Rainbow Mika vs. Army 'Armando' Rodriguez - Cyclone Warning

Rainbow Mika wasn’t wrong. This wasn’t exactly the best way for Army to kick this match off.

It wasn’t like he was hurting or anything - the hurricanrana had left him more loopy than anything, screwed his head up. It took him a moment to get his head back on straight, a moment that his opponent took to play up the audience, lucky for him. By the time she was back on him, he was more or less cleared up.

Off he went, sent running with the Irish Whip. He bounced off the ropes and spun about, just in time to see Rainbow Mika trying to decapitate him with a wild airborne clothesline.

”Nope!”

He ducked low as the clothesline came in and spun about his heel, coming around just as she descended. When she touched the canvas, he rushed in and came at her from behind, trying to catch her before she could turn around.

He slipped his head under her shoulder, grabbed her by the waist with one arm and the thigh with the other, and proceeded to lift her up and fall back, looking to spike Rainbow Mika into the canvas with a belly-to-back suplex.

Move fast, strike hard. That was the motto Mika always followed in every match, especially when fighting larger, stronger opponents like Army. Thus far, it had worked out for her in almost every encounter, and she figured that she had rattled Army enough that she would be able to hit him with the clothesline with little to no difficulty.

Unfortunately, she thought wrong.

Moving with a speed that was surprising on such a large foe, Army ducked her clothesline. Gasping, Mika barely managed to catch her footing in time, managing to retain her balance and spinning around to face Army...that is, she would have, if he wasn't already wrapping one arm around her waist and another around her thigh.

Yelping in alarm, Mika felt herself being lifted up in a suplex. Reacting quickly, she would try to right her body in mid-flip, hoping to land on both of her feet behind Army as she flipped off of him, before jumping back hoping to spike him with a double drop kick to his chest as he turned around! If she was too slow, however, then she would be brutally nailed by Army's suplex and left lying on her back, arching slightly to rub at her hurting spine...

Something was wrong.

Army had a long history of lifting things - sometimes people - and throwing them around. It had basically been his MO since he hit his growth spurt and shot up a foot, a big part of his training, what he often used those big muscles for. He had a good sense for it. So he could tell when a suplex was working the way it was supposed to, and when he threw Mika, something felt a little...off. Something not right about the trajectory, the heft, but he couldn’t put his finger on it 100%.

He found out the hard way, though, soon enough, when he rose to his feet and turned out. Instead of a wrecked, vulnerable Rainbow Mika, he was presented with a pair of boots crashing into his chest, right in the middle, hitting with enough force to knock him off his feet. When he touched the canvas, he wound up stumbling back, struggling to stay upright, and he very well might have crashed down if his back hadn’t wound up against the turnbuckle.

That was where he stayed for the moment, too, stunned and shaking up the blow, taken off guard not just by the pain, but the sheer suddenness of the turnaround.

The crowd went wild. They, too, had been used to seeing Army effortlessly dominate physically smaller opponents, using his muscle mass and size to great effect in the ring. True, he wasn't a heel by a long shot, but when it came to David and Goliath matchups in AFW, he was usually a Goliath. So when Mika almost casually landed on her feet, that was the first big surprise. The second was when she then proceeded to nail Army with a drop kick, one that sent the him sprawling into the turnbuckle.

Mika was never one to waste a moment with the crowd: she spun around to face them, flashing her hand in a V-sign as she grinned at them, which got them cheering. With the crowd's attention on her, she reached back and slapped both of her generous butt cheeks, as much as a taunt to Army as a signal of her next move.

"SHOOTING PEACH!" she shouted, breaking into a run towards Army before spinning around, aiming to collide with him, ass-first, while he lay sprawling among the ropes. It was one of her most well-known moves, and with Army trapped in the corner, would be double effective...

Back against the ropes. Wide open. Nowhere to run, it seemed. What was Mika going to hit him with next?

Shooting Peach.

He’d studied Rainbow Mika’s matches carefully, enough to get a real sense of her moves, the way she operated, what she could throw his way. It gave him a good insight, even in his stupor state, enough that he could think two steps ahead and anticipate what was coming his way with a good degree of accuracy.

...also, it helped that she spent, like, half a minute a slapping her butt and playing to the audience. Oh, and she announced the move, too. Both helped, but he could’ve seen it coming even if she didn’t. Probably.

Regardless, he had a counter at the ready. When she leaped up, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in tight and pressing her butt against his chest. Not the most unpleasant feeling, he wouldn’t lie, but he didn't enjoy it for too long.

Army slipped his head under her arm, stepped forward, dropped down to a knee, and smashed Rainbow Mika’s tailbone on the tip of his upturned leg, drilling her with an… "ATOMIC DROP!”

Mika's philosophy when it came to wrestling was "go big or go home." Every move she made, every gesture, every bit of banter...all of it was done with as much flashy recklessness as possible, and all done to gain the maximum level of fan engagement. Did it backfire sometimes? Sure. But Rainbow Mika had not gotten the following she had, or the reputation, by playing it safe. And so it was the crowd knew exactly what was coming the moment she launched herself in her Shooting Peach at Army.

Unfortunately, so did Army.

Seconds before her lovely derrierre could collide with the guy, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She gasped, caught flat footed by Army's sudden and quick reaction. In an instant, she was lifted off her feet, her butt brushing up against his bare abs as he lifted the Rainbow Warrior off the mat. Her eyes widened when she realized exactly what was coming.

"Wait, wait--" she stammered, before Army dropped her, hard, across his knee. She yelped as pain shot up her tailbone, and then she bounced off his knee and dropped to her own knees, collapsing onto her front. She groaned, clutching back at her hurting backside, her knees against the mat lifting her generous rear up in a manner that was, intentionally or not, suggestive. Naturally, the crowd was taking plenty of pictures at this point.

Slowly, she managed to push herself up to her knees, and to her feet, still clutching her hurting backside as she turned to face Army, a comically pained and insulted expression on her face. "That hurt!" she pouted loudly, the reaction elicting a laugh from the audience.

The benefits of scouting, ladies and gentleman.

The Atomic Drop wasn’t going to win him this match or even do heavy damage, but Army was pleased with the results all the same. He wasn’t out to embarrass Rainbow Mika, far from it, but he was happy with that counter, showing that he could handle her offense well enough. Keeping things light, too.

He backed away and placed her hands on her knees, leaning forward, staying nice and loose. He could’ve moved forward, he could’ve been aggressive, he could’ve hit her before she got back up - he didn’t. Instead, he leaned against the corner and stretched, making a nice little show of things while she got her act back together.

”Yeah, sorry, that was kind of the point.” He shrugged and pushed his way out of the corner. Army bounced on his toes a couple of times, then started to around the ring, keeping close, but not too close, keeping his eyes locked on Rainbow Mika the whole way, keen to see what her next move would be.

Okay. So far, Army had been a gent in this match-- and she was able to say that, having fought more than a few creeps in her time-- but that atomic drop had annoyed her. Not so annoyed that she wasn't going to play it up for the crowd, but even so, having her own move -- one of her signature moves, at that-- used so effectively against her really got on her nerves.

And yet, to his credit, he didn't attack her while she was down. Instead, he hung back, matching banter with banter as she got back up. Rubbing her sore behind, she turned and glared at Army, though at this distance he would have still noticed the faint smile at the corner of her lips.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be real soon, mister!" she called out. And with that, she exploded into action, balling her fist back as though for a strike...and instead suddenly flipping forwards, aiming to latch her powerful thighs around Army's head and flip him backwards in a hurricanrana!

Army had been a little worried about the Atomic Drop - after all, slamming her butt down on his knee was dangerous, risked damaging a national treasure. Good strategy, sure, but he didn’t want to be known as the guy who made Rainbow Mika stopping throwing her ass in everyone’s face. That would just be a bad rep.

Thankfully, she seemed to come out of it okay, even lighthearted, and the match was back on soon enough. Rainbow Mika even seemed game to slug it out with him. Maybe not the best move, trying to outstrike a former boxe, but hey, if that was how she wanted to play things, he’d oblige.

They got close, real close, she moved back for a wide swing, and-

Nothing. A feint. A good one, too, because it made Army stumble forward, right into her open, waiting legs. His neck was snatched up, he was jerked forward, and was sent flying through the air in one smooth motion, brought down on his back an instant later, hitting with enough impact to do a small bounce right after. All because muscle memory failed him.

The crowd went wild as Mika sent Army flying, her powerful legs doing their usual work and throwing her larger male opponent a good long distance. Landing back on her feet with an almost catlike grace, Mika raised her hands, flashing dual V-signs to the crowd, and basked in their cheers. Glancing back, she saw that Army was now flat on his back, stunned by her...well, lets face it, very stunning display.

Walking over to Army, she would grab a hold of his head and pull him into a sitting position. "Let's try that again," she would whisper into his ear, giving him a mischievous wink that he probably couldn't see. Without wasting any time, she ran to the opposite ropes, bounced off of them, and came running back...

"SHOOTINGPEACH!" she shouted suddenly, twisting in mid-run, this time aiming to slam her ass against the back of Army's head!