Haruka Date vs. Valley Doll - Back in the Saddle

Valley could already see that this was where the difficulty in the match would come from. She did well in wide, open spaces, using her agility to the best effect, flying around and jumping away and ducking under...but so did Haruka. She had a great selection of kicks and strikes to choose from and could hammer them home with brutal power...but so could Haruka, maybe even moreso. So the question was whether she wanted to take the fight to unfamiliar ground and bank on being better at doing well there, or stick to her basics and try to beat Haruka at her own game. Tricky. Tricky, tricky, tricky...

That point was made abundantly clear when she got Haruka into the corner and wound up taking a fierce knee to the gut. She squawked and released the clinch to grasp her stomach, still suffering the last brutal strike she'd taken there. If something wasn't broken by the time this match was over, she'd be greatly surprised.

Haruka grunted. The knee bought her some time and space and she knew she had to use it effectively if she wanted to pull out the victory. She had Valley dead to rights for a second a split second and she had to press her advantage.

She brought her foot up in a wide arc and swung it down trying to bring her heel down like a hammer on Valley. No shouting this time. This was her going back to her roots.

Valley had an idea what was coming next, but only because it was a move she'd often used herself - an axe kick. She recognized all the signs. She saw the leg raise up, saw Haruka's body tensing for the crushing heel drop, knew that a lot of pain was going to be coming down on her head in short order, and prepared herself accordingly.

Her arms came up in a hasty cross arm block, just fast enough to block it in time and just strong enough to weather the impact. Valley ducked down under the blows pressure, starting to crouch under the weight, then straightened up fast and tried to throw Haruka off and push her into the turnbuckle.

Haruka winced in pain as Valley deftly blocked the axe kick. For a second she was wide open to any attacks and she blinked. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Valley didn't counter attack as brutally as Haruka perhaps would have. The blonde woman pushed her against the turnbuckle and Haruka was forced to grab the ropes to her sides so as to not lose her balance.

Haruka had her back to the corner literally and figuratively. Anyone who had seen her fight knew that she was better off using the whole expanse of the ring. But Valley had just taken away that strength so Haruka braced herself; this spritely woman was sure to get a little retribution for the kicks Haruka had thrown at her. Let's see what your all looks like, Haruka thought.

The force of the push made Valley take a step back, but aside from losing a little ground, things that 'counter' worked out okay. She know had a vulnerable Haruka Date in the corner. Now, what to do with her?

Valley decided to keep it old school and go with something classic, simple, but effective. Taking advantage of the lost space between them, Valley jumped towards Haruka, brought her knee in to her chest, and shot out with a thundrous front dropkick, taking all the power from her legs and trying to shoot it right into the Wrestle Angel's upper torso. With nowhere to go behind her but the turnbuckle, it would do all the right kinds of damage - if it hit.

The dropkick was brutal and racked Haruka's body. The force of it sent her crashing backwards into the turnbuckle, which rocked both her back and front. The Silent Phoenix had to quit her silence to cry out in pain. She was not feeling so great at the moment, physically or mentally, being trapped like an animal and hit like one.

Haruka decided to rectify the situation. She turned her body as much as the confined space would allow, and twisted in an elbow, hoping to hit Valley across the head with it. The woman were so close to each other that Haruka could have sworn she could count the pores on Valley's nose. She brought the elbow around to try and gain some time and maybe some space.

Being close was good, because it meant Valley got the most bang for her buck with each attack and cut down on Haruka's mobilitiy.

Being close was bad, because it meant that her mobility was lacking as well. With her speed, anything Haruka threw back would hit too, and the woman was a lot more resilient than Valley'd first guessed.

This was beautifully illustrated when she stood up from the dropkick and wound up taking an elbow in the face, cracking hard enough across her jaw to make a click. The blow made her staggered back and spin around, stunned, while her hand reached up on reflex to nurse the spot. Not quite an even trade for the dropkick, but still, nasty.

Haruka did her best to conceal her pain. The dropkick still hurt yet she had to move forward, she still had to attack. Haruka forced herself off the turnbuckle and made a step forward. She wrapped her arms around Valley's ample hips and twisted slightly so as to not send her into the turnbuckle. She then tried to pull Valley up, paying her back for the German suplex she suffered through earlier with a German suplex of her own.

Her arms weren't the strongest but she felt she could work her center of gravity to bring Valley up and over. She felt Valley's feet almost leave the ground, and felt herself getting tense. She wasn't in the zone yet, but she could feel it coming on...

Haruka was known for her deadly kicks, but that didn't mean that was all she had to work with. A well-tested wrestler didn't rely on one way to attack, and as Valley felt a pair of slim arms wrap around her waist and a firm chest press into her back, she understood that point, loud and clear.

Haruka didn't suplex her into the turnbuckle, even though that would have been an effective and legal - if a bit dirty - move, so Valley had that to be thankful for. That didn't make the pain from her shoulders colliding with the canvas any easier, but at least this was staying relatively cordial.

She hit the floor hard and rolled off from the impact, flopping over on her chest while she massaged her aching shoulders.

Haruka looked down on Valley, trying to think of what to do next. Most girls would go in for a submission probably or something in that vein. Haruka wasn't most girls, to say the least. Haruka took a few steps back to give herself some space and then somersaulted forward to try and bring down both of her legs on Valley.

The crowd held their breath in anticipation. Haruka's hands were on the ground and her legs were coming around and down on the cute wrestler. The unconventional move was in progress. Haruka couldn't have stopped it even if she wanted to.