Kyo Akamatsu vs. Valley Doll - The Road To Recovery

And Kyo put his knee down, anchoring him even tighter to the canvas, which made Valley’s struggle twice as hard. Because of course he did. He was a smart wrestler, and that was a smart wrestler thing to do. Damn it.

As much as she respected his prowess, Valley found herself wishing the man could lean to the dumber side, if only for a few minutes. Her leg was quickly reaching its limit - the mere act of standing up would be difficult after this, to say nothing of throwing a half decent kick. And unlike a lot of leg based submissions, it didn't put her in a good position to walk off with her hands - it was possible to reach the ropes, but so awkward. But she didn’t have any other option, aside from tapping. While there wouldn’t have been any shame in admitting defeat to the tag champion, it wasn’t something she’d give up easy.

”Never hurts to ask…”

Defiant, she kept up the struggle, pulling further and further off to the side, reaching for the ropes. Closer, closer, closer, until…

He had to give Valley credit where credit was due: he knew from experience that the stretch muffler hurt. A lot. The pressure he was putting on her leg tendons was probably getting worse the more Valley was forced to move, and right about now her leg probably felt like it was going numb from the pain. But despite everything, Valley was hardly making a sound, as much as she no doubt wanted to scream right now. With iron resolve, she was instead pulling them towards the ropes, dragging them inch by painful inch. Around them, her fans were chanting "VAL-LEY! VAL-LEY!" in unison, and it was easy to see why.

And then, finally, after what felt like an eternity, Valley grabbed the bottom rope.

Kyo did not need any prompting by the ref: he immediately unslung Valley's trapped leg from around his shoulder and let it drop to the mat. He had accomplished one of his goals in this match already: that leg was going to be bothering Valley for much of the match, and would be severely limiting her mobility and striking power. Still, he also had no intention of getting complacent with her either: if she didn't realize it already, Valley was about to discover that the kid gloves were coming off.

Grabbing Valley's arm, Kyo would pull the Californian up towards her feet, pull her a little away from the ropes, and whip her towards the ropes. This was just a feint, however: instead of releasing her wrist as he swung, he would instead yank bank, hoping to unbalance Valley and pull her back in towards him, so he could wrap his arms around her bare waist and lift her back for a German suplex.

Except this would also be a feint: instead of dropping back all the way with a suplex, he would instead bring Valley falling down again, thigh-first, onto his outstretched knee! It wouldn't do any serious damage, like break her leg or tear any ligaments, but it would bruise an already sensitive area and hurt like wildfire.

Were the ropes always this far away? Valley could’ve sworn they were closer just a few seconds ago, no more than ten feet. All of the sudden, though, that ten feet felt like ten yards. Ten long, painful yards as Kyo Akamatsu pushed her legs to their very limit, testing all her tendons. ‘Excruciating’ was about the only word that she could use to describe it and even come close - insanely, maddeningly, insufferably excruciating.

But Valley made it. How, she wasn’t sure, but she made it.

She gripped the ropes tight, white-knuckled them, and Kyo did the honorable thing and let her go. Appreciated, really, but the five seconds wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The damage had been done, they both knew it, and the only question was how she would win a match without her leg in working order. A question that she found herself asking often in matches, but one that always seemed to have a different answer.

She was pondering what it would be this time when Kyo came back her way and scooped her up, ending her brief respite. She flailed about as she was lifted up thinking her was going for a suplex, but as it turned out, his plans were a little more direct than that.

Right on his knee. He dropped her down, hard, right on his knee, and the pain shot through her leg like lightning. This time there was no holding back the scream, and it was a loud one, too. She shrieked and fell flat, then hissed as she reached up to grab her battered leg. Nothing permanent had been done, she was sure of that, but her options had just been cut in half, and they’d be dropping from there if she didn’t do something to change course.

Smoothe as clockwork, Kyo brought Valley's thigh slamming down home against his outstretched knee. The blonde had been admirably stoic thus far in this match, biting back cries of pain even as she had struggled through the torment of Kyo's stretch muffler. This time, however, the blow elicited a shriek of pain from the blonde as his knee stabbed into her already sore leg muscles, before she toppled over to the mat, clutching her hurting thigh. Around them, more than some of the audience boo'd at this: at the very least, Valley's fans were now frantically cheering her on as she toppled to the mat, trying to rouse her to her feet.

He tried not to feel bad about that last move: after all, he guessed that someone like Valley would have been angry if Kyo had held back at all.

Even so, being himself, he couldn't help but be courteous as he pulled Valley up by her arm and her head. "Sorry about that," he said, "that wasn't a suplex. But this is." So saying, he would wrap his arms around Vallley's waist and arch back sharply, aiming to plant her hard onto her shoulders in a German suplex pin! If he managed that, then he would arch back, his arms clamped tightly around Valley's toned waist as he tried to hold her in place while the ref began the countdown.

Even has he made the pin attempt, he knew that Valley would probably kick out, or get a shoulder up, and that was fine by him. A part of him wanted to see how Valley would continue to fight on, even with her leg hurting the way it was-- to see how well she could live up to that reputation that had climbed up into the ring with her.

Had Valley Doll been in worse spots than this? She couldn’t recall. Definitely few with wrestlers this competent.

Things had gone well at the start of this match, with her being in control, but it all gradually slipped away from her. Death by inches, bit by bit. That was the strength of Kyo Akamatsu, she was learning. He knew how to play the long game, how to bide his time and wait for the right opportunities. Simple as it was, it was the sort of thing that eluded even seasoned wrestlers more than they cared to admit, and she couldn’t deny that there was room for her in that number.

He was methodical, too, giving her little time to recover. She gritted her teeth as he clasped her tight, pulling her up and over for the German Suplex, and did her best to brace for the impact.

It helped. A bit.

”1…!”

The referee’s hand slapped the mat for the count, but she didn’t stir back to life. Not yet. Saving energy, making sure she had enough. She wasn’t sure she’d have the power or time to make a second attempt if the first one wasn’t enough.

”2…!”

It was close, damn close, but Valley managed to get her shoulder up just as the hand was coming down, kicking her legs up hard to escape the hold and flopping over to her chest above Kyo’s head.

But she didn’t stop there. Desperate, she crawled forward like a thirsty woman crawling to water, ignoring the swelling pain in her back as she moved. She reached out and tried to wrap her arm around Kyo’s neck, a wild attempt to catch him in an inverted facelock. It wasn’t much, not likely to get a submission, but right now her top priority was just to slow him down. Any port in this storm would do.

The ring reverberated to their combined impact as Kyo managed to nail Valley with the German suplex-- not a move he employed often, but a little improvisation never her now and then. His cheek was against the small of Valley's back as he arched over the mat, putting a bit of his own flexibility as he held Valley's shoulders down against the mat. Next to them, the ref was already starting the countdown.

The first count went by, then a second. For a moment, Kyo wondered if he had knocked the wind completely out of Valley's sails, and that this was it. He was going to be disappointed if it was, but then--

And just like that, Valley flipped over, moving so suddenly that she tore herself free from Kyo's grip and caused him to flop down in surprise onto his back. That brief second of surprise was all that the Slamazon needed: with her body now perpendicular to Kyo's, she slid an arm around his throat and locked tight, trapping him in an inverted headlock.

Damn. As far as counters went, Kyo hadn't seen that one used before.

He gagged, feeling Valley's arm locked tightly around his throat, cutting off his air supply as she leaned with all of her weight into the headlock. Clenching his teeth, he twisted and writhed under her, trying in vain to pull free as he found himself unable to breathe. At that moment, Valley now had him grounded, the match quickly turned into a grapplefest, and he had absolutely no idea how good Valley was at this style of fighting. Knowing he had to act quickly or his loss of breath would start to weaken him more and more, he pressed his boots against the mat, and kicked off, hoping to flip his body over so that it was against Valley's back.

If he managed this manouver, then he would waste no time in prying at Valley's wrist with both hands, hoping with all hope that his change in position had weakened her grip around his head. At the same time, he would try to latch his legs around one of Valley's own legs or around her free arm to anchor himself in place. If he managed to pry Valley's encircling arm free, then the next part would be the complicated one, the one that Valley could potentially counter, as he would try to use his grip on Valley's wrist to wrap her own arm across her head in a Japanese stranglehold!

The answer to Kyo’s unspoken question was, sadly: Not very good. She had a better ground game than many high flyers, maybe even better than most modern wrestlers, as the business was getting more and more strike oriented these days and solid mat skills were dropping to the wayside, but it was not and never would be her forte. She was born for the air, meant to fly, and rolling about on the mat with a man who had a size and height advantage on her was just not in her wheelhouse. Never would be.

But with her legs out of commission, likely for the duration of the match, it was the only play she had. And to be fair, it seemed to work, at first. More or less. But Kyo was Kyo, which meant there was only so long that was going to last.

Sure enough, he started to work his way out of it and flipped back, using his legs in a creative way to lessen the hold’s effectiveness. Cagey man. In that instant, she only had two choices - stick to the hold despite his move, or abandon ship.

She chose the latter.

Valley let the hold go after her flipped over and hooked her legs, trying to set her up for another submission. Wanting some space, she swung her arm around, a wild attempt to clock him in the face with an elbow.

The inverted headlock was surprisingly well applied, wrapping tightly around Kyo's throat while keeping his head pinned down effectively to the mat. Grabbing briefly at Valley's forearm told him that he wasn't going to be able to pry his way out-- at least not from this angle. Instead, he had to literally turn the tables on Valley. And so he did just that: flipping over the blonde, he landed against her back, his own legs fishing back and managing to latch around one of Valley's ankles. Step one done: step two quickly followed suit as he pulled, and managed to yank his way free of Valley's now weakened grip.

That just left step three, a simple grab of her arm and--

And then Valleys elbow snapped backwards, bolting right into the side of Kyo's cheek. "GUUUNGH--" His head snapped backwards, his grip momentarily lost as colours exploded across his vision. Even immbolized on the mat, Valley's strikes with a deadly precision that were....well, pardon the pun...stunning.

Kyo's scissor around Valley's leg was forgotten as the blow sent him tumbling off of her. Instinct kicked in, and he quickly rolled, springing around up to his knees, clutching the side of his face where Valley had struck him. Though he was woozy from the blow, he still ended up ready for any follow up from Valley...though if there was no follow up, then he would instead simply wait patiently for her to return to her feet as well...

So, Valley had some problems.

The good news was that her little gambit worked, and her elbow managed to send Kyo reeling. That was no small feat, and it saved her at the last minute - she’d been in his holds enough times already to know how skilled his ground game was, and she wanted no more part of it. Like this, she could work to regain control, retake the match and swing it back around in her favor.

And that would’ve been so much easier if she could use her legs.

As it was, though, she was still hurting below the waist. Good enough to stand up, maybe even more around gingerly, but not do anything too crazy. And since her best moves could be described as ‘too crazy’...

A problem, but not an insurmountable one. Just meant she had to get creative.

As Kyo recovered, she rolled away, making her way under the ropes and onto the apron. She gripped the middle rope and pulled her way up to one knee, just high enough for her to peek her head back into the ring. The moment Kyo was up and turned her way, she sprung into action - literally. She pulled back on the middle and sprung off her good foot, using the combined force to hurl her way into the ring with a Slingshot Spear - one aimed right at Kyo’s chest.

So. That was one thing Kyo was rapidly learning about Valley: take out her legs, and she will still find a way to strike at you, and strike her. His cheek and jaw both throbbed dully from the blow as he rolled across the mat, and he shook his head, trying to clear out the cobwebs as he rolled up to his knees. To add to that, even if she wasn't renowned as a grappler, she was still more than capable of applying an inverted headlock that had forced him to re-think things on the mat.

Not for the first time, Kyo realized that he was really enjoying this match. There were few opponents who had forced him to rethink his moves so consistently like this. Valley was adapting to everything she threw at him, forcing him to alter his own strategies in turn.

As if to emphasize the point, the first thing Kyo saw, as he turned and rose back to his feet, was Valley literally slingshotting herself off the middle rope and hurtling at him like a living crossbow bolt.

"Nani--" was the only thing he was able to say.

In the half a second he had to act, he still managed to bring his arms up to cushion some of the blow. It mattered little, however, as Valley still cannoned right into him, knocking him over like a bowling pin as the two of them went crashing down in a tangle of arms and legs. Kyo would grimace as he hit the mat, his abdomen and ribs hurting from where the blonde had crashed against him.

Groaning stiffly, he would try to roll under the ropes in an effort to recuperate...although, if Valley had in fact landed on top of him, then he would be left trapped under the blonde and whatever she had planned next...