Cyber Saturday 2024 - Panther Risako vs Ellie St. James

Ellie was down, clutching her hurting midsection after Risako repaid her little knee to the stomach with a hammer-blow of her own, one that crunched hard into the other girl's chest and left her rolling on the mat in pain. Risako liked this new girl. She respected her. But she sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for Ellie to come and claim her belt-- not here, not now, not ever.

Rolling smoothly up to her feet, Risako nonchalantly brushed her hair back and strode over to the downed Ellie. Grabbing a hold of Ellie's arm, Risako would try to hoist the other girl up. "I couldn't agree more," she said, "which is why I have no intention of holding back against you. I hope for your sake that you can take it."

And with that, Risako would elegantly spin and whip Ellie towards the ropes! The moment Ellie came bouncing back, Risako would lunge at her, an arm raised as though for a lockup. It was all a feint of course: at the last moment, Risako would gracefully arch back, allowing Ellie-- and whatever counter the pinkette had planned-- to run on past, before straightening up and trying to nail her opponent with an enziguri kick! Risako had been at this sport far longer than Ellie had, and the British girl was soon going to discover just how much of a difference experience made in the ring...

Ellie winced, her chest throbbing with each breath, but any attempt to nurse her aching ribs was abruptly halted as Risako seized one of her arms, yanking her upright. The young Brit stumbled, finding herself on one knee as the champion's words rang in her ears. Despite the doubt creeping into her mind, Ellie forced a mask of determination, unsure if she could truly measure up against a former Wrestle Angel but not wanting to show any reservations.

Before Ellie could fully gather her bearings, Risako wrenched her upright and propelled her forward with a forceful Irish whip towards the ropes. Reacting swiftly, she caught herself, pivoting into a full sprint before rebounding off the ropes with newfound resolve. The match had only just begun, and she refused to let her doubts slow her down.

She came hurtling off the ropes at a full sprint, cocking back her arm in preparation to try and see just how tough Risako was when she was being leveled by a one of her lariats. The rookie threw her weight into the sweeping motion at the last minute, expecting to hear a meaty thud and feel resistance but she sliced through nothing but air. Not even a second stride after missing her assault she felt something hard hit her in the back of the head.

Onlookers saw a picture perfect enziguri while Ellie was left with the sensation of someone taking a bat to her. With a pained groan, she crumpled forward onto one knee, her momentum betraying her as she crashed face-first onto the unforgiving canvas, the sting of defeat mingling with the throbbing ache in her chest.

The crowd was going wild now. In part, that was because Risako had just landed a powerful counter upon Ellie, one that had sent the British girl sprawling face first into the canvas. Her fans were cheering at her almost flawless enziguri...but a portion of the crowd was also cheering Ellie on, urging the pinkette girl to get back up and fight. Risako for one understood all too well why people were cheering Ellie: she had bravery, spunk, determination, everything that people loved in an underdog. Which was why Risako was going to feel more than a little bad about having to not hold back against her.

With Ellie now face down, Risako had the perfect opportunity to start working her over. Striding over towards Ellie, Risako sat astride her groaning foe's back, and hooked her arms over her knees. With that, Risako would move to pull back on Ellie's chin, locking in a camel clutch. "Got you," she'd breathe, pulling back relentlessly on Ellie's chin-- while she knew she was unlikely to force a submission this early in the match, the more she wore Ellie down, the better.

Ellie's ears rang with the blunt force that had floored her, the cheering masses sounding like a garbled cacophony of noise that almost hurt her ears. It had been a foolish mistake that found her here sprawled on the mat. She was too eager to prove herself, too reckless in her pursuit. Changing up her normal approach did not require her to abandon it but the mounting pressure from having been placed in this position had been getting to her.

But before she could even attempt to rally, Risako closed in, her presence looming over Ellie like a shadow. With calculated precision, Risako settled down along Ellie's back, wrenching her arms back. Ellie's breath hitched in her throat as fingers slipped under her chin and drew back in one swift and agonizing jolt of pain as she was bent. Her body tensed, locking up in protest to the pressure but it only intensified with each agonizing moment.

“N-no…” Ellie choked out in a strained gasp, rocking her body, trying to unhook her arms or wobble Risako off balance. It didn't feel like she was able to shift them at all, the champion had a firm foundation and nothing budged under her struggles. Was this it? Another embarrassing loss in the ring in minutes, her first and only shot wasted?

“Hey! El! Right here, come to my voice! Ropes are right here!” She could feel the ring canvas reverberate with the sound of slaps on the mat. Lyla called to her from not too far away. Ellie couldn't see the ropes, couldn't see much of anything with her head pulled back. Was she that close to the ropes? Her hazing mind replayed her charge and her mistake… she might have fallen close to them. Rather than question this boon, she doubled her efforts, kicking her feet, digging the toes of her boots into the canvas to shove them forward little by little towards Lyla's voice and the noise she was making on the outside.

“You're there. Reach for it.” Lyla gave Risako a cheeky smirk, taking a step back from the ring apron as to not distract the referee under the threat she might actually interfere.

Ellie grit her teeth, letting out a low growl as she twisted and writhed in Risako's grasp. Rather than trying to unhook both her arms, she focused her efforts on just slipping one free. The stretch of her back as she fought it was excruciating, bringing tears to her eyes but she finally managed to slip it free and blindly flail in the air in front of her. She felt the ropes, quickly hooking her arm around it, desperate to be freed.

Though Ellie knew the odds were stacked against her, she refused to surrender. With gritted teeth and a heart full of determination, she endured the pain, her muscles straining against the hold as she searched for a way to turn the tide. The journey ahead was arduous, but Ellie was ready to fight with everything she had, determined to prove herself against the formidable champion standing before her.

“Break!”

It took no effort on Risako's part to mount the now prone Ellie, trapping her arms over her knees, and even less still to start wrenching back on her chin. The effect was instantaneous; Ellie's body locked up in pain, and she made a short, strangled sound that Risako knew all too well: it was a stifled scream, the sound of someone not wanting to give their tormentor the satisfaction of knowing how much they were hurting them. It was a sound Risako herself had made, countless times in the past, while fighting opponents who were far more sadistic than her.

Risako leaned back, elevating Ellie's body off the mat, torquing the hold for all it was worth. Ahead of her, she heard a voice crying out. Another pink-haired girl-- possible a friend or tag partner of Ellie's? -- was urging the British girl to come and grab the bottom ropes. And lo and behold, Ellie was doing just that, slipping an arm free and beginning a slow, painful crawl towards the ropes. Risako felt Ellie's muscles straining as the lighter girl fought, clawed, pulled her way towards the ropes, with Risako relentlessly yanking back on her chin all the way.

And then, finally, Ellie grabbed the bottom rope. Risako smiled, despite herself. Ellie St. James was definitely proving her mettle so far.

"Well done," she whispered to her opponent, before grabbing a hold of Ellie's arm to pull her back to her feet. Once Ellie was standing, of course, Risako would push her back against the ropes, leaning against her slightly, before spinning, grabbing Ellie by the arm and whipping her towards the ropes. And the moment Ellie came bouncing back, Risako would be there to meet her, spinning around to sweep her leg up and slam the side of it hard up against the incoming girl's chest!

Ellie let out a long groan at the tension in her muscles easing as she finally reached the sanctuary of the ropes. The crawl had been arduous, a small battle won but the war was far from over Though the distance was short, Ellie had battled for every inch, each movement a testament to her determination. Yet, even as she clung to the ropes, her respite was short-lived, Risako's relentless aggression leaving her with little time to catch her breath.

With a rough tug, Risako peeled Ellie away from the ropes, her grip unyielding against Ellie's feeble protests. Pressed against the ropes, The Brit's attempts to resist were futile, the champion's dominance asserting itself with each passing moment. With a swift motion, Risako whipped her across the ring, forcing her to expend precious energy in a desperate bid to keep up.

"On your six!" Amidst the chaos, Lyla's voice pierced through the haze, a beacon of guidance cutting through Ellie's foggy thoughts. With renewed focus, she dialed in to the sound of the rhythmic thud of boots behind her, her instincts kicking in as she neared the ropes once more. As she approached, Ellie seized the top cable in her palms, her movements deliberate and purposeful.

Summoning every ounce of strength, Ellie propelled herself over the ropes with a side vault. She leapt out past the apron but instead of landing on the ringside floor as the rookie dangling from the ropes, using her weight pulling them down with all her might. It was a calculated move, aimed at disrupting Risako by preventing her from bouncing off the ropes. If the champion was following too closely, she might even take a spill to the outside with the ropes not there to catch her momentum

"On your six!"

Ellie's friend-- and possibly, tag partner-- was continuing to shout helpful advice to Ellie even as Risako came hurtling after her, hair trailing behind her like a billowing purple flame. And Ellie was quick to respond to her friend's advice: instead of bouncing back like Risako expected, Ellie caught herself on the ropes, and elegantly flipped over them, coming around onto the other side of them and leaving Risako with no target for her incoming kick.

"Oh..."

Unable to halt her momentum, Risako ended up kicking right between the ropes. She managed to catch the top rope just in time, of course, but she now found herself entangled in between the ropes...leaving herself open to an opportunistic strike from her British opponent...

In the split second granted to her after leaping the ropes were just enough to catch the sight of Risako's charging form. The champion's relentless pursuit had left Ellie with little room to breathe as a kick shot out through the ropes narrowly missing her even as she clung on the outside.

With a reflexive flinch, Ellie's narrowed gaze locked onto Risako's leg, ensnared in the ropes mere inches from her face. Sensing an opportunity, Ellie kicked her feet, drawing her knees up to her chest as she maneuvered to plant her boots firmly on the apron. Utilizing the ropes to her advantage, she propelled herself upwards with a burst of energy, vaulting over the top rope once more.

While not exactly in her wheelhouse, she now was the time to improvise and take some more calculated risks while she had an opening., Ellie aimed to bring her body weight crashing down upon Risako's chest and collar executing a meteora. She descended upon the champion, her knees pointed downwards as she sought to drive them into Risako's chest with punishing impact. If she managed to ride the other woman to the canvas, she would reach back to try and capture a leg, holding it for a pinfall attempt.

Risako cursed- both Ellie, for being a lot more fast and spry than she had suspected, and herself, for falling for such an easy trap. Right now, she was stuck in the ropes, and easy prey for a counter from Ellie. After a slow start, the British girl was finally showing some skill after all-- a fact that Risako would have appreciated a lot more if she were not on the immediate receiving end of it.

She tried to rebalance herself, and extricate herself from the ropes, but by that point it was too late-- Ellie was already vaulting over the ropes and diving at her, knees first. The Queen of Queens brought her arms up to block a fraction of a second too late-- Ellie's knees slammed home against her chest, driving the air from her lungs even as they propelled her downwards. "UUUGH!" Risako grunted as the impact sent her slamming down against the mat, with Ellie riding her on the way down and hooking one of her legs for a pinfall.

"ONE--" was about as far as the count got, though, before Risako abruptly kicked out. It was still early in this match, and she was not going to be pinned so easily...even if Ellie had, admittedly, gotten her pretty good with that meteora...

As the champion writhed beneath her, Ellie felt the sudden jolt forward, her arms snapping out to prevent herself from crashing face-first onto the unforgiving canvas. Despite the quick kickout, she remained undeterred, her resolve unshaken by the expected outcome. It was all part of her strategy to keep the champion on the defensive, forcing her to expend precious energy with every move.

The concept of wearing down the opponent was familiar to both women, as Risako had employed similar tactics with a barrage of Irish whips earlier in the match. Now, it was the Brit's turn to show that she could play the same game, matching Risako move for move.

Shifting her weight, Ellie pressed the balls of her feet into the mat, half-turning to grasp Risako's shoulder and arm. With a determined effort, she began to rise, pulling the veteran up alongside her. But before the veteran could fully regain her footing, Ellie pivoted, driving her hip forward with all her might, aiming to deliver a devastating blow that would leave the champion reeling.

If the strike landed, Ellie would waste no time in capitalizing on her advantage, swiftly hooking an arm around Risako's head and reaching down to grab a handful of the woman's leotard at the thigh. With a grunt of exertion, Ellie hopped back, using her momentum to lift Risako's feet off the mat. Though it wasn't enough for a full suplex, she aimed to elevate the champion as high as possible before snapping her down towards the canvas in a spike DDT, the impact reverberating through the ring with brutal force.