Chloe Braden vs Nerissa Labong

[winner3]

Double or Nothing Tourney Winner's Bracket - Round 2!
Victory to be awarded via Pinfall, Submission, Knockout, Disqualification, or Ring Out (going over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor). The winner of the match will advance to the next round. The loser of the match will compete in the loser's bracket.

[skip-stop]

“I think this is a great opportunity to recover all that we have lost,” Victoria said, sorting through the documents. “Of course, no one is saying it will be easy, but if we put in enough effort...”

“We?" Nerissa asked dryly. “What do you mean we?”

Victoria froze for a few seconds, and then turned her gaze to her ward. Nerissa was sitting on a bench near her locker and just looking at the clock. The Englishwoman had to make some efforts to suppress the urge to sigh heavily. Not so long ago, there was a fire in this woman's eyes. Not so long ago, there was a cheeky smile on her lips. Not so long ago, Nerissa intended to reach the top even if she had to step over the lifeless bodies of her rivals for that. But now... it's like the soul has been pulled out of this Native American woman.

“I mean, we both need to try harder,” the manager tried to explain calmly. “I decided to give you a place in this tournament because I'm sure that if you return everything to normal and...”

“Who asked you to?”

“Beg your pardon?" Victoria blinked in surprise several times, not understanding her ward's question.

“If the tournament is so important to you, then why did you choose me?” Nerissa looked lazily at the Englishwoman. “Who asked you to?”

Victoria's lower lip trembled because she felt terribly offended. Yes, recent events have not been going well for Nerissa. More precisely, it would be more correct to say that everything was just terrible. After losing the last match, she also lost her main rivalry, as a result of which her rating went somewhere towards the baseboard. That in itself was hard for the Native American woman, but her problems didn't end there because she still couldn't figure out how she felt.

“Nerissa, listen, I just...”

“Not now,” the Native American woman shook her head, getting to her feet. “Since you signed me up for this tournament, it means I have a job to do...”

With that, she headed out of the locker room, which made Victoria jump to her feet. Her heels clicked as she followed Nerissa, taking off her glasses along the way.

“But you haven't even warmed up!”

“I can handle it without that...” Nerissa waved off, opening the door.

“And you forgot your Pride flag!" Victoria exclaimed, speeding up to reach Nerissa. “You've never entered the ring without it!”

“Fuck it...”

Before Victoria's hand could rest on her ward's shoulder, Nerissa closed the door. Nerissa hesitated for a moment, sighed heavily, and then headed down the long corridor. It's funny how the world works. When she first came here and signed the contract, many believed that she was the future of the lightweight division. For the sake of her aspirations, Nerissa was not afraid to go through bloody matches and challenge fighters from other divisions.

She unquestioningly followed her philosophy that whoever is in the ring with you is your enemy. But then everything changed. At the most inopportune moment, Nerissa encountered something she had never encountered before. And although it had been a long time since her reputation began to descend into hell, she still couldn't figure out what was on her mind.

Nerissa entered the waiting room and stopped in front of the curtains. Lately, everyone, even her best friends, have been looking at her like she's on her deathbed. They think she doesn't notice it, but Nerissa sees everything. It really annoyed her, but she had no desire to do anything about it. None of them have ever been in this situation, so they just won't be able to understand.

She sighed. Victoria signed her up for this tournament without saying a word to her. Whether she could have given it up or not doesn't matter anymore. Nerissa decided that she would just come and do her job. No more. No less. Without saying her catchphrase, she stepped forward.

Entrance Music

Attire

Her music began, which not so long ago made the hearts of the audience tremble. But already on the first chord, everyone realized that something was wrong. For the first time, the arena was not plunged into darkness. Many even thought that there was some kind of technical problem, but then they discovered that Nerissa had appeared on the top of the ramp. Without wasting any time, she headed to the ring and then the audience was convinced that something was obviously wrong, but definitely not from the technical side.

Nerissa walked forward, hardly paying attention to the audience. After she lost a lot of ratings, their support for her had clearly cooled. But even those who were still ready to support the Echidna were now whispering in disbelief, because for the first time Nerissa appeared without the Pride flag on her shoulders.

After rolling under the bottom rope, Nerissa quickly got to her feet and went to the center of the ring. At this point, many expected to see a signature gesture, but instead she just dryly waved to the audience, and then headed to her corner. Nerissa had too many thoughts in her head, and therefore she did not even pay attention to the bewildered reaction of the audience. Right now, she just wanted this match to start and end as quickly as possible.

[Epicsnivy]

“Chloe Braden”

For Chloe, today was a very important match for her. This was an opportunity she had been waiting for, the Double or Nothing Tournament. She worked hard for this opportunity, knowing that she got in over several popular choices like Viola Celestial, Phoebe Duclair and Tamoe Kasagawa due to overall how much of a hot streak she’s been on. She knew if she wins this, she could shoot this into a Middleweight or Openweight Championship opportunity, her big end goal that would lead to her face being everywhere in Japan and the world.

But she knew today that she would not have it easy, because she was facing Nerissa Lebong, a top tier Lightweight for while she had been on a bit of a downturn, Chloe knew not to underestimate her, as much people knew not to underestimate her.

Compared to usually how things went for Chloe, there was no paparazzi or photoshoot crew to take last minute photos of herself in her ring gear, as she knew she needed to be focused and locked in for this tournament. Chloe took her time doing some rather impressive leg stretches as she waited for the LAW official.

She would get what she wanted, as the LAW official let her know that her opponent had already made her way to the ring, and that her match was about to begin. Chloe winked and nodded before heading off, ready to embark on the streak of matches that can make her career.

The sexy music blasted through the speakers of the arena as Chloe came out of the curtain. She came out to a lot of hooting, and whistling from her passionate fan base who came out all the way to see her wrestling live, as well as the new fans she had made recently. Chloe skipped to the ring, walking light as a feather, slapping hands with her fanbase, some of which will probably not wash for a few days.

Chloe then walked up the steel steps, and went underneath the bottom rope, but not before doing a butt swivel to make her fans come unglued. She then went to her corner and got up on the second rope and posed. Then she backflipped off the rope and landed perfectly on her feet.

She then stared at Nerissa, and while she was an absolute beauty, Chloe knew that she had to be serious for this match, or else she could lose it all easily.

Chloe went to the center of the ring, and held her out, looking for a handshake. “My name is Chloe Braden, I hope you heard about me because I will win this tournament.” Chloe said with the confidence she needed.

[skip-stop]

When her rival's music started, Nerissa didn't even turn her head towards the ramp. She just didn't give a damn. As always, Victoria tried to give the Native American woman some information about her current rival, but Nerissa ignored most of it. It was only by a miracle that a few things stuck in her memory. Now her opponent was on the rise of her career and not so long ago she defeated another woman from Victoria's team.

In another situation, the Echidna might have done some training because she knew that the Englishwoman from Victoria's team was a pretty strong fighter, which means it makes sense to get to know her opponent better. But it just so happened that Nerissa was here right now just to do her job, and she didn't have to put in extra effort to do that.

The Echidna gave her opponent attention only when the blue-haired woman reached the ring and her music ended. Pushing off from the corner, Nerissa headed to the center of the ring to receive instructions from the referee. She was not eager to communicate with her rival in any way, but apparently Chloe had other thoughts on this matter. Hearing her rival's words, Nerissa looked into her eyes for the first time, while her left eyebrow rose.

“Oh...” she thought. “Another bimbo with her head in the clouds, who believes that she will be able to conquer the world...”

Sometimes Nerissa wondered what was going on in the minds of people who were ready to throw such phrases that openly. I will win this tournament. Wonderful. Of course, if that's what happens, then this phrase will seem damn cool. And if not? If she loses right now, what will her phrase be worth? Had she ever thought about how much of an idiot she would look if she couldn't prove her words right?

“Whatever...” said Nerissa, shaking her head, after which she briefly shook the blue-haired woman's hand.

After all, she wasn't here to teach this woman about life. When you're on the rise in your career, you always start to feel that self-confident. So let Chloe say what she wants. Perhaps this woman knew something that Nerissa did not know, and therefore did not doubt the truth of her words. But from the Echidna's point of view, everything was much simpler. The moment this woman loses, her words will turn to dust.

Taking a few steps back, Nerissa clenched her fists and took her fighting stance. When the referee asked her if she was ready, she nodded, after which Chloe did the same after a few seconds. The striped shirt waved her hand, after which the bell sounded.

Ding-Ding-Ding.

Rushing forward, Nerissa shifted first half a step to the left, then to the right, simultaneously changing the position of her fists. However, it didn't really matter, because in fact Nerissa just wanted to defocus her rival's attention. She wasn't going to use her fists and instead abruptly put her right foot to the left of her left foot. Turning around on her axis, she intended to push off the mat, and then swing her right leg, sending a fast and hard 360 tornado kick into Chloe's face.

[Epicsnivy]

Chloe felt vaguely disappointed when Nerissa only gave her a whatever, she was hoping that her declaration would at least fire Nerissa up, anything to make the match even better. Oh well, she will definitely learn that Chloe was not just glazing herself, she knew she had the ability to win the entire tournament.

Chloe headed back to her corner, doing some jumps before settling into a fighting stance, ready to wrestle her opponent Nerissa and get her run in the Double or Nothing Tournament started.

Chloe watched as Nerissa approached her, ready to throw a strike with her incredible speed and agility, however Nerissa’s feet movements caught her off guard.

“AH!” Chloe yelped as she was bashed in the head with a kick, the impact immediately knocked her till she was on her knees, holding her head in pain. That kick massively caught her off guard.

[skip-stop]

Being in a bad mood, Nerissa was no longer going to think about her opponent's bold words, instead preparing to start the match, which she did the very second the bell sounded. Rushing forward, the Echidna swiftly closed the distance, while simultaneously unfocusing Chloe's attention with constant movements of her hands.

Thanks to this, Nerissa managed to catch the blue-haired woman off guard and hit her in the head with a damn powerful kick. It was enough for Chloe to fall to her knees in an instant, clearly stunned. Meanwhile, Nerissa gracefully landed on her feet. In another situation, she would have smiled broadly at the result of the attack, but not today.

Instead, the Echidna intended to immediately wrap her left arm around the blue-haired woman's head, thereby closing it in a front facelock hold in order to then immediately lean back and smash Chloe's face into the mat with a classic DDT.

[Epicsnivy]

Chloe fell to her knees after that surprise kick to the head, she near automatically started feeling wobbly and wonky in the head, like any sort of strategy she could had started with went right out the window.

Then she felt Nerissa wrap her arms around Chloe’s head, and Chloe could not do anything to defend herself, and therefore her face ended up hitting the mat.

“AAAH!” Chloe yelped as she held her head in pain, Nerissa had caught her completely off her game with those attacks, anymore of this and she could get herself swept out of the Double of Nothing Tournament before she could even get started.

[skip-stop]

For those who have closely followed Nerissa's career, it was very unusual to observe the absence of a wide smile on her face. Many people thought they'd see it for sure after Chloe's face hit the mat, but it didn't happen. However, even if they wondered about the reasons for this, they would not get an answer because they should not know about the feelings that Nerissa hid not only from them, but also from all other people, even those who were very close to her.

Once on the mat, the Echidna immediately turned over and rose to one knee. She might not have a smile on her face, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to win. It was just that the fiery passion for which she was so famous had been replaced by cold determination.

Grabbing her opponent's shoulder, Nerissa intended to first turn Chloe onto her back, and then grab her ankles. Straightening up to her full height, the Native American woman was about to step over the blue-haired woman's right leg with her left foot. At this point, the audience would probably have started buzzing like bees, because they were well aware of what the Echidna was preparing.

If everything had gone smoothly, Nerissa would have crossed her opponent's legs and then taken a step to the side, thereby turning Chloe onto her stomach. The last thing left to do was bend her knees slightly to start twisting the blue-haired woman like a pretzel, causing pain to both her legs and her back.

In another situation, she would have gladly shouted the name of her signature submission hold, but today Nerissa remained silent. In any case, the audience was well aware that it was a sharpshooter, or, as Nerissa called it, the scream for me bitch hold.

[Epicsnivy]

Chloe’s head was still ringing, buzzing like an alarm clock from the DDT that has her stunned by Nerissa. This was her biggest opportunity, and she was wasting it by being taken to school by the more experienced lightweight in Nerissa, and could see her hot run go up in smoke.

Chloe was too stunned to realize that she was being turned over onto her stomach, with her legs being crossed, Chloe was going to be locked in her least favorite position.

Being locked in a submission hold, especially an excruciating one like a sharpshooter.

“AAAGHHHH!” Chloe screamed as the pain overtook her body, and her mind started screaming for her to submit. But she knew she could not submit this early, or else her chances of winning the tournament would be going straight out the window.

Using her elbows, and attempting to fight back tears possibly leaking out of her eyes, Chloe attempted to crawl towards the ropes, hoping to reach them and break the hold.

[skip-stop]

Chloe's deafening scream filled the arena. Since it was Nerissa's signature hold, the Native American woman honed it to perfection. She did not loosen her grip for a second, continuing to fill her opponent's body with pain. The agony of the blue-haired woman forced the referee to approach them, apparently the striped shirt intended to ask if Chloe was going to give up.

But before the referee could do this, Nerissa's opponent found the strength to start crawling forward, gradually approaching the ropes. The size difference clearly played into Chloe's hands because Nerissa was a lightweight and it was difficult for her to keep the blue-haired woman in place.

“Gmmm...” she growled through her teeth.

Nerissa knew she wouldn't be able to stop her opponent, but that didn't mean she'd let her get to the ropes just like that. With a deep breath, she intended to tense her entire body and lean back even more, thereby starting to pull her opponent's legs harder. The Echidna intended to turn Chloe's journey to the ropes into a real torture. This hold might not bring her victory, but it would definitely weaken the blue-haired woman.

“Rope break!” The referee said loudly the moment Chloe reached for the bottom rope. “Nerissa, let her go!”

For a moment, Nerissa had a very interesting thought. Maybe if she waited another five seconds, it would be a good lesson for her opponent. On the other hand... the Echidna relaxed her arms, releasing the blue-haired woman's legs, after which she took a few steps to the side, giving Chloe space to get up. It was a temptation for her, but she wasn't going to break the rules, she could win without it.