Cyber Saturday 2024 - Panther Risako vs Ellie St. James

Ellie was good. Better-- far better -- than expected, managing to evade one of Risako's traps, nail her with a decisive counter attack, and actually cover her for a pinfall. It was, of course, going to take a lot more than that to take down someone like the Queen of Queens-- at least, that was what Risako told herself as she rolled to the side, doing her best to keep the look of annoyance from her face. She wasn't about to let Ellie know how much that counter of hers had irritated her.

Ellie, as it so happened, was already helping Risako to her feet-- that was, before turning and driving her hip hard into Risako's midsection. "OOOOOFFF!" Risako gasped, doubling over from the blow. A second later, Ellie was circling an arm around her head and grabbing the back of her leotard. Risako knew what was coming next: she had been on the receiving, and delivering, end of this move dozens of times before.

Letting loose a rasping growl as Ellie squeezed her head, Risako balled a fist and tried to drive it hard into Ellie's side. If this did the trip and softened Ellie's grip, then she would grab onto Ellie's wrist with both hands, and, pulling her head loose, spin her body elegantly, before dropping down top whip Ellie face-first into the mat with an arm drag. However, if Ellie's grip held-- or if Risako's blow simply didn't land in time-- then she would get nailed hard by the spike DDT and be left on her back, staring up in a dazed at the arena lights...

Now that she had finally managed to claw control back to h r side, it was all about keeping it. A careful dance of measured offense to keep from gassing herself out when laying it on Risako. A good hip check was a start, feeling the woman buckle against her got a small smirk playing across her face. This was a champion in her grasp, and she was here to claim their belt. She asserted herself as such, tucking the other woman's head, hiking up her leotard as she gripped the fabric ready to make her real statement that she was here for the gold with her opponent's face stamped on the canvas.

“Kuh!” All the best laid plans however seemed to fall apart under the stress of championship gold though. Risako drilled the rookie with a hook into her exposed side and the impact showed. Panther was strong and her fists reminded Ellie with guts tangled into knots. While she managed to keep her footing, the champion grabbed hold of her wrist and wrenched her head free. The Brit moved with Risako's motion, being tossed to the mat.

She tucked her shoulder, twisting her body as she hit the mat hard on her side and rolled through with the momentum, taking all the brunt of the blow with a tumble but managing to right herself in the process. She came to a skidding halt on one knee, facing Risako from a distance. Slapping her hands to the mat she kicked off the mat to surge back towards the champion, covering the distance between them in a few quick strides. She snapped her legs out, throwing her body forward to try to catch the champion with a low missile dropkick.

And just like that, Risako managed a successful counter, hammering a fist hard into Ellie's midsection. As the surprised English girl doubled over, gagging, it was elementary for Risako to grab the girl by the wrists and yank, elegantly flipping her opponent hard to the mat.

Well...except that Ellie hadn't gotten the memo about the whole "being elegantly flipped to the mat," part. Showing an admirable fluidity of motion, Ellie rolled with the toss, sliding across the ring before hopping back up to her feet and spinning, ready to face Risako once more. Risako raised an eyebrow, admittedly impressed by Ellie's quick recovery time.

So quick, in fact, that Ellie was already lunging at her, hoping to nail her with a missile drop kick. Now it was Risako's turn to counter quickly, bringing her arms up in a crossed motion to block the missile drop kick. Even so, Ellie's move came in so fast, so furious, that Risako was knocked off her feet by the blow. She instinctively rolled with the impact, tumbling backwards before landing in a crouch, ready for whatever follow up Ellie had.

At that moment, the crowd burst into applause, impressed by this show of move and counter move being done by the two wrestlers.

The soles of Ellie's boots pressed into her braced arms, her body weight doing most of the work as she hit the canvas hard on her back. The sudden stop jarred her, but she clung to the hope that it had been a worthwhile effort. However, when she lifted her head and saw Risako still standing, in a sense, she realized her move hadn't been as effective as she'd hoped. Gritting her teeth, Ellie pushed herself into a sitting position and began inching back along the mat on her backside, trying to create some distance between them.

Her shoulder throbbed from the impact of the arm drag, the pain everpresent even through the adrenaline. She hoped it didn’t show, doing her best to mask the discomfort. The last thing she wanted was to present the champion with a vulnerable target.

Ellie kept a watchful eye on Risako as she began to rise, extending one arm defensively in case the champion decided to press the attack. She couldn't be sure if Risako needed a moment to recover, but Ellie herself certainly did. Each second spent regaining her composure was precious, a brief respite in the midst of the relentless battle.

As she watched Risako, Ellie's mind raced, trying to calculate her next move. She needed to be smart, to use every bit of her remaining strength strategically. This was a test not only of her physical endurance but of her mental fortitude as well. She couldn't afford any more mistakes; she had to be ready for whatever Risako might throw at her next.

Slowly, Risako rolled up to her feet as well, mirroring Ellie's movements. The British girl, for her part, was not following up, instead cautiously keeping her distance, calculating her next move. Risako smiled; she appreciated that about her opponent. No foolish mistakes, no quick errors in judgement; she was being careful and deliberate about this match. Damn it all, but she would have made a great Wrestle Angel.

Circling Ellie for a second time, Risako kept smiling as she motioned for the other girl to get into another grapple. If Ellie reciprocated, then Risako would eagerly tie up collar and elbow with her...at first. Twisting sharply to the side, she would immediately follow up by dropping downwards, trying to take Ellie down onto her side with a sudden arm drag-- and then immediately pressing her knees down against Ellie's shoulder to transition into a kneeling armbar!

A brief respite enveloped the ring as both athletes rose to their feet, circling one another like gladiators in a grand coliseum. The crowd's energy was palpable, tempting Ellie to launch an offensive just to ride the wave of their cheers. The roar of the audience was reminiscent of her previous high-stakes match against seasoned veterans, a match she had ultimately lost. Tonight, that narrative would need to change.

When Risako signaled for another tie-up, Ellie felt a lump form in her throat. Though there was little difference in their physical size, the chasm between their experience and skill was vast. Every time she engaged on Risako's terms, she risked falling into the champion’s well-laid traps. Yet, Ellie was no coward. Despite the butterflies in her stomach, she approached with cautious determination. Risako had fought honorably, and Ellie had no reason to doubt her integrity. A fair contest was not just expected but a show of respect for the champion.

Ellie stepped in strong, and they locked horns once more. This time, their clash lacked the raw force of their previous encounters, suggesting a more tactical exchange. Ellie’s boots squeaked on the canvas as she shuffled her footing, striving for leverage against the seasoned veteran. She tried to exploit every small opening, aiming to turn the grapple in her favor. But Risako, having anticipated Ellie’s moves, preemptively countered her efforts.

Ellie let out a soft yelp of surprise as Risako abruptly broke away from their grapple, seamlessly flipping her onto the mat with a swift arm drag. This time, there was no rolling through the motion; Risako’s knee dug into her side, pinning her firmly to the canvas. Ellie’s arm flexed in Risako's grip, muscles quaking as she tried to resist the pull and stretch. Despite the futility, she fought back, kicking her legs desperately to dislodge the knee holding her down to try and slip the hold before Risako could cinch it in completely.

Ellie was a slippery fighter, Risako had to acknowledge that much: her legs kicked frantically, twisting left and right to try to dislodge Risako and get her knee off of her shoulder. And so far, she was doing a good job of it: while Risako had Ellie's arm nicely trapped, it was still somewhat difficult for her to maintain her perch atop the other girl's shoulder. Ellie no doubt knew just how debilitating an armbar would be, and was doing everything in her power to prevent the hold.

Smart girl. Unfortunately for her, if there was one thing Risako was good at, it was adapting to changing conditions in the match.

Shifting her weight around, Risako kept a hold on Ellie's arm, but shifted her knee off of her shoulder. The reason for this quickly became apparent, however, as Risako snapped her legs around Ellie's head! Keeping a firm grip on her wrist to keep it under control, Risako squeezed her legs and thighs together tightly, aiming to add a head scissor to Ellie's woes as the two of them remained grounded on the mat! If nothing else, Risako hoped to wear Ellie further down in this way, and force her to expend extra energy in order to free herself...

Despite Risako's power position, she allowed Ellie to kick and flail for a bit. It was never a good sign when someone as experienced as her just let the rookie fight like this. It was a sign of control, letting her tire herself out by flopping around like a fish just dragged up onto land. The powerlessness made her both flustered and frustrated in equal measure as she slowed down to try and make a more focused effort. The moment she no longer struggled as hard though, the current hold had run its course and Risako laid back, swinging her legs down around Ellie's head. The young Brit leaned to the side, trying to avoid being closed in but she had no real room to move and was promptly clamped down on with her cheeks flattened up against Risako's muscular thighs.

She let out a heated breath, straining her neck while testing just how badly she was locked in. Her body shifted slightly, using her heel to try and wiggle about but she was firmly stuck on the mat with pressure starting to blur her vision. She could feel the throbbing pain of the tightness as she clenched her jaw, trying to bear it all.

She took stock of what she had. The ropes were the clearest way to escape but trying to draw the two of them all the way to them a second time would be far too taxing. She still had an arm and her legs. She couldn't see how they were positioned with her head locked in Risako's vice-like scissorhold but she could assume, that all she had to do was get some leverage and force the champion onto her back and she might secure her freedom yet.

Ellie twisted her body on the mat, pressing her own back down, digging her heels into the canvas to scoot herself slightly to the side. Risako kept her control of an arm and her head locked in as she worked, trying to free those was a lost cause right now. Reaching up she clamped her free hand on the back of Risako's ankles where they secured the headscissor. She didn't try to pry them apart though, just braced her palm up against them.

In a surge of effort, she kicked her feet down into the mat, trying to suddenly arch her back, tucking her chin to keep from crushing her own head between Risako's legs. She was trying to roll the other woman over onto her back, pushing up with her free hand to try to raise the champion's legs up and possibly fold them in at the waist to technically place Risako in a pinning predicament with her back and shoulders on the mat while she held Ellie prisoner within her holds.

Just as Risako had expected, Ellie was struggling fiercely to escape, absolutely refusing to allow herself to be caught in a grinding hold like this. And, Risako had to admit, though she was wearing herself out in the process, she was doing a good job of her escape efforts so far. She might have even slipped free...had Risako not simply switched one hold for another, squeezing Ellie's pink-haired head between her smoothe thighs.

For a moment, Risako was content just to lie on her side, and maybe strike a pose for the crowd as she squeezed into Ellie with her scissors. She didn't do so, of course: such a flagrant act of disrespect would have been expected of Beauty Ichigaya, or Freia Kagami, but not her. No, she was going to squeeze the life out of Ellie, but she was not going to go out of her way to humiliate the poor girl.

Even as Risako squeezed, though, she felt Ellie twisting against her, pressing a palm against the back of the Queen of Queens' ankles and putting her entire body into the roll. Risako did not relent in the headscissor, but did brace an arm outwards to try to prevent the roll, a look of mild irritation crossing her beautiful features as she tried to keep Ellie from turning them over.

It was not enough: little by little Risako found herself on her back, with Ellie's head still trapped between her thighs. A second later, however, Ellie was arching up off the mat, pressing Risako's shoulders more firmly downwards. In an instant, the ref was next to them, starting the countdown.

"ONE--"

With a hiss of irritation, Risako twisted sideways in a sharp roll, releasing Ellie in the process. Trying to put some distance between herself and Ellie, Risako would rise smoothly to her feet, and sprint forwards, raising a leg upwards before hopefully sending it crashing down elegantly across Ellie's head or back in an axe kick!

Ellie’s lungs burned with each ragged breath as fought against the crushing pressure of Risako’s headscissor. The champion’s thighs were like steel, unyielding and relentless, but Ellie was nothing if not tenacious. The crowd's roar was a rhythmic drum in her ears among which her tag partner at ringside was among the loudest voices cheering her on as she bumbled through her attempted escape.

Using the mat for leverage, Ellie pushed with all her strength, her palm pressing hard against Risako’s ankles. Every muscle in her body screamed as she twisted and turned, her mind a whirlwind of strategies. She felt Risako’s arm brace against the roll, but Ellie didn’t back down. She couldn’t. She arched her back, pushing upwards, and slowly but surely, she felt Risako's shoulders press into the canvas.

“ONE–”

The count was abruptly cut off as Risako rolled sideways, releasing Ellie from the scissor hold. The sudden freedom left her momentarily disoriented, her head pounding from the blood rush. But there was no time to rest. She saw Risako spring to her feet with an almost fluid grace, the look of determination and irritation mingling on her face. It was time to act…

Ellie pushed herself up on shaky arms, her body still protesting from the prolonged squeeze. She saw Risako charging, the champion's leg rising high, poised for a devastating axe kick. Instinct kicked in, hairs standing on end at the looming danger, but her body was too slow to respond. Her limbs felt like lead, the exhaustion from the previous submission hold sapping her speed.

The axe kick came down with devastating force, striking the back of her head and shoulders. Pain exploded through her body as she crumpled to the mat, the impact reverberating through her bones. Her vision blurred, and for a moment, all she could see were stars.

Ellie groaned, her body limp on the canvas. The crowd’s roar became a distant echo, muffled by the throbbing in her head. She tried to push herself up, but her arms trembled, barely able to support her weight. Every movement was an agonizing struggle. Unable to push herself up off the canvas she dropped back to the mat on her side, rolling onto her back as she tried to catch her breath.