Sunset Sharks vs Luke Cranston.

[Shadowheart]

In Klaus' mind, this was the perfect plan - no need to match strength with Luke. Just catch him off guard, take him down, and go for a quick, sneaky pin. Simple, right? And after watching what the bodybuilder had just done to Finn, Klaus was praying this would work.

The crowd held its breath as Klaus launched himself through the air, anticipation thick in the arena. For a split second, it looked like he might actually pull it off - until a massive, thick hand shot up and snatched him by the throat, stopping him dead in his tracks! A collective gasp rippled through the audience as Klaus' eyes went wide with panic, his legs kicking uselessly in the air. His hands shot up to claw at Luke's grip, fingers digging in, desperately trying to pry himself free. but it was no use. Luke's hold was ironclad and the crowd roared in approval!

"N-No, no, no—" Klaus sputtered, his voice laced with panic as he locked eyes with Luke, pretty much begging for some kind of mercy while the bigger male easily lifted him even higher before driving him into the mat with a thunderous chokeslam!

The entire ring shook on impact, Klaus' body bouncing violently before he landed sprawled out, motionless, staring blankly at the arena lights. A rough cough escaped him as his chest rose and fell, his body stunned.

Meanwhile, Finn had just made it back onto the apron, still aching from earlier, when he felt the canvas tremble beneath his bare feet. His head snapped toward the ring just in time to see Klaus laid out, Luke standing over him like a towering giant. "W-What the hell just happened?!" The blonde blurted, eyes wide, worry clear in his voice.

[CaptainL]

Klaus knew he was outmatched going up against Luke's brute strength, but he was hoping that if he was quick enough he might be able to make up for it. However, all he was doing was setting himself up for more trouble - as Luke was about to demonstrate! He launched himself right at the former bodybuilder only to be snatched right out of the air - and then, he would find himself suspended high over the ring, just waiting for the moment he'd fall. Some in the crowd had begun to cheer Luke on, but others were just amazed by the sheer power he was capable of unleashing!

And unleash it he would - he proceeded to drop Klaus down against the mat, driving the air out of his lungs under the impact! The canvas rumbled and the ring shook as he landed, but Luke stood tall, spreading his arms wide as he turned to face the cheers of the fans. He could never resist a good opportunity to show off, after all, and his strength was on full display tonight. But he wasn't done showing off, either - now that Klaus was down, Luke would turn and extend his elbow as he threw himself down on top of his opponent's chest for a hard-hitting elbow drop!

[Shadowheart]

Less than a minute in with Luke, and Klaus was already flat on his back. From the apron, Finn ran a hand through his hair, fingers gripping his blonde strands in worry. He didn't even bother shouting or anything - his voice would've been drowned out anyway by the deafening cheers for Luke. Whatever the bodybuilder had done, it must've been damn impressive, and judging by the way he was soaking in the adoration of the crowd, he knew it too.

And honestly? He could bask in it all he wanted. If it meant Klaus got a few extra seconds to recover, Finn was all for it. But, of course, Luke wasn't about to give him that luxury.

The bodybuilder soon turned back toward Klaus, positioned himself and proceeded to throw himself forward, launching an elbow drop straight toward his exposed chest! Klaus had really no time to react - his eyes widened in total horror as the blinding arena lights were suddenly eclipsed by Luke's massive frame. And then... boom!

The elbow slammed right into his chest, sending a violent tremor through the whole arena! The ropes rattled, and Klaus let out a sharp, gasping grunt, his legs jolting up from the impact. Spittle flew from his lips as he writhed beneath Luke's weight, a grimace of pain crossing his features.

[CaptainL]

At this point, Luke was just doing a victory lap! When he had snatched Klaus out of the air mid-charge, halting his momentum just long enough to bring him down with a hard-hitting chokeslam, that alone was an incredible display of his strength, and one that had gotten the whole crowd cheering. He could well have taken Klaus out then and there, too! Luke shook himself out, turning to the stands with a beaming grin on his face as he flexed a bicep in order to show off his physique. But now, he knew, he had brought Klaus down - and there were far more opportunities in store there. He was ready to push his luck even further, when he extended his elbow and threw himself forward, slamming his arm straight down onto Klaus's chest with enough force to leave him reeling!

If the crowd had been cheering before, now they were cheering even louder - Luke was just showing off how much he could dominate his foe, it seemed! He turned and looked back toward the crowd with a grin as he got down on top of his opponent. Now that Klaus had all but been flattened against the mat, he was ready to go in for a pin attempt, bending down and pressing his weight forward against Klaus's chest while he pulled his leg up into the air!

"ONE!" the ref counted. And from Luke's corner, Flora was cheering even louder to see such a show of dominance from her husband!

[Shadowheart]

Klaus felt like there was a gaping hole in his chest where Luke's elbow had landed. He knew that wasn't actually the case - he'd be dead if it were - but damn, it sure felt like it. Every breath burned, and for a moment, all he could do was lay there as his body tried to process the pain while the ring still trembled slightly from the impact.

The cameras zoomed in on Luke's face, capturing that infuriating, stupid grin and plastering it across the arena's giant screens. The fans obviously ate it up, cheering wildly as the bodybuilder soaked in their adoration. At this point, it felt like the entire match had been set up just to be a glorified muscle showcase for Luke - like one of his usual bodybuilding competitions, except now with an added bonus of tossing people around like ragdolls.

Meanwhile, Klaus had barely caught his breath when Luke shifted his position, now pressing his massive chest down against him and hooking a leg for the pin. Klaus was practically invisible under all those muscles as the referee slid in and smacked the mat.

"One!"

Finn was already moving, stepping one leg through the ropes, ready to return the favor and go for the rescue just like Klaus had done for him earlier. He owed him that much.

But then, something caught his eye. His gaze flickered to Luke's corner of the ring - Flora. Luke's wife.

Finn hesitated, his rescue mission suddenly forgotten as a slow grin tugged at his lips. "Well, arn't ya a sight for sore eyes?" he mused, not even sure if she could hear him over the crowd. Not that it mattered. His blue eyes stayed locked on her as he casually raised both arms, flashing his signature boyish grin before flexing his biceps in her direction.

A wave of boos soon rained down from the crowd as they caught on to his antics, but Finn kept posing, completely ignoring the fact that his brother was still trapped beneath a mountain of muscle.

[CaptainL]

Even with the Sunset Sharks having twice the manpower on their side, the match hadn't even been close. Luke's raw strength alone had been more than enough to make up for it - he was tossing them around the ring as though it took him no effort at all, as though they were little more than the same weights he trained with. Luke knew it, too. Always eager to show off, he had turned every moment into a glorified photo op for himself. He knew how unstoppable and dominant he looked running roughshod over the Sharks, and he wasn't going to say no at anything that did such wonders for his image. When the ringside photographers moved closer to snap a photo of him pinning Klaus down, he turned to the camera with a cocky smirk - he had to be sure the press captured him at his best! And, as the referee got down by his side, Luke only smirked a little wider. In just a moment, he'd have a dominant victory under his belt, and he'd hardly even needed to lift a finger for it.

In fact, he was so caught up in the excitement that he didn't even realize that Finn had caught his breath, and was now moving up to his wife. As Flora heard the sound, she spun around to face him - and there, as she realized what was going on, a faint blush came to her cheeks. "Ah, uh...I'm sorry..?" Flora was used to this sort of attention, of course - she was a model, after all. But she hardly expected it here, in the middle of a match, from her husband's opponent. Let alone while she was here with her husband to begin with. "What are you..?"

For that matter, Luke didn't see it coming either. The ref counted the "TWO!", but there Luke looked behind him and saw that Finn was talking to Flora. And there, he raised an eyebrow. Klaus wasn't putting up anything in the way of resistance - if Luke wanted, he could keep the pin and end the match here. But he didn't. He could afford to break the pin when things were going in his favor already as much as they were - and he had things to say about this.

Letting go of Klaus, Luke rose to his full height, then turned to face Finn, planting his hands on his hips. "Ah, excuse me...anything I should know about what you're saying to my wife?" A few cries of "Ooooh" could be heard from the crowd, who could only imagine what might come next.

[Shadowheart]

Finn had no idea if Klaus had kicked out or if Luke had just pinned him for the three-count. He honestly wasn't even thinking about it. His full attention was locked on the absolute goddess standing across from him. Would his brother understand? Probably not. But Finn figured if there was ever a time to shoot his shot, it was now. Besides, things weren't exactly going great for them anyway. Luke was too big, too strong, and clearly more skilled than both of them combined. Their odds of pulling off a win were slim at best, so Finn decided he might as well make the most of the situation - especially since he wasn't the one getting tossed around at the moment.

Some of the crowd had caught on to what was happening though, with a few fans near the barricade shouting, "Look behind you!" But Finn wasn't worried - Luke probably couldn't hear them over the loud cheers, nor did Finn particularly care. The referee was still counting, Luke was still on top of Klaus, and Finn was working his magic. He flashed Flora a charming grin, making sure she had a clear view as he mouthed, "Call me." And just in case she didn't catch it, he even threw in a little hang-loose hand gesture, bringing it to the side of his face like a phone for emphasis. Smooth as ever... until Luke caught him in the act.

The blonde was too busy flirting to notice the moment the bodybuilder voluntarily broke his own pin. The leg he had hooked simply flopped back to the mat, and Klaus, though dazed, wasted no time rolling away to give himself some much-needed breathing room. Finn remained blissfully unaware until the moment all 6'5" of Luke suddenly rose to his feet, stepping directly into his line of sight and completely blocking his view of Flora. The shift in the blonde's expression was instant; his grin vanished, and was replaced by wide, panicked blue eyes as his palms raised defensively.

"Hey now, mate! We were just, uh - just having a chat while you an' me bro were wrestlin', yeah?" Finn stammered, his voice cracking slightly as he gulped. The crowd erupted with laughter, others booed, but he wasn't laughing. Because now he had all of Luke's attention. And that was not part of the plan.

[CaptainL]

"Uh. Well..." Flora's face flushed a few shades deeper red as Finn made his move. She bit her lip and shrank back, fidgeting a little as she shuffled her feet and glanced from side to side. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate the attention, but...couldn't Finn see that this was clearly not the time? Even the fans had to question his judgment in making a move on his opponent's wife when Luke was just behind him, when he easily dwarfed her in size, and when the Sharks were already losing the match. And all Flora could think about was how Finn had inadvertently gotten himself into far, far greater trouble than he was already in. She could only hope her husband wouldn't hurt him too badly...

Indeed, Luke could've won the match then and there if he wanted to. All he would need to do was to hold the pin a few seconds longer. But when he saw that Finn was going after his wife, that just wasn't anything he was going to let slide - this was something he had to make a statement about! Breaking away from Klaus, he stormed over to the other half of the Sunset Sharks, looking him up and down with a wary eye. Even as Finn tried to talk his way out of the conflict, Luke wasn't having any of it. He had a stern, disapproving glare locked on Finn, and nothing he said could break it.

"Well...if you're really wanting for something to do, I can keep you occupied!" Luke interjected. Before Finn had any opportunity to say a word in his defense, Luke would reach out and grab him, hoisting him into the air to bodyslam him down right on top of his brother! It was a feat of strength to be sure - but even now, Luke was happy to show off what he was capable of!