Show Opener: Hardcore Halloween Havoc - Halloween Sonohara vs Death Bunny

[killcarrion]

Credit given where credit was due. Death expected tonight to honestly be nothing more than a paycheck appearance once all was said and done. Striking down pugnacious challengers attempting to make a name for themselves was a task that had become all too commonplace at this point in her storied career. Especially within a business that thrives on wanton violence perpetuated by impetuous youths with either colossal egos or an insatiable desire for the limelight. Unfortunately, whoever challenges Death tends to only make a name for themselves via the engravings on their headstones and the tallied furtherance of those Death has entombed six feet under. Regardless though, Halloween offered the Grim Hopper a challenge worthy of remembrance she figured. S'not every day she gets to see the world through the eyes of a Jack O' Lantern, after all.

Whether Halloween would take solace in this judgment could be ascertained another time, since at this moment the seasonal striker was being hefted towards the opened casket at ringside with a calm, steadied and composed gait. An apropos visualization of the grim reaper unyielding and relentless in its task of escorting all living souls into the afterlife, albeit with an unorthodox method considering the visceral grip Death had. A passing glance was taken between Halloween's dangling legs to ensure Death was striding in the right direction when her adversary's fervent struggling came into play with a jaw quaking plummet "HGGH!!!" Death sent into a backwards tailspin with blurred vision and on an inebriated stance. Eventually taking a knee with facials scrunched, a hand cradling her jawline...and the opened casket right beside Death to swelled adulation at the apparent comeback.

[BlackAkuma]

Deep down, Halloween knew that she should’ve been okay with what she’d done so far in this match. Holding her own against someone of Death Bunny’s size was, by itself, an accomplishment for a small fry like her, and no one could ever take that away from her. Add that her opponent was an absolute legend with years of experience, and her current consciousness was a small miracle. She was a bug holding strong in the face of a hurricane.

Halloween Sonohara was many things - a gamer, a streamer, a love of fine, cheesy horror flicks - but she was not a quitter, and while she could accept losing this match, she was going to give it her all to the last second. The Skullbreaker gave her the small opening she needed, and as she hopped up and stepped back, she saw another one. A golden one.

Death Bunny was on her kees. The distance was just right. She couldn't have asked for more. ”Going on a trip…”

She bit her lip, anxious, and backed up, centering on her opponent and taking aim. Once she was locked in, she drew in a deep breath, then rushed forward, brought her leg up, and attempted to kick Death Bunny square in the face with her Critical Finisher: Train to Busan.

[killcarrion]

Death couldn't quite remember that last time she'd encountered a wrestler with the level of scrappy tenacity and unprecedented luck Halloween has at her willing disposal, the seasonal shortstuff striking back with one Hail Mary after another to the point she was seemingly never officially out of the fight. Even against insurmountable odds she scrambled and clawed as if her life depended on it, which may have been an appropriate mindset to have considering this matches macabre winning conditions. The Grim Hopper may have been willing to offer Halloween her kudos were she capable of doing so having her jawline rocked like that. Warbled thoughts and pained anguish throbbing within her mouth compelling the phenom to take a knee right beside what could become her own undoing with Hallow being one concussive strike and door slam away from achieving the unthinkable. Rallied audience members all on their feet as Halloween's train rolled straight to the bunny on the tracks...but would become completely derailed by Death Bunny arising and catching Hallow in mid-sprint. "...yes you are. Straight To Hell..." Death muttered after spinning her in place with a tightened torque around her waist and the perhaps appreciated sensation of Death's head tucked between her thighs before being thrusting her downward in a Gravestone Piledriver...

[BlackAkuma]

This was it. Halloween was going to do it.

Electricity, raw and untamed, flowed through her veins as she raced towards Death Bunny at full sprint, her tiny feet barely touching the canvas as she moved. It might not have been all that flashy of a move, nothing too complicated. Still, it was her Critical Finisher for a reason - as it turned out, a running kick to the head was just about enough to take anyone out, even when a tiny terror like herself delivered it. If she landed this, she would win. She would beat the unbeatable and ascend to wrestling godhood. It was so close, she could practically taste it.

Should’ve known. So many good horror movies had the hope spot, that moment where it looks they’ve got the killer right where they want them, that they’re free and in the clear. The heroine sighs with relief, relaxes, and then the hands emerge from the shadows and pull her back into the darkness…

Just before Halloween could connect, Death Bunny sprang to life and caught her with shocking speed. She was caught, spun around, and found her head tucked by the Hallowed Hare’s thighs - not a position she hated, mind you, but given what she knew was coming next, she couldn't quite enjoy it.

Death Bunny brought her crashing down, and the result was utter annihilation. The impact shot through her Halloween’s body, a bolt of lightning that paralyzed all it touched. She went ramrod straight, rigid and hard, only for the life to come out of her a second later. A gasp, a jolt, and then she flopped down with her arms splayed. Unmoving.

Except for her mouth, which twisted into a weak smile. ”That. Was. Awesome.”

[killcarrion]

Playing the role of unyielding movie villain sorta came with the territory when it came to Death, especially considering her match specialty entailed leaving adversaries entombed within a pine box. But she had to offer props towards her pint-sized and pig-tailed adversary absolutely acing her role as the spry underdog fighting and scrambling against overwhelming odds, garnering her fair share of rallied adulation from those wishing to witness a miracle this night. Unbeknownst to any hardcore Death Bunny fanatics within the arena who never doubted what the outcome would be, there were actually several instances where the ending could have been decided with a coin flip. A compliment she'd like to bestow upon Halloween one day. Well, whenever she awakes from her comatose fatigue and escapes the dreaded fate of anyone whose lost a casket match to an Avatar Of Death...

Death clasping onto her seasonal adversary now erected into an upside-down Halloween Tree, flaccidly collapsing afterwards into a spread-eagled delirium. The Grim One was fairly confident that this was the first time anyone felt honored to take her Gravestone Piledriver, but she figured this was just one of those types of matches. The adjacent casket being opened with her boot with Halloween being carried in her arms before being settled inside, a sly smirk and whispered "Happy Halloween, kid..." accompanied Death closing the casket to triumphant adulation from the audience. Death seating herself with a fatigued sigh atop the casket as a nearby referee raised her arm, signaling a fireworks show to begin rocketing into the night sky as her macabre theme played throughout the speakers in what was only meant as the pre-show for what was sure to be a night to remember...

Winner: Death Bunny

[BlackAkuma]

Halloween couldn't say for sure, but she was fairly certain that you could search far, wide, and until the end of your days and never find a person who was happier to have their skull spiked than she was.

This match was everything she had hoped it to be - a true story, with her as the plucky underdog fighting against the impossible odds, doing her best to keep her cool despite facing an implacable foe. Yes, she lost, and yes, she never had any delusions that would be the likely outcome, but that didn’t matter. She had brought her absolute best, and she was sure that she’d managed to put Death Bunny - the Death Bunny - against the ropes, at least a couple of times. There might have even been an alternate cut of this match where she actually pulled off a win, though Halloween wouldn’t say that was her best version. Her favorite movies were always the ones where the heroine survived to the end, thought she managed to get free and lived through the night, only for a dark hand to pull her back into the darkness…

She was still smiling. Even as Death Bunny carried her to the final resting place, gently - oh, so gently, stuffed her inside, and ended their match with a killer quip. She mouthed a silent ‘Thank You’ before she settled in and happily accepted the darkness, taking one of the best losses of her entire career.