Summer Splash 2023: Friction World Title Match: Rebecca Tomko vs ???

The amazon champion's heavy rock theme rumbled through the arena as one of the most imposing figures in wrestling made her way to the ring. Clad in her new Red and White two piece outfit, soon to be staple colours for AFW's Bullet Club, and the AFW World championship around her waist, the heavyweight wrestler and by this point a 12 year AFW veteran stomped her way to the ring to the sound of cheering fans, signs held up asking to be crushed under her boots, in her arms or between her legs. Pretty par for the course for AFW fans but these ones were in English which made them all the more irritating for Rebecca.

Irritating was a good word for this whole affair. First defence and she was out first instead of the traditional champion's position of entering the ring last to waste as little of the VIP's time as possible, second of all her manager and girlfriend had been unceremoniously banned from ringside due to the General Manager's fears of what was best described as "Shenanigans" taking place, and thirdly: she didn't even know who the heck she was facing! This wasn't a case of being short staffed and finding a quick replacement, this was a deliberate surprise withheld from her and Rebecca Tomko was not happy about that. No amount of pyro was going to make this a less bitter pill to swallow.

Maximilian's attempts at maintaining absolute secrecy in regards to whoever the mystery challenger could be had reached an extraneous degree, to say the least. Contracts were signed amongst personnel ensuring absolute confidentiality under penalty of legal retribution. Mock schedules were fabricated to confuse the journalists and their accompanying shutterbugs aiming to score pictures worth thousands of dollars if successfully taken. Security camera footage was meticulously wiped clean wherever the challenger would tread within the arena offices. Limousines with blacked out windows were employed alongside men in suits using earpieces and are known for making certain problems "disappear". Maximilian sparing no expense in order to sustain the burgeoning hype swirling around the main event scene as to who the challenger could be, and by doing so allow the wrestling fandom to publicize this match better than he ever could with internet speculation abounding. Pod-casters offering both logical and absurd potential challengers. Insisting on unconventional contenders in spite of the fact they were either signed to other federations, had renounced the profession as a whole or had been deceased for several years now. Although with seconds ticking down until the mystery would be revealed, those who had done their research were already chanting her name in the distance as the arena darkened. The whistling flute of her theme beginning to play for a several seconds until it picked up in tempo with the lyrics and one emblazoned image began fluttering on monolithic screen...

Ángel:

Pyrotechnics firing off at the top off the stage and masking it in a cascade of flaming embers. Smoke machines settling down and from behind them would be a lone figure with her back facing the arena. Both arms extended above with fingers interlocked as she performed a lackadaisical back stretch, only once she loosened up and shifted a glance over her shoulder that the cameras zoomed in on would Ángel have officially made her overwhelming presence known. Whatever roof the stadium had would be in need of immediate repair considering it would be blown open from the thousands upon thousands of cheering onlookers, awestruck from the sight after having honestly believed they had seen the last of the Latin Sensation within an AFW ring. Yet here she was. Sauntering down the elongated ramp with arms extended to her sides and a sultry sway to her steps as if basking in the adulation befitting a veritable legend in the business. Angel wings fluttering on adjacent screens beside the one showcasing the Mexican flag as she reached the steel steps...but took a minute to gaze around and soak in the atmosphere for all it was worth. A beaming smile all throughout as she entered the ring but immediately went about climbing the nearest turnbuckle to a sparkling flourish of cameras. Blowing them all a flirtatious kiss and gesturing a belt motion around her slim-lined waist, making it abundantly clear what she intended to walk away with tonight. The Lovely Latina gingerly hopping off her perch and taking confident strides towards the towering champion herself in the middle of the ring.

"..." At first staying silent with hands propped on her waist...but cracking up into a guffaw of overjoyed smiles and laughs. "HahHahHah!!! Espera, lo siento. I'd been wracking my brain for weeks over what would be my first words since returning, but all I can think of right now is how ecstatic I am to be back. And look at you!!! Still jacked as all hell, and I like the new look, but silver hair still looks better on me though. I see you took my advice about stepping out of Adrian's shadow and getting up to bat yourself for the big gold belt. Took you a few years, but I always knew ya had it in ya. Guess you could say you owe me one for what you got strapped around your waist there~...afraid to say though, that Imma have to make this a short title reign...chica."

Well, this was different. The champion could certainly say she wasn't expecting her to show up. Ever. Angel hadn't been seen in AFW since before Adrian had joined with the Wild Mares to form the Bullet Club in the first place, now the Mexican Sensation was back and heading straight for the top. Rebecca almost wanted to laugh with her as she broke down into a fit of giggles in the ring. "I owe you one?" Rebecca repeated as the referee desperately tried to separate champion and challenger so she could do the whole title match ceremony "You know what?" The amazon shrugged, handing the belt off "You got a point." she nodded along, spreading her arms out wide.

"Come on take your free shot!" She dared the returning latina "Think of it as a 'welcome back' gift." the ebony Amazon offered, even leaning her head in to give Angel a better shot at her jaw as the ref gave up on the formalities and rung the damn bell. Rebecca's first official defence was underway.

Angel's covertly negotiated AFW contract, while ensuring that the People's Champion would absolutely be making bank this time around, indeed prohibited the Latina from spilling the beans or publicizing her new deal in the slightest. In hindsight she wished she had her agent fight to omit that obnoxious caveat just so she could make her grandiose debut on an earlier live show, allowing her all the time in the world to revel in the cherished adoration from her fanbase just than. She was fairly certain she even spotted a few grown men brought to tears...but instead she absolutely needed to put her game face on unless she wanted that beautiful smile of hers buried against Tomko right fist once the match started.

*Ay, tan grande como lo recuerdo...* Angel internally lamenting that Rebecca appears to still be the brickhouse of muscles she remembers her as, except now with the newfound confidence to seemingly start doling out freebies. Angelita balking with a cocked eyebrow at Rebecca's proposal, offering the audience a reluctant shrug and overjoyed smile as she backpedaled a few steps. Stretching her back and partaking in some theatrical shadow-boxing, playing to the crowd and bouncing on her tiptoes before kissing her balled up fist as if aiming to deliver a patented Angel Kayo Punch. Except swerving everyone at the last second by serving up an Angel's Kiss superkick aimed straight for the bottom of Beck's offered chin!!!

What Rebecca honestly expected to happen was for the Latina to get a little mad about being handed a free shot and use it to slap the amazon across the face for the insult but instead the returning Angel took the offer earnestly, looking like she was going to swing for the fences at the champion's exposed jaw with an over-dramatic swing only for her to strike with her fiercest blow: a superkick that sent the Amazon flying backwards into the ropes.

"Ughh..." Rebecca groaned as she lay across the top rope, the weight of all her muscles bending them down letting her essentially droop over with her head upside down over the edge of the ring, left to ruminate on her bad decision. The referee was desperately trying to speed through proceedings as the fight had technically started before the bell with the announcer rambling through the formalities like introducing the wrestlers and so forth only for whatever noise they could make through the microphones was overwhelmed by the amazon's roar as she pushed herself up off the ropes and catapulted herself forward, swinging her arm as she looked to collide with Angel with a big time lariat.

Considering the career-defining stakes involved with this championship match and her penchant for striking when the iron es fuego, Angel subverted expectations via cracking some jawlines instead of taking the virtuous high road. Being raised amidst crime-riddled squalor meant scavenging for any advantage you could, and it seemed like Rebecca sorely needed to have her hubris checked anyway. Angel inwardly considered it well-justified karma due to the countless times Becks and her Philadelphian squeeze bent the rules into pretzels back in the day. Just a shame that the Amazon's comeuppance may just end up equating to a title reign abruptly cut short as the superkick sounded more explosive than the actual fireworks having jettisoned into the arena sky mere seconds go.

"Ay Gracias~...that was the perfect Welcome Back gift. Well, that alongside my title back. Oh, pero...after I'm champion again, make sure to tell Adrian I said ¡Hola! and that we should definitely hook up one of these days~..." Angel sweetly suggested with a hand situated on her cocked waist, confidently striding straight towards the fatigued Amazon with the obvious assumption that the Latina was in for a short work night. The phrase about "assuming" never being more apropos as Becks sprung to life in time for Angel to gasp into a meathook clothesline bludgeoned into her breasts, a dynamic lariat that time practically stood still for as the airborn Mexicana spiraled 360° and inside out. Angel sunken into the canvas and rasping for breathes amidst awestruck astonishment within the audience...

Rebecca's momentum wasn't only sending the returning Angel spiralling to the floor, she'd put enough force behind that lariat that the champion was also taking a trip down to the canvas crashing down with a heavy thud while the latina was still bouncing from her involuntary backflip for style "Idiot." The amazon grunted at herself for letting her opponent get such a heavy hit in the first place, Angel was a former champion for a good reason and taking her lightly was going to be a bad idea.

Still, she had all the time to grab the ropes and pull herself back up to her feet leaving her towering over the fallen Angel, Rebecca's shadow looming over her foe as she got in position to really get her point across. "Welcome back!" She taunted, bringing her heavy boot down "In case you still didn't realise, that belt the timekeeper's looking after for me? Means I'm the best here now. So how about a little respect, huh?" the amazon explained, grinding her foot into the exposed abs of the challenger.

Rude awakenings tended to come in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, Angel's epiphany appeared in the form of a veritable Mack Truck of a meathook silencing anyone who thought this match was anywhere close to being in the books. Gobsmacked audience members unaccustomed to a match skipping the preambles altogether with famed finishers and doomsday clotheslines flying everywhere. Angel obviously regretting this course of action more than anyone. Searing aches throbbing in her cradled chest as she twirled over onto her back when noticing an all-eclipsing shadow darkening her doorstep, where she'd languish with a grimaced scowl beneath Tomko's boot treads stamped into her defined midsection. "What the hell would you know about that, anyway? Only one way to earn my respect, chica..." Angel groaned with both hands clasped onto Beck's calf muscle, squirming beneath the giantess pinning her down until she'd wriggle out from under her foe. A beleaguered crawl taken towards the nearest turnbuckle, disorientation lingering since being spiraled in mid-air and she'd need the padded structure to even try being vertical right now.

Angel was too proud to do anything like apologize for being insufficiently deferential to anyone, especially not in the middle of a title match so the back and forth trash talk wasn't telling the Amazon anything she didn't already know, but with the silver haired firecracker demanding that the Rebecca earn her respect let the bigger woman smile just that little bit "Alright, we're doing this the hard way then," The champ shrugged as Angel managed to get out from underneath the towering titan that was the 2 metre tall amazon, Rebecca slowly walking behind the crawling Angel as she made it to the corner with no real sense of urgency, she had the challenger trapped anyway.

Being oh so gracious as to help Angel back to her feet against the turnbuckles, Rebecca secured her grip around her comfortably and took one big step towards the centre of the ring pulling Angel along for the ride "YEET!" She yelled as she hurled the Latina up and across the ring, testing herself to see how much hangtime she could get off the biel throw.