The Lynx and the Duchess - Alena Stepanova vs. Keiko Yamamura

[CaptainL]

Alena had to give Keiko one thing - the Silver Lynx was quite persistent. Impressively so, in fact! Alena was a skilled grappler who knew her way around many a submission, but no matter how many holds she locked her opponent into, Keiko wouldn't let it get to her - she would keep on fighting, trying to power her way out through sheer endurance or through a clever counter. No matter how dire the situation seemed, she wasn't going to give up. If she was going to take on someone like Alena, the Russian grappler thought to herself, she couldn't do much worse. A submission hold would only do so much to someone who wouldn't submit!

That didn't mean Keiko was out of the woods just yet, of course. Whether she tapped or not, every hold Alena put her through was still taking its toll on her muscles and joints and whittling away at her stamina. That could only make her weaker as the match went on. Even now that the two of them had broken apart, and Alena had taken some time in getting back to her feet, Keiko wasn't ready to move in and push the advantage right away. That brought a smile to Alena's face - she could still take control, if she made her move before her opponent could!

In fact, she was going to quite literally come back swinging! Taking in a deep breath to ready herself, Alena would suddenly spin around on her heel, attempting to throw herself in an arc and drive her foot against Keiko's side with a roundhouse kick! Hopefully, it'd strike before Keiko had a chance to fully recover!

[Bare]

Keiko was panting and huffing in exertion as she slowly pushed herself back up after ridding herself of Alena for the moment. At every turn the two seemed to be evenly matched. Hold for hold, blow for blow, everything, while Keiko had gotten a distinct advantage before the same could be said for Alena and at this point the two were once again at a stand still on even grounds.

Each pushing themselves up after their last clash, turning to look at each other but it would be Alena who made the first move, rushing at Keiko and turning to unleash a kick on her! "Ugh!" Keiko cried out in pain from the blow before gritting her teeth and reaching down to grab hold of Alena's ankle, pushing back on the Russian heriess's leg to try and force her back. If she was successful in this then Keiko would dart foward as she did so, raising her own leg up to try and deliver a scissor kick right to Alena's abs!

[CaptainL]

It wasn't without some effort, on the part of both women, that they got back to their feet. They moved slowly and stiffly; Alena had to stop and catch her breath as she rolled out her shoulders to try and limber herself up. Keiko was certainly proving herself to be a worthy opponent, testing her stamina and her cleverness at every moment and always keeping her guessing. It seemed as though for every hold Alena could put her through, Keiko already knew a way out - even better, she knew a way to counter the position and maneuver things to her liking. But Alena wouldn't let that discourage her. She might have made a name for herself as a grappler, but there were other techniques up her sleeve yet. She had plenty of grounding in other disciplines of the martial arts - as Keiko was about to find out the hard way, when she whipped herself in an arc, poised to slam a roundhouse kick into her rival's side!

The blow hit its mark, causing Keiko to double over forward. But even winded, the Silver Lynx was still a formidable foe - something Alena would soon discover! One moment she had smirked to herself, satisfied with her efforts - the next, her eyes widened in shock to find herself held by the ankle! She might have landed her strike, but she was still close enough that Keiko was able to seize on the opportunity. The next thing Alena knew, Keiko had shoved her back, forcing her to stumble back a few steps - and then, the Japanese woman kicked a leg upward into her firm midsection!

With a lurch of her body, Alena doubled over forward, coughing and sputtering. Her shoulders rose and fell with a few slow, deep breaths as she tried to get the air back in her lungs - but she still lifted her head and stared back at Keiko with a piercing glare. She wasn't going to let herself be finished yet; not this easily! Alena's training in BJJ had taught her a lot about maneuverability, and she could use that just as much to get away from her opponents as she could to set up her moves. She'd try to ride on this momentum - if she was already bent over, she'd just throw herself forward toward the ground, going to drop into a somersault and roll in between Keiko's legs! If that worked, she'd go to hook Keiko by the ankle as she passed by her, hoping to pull her off her feet and trip her up!

[Bare]

Keiko was still wincing and hissing softly in pain from the roundhouse kick suffered by Alena. It hurt but it would be worth it since it allowed her the chance to grab and hold onto her opponent's leg. Using it to her advantage to launch a revenge kick of her own directly into Alena's stomach for what she hoped would be enough to potentially get a further edge on the Russian girl.

Unfortunately however Alena was far too quick and clever for that to work so easily for Keiko, as when she attempted to do so, Alena would instead dive forward, rolling past Keiko's reach and picking up her leg as she did so! "Shit!" Keiko gasped out suddenly as she felt her balance disrupted and pulled out from under her as she was then knocked down to the mat! 'No!' Keiko thought to herself as she immediately scrambled about on the mat, trying to kick her leg back as a desperate means to try and force Alena back!

[CaptainL]

This moment seemed to stand as proof that Alena and Keiko were evenly matched, both of them competing at the top of their game, and both of them displaying equal amounts of skill and talent. Each one of them seemed to have such a mastery of their craft, they understood what options their opponents had, and how to account for and counteract those options. They were thinking ahead, trying to outwit each other just as much as they would overpower each other. Keiko had shown that as she went to grab Alena by the leg, using it to hold her steady as she lined up a powerful strike of her own. But just the same, Alena had mirrored the exact same tactics to turn them against her, grabbing her leg to intercept a kick - and then using it as leverage to trip her up, throwing the two of them off their tenuous balances and to the ground!

The crowd burst out into cheers at such a show of technical mastery from the two grapplers - each seemed to know one another's respective style inside and out! Now Keiko went toppling over, bowled off her feet by Alena's hold on her leg. The Russian girl jumped back to her feet, continuing off the momentum with which she rolled forward. Hopefully, she'd be able to put more pressure on Keiko's joint from there. But before she could, Keiko yanked her leg backward with enough force to pull it out of Alena's grip! At the sight of it, the self-proclaimed Grand Duchess gasped. She had lost her hold on Keiko, and now her balance had been shifted as well! She went stumbling forward, her balance teetering and threatening to give way! Once again, Keiko had shown herself capable of disrupting her opponent's balance and momentum with only the right amount of force in the right direction!

[Bare]

Keiko gasped and panted softly in both relief and exhaustion, glad that she had managed to get her leg free of Alena's grip, knowing full well that if Alena could keep hold of her for too long then it would be disastrous. Looking over her shoulder she would notice Alena not far behind and as she looked ahead she saw the corner not far away. 'There... I can end this.' Keiko thought to herself as she pushed herself up and just to make sure that Alena was both stunned and in the right position she would swing her leg up, smacking her foot into the Duchess's face to rocket her upwards!

If successful at this then Keiko would sigh softly before then running at the corner, praying that Alena was close enough for this to work. Leaping onto the middle ropes first and then jumping onto the top Keiko would leap backwards with everything she had, trying to go far enough that her feet would wrap around Alena's head and if able, arch herself backward to pull her opponent along with her to bring her snapping back to spike her head into the mat with the prettiest poisonrana ever, or as she called it, her finisher the Empyrean End! If it worked then Keiko would lift herself back and fall back onto Alena's legs, folding the woman over for a pin fall attempt!

[CaptainL]

Up to this point, this match had hung in a delicate balance. For every move Alena made, Keiko had a perfectly-placed counter, and vice versa. The rhythm of the action swung back and forth like a pendulum. But that was about to change. In pulling free of Alena's grip, Keiko had managed to cause the Russian grappler to double over forward, and for a fraction of a second, Alena was left catching her breath and off-balance. That fraction of a second, though, was all Keiko needed. One fraction of a second out of place could turn the tide of a match, and Keiko was looking to take full advantage of that fact!

Before Alena so much as had a chance to recover, Keiko's leg swung outward, catching her upside the chin! Coughing and gagging, Alena's upper body snapped backward, borne by the force of the blow. Her arms flailed through the air behind her as she went sputtering and gasping, her head spinning and her vision going blurry. All Alena could feel was the sharp pain shooting through her mandible. That had thrown off her concentration - and Keiko was looking to strike while the iron was hot! She'd already managed to seize the opportunity once Alena was dazed - now, she would do it again!

To the sound of the whole arena cheering her on, Keiko went running, going to the ropes and launching herself across the ring. She flew toward Alena, her legs swinging outward to grab her by the head. Alena looked up just in time to see her about to make impact - and when she did, her eyes went wide with shock. She had been used to the slower ground-based grappling she had made a name for herself with - but pro wrestling was another story entirely. Alena had gotten herself accustomed to Keiko sticking to tradition in this match so far - so much so that she didn't even see Keiko's big finish coming! When it hit, she had no way to defend herself!

The next thing she knew, Keiko swung herself through the air at full force! Alena's feet were swept off the ground, and she fell head over heels before coming crashing head-first into the mat with the sound of a crack! Her legs kicked up in the air as she fell flat against the canvas, but then, she went still. With Keiko in position, the referee quickly fell into place to count the pin.

"One! Two!"

Through it all, though, Alena didn't budge. It seemed as though the fall had knocked her senseless!