Emily Nelson vs Natasha Han

As Natasha twisted in her grip, Emily felt her grip loosening-- it had never been that strong to begin with, and even now, Emily was surprised that Natasha was still fighting back. As Natasha shifted her weight, Emily's hurting legs gave way. Crying out in alarm, Emily pitched backwards, sending both of them crashing to the mat in a heap. The Scotswoman landed on her back, the impact stunning her and leaving her lying motionless on the mat, her chest heaving. If her head hadn't been cushioned by Natasha's thigh, the fall probably would have temporarily concussed her as well.

Natasha hit the mat and lied there motionless as well. Emily might not have hit her with her finisher, but the fall was still quite high, and quite painful, especially in Natasha's weakened state.

She rested on her back, eyes mostly closed, her chest heaving up and down as she took in several pained breaths. She felt Emily's head lying on her leg, her opponent lying close to her, but at the moment...well, there wasn't really much she could do. For the moment, all she could do was rest, and hope that Emily didn't come to sooner than she did.

Fortunately for Natasha, Emily was in no better state. Breathing heavily, the Scotswoman tried to will herself back up to her feet, to get her exhausted limbs to move. Angry pain shot through her back when she tried, however, and she was forced to remain where she was. Her back was a throbbing mass of pain, her head was swimming slightly from the impact, and to top it all off, her legs felt too stretched and sore to move. Closing her eyes, Emily tried to catch her breath, barely conscious of the ref moving to check on her and her opponent.

After a few long moments of...well, nothing happening, Natasha would finally begin to stir. She slowly turned over to her belly, pushing Emily's head off her thigh, and began to crawl towards her. She didn't really have the energy to try another move against her, but hell. Not like she needed to now.

Once she reached the pink haired woman, she limply threw an arm over her chest, the ref dropping to the mat when she saw this and raising her hand to begin a count.

"One!" She cried, Natasha closing her eyes again and simply praying that Emily wouldn't find the energy to break this.

If Emily was aware of Natasha's arm across her chest, then she didn't show it. The Scotswoman made no move as she lay on the mat, other than the slight bobbing of her chest as she breathed shallowly. For all intents and purposes, Emily looked as beaten as Natasha.

"Two..."

"Three!" The referee finished her count, jumping back up and calling for the bell to ring to end the match.

Natasha barely noticed it though, a gentle, barely-there smile on her face as she heard the distance noise. She turned her head slowly towards Emily, gazing on her with quite a bit of respect mixed into her tired expression.

"Good...ah....good match..." She said, her voice a whisper that could barely be heard over the cheers of the crowd, her eyes still mostly closed. She didn't move, still lying close to Emily, her arm still resting against the rise and fall of her chest, and it was unlikely she would be moving from this position anytime soon.

Emily's eyes had been closed up until that point. Slowly, though, as she heard the bell ringing them, she opened her left eye, turning her head to glance weakly at Natasha.

"Nnnnh...back...atcha..." she managed to say. Around them, the referee was inspecting both of them. Ringside attendants and paramedics were rushing into the ring to inspect both wrestlers-- too all intents and purposes, Emily and Natasha had battered each other close to unconsciousness. The crowd roared, cheering Natasha's victory and a fitting end to such a hard fought match.

Emily's legs felt swollen and numb, her head was dizzy, and her back felt like it had been slammed against a boulder. But despite all that, this had been the best match she had had in ages.

Natasha was in no better shape. She was bruised, beaten, bloody in a few small places...but she felt so good about this win, she barely felt the pain rushing through her body. She had enjoyed the hell out of this match, and was looking forward to fighting Emily again one day, hopefully soon, too!

She smiled slightly wider as the medics rushed in and began to look at her, not being able to resist the urge to fire off one last line at Emily.

"Next time, though...next time, you will be tapping to me, yes?" She chuckled a bit, then closed eyes one last time, letting the medics load her onto a stretcher to begin to carry her off, her smile never leaving her face the whole time.

Emily managed to grin weakly at Natasha as she was loaded onto a stretcher of her own. "Not likely," she managed to call back to Natasha as she saw the Russian being carried off, repeating the line the Russian had used each time she was asked for her submission.

And with that, Emily allowed herself to recline into the stretcher the medics were loading her onto, letting herself relax. She may have lost, but judging by the sound of the crowds, she'd left a pretty damned good impression on AFW.


Natasha Han wins by pinfall