Lacey Whitman [D] vs. Reiko Masuda

[CaptainL]

It looked as though Reiko was well on her way to bringing the match to a close. She had Lacey locked in her sights, and the green-haired girl seemed like she was lined up perfectly for her to take her down with the finishing blow! Reiko was no doubt overflowing with the hype of being so close to a victory against an opponent who by all means should have eclipsed her in skill; a victory that seemed to defy all odds. All of her fans felt the same way; they were cheering even louder when it seemed as though the Young Lioness, the apparent underdog, was about to secure a come-from-behind win! Swept along by all the excitement, one could forgive everyone for missing one crucial detail. Lacey had stopped to study Reiko's movements, watching her for what would come next. She had no familiarity with her opponent, and it would be hard to predict her every move, but she saw that as her feet lifted off the ropes, she had a split-second to act. And Lacey took that split-second!

In one moment, the momentum of the whole match turned around! Right when Reiko was about to take the lead, Lacey turned all the momentum she'd gathered and used it against her, flinging her down hard into the canvas! The whole ring shook under the impact as the two girls touched down; Lacey clenched her teeth and braced herself with her hand planted against the mat as she rolled onto her knees. But when the dust cleared, Reiko was down. She was vulnerable. She was laid flat and motionless, right in the crosshairs. And that meant it was the newcomer's time to shine!

The match was taking its toll on Lacey, and she was still coming down from an adrenaline rush from such a close brush with defeat. She rubbed at her side as an ache crept in. But when she looked up, she smiled - now, she had Reiko flattened. This had been a bout full of surprises at every turn, but if there was ever a time to finish Reiko off, it would be now - Lacey saw no way she could possibly come back from this one! The knowledge that she was this close to success was all she needed to propel her onward, and with a burst of energy, she jumped back to her feet with a cheer of pride. It was as though she'd never been worn out to begin with - knowing she was this close to victory was all she needed to ready her to make her move! And she knew just how to end things with a bang!

Holding her hands high in the air, Lacey ran toward the ropes, jumping up onto them to greet the ever-eager cheers of the fans. "OKAY, EVERYONE!!" she called out. "This is it!! I'm counting everything on this shot, so I want all of you to cheer extra hard for this one, alright? After me!" With that, Lacey turned back to face Reiko, bending at the knees to bring her weight lower to the ground, and stretch the ropes beneath her. "LACEEEEEEY...KICK!!"

Most of Lacey's supporters had never seen her before, and weren't familiar with her routine, but with the enthusiasm and energy she put into her theatrics, they couldn't help but cry out along with her. With that, the green-haired girl jumped off the ropes, tossing herself around in a spiral and holding her leg outstretched as she prepared to bring a flying corkscrew kick off the top rope down on Reiko! If this landed, it would only be the culmination of a thrilling debut match!

Spoiler

...

...If it landed.

In all of her excitement, Lacey had gotten caught up in the fact that Reiko was down, and that she seemed wide open. She was already convinced it was inevitable that her finisher would land. She didn't think she'd need to put much thought into it. But she had overshot her trajectory - and when her corkscrew kick landed, it would land against the mat just beside Reiko instead! Partway through her descent, Lacey's triumphant cheer turned to a scream of panic, and the cheers of the fans grew silent. Then, with a thud, she landed. All eyes were locked on Lacey - her legs straight out in front of and behind her in the splits, as she rubbed at her aching leg and winced in pain. Now, she was the one whose finisher had backfired on her - and now, she was the one wide open!

"Aww, heck..."

[Kookio]

The world was blurry for the Young Lioness, her figure on the verge of falling unconscious as she laid flat on the middle of the ring. She barely even had a thought that could realistically transmit through her head for her to realize that she was in the perfect position for her opponent to perform her finisher. Lacey even had time to showboat for the crowd before Reiko could even regain any energy to move.

The only thing she would see next was her opponent running off out of her sight before coming back onto her sight for a split second. When she turned her head, she would find her opponent laying there after accidentally messing up her finisher.

She didn’t even think how that happened. In reaction to Lacey’s mess up, the cheering crowd all simultaneously gasped and went silent in anticipation of which one of them was going to get up first! But one crucial thought finally transmitted through Reiko’s mind. “PIN” her hand slammed on the mat once as she clawed at the ground to pull her beaten body closer and closer to her opponent! She didn’t have the strength to even pull her opponent in much less stand.

The best she could do was pull her upper body back and let gravity drop her elbows first to slam into her opponent’s face for a final drop onto her before just laying on top of her for a very tired pin!

[CaptainL]

In a matter of seconds, Lacey's fortunes had seen a complete reversal. Just a moment ago, she was riding a wave of adrenaline - she had just countered Reiko's finisher, she had taken the Young Lioness down, and now she was primed to take charge and to take back the win. In a moment, she was up on the top rope, greeting the cheers of all the fans. They were excited to see her make her move, to claim her first victory in LAW, with all their eyes on her and all their voices cheering her on. And she was excited to give them everything they were waiting for! She was going to make history in her LAW career, and she wanted everything to be perfect! When she went sailing through the air, poised to come crashing into Reiko with the Lacey Kick, it seemed that everything would be perfect!

But...it wasn't. At the very last second, by a stroke of luck, Lacey had overshot her aim. She came down hard on her extended leg, clear of Reiko, and in an instant, everything came to a screeching halt. Her senses were consumed by the surge of pain shooting along her nerves, making her tense up and her teeth clench. She tried to move, she tried to push her way back up - but she was stuck. Every time she tried, she felt another jolt of pain, and she sank back down, paralyzed by the sensation. Her momentum had been cut short - and with that realization came the cold, sinking feeling of dread that told her she was open and defenseless. It would all come down to if Reiko, after taking all the damage she had taken, would still have it in her to go for the advantage. But when Lacey turned her head to look back at Reiko, seeing her coming crawling closer...she saw that she did. Reiko might have been on her last legs. Her body might have been threatening to break down on her. But if there was ever a chance for her, she was looking right at it! For Reiko, that was enough!

She threw herself toward the green-haired girl, her elbow poised to make contact with Lacey's face. With the sound of a thud, it struck, throwing Lacey onto her back - her head went cracking back in an arc, and she let out a yelp as she dropped to the canvas. With Lacey down, Reiko clambored on top of her, grabbing her leg and hoisting it up - and the referee moved in for the count!

"One! Two!"

Lacey looked up at the scene with wide eyes, the color draining away from her face. She knew she was in danger. If there was ever a time for her to find her strength, to kick out, to turn things around, it would be now - there was no chance that Reiko would be able to survive if Lacey took the advantage now! But just trying to move made her lock up, her teeth clenching into another pained grimace as all her aches and pains caught up to her. She couldn't do it. And, in the end...

"THREE!!"

The bell rang, and the match was over! The finish to this bout had seen plenty of reversals and close calls, down to the very last moment! But in the end, it was Reiko who would come out on top!

[Kookio]

Reiko was laying tiredly on top of Lacey the entire time. She was entirely exhausted of all of her energy and spirit at that point. She could hear the crowd count with the referee before the bell had rung. But she didn’t get up from her spot. In fact, she would finally just succumb to exhaustion at that point and drift off into unconsciousness.

Her theme music would play in the background to announce her victory, but she couldn’t even get up to appeal to the crowd. Thus, the match ended with the two of her simply laying on top of the green haired girl until either Lacey managed to push her off, or the staff had to come in and carry the two girls off of the ring to prepare for whoever was supposed to come on after them. Either way, at least Reiko was going to need to be carried off.

[CaptainL]

As the referee made the third count, and the bell rang, a chill sensation ran through Lacey from head to toe. She was lying there on the mat, panting and weary; her body was slick with sweat, and all the aches of her muscles were starting to creep in. Every time she moved more than an inch, she felt another stabbing pain shoot through her leg, causing her to hiss as her face contorted in pain and she sank back down into the canvas. It was over. Reiko, against all odds, had won. She had defeated a more experienced opponent, and defied everyone's expectations. When the match had taken such a breakneck pace, with the tides turning back and forth multiple times and forced the competitors to push their own limits, her fans were going wild - she had really snatched back victory from the jaws of defeat!

But Lacey couldn't help but be a little disappointed. For one, Reiko was far too tired from her own exertion to get up and celebrate such a hard-fought victory, and the green-haired girl frowned, thinking of how for such an energetic crowd-pleaser it must have seemed bittersweet. Certainly she would have wanted to cheer on along with the fans if she won, and when she and Reiko had so much in common, she was convinced she'd feel the same. But more to the point...Lacey knew that she herself had been inches away from victory. She could have won - she should have won. But it just barely passed her by.

When it became apparent that neither of the two girls were in any shape to leave the ring, the paramedics came down and loaded Reiko into a stretcher, carrying her out. Lacey was faring a bit better; she was able to rise into a seated position, but once again, she shuddered and sank back when she put too much pressure on her leg. One of the workers offered her a hand, and she lifted herself up onto his shoulder so that he could carry her out. As the two wrestlers were helped out of the ring, the cheers were dampened, as the fans wondered if everyone was okay. And Lacey felt that perhaps the most.

When Lacey looked out around the crowd and saw the looks of disappointment and concern on all her supporters' faces, she couldn't help but feel something drop in the pit of her stomach. This was her chance to make a big impression, and she had fought her hardest for it. It seemed like the perfect debut. But...had she let everyone down?

Winner by Pinfall: Reiko Masuda