just come out and say it, not whinge on like some people in this ring.” Astrid tried another side kick, but Freeborne was simply swatted it away. “And you’d only have to meet Sue for 30 seconds to know that however much of a badass you think you are, she’d eat you alive. Just like I’m going to…”
Astrid seemed to be about to respond and was brought to an abrupt halt when the Awesome Aussie spun into action, closing the gap between them in a second and flicking out a brutal knife-edge chop which THWUNKED into the Stranger’s modest chest. Astrid had both hands up straight away to guard her face from any follow up, only to have one wrist snatched away as Freeborne pivoted again and flung her into an Irish Whip which sent her into an immediate sprint.
The ropes were coming up fast, and White had barely seconds to spin round and ensure she at least got the rebound. But now her height was a disadvantage, the extra time it took to sort out those long legs meaning that she had no defence when Justine leaped up with both knees tucked and RAMMED into her chest.
DOUBLE KNEE TREMBLER
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKp3s0O4eS4 sans ropes)
Usually Justine aimed for the head with that shot, but the icy blonde’s extra height and the abuse her own tits had taken meant that she changed target at the last second. This had the dual advantage of simultaneously stoving in the Stranger’s mesh-covered sternum and of making sure that she stumbled back into the ropes again, rebounding once more but with hardly any of her previous pace, and right into Justine’s arms.
Still reeling from the knee trembler, Astrid found herself strapped across the Aussie’s chest and in position for what would probably be an extremely nasty powerslam. She began kicking her legs frantically, hoping to avoid this. But Freeborne clearly had other plans anyway, swinging her packaged opponent slightly to the left then driving to the right so that Astrid’s head formed a pivot as her body spun out into the abyss. Justine kept a tight lock on this though, hopping on her toes and dropping back hard so that White’s chest, tummy, and face took the full force of the impact.
FREEMANTLE DOCTOR
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibaXWWPljP4&t=30s )
White popped out into a woozy facedown starfish, powerless to prevent Justine form hooking a half nelson and turning her over for the…
ONE
TWO
THRnooooooooo
Astrid’s hand punched up into the air at the last instant, her body rotating a little so that she could throw a weak but still pointed knee into Justine’s kidney. The Aussie knelt up, smoothing any frustration from her face or voice before she chirped “Still in there smart girl? Maybe it’s time to flick that switch.”
No response from Astrid, who was still trying to massage some feeling back into her abused chest. Justine batted her hands away and took a big handful of top, burying the other in her short hair and hauling up with both. White frantically scrambled to get her arms or legs under her, forced into an awkward bridge with strong Aussie hands putting her top under more strain. And eventually it had to give, the seams managing to hold but a large section of the front mesh simply ripping away. Justine smiled at this for a second, feeling unusually vindictive, then switched to a double hair grip and hauled the spluttering girl up.
Once on her feet White was completely preoccupied checking her own top, leaving her completely open as Justine wrenched close on what looked like a particularly tight an uncomfortable front facelock. The crowd noise erupted up and up as the powerhouse blonde hauled her package up to twelve o’clock, then broke with the traditional vertical suplex to spin White around so their torsos were together in a vertical north south position. Finally set, Justine let the audience amp up for just one second longer as she prepared herself to flick the switch on the Icelander’s night…
And then suddenly lurched, Astrid kicking both legs forward with desperate strength so that she slipped out of the Aussie’s sweaty embrace and landed sloppily behind her back. Justine spun round like an avenging angel but Astrid had already launched herself into an instinctive sprint to the ropes, returning at top speed and leaping into a desperate spiral with one arm out to hit the flying elbow she called White Heat
WHITE HEAT
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEHFAfrBmj0 )
The augmented force of impact between Astrid’s forearm and Justine’s jaw was enough to send both competitors reeling, White sliding to a stop on her knees and turning round to close the gap as quickly as possible. Justine had slumped down to one knee, head again full of cobwebs. The Stranger clearly recognised that she had to work quickly, tucking one of the big blonde’s hands down between her legs, switching her grip and tucking her other arm around her neck. Then the tall girl bent her knees and drove up, over, and DOWN, spinning as she did so that Justine’s head and neck took the impact of the Wrist Clutch Exploder.
FEAR OF HEIGHTS
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLZ0rJsiJo )
Justine slumped into a boneless pile, this latest impact stacking up with the multiple head traumas she had already experienced in the last 20 minutes to leave her able to do little more than gulp air and blink slowly. Astrid, adrenaline spiking by this point, rose to a high kneel above this pile of Aussie driftwood and reached down to snake an arm again around Freeborne’s throat. Then she lay down and reefed back, linking her other hand and wrapping Justine’s body in her legs to complete a scissored Dragon Sleeper.
FEAR OF THE DARK
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u_7qDnqNR0 )
Justine’s senses were suddenly brought back by the sharp angle of her neck and the creamy steel vice of Astrid’s thighs digging into her midsection. She instinctively started to strain her neck and back, looking to use all that power to again break free of her predicament, but the angle meant that there was no way out.
As such she changed tack, first raking her nails down the sides of White’s constricting legs and then slamming blind but still effective punches into the Icelander’s side. She also spared a second to shout a loud ‘no# and waggle a finger at the concerned-looking referee, who was getting quite insistent in the knowledge that the longer they went without a tapout, the more chance he had of a much more dangerous KO.
The crowd could sense that a potentially match-ending momentum shift had occurred and were quick to get behind their girl, a loud chant of ‘PLEASE DON’T TAP!” echoing through the arena. Initially Justine’s ears were too full of rushing blood to pick this up, but as soon as she did she sensed a way of using it. Talking was a waste of breath in a chokehold, but worth it if she could get her opponent distracted, so she focussed her mind and croaked up to her tormentor. “Hear…hear that, Astrid? Does..does that sound like a crowd that doesn’t care ‘bout me?”
White had been focusing all her energy on keeping the powerhouse locked up, which was a difficult enough task in itself. But as she opened her mouth to reply Justine used the distraction perfectly, again swinging her hips violently to bring her legs within reach of the ropes. And this time she had no qualms, hooking her feet quickly around the bottom strand and using the last of her air to shout “BREAK” as loud as she was able.
“Break it up Astrid, come on!” The ref was straight into his count, clearly worried by the shade of red Justine’s face had gone. Hissing in disappointment Astrid unlocked her arms and pushed away with her legs, leaving the Aussie sprawled on the canvas heaving breath back into her lungs. White Loomed over her.
“We are alone together in this ring, you and I.” Astrid reached down almost tenderly trying to grab at Justine’s shoulder but only receiving a big push to her stomach from the blonde and a rebuke from the ref. She took a few steps back and continued. “Maybe if you listened to your own mind and body instead of the baying of the mob you’d be able to win more HURKKK…”
The air in Justine’s body seemed to have been replaced with adrenaline in the last few seconds. Despite the repeated head blows she knew she had too much for this cheap Celia Blassenville wannabe, and she was damn well going to prove it. So, as the taller woman stepped back to continue her lecture, Justine got both feet beneath her and leaped straight up from the floor, flinging one boot out in a gorgeous Leaping Superkick which took Astrid square in the mouth.
LEAPING SUPERKICK
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXtPCfJfncM )
The Icelander’s head rocked backwards and she fell like a tree, the crowd roaring like never before at yet another turning point in the match. Justine landed surprisingly lightly on her feet a short distance away, taking all of two seconds to suck in another breath before she was over and hair-hauling Astrid back up again, a facelock cinched in the instant she made it to vertical. It was clear that Justine was having another go at flicking the switch as she braced her legs and hauled up with all her remaining…
Astrid got one foot on the floor and pushed away to the side with all her might, breaking the facelock at the last instant. As Justine turned to face her she hooked one arm under her thigh and the other over her shoulder, using up the last of her own strength to secure the fireman’s carry which was the prelude to her own finisher. Having finally got her burden up she shifted her grip, just needing to secure an ankle before she popped up and…
Justine stole a play straight from Astrid’s playbook, crunching up and driving a knee once and then twice into the tall girl’s temple. The fireman’s carry evaporated and Justine found herself back on her feet with a mildly stunned Stranger to her side, and immediately secured her own fireman’s carry. She took a second to orient herself, sidestepping to the nearest corner and then powering White’s body up and out. If she wouldn’t have her switch flicked then it was time for a crash!
GREAT BARRIER CRASH
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x88ifND31xs )
The bottom turnbuckle provided a very unwelcome crashmat for Astrid, the back of her head and neck taking the brunt of the force and then dropping a nasty few inches to land with all her weight on the top of her dome. The Icelander’s long body concertina’d up and then spread out, fight apparently extinguished by the hellacious Crash.
On all four sides of the arena fans were baying for a cover, and as Justine took an ankle and wearily heaved Astrid’s body onto her back and away from the ropes it seemed like they might get their wish. But it quickly became apparent that they had an even bigger treat in stall when Freeborne carefully pulled the strangers wrists across each other and then tucked this makeshift X neatly behind her head. Then, positioning herself in a high kneel over White’s ravaged chest she spoke quietly to her semiconscious victim. “I know they don’t like this sort of thing back in Japan, but they love it over here, so on behalf of everyone here, welcome to FAWN. Oh yeah, and…” Justine raised her voice to a weary shout “KISS MY ARSE!”. With her shout echoing raucously around the FAWNAtics, Justine sat back to complete her finisher.
K.M.A.
The sudden darkness and oxygen deprivation sent Astrid into thrashing like a fish out of water, her biceps straining to pull her hands from their knot and the rest of her bucking wildly to shake off her tormentor. Unfortunately Justine had been in this position many times before, and she leaned forward to brace her hands on the Icelander’s midsection, serving the dual purpose of stabilising herself and leaving Astrid’s torso completely open for any further persuasion Justine might employ.
Up above, Justine smiled as she felt the victorious sensation of screaming into her domineering glutes. “That’s just gonna burn your air even quicker babe,” she chided almost playfully “Now be a good girl and tap out so we don’t have to get any more ugly.” Astrid’s response was to crunch her stomach and fire a desperation knee up towards where she thought Justine’s head was, a tactic which would have been extremely successful if the Aussie hadn’t anticipated it, ducked away and then snared the leg to make Astrid’s already torturous position even more uncomfortable, her derriere forced high into the air and her one free leg flailing uselessly with no leverage.
The position Justine was a difficult one for the referee, Astrid’s hands were bound and there was certainly little chance of a verbal submission escaping from the tanned muffler across the writhing girl’s face. With her legs now locked up too the ref was reduced to the slightly humiliating step of trying to shout to White at the bottom of the smother; he had no other way of checking for submission.
Justine was now just waiting to learn whether she was going to win by tap out or knockout when she detected a marked change in the crowd noise. While most audience eyes were enjoying the spectacle in the ring, those by the ramp were giving a surprised cheer at the sudden appearance of a FAWN original.
Clad in her familiar denim overalls, Harley-Jo Collins had made it almost to ringside by the time Justine spotted her. The ref noticed at about the same time and briefly gestured a warning to pre-empt any shenanigans, but he was clearly reluctant to leave Astrid in the depths of oxygen deprivation. Thankfully for him the situation was resolved when Freeborne jumped to her feet, clearly wary about having someone so dangerous appear just as she had things in hand.
Harley-Jo Collins
“What are you doing here Harley?” Justine’s Aussie twang made no effort to hide the suspicion in her words. She took a few steps forward and leaned into a crouch, her weary body marshalling all its remaining resources to counter whatever the Backwoods Machiavelli might have planned. But Harley just paused a few feet from the apron and flashed a smile, which would have been almost encouraging if it wasn’t for the cold, predatory look in her eyes.
The referee was quickly over to get between them, leaving Astrid forgotten as she heaved in huge breaths on the matt. Most of her air-addled brain was just pleased to be free of that fleshy torture chamber, but that part of her which was always detached and calculating was now screaming at her to take advantage of whatever had happened.
Burning the very last of her reserves, Astrid got her feet beneath her and rose off the matt like a phoenix. She had a split second to notice the referee, distracted by something at the other side of the ring, but her fighter’s instinct was focussed purely on Justine’s oblivious back. With no further thought required Astrid powered up into a high leap while swinging her left leg out far above the Aussie’s head. The boot stalled for a second, high over its target, and then stooped down, falcon like, to bury into the back of Justine’s skull with sickening force.
At this stage of the match a jumping axe kick to an unprotected noggin was pretty much a guaranteed KO shot, and it seemed that even Justine’s vaunted strength had finally given out. Her eyes, which had been staring a hole through Harley, rolled back into her skull, and her body simply folded up like a marionette with cut strings. The noise of the impact had been audible to the ref, and even to the crowd who reacted with shock and consternation as their favourite had gone from a domineering victory to a semiconscious pile within a few short seconds. And, at ringside, Harley’s smile hitched a few degrees higher.
In the midst of all this chaos Astrid was oblivious to everything except the need to finish her opponent. As Justine fell she quickly leaned in, taking a grip of her thigh in one hand and shoulder in the other, then standing up so the big blonde was laid across her shoulders. Usually she liked to take a second to pose at this point, one of her few concessions to the viewing public, but with no oxygen and very little energy remaining she simply shifted her grip to control the Aussie’s limp legs and then rose up and spun out, Freeborne’s head rotating out into empty space and then dropping DOWN the full 6’2” to land square on the back of her head and neck.
FEAR ITSELF
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEvjRW8KyZw )
White kept a tight hold of those captured legs and leaned forward slightly as the referee checked the shoulders were down and then counted
ONE
TWO
And THREE!
Justine’s legs kicked free a split second later, but by then it was too late, the referee gesturing for the timekeeper’s bell and Astrid falling back to take a few more heaving breaths on the matt. She stayed there for quite a few seconds, sitting slowly back up as the announcer’s voice called “YOUR WINNER…by way of pinfall…ASTRID WHITE!”
Astrid seemed more preoccupied with complaining about the facesit than her victory, swatting lightly at the Aussie’s glazed features. “That was a singularly unpleasant way to try to win a match, Ms Freeborne. You will not do that again.” Having said her piece White tilted her head, raised one weary hand to her eye and then flashed her ‘A’ sigil again, turning her head to take in the whole arena and…
…Freezing dead as she finally noticed the uninvited guest at ringside. Then, despite all the wear and tear, she was up on her haunches, face looking furious and an almost cat-like hiss escaping from between her teeth. Where Justine’s response had been one of wariness, Astrid seemed to be 100% hostile to the Vicious Volunteer who’d joined them.
The Stranger rose up to her full height and paced forward a little, apparently preparing for assault. But still Harley-Jo stayed where she was, nodding slightly as if she approved of what she saw. Then she flashed a quick wink at the bristling Icelander, turned with a swish of auburn hair and set off on her steady way back up the ramp, her plans apparently concluded for the time being.
Astrid seemed ready to follow her for a second but clearly felt the throb in her head and ache throughout her body and thought better of it. Instead she turned round to look for her jacket and found herself nose-to-nose with a justifiably furious Justine Freeborne.
The Aussie was so angry that she could barely speak a word, so for a good 15 seconds the two blondes formed a sort of tableau of wordless rage and frustration. Then Astrid blinked and snaked her neck a little to work out a crick.
“We will be here again, Justine Freeborne.” The Stranger’s high, toneless voice made this sound like a statement of absolute fact, and Justine could at least approve of that. Holding the taller girl’s gaze for a few more seconds she muttered “Damn right we will. Get your face clean.” Then she shouldered past, dropped through the ropes and stomped up the ramp, the cheers of her still-appreciative fans not quite able to penetrate the fog of pain and frustration at how the night had finished.
Back in the ring Astrid took a second to flash her ‘A’ sigil again, the crowd mostly responding with boos but with a barely detectable undercurrent of appreciation, for the fight if not the winner. Then she too turned and slipped through the ropes, dropping to the floor and retrieving her jacket, as well as a nearby towel which she used to wipe her face, the first of many cleaning attempts she would try over the next twelve hours. Then the jacket went back on, the Stranger flicking the hood up and swathing her face in darkness again as she made her way back to the dressing rooms.
The crowd buzz showed a definite increase in volume, but their tone would probably be described as disapproving as the lights dipped low. Whilst the Arctic Anomaly might not be well liked, her recent ascension from the Jungle and FAWNamania appearance meant that she was at least now known to most wrestling fans, and as such those in attendance were expecting to hear Radiohead at any second.
That expectation was not met. Instead an absolutely deafening thump of bass smashed into the arena. Followed by a second. A third. And a fourth. Then, as a slightly more rhythmic but no less low-pitched roar heralded the beginning of some new entrance music, a pair of giant grey-green eyes opened on the FAWNtron above the entranceway, appearing hyperreal as they blinked and the pupils dilated to adjust to the new light.
SIGUR ROS – BRENNISTEINN: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8
By this point the sonic assault of bass had been joined by a surprisingly delicate and beautiful voice, singing in a language which no-one in the audience and only a handful of people on the continent could understand. Astrid had clearly gone back to her Icelandic roots as an inspiration for her new entrance, and the smoke which masked her arrival for previous matches was also gone, the woman herself stepping straight out from the curtain into a pure white spotlight, those eyes on the screen above her still staring into the crowd.
ASTRID WHITE:
The Stranger began to make her steady way down to the ring. Those alongside the entranceway could see the same white over-the-knee muay thai boots she had always worn, serving to highlight the length of creamy-white thigh which extended up to a pair of midnight blue lycra briefs with a field of white stars picked out on them, cut to show a good half-inch of derriere. Her torso was shrouded in the fitted black leather jacket she had always worn in her ring entrance, although the hood had apparently been deepened to leave her entire face in shadow.
Indeed, the only way anyone could tell that the figure actually was Astrid White was that no one else on the roster possessed quite the same exaggerated height and slender frame. And that frame was still shrouded and still moving, bypassing the ring steps and walking confidently around to the side of the ring furthest from the entranceway.
With the music reaching a chorus the Stranger put one hand around the middle ring rope and used it as an anchor for a giant step up onto the apron. Then she slowly threaded her legs and body between the top and middle ropes, headed to the nearest ringpost, and stepped smoothly up to the second buckle as the music paused for another set of thundering bass heartbeats, these accompanied by a strobe of the low lighting…
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
The crash as the music roared back in was accompanied by Astrid rearing back her head to shake off the cowl and jacket, the house lights simultaneously flaring back on to illuminate her. And here were two more big visual changes, her artfully wavy bobbed hair had gone from chestnut brown to a pale blonde (FAWN’s chief hairstylist would later tweet that this was her natural colour; she had insisted on dyeing it during her time in the Jungle), while her meshed halter top was still white but now had a constellation of dark stars across the back. With the crowd showing some increasing approval of this striking new image, if not her previous behaviour, she put one hand to her face, fingers opening to reveal her eye and tilted her head so that the iris formed the bar in her ‘A’ sigil, before stepping lightly down and settling her back onto the buckles.
Taking his cue that the theatrics were finally done, the ring announcer raised the mic to his lips once more. “And her opponent, hailing from Western Australia, standing at 5’9” tall and weighing in tonight at 142 lbs…please welcome…the Powerhouse of Paraburdoo…JUSTINE FREEBOURNE!”
The unmistakable sound of Angus Young’s opening riff to ‘Thunderstruck’ burst out of the speakers and crackled into the crowd like electricity. Now there was no ambiguity in the response; this particular statuesque blonde had been a huge fan favourite since her first appearance back in 2010, and her frequent absences to collect a seemingly endless resume of titles and accolades back in Asia and Australasia had only made their hearts grow fonder. The song’s first chant of ‘THUN-DER’ was echoed loudly by pretty much everyone in attendance, and when Justine actually stepped through the curtain in time with the start of Brian Johnsons’ screaming vocal the roof was nearly blown off the building.
AC/DC – THUNDERSTRUCK www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM
No one could deny that the Awesome Aussie made quite a sight. Her usual teal boy-cut trunks and halter were accompanied by pure white boots and pads which only served to highlight the almost glowing sun kissed tan she had apparently picked up in her homeland. Justine was wearing a smile so wide it threatened to split her face in half and seemed ready to launch herself straight into her adoring public, but took a second to pull her golden hair into a loose ponytail and then quickly fix her chunky black belt at an angle across her hips.
JUSTINE FREEBORNE:
Then the amazon was off, zigzagging across the aisle to slap as many as possible of the outstretched hands which her opponent had totally ignored, then pausing at the bottom of the ramp to bust out a double bicep flex which showed off some seriously impressive artillery. This was complemented perfectly by the loud BOOM of white pyro bursting over her head, stoking the already noisy crowd a few decibels higher. Then, clearly beyond keen for her first appearance in a FAWN ring for over a year, Justine launched herself up the steps and into a vault over the ropes, taking a few steps on landing so that her second bicep flex was right in the centre of the ring.
With the audience at fever pitch all around her, Justine finally turned her focus on the woman whom she was here to fight, turning to give Astrid a head on view of just how much power she would be trying to deal with tonight. White gave nothing back beyond a faintly unimpressed gaze, but this only drove the Aussie’s smile a notch higher, and she even favoured the taller but lighter woman with a quick wink which betrayed her ironclad self-confidence. By this point senior referee Merle was ushering her back to the corner, Justine happy to comply but never taking her eyes off the baleful glare from across the ring.
The sound of the bell was accompanied by a final pop from the rowdy fans, a fact with Freebourne was quick to capitalise on, raising both arms for a rhythmic clap over her head which was immediately taken up by all in attendance. Then she stepped confidently out of the corner and began circling right, The Stranger mirroring her position almost exactly across the ring but maintaining a much more wary crouch.
After around 15 seconds the claps from the crowd had become resounding but the two fighters were no closer to each other than they had been before the bell rang. This was clearly not what Justine wanted from her first night back in her ‘home’ promotion and she made that clear, giving up any pretence of caution to stride to the centre ring and raise one hand invitingly. “Come on then skinny girl, let’s see what you’re bringing.”
Astrid stared warily at that raised hand for a second or two, but then seemed to reach a decision, taking two long steps forward and reaching both her own arms up in answer. Justine happily joined this clinch, her knuckles whitening as she gripped down and her whole body leaning in. White barely had time to put one foot out behind her to brace before the Aussie rolled her shoulders and reminded everyone why she was known as the pound-for-pound strongest in FAWN.
The impact was immediate, Astrid quickly finding both hands well behind her head and her whole body beginning to arch backwards under the pressure. Worse, Freebourne’s grinning face was now a few inches away from her own. “Not bad babe” she drawled, “but there’s a difference between being stronger than you look and being a powerhouse.”
White’s eyes narrowed a little, but she couldn’t really argue, that would have taken concentration away from not being pushed any further down. And despite all that effort she was failing, knees bending more by the second, shoulders moving further and further backwards in a vain attempt to keep her leverage. And then, inevitably, she felt the rough texture of the matt, first behind her hands and then her shoulders, her body now forced into a high bridge by the display of Australian might.
Justine’s smile had been visibly widening throughout this, her effort causing a few beads of sweat to appear on her forehead. She glanced down at the pale expanse of impressively toned stomach exposed by Astrid unfortunate position. “You’re pretty flexible, girl. Let’s see how far you can bend.” Justine’s tone was playful, but everyone in the arena could tell that what she had in mind to do next was probably not going to be fun for White.
And the Icelander clearly decided she wanted no part of that. As Justine raised one leg in preparation for delivering some hurt to the humiliation, Astrid kicked one long leg up, pushing off from the other one so that her body completed a neat backwards roll-come-flip. The move was hardly pretty, but it carried enough momentum to break Justine’s grip and leave the Stranger on her butt a few feet away.
Despite having missed the chance to inflict further pain, Justine was by now feeling even more confident than usual and ready to give the crowd a show. So instead of trying to press any advantage she might have gained, she stood back to her full height and busted out another brawny bicep flex, the audience cheering their approval. Astrid’s eyes had been cautious again as she rose to her feet but now even she gave a brief nod in recognition of the Aussie’s incredible strength, her expression suggesting benevolent acceptance of this fact rather than frustration.
Then, without dropping her gaze or even pausing to set her body, she fired out a surprisingly fast low side kick, her standing leg hopping forward to close the gap and ‘THWAP’ her boot into Justine’s thigh. The big blonde seemed completely unprepared for this, and she stepped hurriedly backwards as White swung her leg up and round again, narrowly missing a thrust kick then spinning onto her other leg to fire a crescent kick at the Aussie’s jaw. Justine had managed to get a guard up by this point but was then left grasping at air as the Stranger arced her heel back down, transforming into a hook kick to land with a meaty ‘THUMP’ on the tanned skin directly over her liver.
Astrid had clearly been looking for speed over power for that last blow, and as such it wasn’t too painful for Justine. Indeed the whole flurry had only actually resulted in a sting in her liver and dull throb from the initial leg kick. But Freeborne could recognise when someone was trying to send her a message, and White’s raised eyebrow and slightly cocky stance made her certain; the tall girl was showing off her skill in just the same way as Justine had her strength.
As usual, the Powerhouse from Paraburdoo decided to meet this challenge head on. “You’ve got some pretty fancy kicks there babe. Glad you’re not just here to be tall and weird or this would be a very short fight.” Justine quickly snapped the waistband of her bottoms back into place, readjusted her belt, and then reset into her aggressive crouch.
The Icelander’s face was impassive as ever but she did again arch an eyebrow and wave the blonde forward with a ‘bring it’ sort of gesture. Happy to oblige, Justine barrelled in, but stopped on a dime and stepped neatly out of the way as Astrid’s attempt at a surprise kick whiffed harmlessly through the air beside her. The tall girl had turned through 90 degrees to throw her failed suckerpunch and Justine took full advantage, stepping round to her back and hooking a waistlock which was quickly transitioned into a half nelson. Then in yet another display of power the blonde hauled up and bridged back to deliver a thunderous half-nelson suplex.
HALF NELSON SUPLEX
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P99a9dblNE )
The impact bounced Astrid free of the Aussie’s constricting grip and she quickly scrambled to all fours, one hand reaching up towards the impact point on the back of her head. Justine gave her no time for checking injuries however, delivering a nasty punt to the Icelander’s side and then hair hauling her up into a tight front facelock. White had a second to tug at the blonde’s encroaching arms before Justine popped her hips and dropped her HARD on her back courtesy of a snap suplex.
Pain radiated from Astrid’s spine, briefly overwhelming her instinct to get back to her feet as quickly as possible. This time the Icelander overrode them, choosing to take a second and catch a breath rather than stand straight up into another antipodean power move. Justine seemed briefly annoyed by not having her prey back upright again, but she got over this well by taking two quick run-steps and then leaping up and tucking one leg so that her outstretched knee was driven into White’s washboard stomach.
The Icelander sat up involuntarily, letting out a groan as her abdominals were crushed by 142lbs of Australian beef. Justine seemed pretty pleased with her handiwork so far but clearly wasn’t finished yet, launching a huge forearm smash into the stunned girl’s chest and then, as she slammed back to the matt, rolling her quickly over and hooking the leg for
ONE
TW…
Astrid’s loose knee shot off the matt and ‘SMECK’ed into Freeborne’s side. The Aussie lurched out of the pin, giving a gasping White a second to break way. She tried to use this momentum to turn over, only to have a strong hand grab her shoulder and another wind into her hair. Justine used the twin grips to yank her up to sitting and then to her feet.
Without offering the tall girl a second to offer a counter, Justine ploughed a short kneelift up into the Icelander’s abs, doubling her forward, and then bent to wrap a grip around the back of her suddenly trembly legs. The Aussie hauled up so she had Astrid in a sort of lopsided fireman’s carry, then broke half of her grip to reach back and pull her head over against her hip.
Having got her prey in position, Justine paused for a second to appreciate the crowd noise. Then she dropped suddenly to one knee, simultaneously hauling her burden around so that the hollow of Astrid’s neck impacted into her thigh with the full weight of her body behind it.
A.R.C. NECKBREAKER
White sprawled out of the impact onto her back, the haze in her head not quite preventing her from feeling her leg being hooked yet again for:
ONE…
TWO…
…and Astrid managed to throw her shoulder up, this time using the movement to push the Aussie away from her body and roll to all fours, still gulping in air and trying to roll the pain out of her neck. Seated a few feet away, Justine took a second to breathe out the slight disappointment and then rose back to her feet. “Sorry for the rush treatment girl. I didn’t think you’d be ready to go so early but I had to make sure…”
No response seemed to be forthcoming from the wheezing Icelander, so Justine stepped in and readied for another barrage. She took a firm grip on Astrid’s star-spangled top with one hand and her bottoms in another, using the fabric like a harness to get the tall girl back to her feet again. Then she took a step back to give herself some space then pushed off her back leg and swung both up into what would have been a gorgeous dropkick if White hadn’t stepped to the side and pushed her away with both hands.
The airborne rotation came as some surprise to Justine, who ended up crashing back to earth on her side instead of landing on all fours as she had expected. White was looming over her though, one foot raised up high and then dropped down HARD into an axe kick which landed HARD on her sternum. Freeborne let out an involuntary groan at the impact but managed to get her hands up to catch hold of the boot as it sailed back down for a second attempt.
Astrid didn’t seem the least bit phased by her leg being captured, she simply rocked up on her other tiptoe and then sharply bent both knees, dropping into what would have been a pretty painful landing if Freeborne’s chest and tummy hadn’t taken most of the impact. The Aussie clutched at her suddenly compressed torso and rolled away, White scrambling quickly back to vertical and running quickly past her. Having sucked a few big breaths in and made it to her knees, the Awesome Aussie heard the telltale ‘bwung’ of a rope-assisted run and spun her head up just in time to have it nearly taken off courtesy of the brutal running kneestrike which Astrid liked to call ‘Fear of Flying’
RUNNING KNEE
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq3EANnzoUw )
Justine’s head flew backwards and bounced nastily off the ring matt, her vision now full of stars and fog. The Stranger had knee-skidded to a stop a few feet away and was quickly back over, hair hauling her up onto shaky legs and then stepping backwards and slamming a side kick into Justine’s reeling chest. The blonde reeled back woozily and raised both hands in an attempt to ward off a second shot; and attempt which completely failed as Astrid hopped forward on her standing leg and flicked out a hook kick which curved around the Aussie’s hasty guard and smashed full-force into her temple.
Hoping to see Justine go down from the shot, Astrid pivoted into her follow-through and was only slightly disappointed to see the big blonde still standing, albeit listing dangerously to one side and blinking quickly in the harsh ring lights. Rolling her eyes a little, the Icelander reached out to cradle the back of Freeborne’s head almost tenderly. The position became a lot less tender when Astrid tucked her elbows together and pulled down, the muay thai clinch supporting her to fire one knee and then the other into southern-hemisphere stomach.
Justine dropped her hands immediately to try to protect her belly, leaving her vulnerable when White instead hopped up and hauled down so that her thigh was forcibly driven into Justine’s forehead. Then, breaking the clinch, Astrid jumped higher and brought her other knee CAROMING up into the point of Freeborne’s chin. This was finally enough to take the Awesome Aussie off her feet, her head reeling back from the impact and the rest of her body following suit. Astrid dived on as soon as the blonde hit the deck and had a leg hooked for…
ONE
TW…
Her head might have been temporarily full of cobwebs but Justine still had plenty left in her body, as demonstrated when she raised her free hand and pushed hard enough to send the Stranger rolling quite some distance away. After sitting up and checking her mouth for blood after that last high knee, Freeborne turned to the Icelander and croaked “not bad babe, but all your friends in Japan will tell you that it takes a lot more than that to put me down”
“I don’t have any friends, Ms Freeborne.” Astrid rose to her haunches as she broke her silence but didn’t seem ready to get back to fighting quite yet. “But I know that you do. Lots of people, in Australia, America, Japan, all around the world, and they all think you’re lovely.”
“You’ll learn that about me, cobber. No hard feelings, no worries. Even after I’ve kicked your ass all over this ring you’ll still want to be me matWHOAH…”
Accelerating out of her crouch, Astrid thundered back into the breach and tried for a second flying knee. This attempt was considerably less successful than the first, Justine’s reflexes quick enough to duck out of the way and leave her tumbling into an awkward knee-first landing on the matt. This was humiliating enough in and of itself but became downright dangerous as she started to rise and felt Aussie hands quickly grasping her back and then hooking a tight front facelock.
“Have to be quicker than that girl! But like I said, no hard feelings.” Justine hooked one hand around her opponent’s thigh and lifted her burden up to about two o’clock, holding her there for a few impressive seconds. Then she let that weight drop again, simultaneously dipping to one knee so that Astrid’s tenderised shin landed across the posted thigh with all her weight behind it.
Astrid let out a yelp and dropped to her side, both hands trying to massage away the sudden flood of pain in her knee. But the Awesome Aussie was motoring now and clearly wasn’t in the mood for waiting on her opponent. The powerhouse had White up on her feet in a second, snaking both arms around her torso and lifting up for a brawny bearhug, then popping her hips and bridging over into a belly to belly suplex which rocked the ring.
BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCfGlNJMS10 )
From Astrid’s point of view the ache in her knee had been overshadowed by a much deeper and more insistent ache which ran from the back of her neck and down most of her spine. And then she felt strong hands around her ankle, Freeborne using the limb as a pivot to haul her onto her front. By this time the Stranger had worked out what was coming, but she was pretty much powerless to resist as Justine pulled her captured leg up and back as if for a classic Half Boston, except with Justine’s body placed to the side so that even more lateral pressure was placed on both her knee and her back.
CROSS CRAB
Immediately both of the aches in Astrid’s body were stoked into flame, and she reached one hand urgently back to try to act as a brace on her nastily torqued knee. Justine and the referee were apparently in conversation about asking her a question, but the Icelander tried to tune this and the pain out to keep some composure so that when the stripes finally dropped to her level and asked “what do you say, Astrid, want me to end this?” she could respond with just an icy glare and shake of the head rather than the moan of pain which wanted to escape her lips.
Up above, Justine was back grinning again. “Still not quite ready to go to bed, Astrid? Don’t be too stubborn now, your knee could pop right out if I use all my strength.” She poured in a little extra power by way of illustration, being rewarded with a low groan from the snared Icelander and a fresh round of questioning from the referee. Apparently White’s response was still in the negative, because he stopped questioning and she heard the trapped girl’s voice speaking to her from down below.
Speech was hard in this predicament and even someone as controlled as Astrid couldn’t quite keep the pain out of her voice, but she managed to speak up surprisingly strongly. “Wh..why would I want to q-quit when we still have so much…more to…talk about, Ms Freeborne? You say you have no worries, but I…I disagree...”
Justine turned her head slightly to respond, and the Stranger picked this moment to spring into action. Pressing her body up slightly off the canvas she ducked her head down between her posted arms and crunched up her body, ending up in a sort of hunched forward roll. The momentum and leverage from those long legs was enough to topple Justine back off balance. Astrid ended up in a seated position and immediately stated massaging some of the feeling back into her knee joint, but she kept her eyes locked on the Aussie who was steadily rising back to her feet and still had that grin on her lips.
“What’s that then cobber? What’s this big worry you think I’ve gotta get off my chest?” White didn’t respond verbally, but she sprung to her feet and rotated through a spinning back elbow which would have taken Justine’s head off if the surprised battler hadn’t swayed away. Her hands were up to counter any follow up immediately, But Astrid, who had continued her rotating motion, fired her shot much lower, swinging out a boot to THWACK into the meat of Justine’s thigh.
For the first time in a few minutes both women were standing up and within easy reach of each other. Justine was the first to try taking advantage of this swinging both hands round into what would have been a collar-and-elbow if Astrid’s knee hadn’t lifted straight into her breadbasket halfway there. The big blonde folded involuntarily forward around the impact and White was quick to capitalise, hooking a slightly sloppy facelock and jumping both legs forward, her arms taking the straining as she powered up to vertical suplex position, but no further. With Justine kicking her legs out to try to overbalance them, Astrid didn’t feel confident in getting her all the way over, so instead she shifted her grip slightly and dropped to her back to complete an equally nasty Snap Brainbuster
SNAP BRAINBUSTER
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCGX7DvbDXA )
The impact broke Freeborne free of the Stranger’s grasp and she instinctively rolled over onto her front to prevent a pin, hands up clutching at the ache in the back of her head. Unfortunately this meant that her back was completely open, and Astrid again took advantage. She kneewalked over to the big blonde, ensuring that the near arm was between her legs, then reached around and linked her arms so that Justine’s neck and shoulder were encircled. Then the pushed forward into a slightly burdened somersault which brought the Awesome Aussie along for the ride, both arms now trapped and pressure pouring onto her neck.
CRUCIFIX NECK CRANK
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RIKDPdR-uM&t=94s )
Both grapplers knew well that a fully locked in neck crank had potential to be not just a match ender but a potentially injurious hold. The referee knew this too, which was why he was quick to slide in and check for legality. Luckily he needn’t have; despite the disadvantageous position Justine was using all her considerable power and experience to avoid having her neck fully trapped, and Astrid had to settle for controlling both the stronger girl’s arms whilst leaving one of her own free. She fired off a couple of quick elbows into of Freeborne’s straining décolletage but seemed to be more keen to talk at this point.
“What I mean, Ms Freeborne, is that If you are not worried then you should be. You have won every notable tag title in Asia and Australasia. Three-time Dual Dragons champion, OZWWA world and tag champion several times over. You are rated by Gladiatrix magazine as the second strongest wrestler in FAWN pound-for-pound, and arguably the best Australian of your generation.”
Straining on the bad side of the Crucifix, Justine’s voice was slightly cracked but still maintaining the happy air she’d kept up all match. “So…you can read then? Good on yer. Are you saying I should be worried because of how much smoke you want to blow up my ass?”
Astrid rammed another elbow into her cleavage to quieten her back down, this one threatening to disturb the turquoise material that was already struggling to contain her chest. “All those things are true, Ms Freeborne, and yet here you are fighting a relative rookie on the early card. You lost every time you have stepped up in FAWN, your only real successes carried on the backs of others. People cheer for you ,but they cheer a lot more when you get humiliated. Ms Freeborne, why can’t you win the big one?”
By this point Justine had felt Astrid’s sharp elbows over a dozen times, and she was getting pretty sick of it, even more so when the Icelander switched to swinging at her unprotected head. The ropes weren’t too far away but that would mean a humiliating worm-like crawl with her legs to get there, and the Awesome Aussie was really not about that. Instead she brought that power back into play again, first windmilling her legs to roll onto her side, then bringing her new leverage into play by heaving at the arm trapped between White’s pale thighs. The trap didn’t budge for a second, but with a little jostling she was able to free herself and swung blindly up at where she knew Astrid’s head would be.
The wild shot was true, Astrid taking it square in the temple and releasing the other half of the crucifix in a heartbeat. She rolled away quickly, wanting to get out of range before she got back to her feet. A few yards away Justine quickly adjusted her top and checked the angry red marks which the encounter ha left on there, but then made a show of popping back to her feet and snapping her waistband back in place too, as if to emphasize that she was just getting started.
“Now listen here mate. I don’t mind you whinging on like a pommie about things I have and haven’t won, but goin’ after a girl’s tits is kind of a bitch move. I thought you were into all that Japanese honour stuff they like to go on about? Anyway, I’m still saying no hard feelings but those beestings are fair game from now onnnARGH SHIT!!.”
It appeared that Astrid White didn’t respond well to threats, in this case challenging it head on by charging forward and hooking round another leg so that the heel of her boot impacted hard with the meat of Justine’s bikini. Pausing for a second as the big blonde staggered back and again checked her cups, Astrid snarled “I reasoned that if everyone in America wants to flaunt their bosom then there is no shame in my making them regret it.” To illustrate this point the Stranger dived forward again, lighting up the still-reeling Aussie with a forearm smash.
“Anyway Ms Freeborne, even aside from your embarrassing failure on this continent, there is a more pressing worry. Despite all your power, experience, or looks, people aren’t that interested. In fact there’s only one question they really want to ask you, and it’s the one I want to ask you too:”
“What’s it like being friends with Sue Burlingame?”
Justine’s face finally betrayed some of her annoyance at the new girl’s yammering, but she didn’t want to lose her temper. “Well, for starters, if Sue wants to say something she’ll just come out and say it, not whinge on like some people in this ring.” Astrid tried another side kick, but Freeborne was simply swatted it away. “And you’d only have to meet Sue for 30 seconds to know that however much of a badass you think you are, she’d eat you alive. Just like I’m going to…”
Astrid seemed to be about to respond and was brought to an abrupt halt when the Awesome Aussie spun into action, closing the gap between them in a second and flicking out a brutal knife-edge chop which THWUNKED into the Stranger’s modest chest. Astrid had both hands up straight away to guard her face from any follow up, only to have one wrist snatched away as Freeborne pivoted again and flung her into an Irish Whip which sent her into an immediate sprint.
The ropes were coming up fast, and White had barely seconds to spin round and ensure she at least got the rebound. But now her height was a disadvantage, the extra time it took to sort out those long legs meaning that she had no defence when Justine leaped up with both knees tucked and RAMMED into her chest.
DOUBLE KNEE TREMBLER
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKp3s0O4eS4 sans ropes)
Usually Justine aimed for the head with that shot, but the icy blonde’s extra height and the abuse her own tits had taken meant that she changed target at the last second. This had the dual advantage of simultaneously stoving in the Stranger’s mesh-covered sternum and of making sure that she stumbled back into the ropes again, rebounding once more but with hardly any of her previous pace, and right into Justine’s arms.
Still reeling from the knee trembler, Astrid found herself strapped across the Aussie’s chest and in position for what would probably be an extremely nasty powerslam. She began kicking her legs frantically, hoping to avoid this. But Freeborne clearly had other plans anyway, swinging her packaged opponent slightly to the left then driving to the right so that Astrid’s head formed a pivot as her body spun out into the abyss. Justine kept a tight lock on this though, hopping on her toes and dropping back hard so that White’s chest, tummy, and face took the full force of the impact.
FREEMANTLE DOCTOR
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibaXWWPljP4&t=30s )
White popped out into a woozy facedown starfish, powerless to prevent Justine form hooking a half nelson and turning her over for the…
ONE
TWO
THRnooooooooo
Astrid’s hand punched up into the air at the last instant, her body rotating a little so that she could throw a weak but still pointed knee into Justine’s kidney. The Aussie knelt up, smoothing any frustration from her face or voice before she chirped “Still in there smart girl? Maybe it’s time to flick that switch.”
No response from Astrid, who was still trying to massage some feeling back into her abused chest. Justine batted her hands away and took a big handful of top, burying the other in her short hair and hauling up with both. White frantically scrambled to get her arms or legs under her, forced into an awkward bridge with strong Aussie hands putting her top under more strain. And eventually it had to give, the seams managing to hold but a large section of the front mesh simply ripping away. Justine smiled at this for a second, feeling unusually vindictive, then switched to a double hair grip and hauled the spluttering girl up.
Once on her feet White was completely preoccupied checking her own top, leaving her completely open as Justine wrenched close on what looked like a particularly tight an uncomfortable front facelock. The crowd noise erupted up and up as the powerhouse blonde hauled her package up to twelve o’clock, then broke with the traditional vertical suplex to spin White around so their torsos were together in a vertical north south position. Finally set, Justine let the audience amp up for just one second longer as she prepared herself to flick the switch on the Icelander’s night…
And then suddenly lurched, Astrid kicking both legs forward with desperate strength so that she slipped out of the Aussie’s sweaty embrace and landed sloppily behind her back. Justine spun round like an avenging angel but Astrid had already launched herself into an instinctive sprint to the ropes, returning at top speed and leaping into a desperate spiral with one arm out to hit the flying elbow she called White Heat
WHITE HEAT
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEHFAfrBmj0 )
The augmented force of impact between Astrid’s forearm and Justine’s jaw was enough to send both competitors reeling, White sliding to a stop on her knees and turning round to close the gap as quickly as possible. Justine had slumped down to one knee, head again full of cobwebs. The Stranger clearly recognised that she had to work quickly, tucking one of the big blonde’s hands down between her legs, switching her grip and tucking her other arm around her neck. Then the tall girl bent her knees and drove up, over, and DOWN, spinning as she did so that Justine’s head and neck took the impact of the Wrist Clutch Exploder.
FEAR OF HEIGHTS
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLZ0rJsiJo )
Justine slumped into a boneless pile, this latest impact stacking up with the multiple head traumas she had already experienced in the last 20 minutes to leave her able to do little more than gulp air and blink slowly. Astrid, adrenaline spiking by this point, rose to a high kneel above this pile of Aussie driftwood and reached down to snake an arm again around Freeborne’s throat. Then she lay down and reefed back, linking her other hand and wrapping Justine’s body in her legs to complete a scissored Dragon Sleeper.
FEAR OF THE DARK
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u_7qDnqNR0 )
Justine’s senses were suddenly brought back by the sharp angle of her neck and the creamy steel vice of Astrid’s thighs digging into her midsection. She instinctively started to strain her neck and back, looking to use all that power to again break free of her predicament, but the angle meant that there was no way out.
As such she changed tack, first raking her nails down the sides of White’s constricting legs and then slamming blind but still effective punches into the Icelander’s side. She also spared a second to shout a loud ‘no# and waggle a finger at the concerned-looking referee, who was getting quite insistent in the knowledge that the longer they went without a tapout, the more chance he had of a much more dangerous KO.
The crowd could sense that a potentially match-ending momentum shift had occurred and were quick to get behind their girl, a loud chant of ‘PLEASE DON’T TAP!” echoing through the arena. Initially Justine’s ears were too full of rushing blood to pick this up, but as soon as she did she sensed a way of using it. Talking was a waste of breath in a chokehold, but worth it if she could get her opponent distracted, so she focussed her mind and croaked up to her tormentor. “Hear…hear that, Astrid? Does..does that sound like a crowd that doesn’t care ‘bout me?”
White had been focusing all her energy on keeping the powerhouse locked up, which was a difficult enough task in itself. But as she opened her mouth to reply Justine used the distraction perfectly, again swinging her hips violently to bring her legs within reach of the ropes. And this time she had no qualms, hooking her feet quickly around the bottom strand and using the last of her air to shout “BREAK” as loud as she was able.
“Break it up Astrid, come on!” The ref was straight into his count, clearly worried by the shade of red Justine’s face had gone. Hissing in disappointment Astrid unlocked her arms and pushed away with her legs, leaving the Aussie sprawled on the canvas heaving breath back into her lungs. White Loomed over her.
“We are alone together in this ring, you and I.” Astrid reached down almost tenderly trying to grab at Justine’s shoulder but only receiving a big push to her stomach from the blonde and a rebuke from the ref. She took a few steps back and continued. “Maybe if you listened to your own mind and body instead of the baying of the mob you’d be able to win more HURKKK…”
The air in Justine’s body seemed to have been replaced with adrenaline in the last few seconds. Despite the repeated head blows she knew she had too much for this cheap Celia Blassenville wannabe, and she was damn well going to prove it. So, as the taller woman stepped back to continue her lecture, Justine got both feet beneath her and leaped straight up from the floor, flinging one boot out in a gorgeous Leaping Superkick which took Astrid square in the mouth.
LEAPING SUPERKICK
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXtPCfJfncM )
The Icelander’s head rocked backwards and she fell like a tree, the crowd roaring like never before at yet another turning point in the match. Justine landed surprisingly lightly on her feet a short distance away, taking all of two seconds to suck in another breath before she was over and hair-hauling Astrid back up again, a facelock cinched in the instant she made it to vertical. It was clear that Justine was having another go at flicking the switch as she braced her legs and hauled up with all her remaining…
Astrid got one foot on the floor and pushed away to the side with all her might, breaking the facelock at the last instant. As Justine turned to face her she hooked one arm under her thigh and the other over her shoulder, using up the last of her own strength to secure the fireman’s carry which was the prelude to her own finisher. Having finally got her burden up she shifted her grip, just needing to secure an ankle before she popped up and…
Justine stole a play straight from Astrid’s playbook, crunching up and driving a knee once and then twice into the tall girl’s temple. The fireman’s carry evaporated and Justine found herself back on her feet with a mildly stunned Stranger to her side, and immediately secured her own fireman’s carry. She took a second to orient herself, sidestepping to the nearest corner and then powering White’s body up and out. If she wouldn’t have her switch flicked then it was time for a crash!
GREAT BARRIER CRASH
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x88ifND31xs )
The bottom turnbuckle provided a very unwelcome crashmat for Astrid, the back of her head and neck taking the brunt of the force and then dropping a nasty few inches to land with all her weight on the top of her dome. The Icelander’s long body concertina’d up and then spread out, fight apparently extinguished by the hellacious Crash.
On all four sides of the arena fans were baying for a cover, and as Justine took an ankle and wearily heaved Astrid’s body onto her back and away from the ropes it seemed like they might get their wish. But it quickly became apparent that they had an even bigger treat in stall when Freeborne carefully pulled the strangers wrists across each other and then tucked this makeshift X neatly behind her head. Then, positioning herself in a high kneel over White’s ravaged chest she spoke quietly to her semiconscious victim. “I know they don’t like this sort of thing back in Japan, but they love it over here, so on behalf of everyone here, welcome to FAWN. Oh yeah, and…” Justine raised her voice to a weary shout “KISS MY ARSE!”. With her shout echoing raucously around the FAWNAtics, Justine sat back to complete her finisher.
K.M.A.
The sudden darkness and oxygen deprivation sent Astrid into thrashing like a fish out of water, her biceps straining to pull her hands from their knot and the rest of her bucking wildly to shake off her tormentor. Unfortunately Justine had been in this position many times before, and she leaned forward to brace her hands on the Icelander’s midsection, serving the dual purpose of stabilising herself and leaving Astrid’s torso completely open for any further persuasion Justine might employ.
Up above, Justine smiled as she felt the victorious sensation of screaming into her domineering glutes. “That’s just gonna burn your air even quicker babe,” she chided almost playfully “Now be a good girl and tap out so we don’t have to get any more ugly.” Astrid’s response was to crunch her stomach and fire a desperation knee up towards where she thought Justine’s head was, a tactic which would have been extremely successful if the Aussie hadn’t anticipated it, ducked away and then snared the leg to make Astrid’s already torturous position even more uncomfortable, her derriere forced high into the air and her one free leg flailing uselessly with no leverage.
The position Justine was a difficult one for the referee, Astrid’s hands were bound and there was certainly little chance of a verbal submission escaping from the tanned muffler across the writhing girl’s face. With her legs now locked up too the ref was reduced to the slightly humiliating step of trying to shout to White at the bottom of the smother; he had no other way of checking for submission.
Justine was now just waiting to learn whether she was going to win by tap out or knockout when she detected a marked change in the crowd noise. While most audience eyes were enjoying the spectacle in the ring, those by the ramp were giving a surprised cheer at the sudden appearance of a FAWN original.
Clad in her familiar denim overalls, Harley-Jo Collins had made it almost to ringside by the time Justine spotted her. The ref noticed at about the same time and briefly gestured a warning to pre-empt any shenanigans, but he was clearly reluctant to leave Astrid in the depths of oxygen deprivation. Thankfully for him the situation was resolved when Freeborne jumped to her feet, clearly wary about having someone so dangerous appear just as she had things in hand.
Harley-Jo Collins
“What are you doing here Harley?” Justine’s Aussie twang made no effort to hide the suspicion in her words. She took a few steps forward and leaned into a crouch, her weary body marshalling all its remaining resources to counter whatever the Backwoods Machiavelli might have planned. But Harley just paused a few feet from the apron and flashed a smile, which would have been almost encouraging if it wasn’t for the cold, predatory look in her eyes.
The referee was quickly over to get between them, leaving Astrid forgotten as she heaved in huge breaths on the matt. Most of her air-addled brain was just pleased to be free of that fleshy torture chamber, but that part of her which was always detached and calculating was now screaming at her to take advantage of whatever had happened.
Burning the very last of her reserves, Astrid got her feet beneath her and rose off the matt like a phoenix. She had a split second to notice the referee, distracted by something at the other side of the ring, but her fighter’s instinct was focussed purely on Justine’s oblivious back. With no further thought required Astrid powered up into a high leap while swinging her left leg out far above the Aussie’s head. The boot stalled for a second, high over its target, and then stooped down, falcon like, to bury into the back of Justine’s skull with sickening force.
At this stage of the match a jumping axe kick to an unprotected noggin was pretty much a guaranteed KO shot, and it seemed that even Justine’s vaunted strength had finally given out. Her eyes, which had been staring a hole through Harley, rolled back into her skull, and her body simply folded up like a marionette with cut strings. The noise of the impact had been audible to the ref, and even to the crowd who reacted with shock and consternation as their favourite had gone from a domineering victory to a semiconscious pile within a few short seconds. And, at ringside, Harley’s smile hitched a few degrees higher.
In the midst of all this chaos Astrid was oblivious to everything except the need to finish her opponent. As Justine fell she quickly leaned in, taking a grip of her thigh in one hand and shoulder in the other, then standing up so the big blonde was laid across her shoulders. Usually she liked to take a second to pose at this point, one of her few concessions to the viewing public, but with no oxygen and very little energy remaining she simply shifted her grip to control the Aussie’s limp legs and then rose up and spun out, Freeborne’s head rotating out into empty space and then dropping DOWN the full 6’2” to land square on the back of her head and neck.
FEAR ITSELF
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEvjRW8KyZw )
White kept a tight hold of those captured legs and leaned forward slightly as the referee checked the shoulders were down and then counted
ONE
TWO
And THREE!
Justine’s legs kicked free a split second later, but by then it was too late, the referee gesturing for the timekeeper’s bell and Astrid falling back to take a few more heaving breaths on the matt. She stayed there for quite a few seconds, sitting slowly back up as the announcer’s voice called “YOUR WINNER…by way of pinfall…ASTRID WHITE!”
Astrid seemed more preoccupied with complaining about the facesit than her victory, swatting lightly at the Aussie’s glazed features. “That was a singularly unpleasant way to try to win a match, Ms Freeborne. You will not do that again.” Having said her piece White tilted her head, raised one weary hand to her eye and then flashed her ‘A’ sigil again, turning her head to take in the whole arena and…
…Freezing dead as she finally noticed the uninvited guest at ringside. Then, despite all the wear and tear, she was up on her haunches, face looking furious and an almost cat-like hiss escaping from between her teeth. Where Justine’s response had been one of wariness, Astrid seemed to be 100% hostile to the Vicious Volunteer who’d joined them.
The Stranger rose up to her full height and paced forward a little, apparently preparing for assault. But still Harley-Jo stayed where she was, nodding slightly as if she approved of what she saw. Then she flashed a quick wink at the bristling Icelander, turned with a swish of auburn hair and set off on her steady way back up the ramp, her plans apparently concluded for the time being.
Astrid seemed ready to follow her for a second but clearly felt the throb in her head and ache throughout her body and thought better of it. Instead she turned round to look for her jacket and found herself nose-to-nose with a justifiably furious Justine Freeborne.
The Aussie was so angry that she could barely speak a word, so for a good 15 seconds the two blondes formed a sort of tableau of wordless rage and frustration. Then Astrid blinked and snaked her neck a little to work out a crick.
“We will be here again, Justine Freeborne.” The Stranger’s high, toneless voice made this sound like a statement of absolute fact, and Justine could at least approve of that. Holding the taller girl’s gaze for a few more seconds she muttered “Damn right we will. Get your face clean.” Then she shouldered past, dropped through the ropes and stomped up the ramp, the cheers of her still-appreciative fans not quite able to penetrate the fog of pain and frustration at how the night had finished.
Back in the ring Astrid took a second to flash her ‘A’ sigil again, the crowd mostly responding with boos but with a barely detectable undercurrent of appreciation, for the fight if not the winner. Then she too turned and slipped through the ropes, dropping to the floor and retrieving her jacket, as well as a nearby towel which she used to wipe her face, the first of many cleaning attempts she would try over the next twelve hours. Then the jacket went back on, the Stranger flicking the hood up and swathing her face in darkness again as she made her way back to the dressing rooms.