Raya Ashberry vs. Valley Doll III - Youth In Revolt

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie held the headlock tight, secured it with her fingers, the S-lock, everything she’d been trained to do. She kept her feet planted and created a solid base, one that wouldn’t be easily shaken. All the same, she was ready for a counter, knowing there were a few ways Raya could’ve escaped. Maybe with Northern Lights Suplex, or she could trip her up and go for the pin, or-

Or elbows. Yeah, she supposed that was one way.

Valerie grunted with each shot, stubbornly keeping the hold locked as Raya laid it in. That the woman wanted out of it so desperately made her more determined to keep it secure, but there was only so long that would be an option. Sure enough, they made it to the ropes after a moment and Raya grabbed hold of them, breaking the hold straightaway.

Valerie let go without a word and stepped back, retaking her position at the center of the ring. Once there, she brought her arms up once again, challenging Raya to another collar-and-elbow tie-up, keeping her gaze locked on her opponent all the while. She was curious to see if Raya would actually try it this time, or if she was bold enough to try another trick.

[ellth01l]

As soon as her opponent let go of the hold, Raya backed off and caught her breath, then looked to see that she had been challenged once again to a collar and elbow tie up. She inwardly commended Valley for her cunning, as Raya would probably have to go for this one, she didn’t want to make herself look like a coward by dodging it with cheap tricks twice in a row, especially after having been caught so easily in that headlock, it would basically be an admission that she knew Valley was the stronger woman.

Raya smirked and approached, and would then engage in the lock up properly without trying anything except to gamble on the fact that her strength exceeded her opponents.

In the split second before engaging though, Raya hesitated, wondering if refusing to lock up at the start of the match had cost her, as she was now slightly more exhausted and might be at a disadvantage against an opponent who possibly could have beaten her in pure strength fully fresh, let alone tired out by a headlock. However, she quickly shrugged this thought off and decided to go for it regardless of what the end result would be.

[BlackAkuma]

You could learn a lot by wrestling someone, Valerie knew that better than most. People could lie, they could talk themselves up, they could bluff, but when you locked arms with them and put the pedal to the floor, their true selves came out.

Usually. Raya was proving to be a little more complicated.

At first she’d figured this woman was more of the cheating type, which didn’t make a whole lot of sense in Valerie’s book. She could see if this woman was smaller than her, but they were fairly close to the size, with maybe a little more muscle on the redhead’s side. Was she not confident in that power? And then, before they locked up, she hesitated. Not long, but it was there and noticeable. What was going on in Raya’s head.

There was one way to find out. Valerie locked arms with her opponent, planted her feet, and pushed.

For a moment, the two of them stood stockstill, applying force and getting nowhere. Soon enough, though, Valerie dug deep and started to summon more of her strength, gritting her teeth as she attempted to surge forward.

[ellth01l]

The moment they locked arms, Raya pushed and exerted with all her force from the get go, but still it wasn’t enough to budge her opponent, but at the very least she wasn’t the one being pushed back, although she hoped that Valley was also going all out or else if she wasn’t, then the moment she decided to push more then Raya would find herself outmatched. Knowing this, she kept trying to push and exert herself further, her muscles tightening in exhaustion, but it was no use.

Suddenly, Raya’s fear came true and she felt Valley starting to add some more strength, she gritted her teeth and tried to stand her ground furiously but it was no use as she was now starting to get overpowered and was losing this battle, and worst of all she was also starting to get exhausted and was breathing heavier the longer she stayed in this clash, but still she had already bailed out earlier and vowed to keep this up, but it proved to be no use as little by little her opponent surged forward and took control as Raya was being forced backward, unable to resist.

Raya tried as much as possible to keep it a tight affair, keep things close and make her opponent work for it, but the more time passed the closer the floodgates got to being completely opened. She looked straight at Valley and the thought of trying to go for another cheap shot crossed her mind once again for a split second, but she considered the fact that she’d already shown her cards earlier and Valley might be ready this time and find a way to punish her worse than how she had done when caught off guard, so she just stood there and took on the brunt of the push, struggling as much as she could.

[BlackAkuma]

The two met and locked horns, colliding with some real impact and filling the ring with the sound of slapping flesh. The crowd, which had been fairly evenly split since the start, cheered and wavered in time with them, rallying behind Raya at first, then gradually turning Valerie’s way as she gained ground.

She appreciated the support, but really, this wasn’t quite as easy as she might have been making it look. Though she was slowly pushing Raya back, it was taking more and more of her strength to do so. Though she didn’t like to talk too much during a match, she couldn't resist giving her opponent a few flowers. ”Not…not bad, Raya.”

She had no intention of staying like this forever, though. After straining for a few moments, Valerie abruptly broke away, ducking down and spinning about behind her opponent. One arm came under Raya’s shoulder, then another on the opposite one, and she tried to lock them behind her opponent’s neck for a tight full nelson.

[ellth01l]

It was now Raya’s turn to stay silent, putting all her energy into keeping Valley at bay, unable to engage in retorts and petty insults anymore. She felt herself slipping little by little, until suddenly Valley shockingly broke away despite the fact that Raya was convinced that she had been on the cusp of being overpowered by Valley.

Raya had no time for a breather though, as almost instantly her opponent would duck and spin behind her and get her arms under Raya’s shoulders trying to lock them into a full nelson. Raya would use her own arms and swiftly bring them down to try and break the grip before it was fully locked in, and if it worked she’d then grab Valley’s arms and then try to bring her down sideways to the ground before turning to face her and attempting to get on top of her, bringing her own arms down to pin Valley’s arms on the mat above her head while straddling her as she’d attempt to get her in a schoolgirl pin.

[BlackAkuma]

Raya was being quiet, uncharacteristically so, and it bothered Valerie more than she wanted to admit for reasons she couldn't quite put a finger on. She wasn’t in LAW to make friends, but she wasn’t trying to make enemies, either. The two of them had a lot in common, at least physically. It felt like they should have some common ground to meet on, but…

Valerie tried to push those thoughts away and focus on reality, the reality where Raya was powering out of her full nelson before she had the chance to properly lock it in. With a few quick movements, the redhead pulled her in, spun her about, and dropped her hard on the canvas, then moved in to secure her and pin her.

The arms were secure; it was too late to do anything about that, but Valerie could certainly keep herself from getting pinned. As Raya moved on top of her, Valerie planted her feet on the canvas, braced against the back of her skull, and bridged up hard with a tripod, trying to roll her foe off of her before she could secure the position.

[ellth01l]

Raya struggled to keep her hold as Valley was bridging up and trying to get Raya off of her. Even now, she could feel the strength in her opponent, she wouldn’t admit it out loud anytime soon but there was now no more doubt in Raya’s mind that Valley was superior to her physically. The more this match dragged on the more the advantage would tip in the scales of her opponent, so Raya tried to hold on as much as she could onto this golden opportunity to end things, otherwise things might start to go awry if she didn’t.

“D-damn it, just stay still for once!” Raya yelled in frustration, feeling her hold slipping as she was about to be rolled off, then she let go of one of Valley’s arms to try and throw a few punches right at her face, hoping to stun her enough so that she’d fall back down to the mat and give Raya the few seconds she needed to get the pin.

[BlackAkuma]

In hindsight, Valerie should’ve seen the punch coming.

It wasn’t what she would’ve done, had the positions been reversed, but that was one of her big weaknesses in wrestling - assuming people would do what she would do, and not taking their own style into account. It was probably the reason why high-flyers like her brother gave her so much trouble, since everything they did was so far out of her own wheelhouse.

Crude as it was, Raya’s shot worked out exactly as she wanted it to, maybe even better. While it wasn’t the optimal spot for punches, Valerie wasn’t in the optimal spot for taking punches, and the blow bounced her skull against the canvas, doubling the damage. It made her body instantly flatten out, and while she had the wherewithal to keep a shoulder off the mat, that was more reflex than anything. For the time being, she wasn’t going anywhere.