Rosie Knuckles vs. Betsy Lincoln - Knockout Queens

[BlackAkuma]

***
Match Type
Knockout Match
Victory Conditions
A wrestler must render their opponent unconscious to declare victory. No count-outs, no disqualifications.
***

Now, this was something Betsy could sink her teeth into.

Ever since she’d come to LAW, she’d been pushing for a certain kind of match - namely, a boxing match. She didn’t want to do them full-time or anything, she was fine sticking to wrestling, but her roots were in that sport and she liked to dabble now and then, just to keep herself sharp. LAW didn’t do boxing matches, though, so she’d met them halfway and agreed to a knockout match, a wrestling bout with a good deal of boxing DNA mixed in. They’d gone along with it, but had been stalling her for months, claiming that they wanted to find the right opponent for her to take on.

Betsy figured they were bullshitting her, but nope - here they were, months later, and they’d finally made good on their promise. Rosie Knuckles, come on down.

Betsy bounced out from behind the curtain as her theme music blared, skipping along to Lenny Kravitz’s thrashing guitar. The crowd looked behind her, expecting her husband, Troy, to follow close behind, but they would only find themselves staring at a blank space: Troy wasn’t accompanying her tonight. Not for any serious reason, no couple drama. He had to travel back home for a while, needing to help his parents set up affairs with their house. Since his folks never had the highest opinion of her, she figured staying in Japan and holding the fort down was better. A little distance could be healthy for any relationship, anyway.

Betsy was all smiles as she came down the ramp and rolled in under the bottom rope. She popped to her feet, waved quickly at the crowd, and proceeded to shadowbox toward her corner, letting loose with a good flurry of furious punches. Her jab was feeling particularly on point today, and she was eager to show Ms. Knuckles what she could do.

It’s Betsy!

[Dubski]

Ready for Combat by Icon for Hire hit as the arena went dark. Rosie Knuckles came out as the spotlight shone on her to a loud reaction of cheers and boos. The cute, pinkette brawler stood in her typical attire, holding up a fist with a mean look on her face as she soaked in the reaction before throwing her fist forward and pounding her chest, letting out a loud roar to amp up the crowd further. She didn't care whether they loved her or hated her; Rosie just wanted to hear them get loud for her.

Rosie Knuckles was in a match that favored her stronger characteristics. That being the ability to knock a chick the hell out, and something she normally did in most of her matches anyway. The idea of it made her excited, especially after she saw who she was facing. Little Betsy Lincoln, some girl who was nothing. Just a grand ol' punching bag for her. Just a showcase of just how hard the Pink-Haired Pugilist could hit a girl. And that was something fine with Rosie Knuckles for just one reason.

Her shoulder was still recovering. After a grueling set of matches in the Apex series, her shoulder was hurt, and while she was cleared, she was wearing athletic tape to help her get through matches. She would be able to compete still, and she didn't find it too much of a hinderance, but an easier match up for her was preferable than facing off against someone brutal.

But nevertheless, she was ready to scrap now after having spent time on the shelf, keeping a fist in the air as she went down the ramp. As Knuckles was passing a camera, she waved over and then spoke into it as she pointed up to Betsy in the ring. "See that chick!? I'm going to beat the stars and stripes out of her!" And then she resumed walking to the ring before rolling under the bottom rope. Swiftly, she made her way to her corner, standing on the middle rope and throwing her fist in the air again, getting another mixed roar from the crowd as she started shouting out to them, gesturing to herself and generally hyping up both them and herself. She would then hop off the turnbuckle and then turn to face Betsy Lincoln with a gruff expression on her face, rolling her neck and staring her down. And she was going to enjoy this far more than she could imagine.

Spoiler

[BlackAkuma]

Right, the tale of the tape.

Betsy ran down all the stats through her head as her opponent came down, trying to consolidate all she had learned about Rosie through her research - if you could call Googling her and scanning over the Wikipedia page five minutes before the match ‘research’. The basic facts had them with similar stats. Close to the same height and weight, so there was no big advantage there. Rosie was younger, so you’d think that would give Betsy the experience advantage, but they were close enough that it probably wouldn’t matter too much. It’d probably just come down to who hit harder and the most often.

Good. Just the way Betsy liked it.

She stayed bouncing on her heels as her opponent came into the ring, and it was only then she noticed the tap on her shoulder. Was Rosie injured? Seemed like a big risk, coming into a fight like this when you weren’t 100%...unless this chick thought she didn’t need her 100% to win. Which, being fair? Betsy could kind of see why she might think that. She hadn't exactly set the world on fire with her LAW career so far, losing every match she’d had. One of them was a wild sex match against the personification of pint-sized sensuality, sure, but still, not the best look.

That was going to change, today, though. This was her coming out party. ”Ooooookay.” She hopped from heel to heel, picking up speed with every bounce. ”And one, two, one two three-”

The bell rang, and the smart thing to do would’ve been to come out slow. Feel Rosie out, get a sense for what her fighting style was,ascertain how vulnerable that shoulder was. All good moves, yeah…but boring, and not that fun to watch.

Instead, she dashed towards her at full speed, moving so fast that the referee barely had time to get out of the way. She closed the gap in a blur and threw out a couple of quick jabs straight towards Rosie’ face, trying to score some free damage right out of the gate.

[Dubski]

Rosie Knuckles was ready to get this thing started, and she went to approach the center of the ring when Betsy began approaching her too. She adopted a boxing stance, looking like she wasn't in the best of moods. A shoulder injury that wouldn't heal entirely was putting a damper on her mood going into every match now. The rehab was a pain. Having to wear athletic tape was a pain. The pain was a pain. And it was a pain that was able to be dealt with by delivering pain to other people in fights like these.

A practiced boxer, Rosie had gotten ready for Betsy, knowing they would feel each other out and see how they both were. A simple and easy way to start off matches, especially boxing ones. No sense unloading at the start. And yet, that was precisely what Lincoln was doing, and Rosie was rather surprised by it. The jab nailed her in the face at first, staggering the Pink-Haired Pugilist before she began blocking with a grunt.

If this was how Betsy wanted to play, Rosie Knuckles could certainly play like that. Suddenly ducking, Rosie would send a thunderous jab directly towards Lincoln's midsection with a yell. She was looking to slow down the pace that Betsy was trying to set out from the start, and the easiest way was to knock the wind out of her. Knuckles was wanting to maintain the pace that she wanted, not some blonde twerp.

[BlackAkuma]

Boom! First blood!

Well, there was no blood, but still, getting the opening hit on Rosie was a good mental win for Betsy, and the sight of her opponent staggered brought a smile to her face. She couldn't shake the distinct impression that her opponent wasn’t taking her seriously, still noting that injured shoulder, but if she thought this would be a breezy win to cap on while she was on the shelf, that kind of punch should’ve dissuaded her.

To Rosie’s credit, she got her shit together immediately, bringing up a solid guard and returning fire. Betsy wound up taking a good jab in the stomach, which made her stagger back a step, but she didn’t let it go further. She wanted pressure. She wanted aggression. She wanted to be all over Rosie like syrup on pancakes.

She dashed back in with a tight guard of her and threw her body into Rosie, leading with her shoulder in an attempt to push her opponent back. As they moved, she tried to unload a couple of hooks into her opponent’s stomach, wanting to pay her back for the jab with interest.

[Dubski]

Rosie's fist rocketed into Betsy's midsection and Knuckles went back into defensive stance, taking a few paces back. She didn't know who this chick thought she was, but most people were smarter than to get into a boxing fight with Rosie Knuckles, whose namesake certainly made it clear her reputation with it. But Lincoln was already gunning for her yet again, which got a brief, exasperated look from Rosie as she dodged to the opposite side as Betsy went for those hooks as she ducked back as well.

Were this a boxing match, Rosie may have been more amenable to a proper throw down like that. There was a certain sense that Betsy was eager to prove herself here though--understandable. But it was that same eagerness and wanting to throw everything at once that made Rosie think Betsy was either convinced she couldn't stick with it if it drug out for longer, or letting her desire to brazenly show off fuel her in this early goings. Whatever the reason, Knuckles wasn't about to let Betsy have her way with her.

And Rosie would go for a big right hook as she yelled, "Get bent!" The Pink-Haired Pugilist looking to swing and nail Lincoln in her face to get her to back off yet again, but at the same time taking the final hook to the side, letting out a loud grunt of pain as she staggered to the side, making more distance between them.

[BlackAkuma]

Yeah, Betsy liked that look in Rosie’s eyes. She hadn't seen this coming at all, had she? Probably thought the rookie would’ve hung back, been slow to come in, and not wanted to get in a brawling war with someone with the last name of ‘Knuckles’. And yeah, most people wouldn’t have wanted to do that, but she wasn’t most people.

She was Betsy Lincoln, and she was determined to knock the pink out of this girl’s hair.

She stayed close, and she wound up eating a hook across the face for her troubles. The blow landed flush and sent spittle flying towards the referee’s face, who narrowly avoided the splash zone with a quick step. Betsy stumbled back a couple of steps, glassy eyed, but she got her shit together soon enough and dropped back into her stance, now with a tighter guard.

She held back this time, bobbing left and right, daring Rosie to come her way and give back what she’d just dished out. ”Ooooooooh, Pinkie Pie’s got a mouth!” She stuck her tongue out. ”Better get it all out while your jaw still works!”

[Dubski]

Rosie Knuckles had nailed Betsy in the head with a hook, causing her to finally slow her offense. Meanwhile, the Pink-Haired Pugilist was scowling after that blow she took to the side, shaking her head. "Yeah, call me Pinkie Pie again," said Knuckles, staring down Betsy intensely as she adopted a stance too, taking the moment to settle from their rather bombastic start. "You think you're being cute, but you're not."

Rolling her shoulders, Rosie was fully in her guard, confidently watching Lincoln. "Your dumb ass is really about to try beating me in a fist fight, so I'll give you a freebie new girl. You start throwing graps at me, because you're not lasting long in this fight otherwise," said the pint-sized brawler. Her body bounced comfortably as she started to circle Betsy.

She was more than ready to lay into Betsy again though. She wanted to make her point that Betsy should go with a different strategy. Rosie Knuckles rushed forward, sending a left jab towards Lincoln's dumb face, and then sending a hard right body blow after, trying to catch Betsy with a vicious shot to make her point and keep her back. She had no time or patience for Betsy Lincoln at this juncture.

[BlackAkuma]

To the surprise of no one, telling Betsy she wasn’t cute was not the way to make her stop doing that behavior. It just made her smile grow even wider. ”Bitch, I’m adorable.”

Despite her gusto, she was keenly aware of the uphill battle she was setting herself up for, taking on someone who was all about strikes and focused on them for her offense. Maybe she was right, maybe going for grappling was the more competent play here, but it wasn’t Betsy’s style. Whatever her chances, she liked them even less if she started fighting outside her comfort zone. Dance with the girl that brought you. So…

”Let me think about it, let me think about it.” Her guard tightened as Rosie came in, absorbing a stiff jab, taking it right on the gloves. That was just the setup, though - the real danger came from below, a hook that slipped in under the elbow. A good, solid shot, too, one that left her innards rattled. Betsy clenched her teeth and kept from crying out as she stepped back, but that didn’t mean she was going to leave empty-handed.

”Thought about it!” Betsy fired off a couple of her trademark jabs at Rosie’s face as she backed away, rattling them off in quick succession and pinpoint precision to cover her retreat.

[Dubski]

Rosie Knuckles didn't find Betsy amusing at all. This match meant a lot to her--being able to strike back to a win after her injury. Her cheeky remarks didn't land for her, and Rosie was planning on making sure any of her punches wouldn't either if she kept it up.

Fortunately, her bare knuckle brawling was finding success, and a hard body blow had Lincoln feeling it. A punch like that was bound to send a pain to last the whole match. But Betsy wasn't deterred, still.

Rosie would then take two quick have to her face before setting up her guard to block the remainder while Betsy was retreating, as Rosie scowled, moving one hand to wipe at her aching face. "For the love of God," said Rosie in annoyance. Huffing out a sigh, Knuckles shook her head and allowed Betsy to make her retreat.

The Pink-Haired Pugilist would then put her guard back up. "What the hell are you even trying to prove here?" asked Rosie, making no immediate moves or attacks towards the blonde. She would instead just bide her time now.