The Hoplite vs. the Samurai: Alexios vs. Kyo

[ScylliasExoter]

Spoiler

Alexios Laskaris was ready to go. After a lull, LAW was finally booking him again. And against other men no less. Alexios knew of Kyo Akamatsu. Truth be told, he wanted to face him and was looking forward to this contest. Alexios had height on Kyo, but both were strong. And Kyo was a respected technician, much like Alexios. He expected the two would put on a clinic and made sure to stretch extra well given Kyo's reputation for pretzeling his opponents.

Spoiler

Alexios' music hit and the Greek walked out to a mixed crowd. Kyo was Japanese after all. But it was clear the crowd thought well of him and was looking forward to this clash between two powerful submission wrestlers. Alexios entered the ring and raised his arms to the crowd. He then turned to the entrance to await his opponent.

[Underdoggo]

And a few seconds later, his opponent arrived.

Spoiler

As "Kanjite Knight" from the Mazinger Z soundtrack blared on the intercom, Kyo came striding down the ramp, to the cheers of his fans. He paid them little heed, though, as his attention was focused on the ring. He knew of Alexios Laskaris by reputation only, but by all accounts, the Greek was a serious-minded competitor who was constantly seeking to fight the best opponents. Kyo had once heard of the Greek concept of aristeia-- of becoming the absolute best one could be in a particular pursuit-- and it seemed that Alexios embodied that concept fully.

Sliding into the ring, Kyo met Alexios' gaze. He said nothing, but gave the man a simple, respectful nod as he stood in his corner and waited for the bell.

[ScylliasExoter]

Alexios nodded back at Kyo as the introductions played out. When the bell rang, Alexios walked forward, planted his legs, and raised his arms, inviting Kyo for an arm and collar tie up.

[Underdoggo]

Just as Kyo had expected, Alexios was a man of few words. This suited Kyo fine: he preferred to engage in as little banter as possible with opponents when he could. It distracted from the purity of the sport as it was, and he wanted to fight this man free of distractions.

Seeing Alexios' invitation for a classic collar and elbow tie up, Kyo graciously accepted, darting in to tie up aggressively, collar and elbow, with the Greek, trying to get a sense of his foe's strength as he tried to push him back towards the corner post.

[ScylliasExoter]

The two men locked up. Both pushed against each other trying to drive them to their opposite corners. Alexios had an edge in size but they were close and Kyo held firm. The two pushed back and forth. After neither gained any ground, Alexios opted to test his opponent’s adaptability. The Greek quickly shifted, going under Kyo and attempting to wrap his arms around his torso from behind with a waistlock. If successful, he would go for a takedown.

[Underdoggo]

Alexios moved quickly, managing to duck under Kyo's guard and get him in a waistlock. "Tch!" Kyo grabbed at Alexios' wrists: acting on instinct, he would try to pull the Greek's arms apart. If he was successful, then he would continue his counter by dropping low, keeping a hold of one of Alexios' wrists to flip him over his shoulder onto his back!

[ScylliasExoter]

Alexios grunted as he struggled with Kyo, one’s grip is often a weak point in a lock and that held true here. It was a slow struggle with both men’s arms shaking from the strain. Slowly but surely, Kyo unclasped Alexios’ hands and raised them in the air. With a sudden jerk he went low, twisting Alexios’ wrist and flipping him over onto his back. Alexios landed on his back, momentarily stunned.

[Underdoggo]

So far, so good: Kyo had managed to take Alexios down with a fairly textbook flip. Now he had the momentum in this fight, and he wasn't about to lose it. Maintaining a grip on Alexios' wrist, he dropped down to his knees, trying to use those knees to pin Alexios' shoulder to the mat as he tried to twist at the Greek's trapped arm in a classic armbar!

[ScylliasExoter]

Were they doing jiu jitsu, Alexios would be in trouble in such a position, normally the technically savvy wrestler would have to slowly work out from under Kyo to free his arm. But in a pro wrestling ring, there was a simpler solution. Alexios steeled his core and, with a burst of energy, rolled to the side towards Kyo. His momentum rolled Kyo over onto his back for a roll up pin. Kyo was suddenly having a pin counted on him if he maintained the armbar.
ONE!
TWO!

[Underdoggo]

Kyo let out an irritated grunt as Alexious suddenly flipped the two of them over, getting Kyo on his back and now putting him in a pinning predicament. Taking a few seconds to acknowledge his opponent's cleverness, Kyo released the armbar, pushing Alexios away before rolling back to his feet, trying to lunge at Alexios with a lariat as he rose again.