Round 1
Sakura Ariyama vs Haruka Tatsumi
Win by Knockout
Haruka
Sakura
Sakura bounced up and down from one foot to the other. To think a rookie like her would be in LAW's Last Woman Standing Tournament. Her first gimmick match too. She was so psyched for it that she forgot her best friend next to her.
"Um... Sakura, are you sure you wanna do this?" a concerned Tokiko asked. "I mean, I know your tough but these matches can get a little dangerous..."
"Huh?" Sakura said as she stopped her warm-up and looked at Tokiko. This was different from Tokiko's usual worrying. The joshi gave a small smile and put a reassuring arm around Tokiko's shoulders.
"Don't worry Tokiko, I'll be fine!" Sakura declared with a small smile. "Gimmick or not, a match is still a match!"
"But you could be hit with a chair! Or thrown throw a table or-"
"Psh, I can take that! That was like the third day of training!" Sakura interrupted. That wasn't entirely true though. In fact, Hayami-sensei looked down on such tactics and Sakura only had the "pleasure" of hardcore matches when her teacher did a special cross session with a hardcore dojo to begrudgingly introduce her class to said tactics.
It wasn't one of Sakura's easy lessons.
"Anyways, don't you worry! I have a plan!" Sakura said, but before she could explain, a stage hand beckoned her. "Well... I guess you'll see it in the match," Sakura said as she gave her friend one last hug.
"O..okay... just be careful Sakura," Tokiko replied as she returned the hug, putting on a nervous smile as Lotus Juice and Shioko Hirata's"Break Out Of..." began to play.
One thing that I'm sure of is that
You gotta fit in to survive this madness oh boy
(You don't even know who you're messing with)
(Sinner from birth spelled in curse hated by thousands)
Like all the sounds count in any good song,
Supposed drums Weak? Then the band plays sour tone
(All round player no sub needed)
(Y'all little brats please stay seated)
(Real life kittens can't believe it)
(Do or die I fight back and kill it)
Way you fake yourself, get played on
And I've been there done that same predicament
But it's time you give up maverick
(huh?)
Break out of the dome
It's time to take a step up, no more cruising alone
"The following contest is a round one match of the 2020 Last Woman Standing Tournament! Making her way to the ring, from Fukuoka, Japan... Sakura Ariyama!" Misa announced.
The energetic joshi burst from gorilla position to the cheers of the fans. She gave a wide smile as she made her way to the ring, stopping to give a hug to a young girl before entering the ring and going to her corner, bouncing from one foot foot to the next as she waited for her opponent.
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Haruka have heard about LAW's Last Woman Standing tournament. She watched how it went, but... She never believed that she is going to participate in the tournament. Especially considering she lost a lot of her matches, maybe she is the last woman expected to win this tournament. But that doesn't mean she'll go down without a fight. She knew that this is a chance to prove them wrong about her being an easy prey.
"Hey, you do realize they expected you to go down easy right?" Annette, her half sister asked Haruka as she gets herself ready for the match. "I know... They even pair me up against a rookie on the first round, probably expecting an upset or something." Haruka answered as she tied the lace on her boots. Standing up, she moved out of the locker room before Annette stopped her.
"Win, prove them wrong okay?" Annette said in hope that Haruka will try her best to survive and win the match, while handing a mic over to Haruka. "You bet I will... Heck, I stayed up longer than some random jobber no?" Haruka said with confidence as she took the mic and left the locker room.
Readying herself to come out as her music plays throughout the arena. She walks out and took a pose at the center of the stage. Singing along with the song as she made her way to the ring, lending her free hand to the crowd as she continued to sing.
She concluded her song soon after entering the ring. Cutting the music right before she tosses the mic to the ring crew outside. She then stretches a bit at her corner while glancing at her opponent.
She thought that despite the company seemed intent on seeing her lose, she should keep the sportsmanship alive so that she walks toward Sakura in a friendly manner. "Hey, let's have a good match okay?" She said as she offered a handshake. "Perhaps we could be friends after this?"
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Sakura continued to stretch as she waited for her foe to make her entrance. Butterflies were still dancing in her stomach, this was her first "official" gimmick match after all. And while she still believed, as her sensei taught her that, "A match is still a match, no matter how many bells and whistles they put on it," she was still a bit uneasy. She'd experience some "close encounters" with a chair and didn't enjoy it.
Suddenly, her opponent's music hit, interrupting Sakura out of her thoughts. The rookie joshi couldn't help but grin as Haruka sang along to her song. Sakura joined a bit herself!
When Haruka got in and offered her hand, Sakura eagerly took it, replying that, "Let's! And I hope we can, provided that you don't get too angry when I win," she confidently replied with a sly smile.
The bell soon rang, officially announcing the beginning of the match. The rookie didn't want to waste time, hoping to milk her youthful energy for all its worth! With that, Sakura would attempt to bring her right leg up, aiming to crash it into Haruka's head in a roundhouse!
"Flower-Pedal Kick Episode 1!" Sakura would cry as she attempted to ring Haruka's bell.
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Shaking their hands, Haruka laughed softly at Sakura's confidence. "You're not going to take me out that easy anyway." She replied. "Not that you'll beat me though, just you watch." Letting go of the handshake, Haruka returned to her corner, waiting for the bell to ring.
And then the bell rings, Haruka quickly make a dash towards Sakura, planning to take her head on right from the start. Though she would then saw Sakura rising her right leg up in a roundhouse motion...
With her quick thinking, Haruka slid under Sakura's right leg, passing her and going through under the bottom rope. She grabbed onto the bottom rope and keeps her body on the ring canvas as she lays on the ringside apron.
Rising to her feet quickly after that, she stood behind the ropes. "Whoa! Not bad! That kick sure looked like it would pack a punch! Glad I dodged that!" She exclaimed, impressed at the roundhouse that Sakura pulled. "But I have something better!" She concluded before hopping over the ropes. Planting her feet on the top rope before leaping towards Sakura and raised her fist and motioned as she attempts to land a Superman Punch!
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So close and yet so far away. Sakura groaned as her foot missed Haruka's head. She hadn't expected that kind of agility from her foe. Still, the rookie joshi smirked. This was going to be even more fun than she thought.
"Something better huh? I'd like to see that!" Sakura retorted when she heard Haruka's boast. With that, she managed to regain her balance and turn towards Haruka. Sakura gasped as she saw Haruka on the top rope, springing forward with fury at the rookie as though she were a familiar superhero. "CRAP!" Sakura thought as that fist got closer.
With any luck, Sakura would recover from the shock and try run towards Haruka, ducking under the attack and hopefully getting some distance between the two so Sakura can regain the imitative once more.
"Okay... that was better," Sakura would concede if she managed to dodge the punch and gain some buffer distance between her and her opponent.
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Haruka leapt towards Sakura, ready to throw a punch when she got close. She swung her fist forward... But in a nick of time, Sakura managed to duck under her fist. Leaving Haruka in a position where she would land sloppily and stumbled as she lands.
As her foot landed on the canvas, she stumbled forward and unable to control her traction. She would then try to halt her movement. Grabbing onto the ropes to stop her from moving. Haruka stopped herself by the ropes, taking a few moment to take a breather, she would turn around... And in this moment, she were left open for an attack of opportunity.
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"Whew..." Sakura sighed, it was a small but sincere admission or relief that Haruka didn't hadn't leveled the rookie joshi. Sakura then got up, looking at her opponent. Shear adrenaline pumped as she saw that her foe overextended! "Now's my chance!" Sakura thought as she ran towards her opponent again.
As soon as Haruka turned towards the rookie once more, Sakura would leap up, trying to mount Haruka's shoulders. If this succeeded, the Sakura would then try to cross her ankles, scissoring Haruka's head and would then flip backwards, releasing Haruka's head in flip to try and throw her foe across the ring in a hurricanrana!
"Cherry Blossomrana Issue I!" Sakura would cry during the attack
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Haruka turned around and found her opponent locked her head in a headscissor. Taken slightly by surprise she wasn't fully prepared on what comes next. Flipped over following the flow of Sakura's rana, Haruka would then land onto the canvas with her back! She quickly rolled away from Sakura after she landed.
Haruka rolled so far that she rolled under the ropes and let herself out of the ring. She stepped out and backed away looking at the ring while holding her back. "Hhhhh..." She hissed, holding the sting in her back. "Not bad, not bad..." She said towards Sakura while backing away. Resting herself against the barricade that separated the ringside area from the crowd.
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The rookie joshi couldn't help but grin manically, panting a bit. The match had just started and already she'd hit a pretty big move on her similar named opponent! Already, she can feel momentum building on her side.
And so, with the same impetuous attitude that's often associated with young rookies (though it was certainly true of Sakura!), the young joshi would roll out the ring and try to pursuit her foe, running at Haruka in an attempt to hit the experienced joshi with a running forearm! "Sakura Charging Forearm SPECIAL EDITION!" Sakura would cry as she charged.
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Haruka certainly didn't expect that Sakura would chase her out of the ring. Seeing her opponent charging towards her, she considered to dodge but if she were late she would be in for more trouble. She looked towards Sakura and just took that Forearm straight on her face.
"Guhhhaaaa!!!" She was knocked back against the barricade as Sakura hit her straight with a forearm smash. Had Sakura moved away slightly from her, Haruka would walk forward, although groggily before she fell on her knees, grabbing onto ringside as she held her back. "Hhh... Hits like a truck..."
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"YES!" Sakura excitingly thought, as she moved back a bit. Sakura couldn't help but grin at her foe's compliment. "Heh... I try," she said, taking a few quick breaths. "Damn... maybe I've been going a bit too hard at her..." She mused, as she took a few more breaths before backing up a bit.
"But if you think that hurt, you haven't felt nuthin' yet!" Sakura would boast if successful as she would try to get a running start and then attempt to acrobatically flip to the right side, attempting to place Haruka in a side headscissor as Sakura would support herself with her hands. "Sorry about this in advance, " Sakura would say, as she would then lift her arms from the ground and twist herself back, trying to slam her elder opponent in a headscissor DDT!
"Cherry Blossom DDT Act I!" Sakura would shout out.
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Haruka looked onto Sakura as she was on her knees, hearing her boasting. Haruka tried to stood up but as she got one of her foot onto the ground, Sakura managed to lock her legs onto her head. Taken by surprise with the hold, she grabbed hold onto Sakura's legs, trying to pry it open but she couldn't do so before Sakura led her head down onto the ground in a headscissor DDT!
Haruka rebounded from the impact, falling onto her back right after onto the cushioned ringside ground. Looking out of it as she lays there unresponsive for a while.
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Sakura panted, as she looked back at her handy work. She was getting a bit fatigued. After all, she'd been going all out since the start of the match. She soon picked herself up, as the referee began her count.
"One!" The official began, the crowd chanting along.
In the meantime, the joshi rested her back against the barricade, trying to regain as much stamina as possible from her offensive blitz!
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"Two!" The official continued the count. Haruka laid there heaving her chest up and down as she tried to regain her bearings.
"Three!" Haruka groaned out as she rolled to the side slightly, starting to push herself up. Slowly but surely she would stand up as she planted her feet to the floor.
"Four!" With the help of the ringside apron, she finally stood up, though her stance was still slightly wobbly. She raised her arm up into her stance. The ref quickly moved to Haruka to check on her firmness and readiness. Haruka nodded slowly as she took a deep breath and gaze straight at Sakura.
Seeing how Haruka is ready to continue, the ref stopped counting and waved their hand signaling to continue the fight. Haruka grinned wide right after. "I ain't going down that easy you know?" She said with full confidence as she fully braces herself for the next part.
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Sakura continued to try and catch her breath as the referee continued her count. She'd gotten four seconds of precious rest, before Haruka got back on her feet, albeit with the help of the ringside apron. Confidence swelled within the young joshi. After all, if Haruka needed to use the apron to get up, then Sakura must really being hammering into her. It never occurred to the rookie that Haruka might've been doing that to conserve stamina.
In any case, Sakura couldn't help but give a friendly smirk to what Haruka said. "That's good, it wouldn't be any fun if you did," Sakura playfully replied back. And with that, Sakura then lunged forward, reaching out to try and grab Haruka.
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Haruka stood at the ready after recovering. Watching what Sakura would do next. Upon seeing Sakura lunging forward, Haruka quickly pivoted and turn away from Sakura. Running away and making a lap around the outer ringside. Seeming like an act of cowardice, but it was a ploy from Haruka to tire her rookie opponent.
After a lap have been made, Haruka decided to turn the situation to her favor as she took a step onto the steel steps. Grabbing the corner pole before maneuvering her body to swing around the pole. Quickly slipping under the bottom ropes. After she circled around the post to turn towards Sakura. She quickly thrusts her foot forward! Hoping to finally land her first offense in the match!
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"Wha- Hey! Get back here!" Sakura yelled, as Haruka ran. Haruka made such a show about not going down easy and then runs?! Well, she wasn't going to be getting away from Sakura that's for sure! And so Sakura chased her, taking a lap around the squared circle.
The young joshi felt a bit out of breathe. She'd been going one hundred percent from the start of the match and had only four seconds of rest. That wasn't going to mean the joshi wasn't going to push through it! She'll still be giving Haruka everything she had!
And it was paying off, as Sakura was starting to catch up to her older foe, as they neared the steel steps... that was until Haruka jumped on the steel steps, grabbing the post to swing herself towards Sakura. "Hu-UGH!" Sakura cried as the sole of Haruka's boot connected with her cheek. The young joshi crashed on the barely covered ground, clutching her face as she moaned in pain.