Rematch: Morrigan Vs. Valley Doll

Match Type: Standard
Winning Conditions: Pinfall, Submission or Knockout

Morrigan took off her glasses and handed them to the PA who in return handed her her contacts. She had a moment before her next fight and she was quite looking forward to it. Valley had been a bitch during Taylor's interview and when she felt bad, decided to apologize. Even if she had been sincere, Morrigan hadn't felt like accepting on Taylor's behalf for various reasons, one of which she thought was that Valley was either lying or being deceitful about her intentions. Another was because she, well, she didn't particularly care for the girl.

Somehow that had lead to a rematch and Morrigan was perfectly fine with that. She checked over her outfit and when her music began to play, she slipped down the ramp. Although she had been a known associate for Taylor Parker for some time, because of her rather infamous past, she still received a heaping of boos. She never really cared about what the audience thought, so she just smiled as she slipped into the ring.

This was more about proving things to herself and to her employer. She had made great strides in wanting to turn over a new leaf and while it wasn't always easy (like how she ended up in this match) she knew that as long as her mistakes weren't too bad and she could recover from them, then Taylor could at least see her progress.

However, turning over a new leaf or not, beating up some bitch always felt so, so good. That was probably something she was never going to completely get away from.

Valley was in her ring gear, doing a few light stretches while Queen blasted out through her headphones. In a few minutes, she’d be in the ring with Morrigan, a match she’d been wanting for almost exactly a year. It wasn’t exactly the highest profile match she’d been in all year, not a bout against some bright, shining rookie on her way to the top like Gemma, or a technical test with a veteran Wrestle Angel like Natasha Han. But, from a personal standpoint, this was something she needed, in the worst way.

But, before that happened, management wanted her to do a quick backstage interview to set things up for the fans, which she was perfectly down with. So, here she stood, in front of a big screen with the AFW logo proudly emblazoned on it, near the gorilla position, bouncing on her toes next to Friction’s premier interviewer, Madison Heights.

”Greetings, AFW Universe!” The perky interviewer stood beside Valley with a wide smile on and a quick flash of the peace sign. ”We’ll be bringing you your match in a moment, but before we do, we’re getting a few words in from one of the contestants, herself: Valley Doll, who…” She had a little chuckle as she looked over and watched the Slamazon dancing on her toes, almost as if she were in the ring already. ”...seems quite excited for this match, if I do say so myself. Eager much, Valley?”

”Oh, of course.” She stood still long enough to give Madison a little nudge on the shoulder. ”Here's the thing. I’ve been afforded a rare opportunity. Lots of people get messed up in the AFW, right? It seems like every time you turn around, there’s someone getting stripped or beaten or molested or worse in the ring. People like Morrigan get away with far, far too much in this company. But what you don’t see too often are people like me getting the chance for a little payback. That’s what I’ve got here today, and I’m making the most of it.”

Madison eyebrow did a slight raise, as she leaned in a little closer to Valley. ”So it’s about revenge? Personal?”

Valley stopped and crossed her arms, taking on a more serious look as she contemplated the word. ”Revenge?” She bobbed her head from side to side, rolled the idea around. ”I guess, in a way. I mean, I can’t pretend that what Morrigan did last year isn’t in my head. It is. Probably always will be. And no matter what I do to her, it won’t go away. But this? It’s something. If I win here, it’ll be a good way to put some closure on things.”

”I notice you use the word ‘if’.”

”Yup.”

”So there’s a little doubt that you might come out on top, here?”

”There’s always a little doubt.” She shrugged. ”Morrigan did beat me before. It wasn’t a fluke. And she did it clean. Clean-ish, at least.” She winced, remembering what it was like to get her crotch rammed into the steel post. Not fun. ”I didn’t take her seriously then, and I lost. But!” She held up a finger. ”If she doesn’t take me seriously this time, she'll spend most of the match on her back. See, I don’t need to talk and tell people how capable I am in the ring. I do, a bit, but I don't need to, because they know. I’ve gone up against some of the best talent in the sport this year, and I’ve come out on top each and every time. I’m at my peak. Better than any other year. And tonight I prove it. No doubts.”

One of the stagehands popped in off camera and gave her the sign - it was almost time. Valley threw a quick salute to Madison and began to backpedal off the camera. ”Now, if  you’ll excuse me, it's showtime. Rock on, ladies.”

---

Last year, when Valley came out to face Morrigan, a pathetically small crowd had been almost completely against her, and she’d been against them. She was still riding some hate from the Akashi thing and the abysmal Summer Splash match, some rumors had spread about her breakup with Silver Ace, and she wasn’t even doing her usual dance routine. They wanted her to go away, and she'd almost considered it.

Now, though? When the opening to her  music played out and echoed across the arena, the reaction couldn’t have been more different. People stood up, cheered, and chanted as the drums began and she emerged from the back. There were a few faint, scattered boos here and there from people who disapproved of what she’d said at the Spotlight, Valley had spent the last year trying her level best to get the fans on her side. She’d succeeded, by and large, and that wasn’t going to go away overnight.

Valley went through her dance routine as she made her way down to the ring, twirling and spinning and whipping her short hair around. It was the same motions she always went through, but there was more force to them, sharper movements, more violent twists. Anybody who’d seen it more than once could tell the difference - Valley was already fired up, and she was only going to get hotter.

She stopped in front of the apron, hopped up and stared at Morrigan for a moment from the other side of the ropes, not even bothering to hide the calm fury in her eyes. Despite what she’d told Madison, there was a very small, but very real part of her that wanted to do unto the redhead as she’d done unto her, to take the match farther than it needed to go. She had to tell that part of her to quiet down. The minute she got carried away was the minute she'd become sloppy, and she knew from experience that Morrigan excelled at punishing sloppiness.

Valley grabbed the top rope, pulled back, and jumped into the ring with a slingshot maneuver, somersaulting through the air and landing in a crouch near the referee and Morrigan. She popped back up to her feet quick and threw her opponent a quick wave, before she backed away and started to bounce on her toes.

Morrigan crossed her arms as Valley's music played and she barely acknowledged the girl even as she made her entrance. Really, she was just eager to get to the match and while she could appreciate theatrics, she often liked them to be on her terms.

She looked at Valley as she backed away to her corner and only took her eyes off the girl to stretch. Once she was limbered up, she rolled her shoulders back and focused on Valley once more.

When the bell rang, she hopped out of her corner and then began to circle the American. When she felt comfortable, she lunged at Valley, looking for a collar-elbow tie up.

The tension was pretty thick, so there was no surprise when the referee motioned for them to back off and make their way to the corners before the match started. Valley played nice and backed off as well, sliding her feet along the canvas as she went. She made her way into the corner and leaned back against it, grabbing the ropes on both sides and gripping them tight. Her head slowly bobbed up and down, keeping in time with her fading music, as her bright blue eyes stayed locked on the redhead. Almost time. Almost time...

Valley came bursting out of the corner when the bell rang, joining Morrigan in the circle with her arms raised. She moved around the ring with practised ease, speeding up, slowing down, staying light on her feet as she tried to get a guage on how she moved. It was tempting to just jump right in and start laying into her, but she was cautious right now. Better safe than sorry, here.

Patience paid off, too. Valley didn't have to wait long before Morrigan moved in, going for the tie up. She kept her arms up and started to go in, looking like she was going to accept it and try grappling with her, but that was only the illusion. Instead, she whipped her foot into Morrigan's face with a quick front snap kick the moment she came in range, aiming to hit her right in the jaw before she could get close.

"Gnnnhk!"

Morrigan stumbled backwards when the boot cracked across her jaw. She fell against the ropes, nearly sitting on the middle rope as she pushed one hand against her face and scowled. She hadn't even seen that coming but that was a real indication of what she could expect.

If valley didn't want to lock up and have the pretenses of a normal match, then Morrigan would happily oblige. Just because she didn't break the rules anymore didn't mean she had to play nice and let valley kick her ass. She pushed off the ropes and scrambled back towards the blonde and lunged at her legs, trying to take her out at the knees.

When Morrigan looked up at her with pure hatred, Valley just hopped back on one leg, smirked, and pointed straight at her. "That's the look."

Kicking Morrigan in the face was satisfying on a spiritual level, and judging from the crowd's roar, they approved. She intended on doing it quite a few more times before the night was through.

Of course, the fiery redhead wasn't going to just sit back and take the punishment - as soon as she got back on her feet, she came back at Valley, full steam ahead. Good.

Valley waited until Morrigan lunged and went into action, jumping to the side like a matador and letting her miss, giving her nothing but air to grab hold of. The Slamazon didn't stop there, though. The moment her feet touched the ground, Valley brought her arm up, kicked her legs out, and came down on Morrigan with a sharp elbow drop, driving the point right in the middle of her back.

Morrigan caught nothing as Valley hopped out of the way. Morrigan knew her charge was a bit reckless, but she paid for it more than she thought she might have as Valley's elbow drove into her back. Her shoulders and butt arched up and she cried from the pain jolting through her body.

"Gaaahh!"

As much as this was about getting a little payback, Valley's body still worked effeciently, and her instincts weren't suffering. That meant that, when Morrigan cried out in pain, she didn't stop to admire her handiwork. It was from one move to the next, with practiced effeciency.

By the time Morrigan was reacting to the attack, screaming from the pain as her body arched, Valley was already beginning the followup. She rolled backwards over Morrigan's body, popped up to her feet on the other side, took a step back and then went right back at her, never missing a beat. Valley flipped forward and came down on the redhead's back with her own, crashing into her with a somersault senton that was aimed for the same spot the elbow had struck just a couple of seconds ago.

Morrigan felt the weight being lifted off her as Valley hopped up. She was going to take a moment to try and soothe the pain in her back as she attempted to push up to her hands and knees. However, even before she got to that position, she felt Valley crash down onto her, flattening her back against the mat.

She huffed, the air forced out of her as her face contorted in pain once more and she groaned with the blonde's weight pressing down on top of her.

The crowd cheered along after the impact, though some of them just groaned along with impact, knowing what it would likely mean for Morrigan - Valley had clearly picked her favorite spot of attack for this match, and she would be coming back to it often.

Valley stood up and grabbed two handfuls of Morrigan's sizzling red hair, getting a tight grip. She stood up in front of Morrigan and yanked her along, forcing her to get back up to her feet. When she had raised enough for it, Valley spun around, pulled Morrigan's head over her shoulders, and tried to dump her flat on her butt with a snapmare, wanting to get her into a sitting position and keep her head spinning.