SS22 Friction World Championship - Alaina Sanders (c) vs Julia Rogers

Alaina was hurting after having just barely kicked out. She moaned in pain, and felt herself being dragged up to her feet. She had to do something, she was on the back foot for sure at this point. the champion decided to try to shock Julia and go for a move that Akashi of all people used to use.

As she was pulled up Alaina sent a few body punches into Julia's abdomen before grabbing her in a bear hug! Alaina squeezed and thrashed about before running forward to plant Julia down to the mat with Alaina laying on top of her already for a pin in a bearhug-into-spinebuster variant of waxing moon, waning tide! She would remain right on top of Julia, going for a pin immediately and hoping that this kept the challenger down!

"ONE!"

Each punch forced a pained grunt from Julia while driving her back. Taking strikes from the Amazon always sucked, but she was lucky the stronger woman was throwing them while being pulled up, before she had her full balance under her.

Though that didn’t help her at all with what came next.

“Nngh!!” the cowgirl let out with a strained cry while a pair of powerful arms scooped her up and squeezed against her frame! The bear was on right, but she could get out of this. Julia stretched her arms out, readying to slam them together on Alaina’s head and—

BOOM!

Before the luchadora could even try to fight out of the hold, she was slammed down with such force it nearly seemed that it should’ve driven her through the canvas itself! Julia was so loopy after the thunderous impact she didn’t even hear the first count. But then she faintly registered a weight resting on her while hearing a voice off to the side.

“TWO!”

She was about to be pinned! Eyes widening at the alarming realization, she let out a strained shout while throwing her right arm up, narrowly driving her shoulder off the mat to break the count mere milliseconds before the ref’s hand could strike the mat for the final time! In a night of dangerously close calls, that had been her closest yet…

Alaina thought that this may be it, nodding with each count when just before three she felt Julia kick out! "Damn...." was all Alaina could say as she rolled off Julia, trying to get up to her feet. She had to keep up at this and Alaina grabbed hold of Julia trying to get her up to her feet. Alaina was hurting and knew Julia was too, to that end she was going to try to treat Julia like a punching bag. Alaina cocked her right fist and brought it back ready to deck Julia in the jaw with a hard right hook!

Labored breaths left Julia’s lips as she was pulled back up, her arms sagging beside her while her legs seemed to barely support her. The luchador looked like a sitting duck with a strong lunch getting ready to be launched right at her masked face, until…

Just as the punch came in, Julia ducked under it and leaned underneath Alaina’s frame while forward momentum carried the Amazon right over her waiting shoulders. Latching one arm around her foe’s thigh and the other around her neck, Julia would let out a strained shout while standing back upright with Alaina on her shoulders in a fireman’s carry! Only a second later, she’d turn her body to drop sideways, angling herself to drive the champion right on her head with a Death Valley Bomb!

Or as Taylor had used to call it, the Black Flag!

Alaina swung and missed, feeling Julia ramming her and lifting her up. Alaina groaned and tried to kick her legs for a second, shaking her head as she had no clue what was coming. This was not at all in Julia's usual wheelhouse. "What the....AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!"

The loud crash of Alaina smashing the canvas echoed throughout the arena as the amazon collapsed to the mat in a motionless heap! The champion wasn't moving after Julia used a signature move not seen in AFW in years! Alaina was down and out it seemed with the challenger halting her momentum before it started putting the amazon in an awful spot with the cowgirl still in control!

For several seconds Julia remained sprawled right next to the body of her opponent. Alaina might not be the largest woman on the roster, but the size difference between them was significant enough to make that last move a very difficult one for Julia to pull off, especially in the condition she was in.

Now having bought herself time to take in some precious air and recover just a bit, the cowgirl at last pulled herself over to Alaina and dropped her chest on top of the Amazon’s, laying out over the woman for another pin attempt as the ref’s hand came down.

“ONE…!”

Alaina felt Julia go for the cover and she weakly kicked and flopped about underneath Julia, unable to escape as the pin count started and continued on!

"TWO!"

Alaina was hurting and still stunned really out of it and struggling. The officials hand went back up and began its third descent when Alaina let out a loud shout and arched her back, bridging out of the pin! She was gasping for breath but still in the fight, wondering how she would be able to fight back after the surprise near-knockout blow from Julia!

Julia groaned as Alaina rolled her off and broke the pin. Options were quickly running out, and she was starting to worry that maybe nothing would be able to keep the Amazon down! But then, maybe she just needed to try a different tactic.

With that in mind she rolled under the nearest set of ropes and pulled herself up on the apron. Grabbing the top rope with both hands, she crouched down and waited for Alaina to start getting up. Once her target was about halfway there, Julia would then sling herself over the rope and over Alaina as well. Rolling forward, she’d sling both arms around the champ’s thighs. Landing on her own back with her head between her foe’s feet and her body laid out behind the woman, her hope was that she’d be able to pull her down onto her back between Julia’s outstretched legs with a surprise sunset flip pin attempt!

Alaina was still hurting when Julia came over grabbing hold of her and the dazed Alaina was much too slow to process what was going on to do anything about it.  Things were slipping away from her and she had to do something about it, she had to...

Alaina grunted as she used her strength resisting the attempts of Julia to roll her and instead dropping her weight down! Alaina was sitting down right on Julia's face and instead pressing down on the challenger in a pinning position! Alaina flexed her arms to pose as she did so hoping that maybe the surprise counter could do the trick!

"ONE!"

Alaina did go down, just not quite in the way the cowgirl had hoped. Julia’s eyes widened as the Amazon, rather than fall backward, instead quickly dropped right down onto her masked face!

A surprised yelp from Julia was muffled as Alaina sat on her face, sealing her mouth and nose off completely. The crowd cheered and whistled to voice their approval of the dominant and sexy pin, and in truth Julia might’ve appreciated it too if not for the ref’s count alerting her to the obvious danger she was in.

Immediately her legs went to work kicking, turning them both along the mat. The facesit pin had been smart, catching Julia off guard with something she’d never seen Alaina attempt in a match or even any of their countless spars together. But she knew the Amazon’s strength well enough to know that if she brought her legs up to try to throw the champ off, the stronger woman would likely simply catch and hold onto them. There was only one possible way out of this now.

“TWO…!”

Julia’s only saving grace here was that they were close to the ropes. Hoping she had angled their positions enough, she desperately reached her leg out toward the bottom rope, praying to score the rope break before the three count! Even if she got it, however, Alaina would have a full five-count warning from the ref before she’d need to relinquish her smother. One way or another, Julia would likely have to endure her face being used as Alaina’s seat at least a few moments longer.