LAW Apex Match: Tina 'Tigress' Armstrong vs. Kathleen Hendricks - Steel Cage Match

[TickTock]

Something must've been scrambled in the mind of Kathleen for her to even consider this option. The option of chasing after Tina as she ascended this tall cage to the very top, instead of any other option. Trying to dislodge the Tigress from the bottom or adopting a wait-and-see approach would've been smarter than this, but her brain was wrecked, and filled with all the wrong chemicals that told her that climbing up this monstrosity of a cage was the worthwhile choice.

Eventually, Tina reached the top, and Kathleen, for as much of a non-climber she was, got up there as well. The rings of the cage made for easy handholds, and allowed for the Queen to climb up to the top, where she was seated, straddling the platform as she was across from the Tigress. And it was clear that the Queen was uncomfortable up there, yet she couldn't focus on that, as a punch crashed right against her face, making her grip loosen on the platform beneath her. "Grh!"

A tumble down from here would definitely put away anyone who fell from such a great height, and thus Kathleen used a hand to hold on tight, even as the punch rocked her. And realizing the desperation from being up so high, she thrust herself back forward, throwing her own punch right towards Tina's jaw!

[Highfly]

Tina planted Kathleen hard and was off balance. There was no way she could possibly...

"Oomph!" Tina's head was rocked as she reeled back and swayed. How did Kathleen recover? This couldn't be happening. "No.... no.... no no NO!" Tina shouted as she cocked her fist again, screaming as she swung it at Kathleen again! The tigress could not believe what was happening. She was so close to winning, how could Kathleen have caught up to her!?

Tina put everything she had into that punch trying to knock Kathleen off the cage!

[TickTock]

Both were desperate now, that much was obvious. Neither would've made this climb if they weren't. And now, several yards off the ground, with a fall perilous to their health, let alone their chances of winning the match, they were slugging it out back and forth. And neither could defend themselves, as raising their hands up to cover up would leave them without any way to keep themselves up high on the platform of the cage. It was only just wide enough to straddle, and the slightest dislodge could lead to a slip.

"GAH!" Kathleen cried, as another punch nailed her, and this time her body teetered as she leaned back from the force of the blow. Only one hand was able to hang onto the platform, as the Queen teetered, daze rattling her skull from the power of the punch. Her fingers were slipping, endangering herself even more, and fear scorched the mind of Kathleen's as she realized she was inches from falling.

Desperation flowed through the Queen as she fought to tighten her hold yet again, pulling with all of her might to get herself back into position. Sweat was pouring from her body at this rate, both from the exhaustion of the match and from the anxiety being induced, knowing how grizzly of a fall this would be. She needed to end this now, or else the next punch may be the one to send her on her descent.

Reaching forward, Kathleen desperately grabbed onto the hair of Tina's, not trusting the power of her punches, and instead thrusting the Tigress's head downward to try and bash it off the steel platform the two were on. "GRAH!" She cried as she did so, hoping that such an attack would lead to the body of Tina's surrendering and falling down to the mat.

[Highfly]

Tina smashed Kathleen and felt like she landed a knockout blow, but Kathleen stayed on the cage! Tina shook her head in shock and was in amazement as her own aching boyd struggled to recover. Kathleen grabbed her hair and before Tina could free herself her face was smashed painfully to the top of the cage! "Ughh..." Tina groaned as she slumped down and weakly reached out trying to grab hold of Kathleen. The tigress was rolling to the side and falling, and all she could hope to do was drag Kathleen with her as she grabbed her around the waist.

Tina felt herself slip and her grip tightened as much as it could on the thigh of Kathleen as Tina plummeted towards the ground! Tina knew the way they were falling she was going to be taking this worse than Kathleen but she had at least fallen off allowing Kathleen a clean escape to the outside. She had a fighting chance she..

The loud crash of Tina hitting the mat echoed throughout the arena and she howled in pain and kicked the mat weakly before going totally limp. She was down and crushed, the force of the fall really taking it right out of her!

[TickTock]

The satisfying sound of Tina's head bouncing off the steel echoed through the arena, and Kathleen was sure that that was the killing blow for the Tigress, one that'd send her falling off the side and to her wrestling demise. And while Tina did begin to slump and roll off to the side, her hands... grabbed onto the Queen?! "Wh-What are you--?!" Kathleen snarled, feeling the strength of her opponent grab onto her, before the horror of the situation kicked in. Tina was falling... and she was bringing Kathleen down with her!

"No!" Kathleen tried to hold onto the platform, but her hands were too slippery from their mixed sweat, and her grip wasn't strong enough to match Tina's, and sure enough, her legs did slip from the top of the cage. Her eyes went wide as suddenly, nothing was beneath her. She only felt Tina's hands tugging her down, assuring that her opponent came to the same destructive stop that she was going to.

*SMACK*

Kathleen's body slammed down against the mat with a thunderous noise the same time as Tina, the Queen just able to get her arms in front of her to try to cushion the fall, but they posed little resistance to the combined momentum from the height she fell, and the unforgiving mat acting as her landing pad. The force of which caused her body to bounce, before ending with her unmoving self laid out, flat on her front. Agony wrecked the body of Kathleen's, just barely conscious, and a part of her wished she wasn't. Her ribs, her stomach, her legs, her arms... All of which were in great, great pain, and she could do nothing but just lay there, unable to summon the strength to move an inch. The only movement coming from her was the twitch of her fingers, as her cheek pressed against the mat and eyes were pinned shut.

The crowd roared after seeing such a terrifying fall, and now both women were laid out in the ring, neither unable to capitalize on the other's misfortune. This was what Apex was all about, and how much the Openweight title meant to them, as much as beating the other and proving their superiority over their hated rival. But only one could win, and it looked like either woman's match, as both were limp on the mat.

[Highfly]

Tina was laid out and motionless for a few moments but she began slapping and hitting the mat trying to rally herself. "Come on... come on!" Tina shouted as she slowly rolled over to her hands and knees. She tried to stand but stumbled a step, falling to her hands and knees again. She was hurting badly. However she saw that Kathleen was still down. Desperate not to be a stepping stone or just some gate-keeping bench mark Tina wanted to prove she was worthy of the top again. She was slowly crawling to Kathleen, looking to sloppily mount her and begin punching her if Kathleen stayed down on the mat! It wasn't much but it was all the aching tigress could muster at this point.

[TickTock]

Moments passed with the two not moving, and the referee even considering calling for assistance after such a gnarly fall. But then Tina began to move, slapping the mat to try and rally herself up. Such smacks against the mat made Kathleen grunt, feeling the vibration underneath her, and subconsciously realizing that it meant that Tina was stirring. Then the sound of her falling, hands and knees banging against the mat, sending more vibrations, and causing another sound to escape from the lips of Kathleen. While not a standing position, Tina might as well have been on horseback with the advantage it brought in this situation. Just the ability to move and crawl was a great one, and Kathleen knew it.

Which is why she had to get up herself.

Every inch of movement brought pain. Stabbing, throbbing, tight pain. Merely getting her hands to press against the mat took great effort, and then there was actually pushing herself up. The Queen never struggled with her push-ups, but her body felt as though it weighed 3x its normal weight, and her arms had been reduced to twigs. Still, with each second that passed, it meant another moment that Tina got closer. The next person to secure an advantage in this match was going to win, Kathleen was sure of that. And with all of the self-doubt burning in her mind now, after hitting her finisher to no avail, and now taking a fall that felt like it broke everything in her body, staring down at the mat and seeing the blood pool beneath her forehead, that was all the reason she needed to push through this.

What she was feeling was not what the Queen of Domination should feel. She was not to doubt herself, to doubt her body. She could defeat Tina. Not could, but will beat her.

"_Ahhh..." Yet, despite the intense thoughts, the attempt to motivate herself, Kathleen could only let out a pathetic whine as she pushed herself up, sloppily pushing her legs inward as to prop herself up, and then throw forward a punch right towards Tina! A sloppy one, and followed up with another, as though trying to engage in a slugging fest with Tina! They weren't precise strikes, but ones thrown with determination. Everything she had left, every fiber of her being, she had to put into this.

To put down this pathetic Tigress and show her exactly what a stepping stone she was!

[Highfly]

Tina was caught off guard as Kathleen swung and smashed her! Tina reeled and bobbed, trying to fight back and swing her own sloppy punches back at Kathleen! Tina was weak and hurting, but she had to put all she had left into these swings. She couldn't let herself go down, fighting to stay up as even the sloppy punches of the smaller woman were leaving the tigress reeling! She was swinging as fast and hard as she could in return hoping that enough got through, and that they packed enough force to send Kathleen down otherwise Tina was going to be in a lot of trouble!

[TickTock]

The two were slugging back and forth now, having taken a devastating fall, and now using the last of their energy to try and bash each other in! Kathleen was taking as many punches as she was throwing, doing her best to ignore her raging pain running through her to continue firing away. But Kathleen knew that she couldn't keep this up for much longer, and praying that Tina would fall first wasn't a reliable strategy.

And thus, instead of throwing more punches, Kathleen went for a dirty move. Instead thrusting her hand into the face of Tina and shoving her thumb against one of the eyes of the Tigress! Attempting to blind her and stop her assault, before quickly grabbing her head and forcing herself back up to her feet, and spinning around to try and position the back of Tina's head and neck over her shoulder, to hit another Culmination and put this match away!

[Highfly]

Tina was hurting but still swinging, feeling like she could topple Kathleen! However the thumb to the eye caused Tina's head to rear back as her hands covered her face leaving the tigress blinded! Tina knew that this was bad. She was running on fumes and now this....

Her head was grabbed and she had to act. As she was bent over she reached out to push Kathleen away to avoid another Culmination! Tina stumbled forward barely able to see as she saw Kathleen turning. The tigress swung her foot up to catch Kathleen in the abdomen with a toe kick before reaching out to grab her hair. Tina shoved Kathleen's head between her legs and hooked her arms. If anyone was going to use a finisher to put their foe away it was Tina as she was setting up a tiger bomb!