Dave "Obsidian" Blake vs Jean Richards

Dave saw what Jean was doing and no matter how hard he fought the hold, the other wouldn't free him. He gasped in pain as he felt his head slam into the mat. He clutched at his skull, trying to drive out the pain as he attempted to regain his footing.

There was a real sense of satisfaction in Jean when he heard the gasp of pain coming from Dave after they fell. After landing, Jean let go of his nelson hold and switched tactics.

While Dave was trying to get up, Jean came at him from behind again. Standing behind Dave, Jean uses one arm to place him in a half nelson, and then uses his free arm to pull the Dave's arm (the same arm to which Jean is applying the half nelson) across Dave's face. Jean then locks his hand to his wrist behind the Dave's neck to complete one of his favorites, the cobra clutch. A bit more technical than anything displayed so far, but then again, submission techniques were more Jean's style.

Dave's eyes widened slightly as he recognized the hold. He needed to get to the ropes! Gritting his teeth, he used all of his strength to crawl his way to the nearby ropes. It was slow going, and he could feel the burning pain from the cobra clutch, but he fought through it.

Jean was amazed that Dave was still able to move around while he had him in the cobra clutch. It was one of the more painful holds he knew, so it really was a testament to his resilience. He kept up the pressure as long as he could, but it seemed like there was no stopping him.

When Dave finally reached the rope, the ref called for a rope break and there was nothing more Jean could do. With a sigh of disappointment in himself, he released his opponent and backed away with his hands on his hips.

Dave gasped for air when Jean released him. He massaged his throat with one hand while getting to his feet. 'That was too close' he thought, ' I can't afford to be caught in another one of those.'

He withdrew into a more defensive position, waiting for Jean to make a move. He had to regain the momentum and he would be able to swing the match back in his favor.

It seemed that Dave wanted Jean to take the lead now, which was fine by him. Judging from the look on Dave's face his cobra clutch had done a number on him, and he wouldn't be at 100%, so maybe it was alright.

Jean approached slowly, arms up and ready just in case Dave was playing possum. When he got within striking distance, Jean sprung into action. He put on a burst of speed and jumped up high and jutted his knee out, intent on driving it into Dave's face or chest or whatever he could get.

By some miracle Dave ducked his head back, with the knee narrowly missing his face. Ignoring the pain, he maneuvered behind Jean, wrapping his arms around Jean's waist and attempted a german suplex. Under normal circumstances, this would not work on a larger opponent, but this was a risk worth taking. Giving a yell, he lifted the other young man and leaned back to slam him into the mat.

Jean clicked his tongue when he just barely missed hitting his opponent and sailed on by. Just as he landed, he felt Dave's arms already sneaking around his waist.

Well shit.

Not a moment later Dave was lifting him up and he saw the audience and overhead lights blur by before a painful return to the earth. Jean groaned out loud, eyes winced shut and his back arched in pain.

Dave rolled to his feet, not giving Jean a moment to recover. He lifted Jean to his feet before throwing him into the ropes, aiming a high kick to his chest as he bounced off.

Before Jean could fully reel his pain back in, he was being hauled to his feet and tossed into the ropes. He stumbled into them and held on for support lest he fall, but his opponent wasn't done yet.

Jean barely saw it coming before there was a kick spearing him in his chest. He was bounced right back into the ropes with greater force than before, which then redirected him back into the ring. Jean hit the ground again with a thump, clutching at his sore chest with a low groan.