Kiwi Warfare: Finlay Zeffer vs Karen Gale

[Bare]

Barely managing to avoid disaster at the last moment Finlay had managed to not only free himself from Karen's finisher move but also in turn spike her head into the mat before transitioning directly into a pin fall attempt! Catching Karen and hopefully ending this match! It wasn't to be however as the ref's hand only managed to make it halfway to the second count before his fellow Kiwi managed to surge forward, kicking out of his sudden pin attempt!

That was fine though. Left on his knees and leaning forward on his hands while taking some deep breaths Finlay knew that overall it could have been worse and he was just thankful to have a chance to get his breath back. Pushing himself up and turning to look at his opponent Finlay would reach down, aiming to try and grab hold of her arm to forcefully haul her up to her feet for his next move!

[Underdoggo]

Karen groaned as she lay facedown on the mat, barely moving after taking the full force of Finlay’s poison rana. One booted foot kicked weakly at the mat as she tried to get her bearings straight; it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she wasn’t exactly in a great spot at this moment in time.

She felt Finlay grabbing onto her arm at that moment. Grimacing, Karen was dragged up shakily to her feet; she knew that if Finlay got this next move off, it would probably be lights out for her, and she had to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening. Balling a fist, she tried to swing a right hook into Finlay’s face at close range, hoping to stun him or even knock him back a little.

“That…all…you got?” she snarled even as she caught her breath.

[Bare]

Finlay had managed to do a pretty high amount of damage to Karen in one fell swoop, knocking the woman for a loop and leaving her stunned.. But not enough for a pin. As a result Finlay was naturally looking to press the advantage, hoping to do enough to leave Karen down for the count.

Unfortunately however it wouldn't be that easy as Karen had managed to regain enough awareness to slam a punch into the blonde's jaw before he could do anything!

"Gah!" Finlay groaned in pain, getting rocked by the blow and nearly stumbling before planting his feet and gritting his teeth... and swinging his own arm around for a punch right back at Karen's own face!

[Underdoggo]

Despite the battering she had taken, Karen was neither down nor out; grimacing, the Maori tomboy balled a fist and sent it swinging up into Finlay's jaw. The blow sent Finlay staggering back, and gave Karen the breathing space she needed to take a few deep breaths and stand back up to her full height.

Unfortunately, in that time, Finlay managed to recover as well-- or at least, recover enough to send a punch of his own slamming against Karen's cheek! Her head snapped to the side, and colours danced across her vision as she struggled to retain her footing. With a grimace, she balled a fist and, with an angry yell, threw another punch back into her male opponent's face!

[Bare]

If there was any point in this match that defined what it was for two Maori descended wrestlers to be fighting one another it was this moment right here. Both Finlay and Karen were quickly getting worn down from the exhaustive match but neither were willing to give up just yet. In fact they were swinging non stop at one another, trying to to everything in their power to take the other down with all they had!

Getting rocked by Karen's punch Finlay came rocketing back, throttling Karen once more only for her to grit her teeth and sink another punch right back into his face! "Guh!" Finlay groaned out as he stepped back before growling softly in determination..."Raghhh!" He roared out as he swung his arm around, aiming to drive another punch into Karen's face with everything he had!

[Underdoggo]

The crowd was on the edge of their seat now. The two angry Maoris had battled each other to a standstill, and were now engaged in fisticuffs, each swinging brutal punches into the other's face. The tension in the air was palpable: each time one of the New Zealanders took a heavy blow, they would teeter for a few seconds, before rocking back with a brutal punch of their own. It was a battle of endurance in which there could be only one victor.

For a moment, Karen thought she had gotten the better of Finlay. That was, until her blonde opponent roared and swung at her with an even harder return punch! "UUUUNH!" Colours exploded across her vision as her head as she was sent staggering back by the blow; her legs wobbled heavily, and slowly began to give out from under her.

But past the extreme dizziness, she was damned if she was going to let Finlay win this contest. Lurching forwards, Karen drunkenly leaned out and grabbed the back of Finlay's head, and then, even as her legs gave out from underneath her, she pitched forward, slamming her forehead hard into her opponent's skull!

Spoiler

Whether this did anything to Finlay or not, the result would be the same; Karen would topple onto her back in a dazed heap, eyes closed as she had seemingly been knocked out by the impact...

[Bare]

Fighting with grit and resolve behind every single blow between them Finlay and Karen were brawling with intense fire, not willing to back down to one another, and displaying true warrior spirit in every single moment as they did so. After Karen's last blow FInlay was left seeing stars, but he wasn't done yet, roaring with effort as he swung his own arm back out at Karen, knocking her with a massive punch right back at her!

A punch that was successful and for a moment he was about to relax, thinking Karen would finally fall.. Only to be proven wrong when her hand grabbed his hair tightly! "GUH!" Finlay cried out as Karen's skull crashed into his chin, making everything go dark for a moment as all his motor functions ceased and, assuming Karen released his hair he would fall backwards, collapsing on his back seemingly out of it!

[Underdoggo]

Karen released Finlay's hair the moment she headbutted him, before crumpling onto her back, seemingly unconscious. The crowd went wild as the two wrestlers went down, seemingly mutually KO'd after a brutal exchange of blows. "HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!" they chanted again and again as the ref stood over both of them. In an instant, the countdown to a knockout began.

"1...2...3...4...5...6...!"

For a brief moment, it seemed like Karen, at least, would not get up in time. However, after what felt like an eternity, the white-haired Maori girl groaned and rolled slightly, tumbling over onto her hands and knees. Her entire world was a swimming, chaotic blur, and it was taking a lot of effort to even move. Slowly but surely, though, she began to push herself to her feet, as the crowd around her went even more wild at her recovery.

As Karen finally managed to push herself to one knee, then, if Finlay was doing the same, she would rise to her feet with a yell. Straightening up, eyes wide, face intense with fury, she would spread her legs and adopt a rigid stance.

"Ka mate! ka mate! ka ora! ka ora!" she screamed, reciting the haka of the All Blacks, doing the appropriate hand gestures of the haka as she did so. "Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru! Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā!" It was as much a scream of defiance as it was a mark of respect for Finlay, who had been giving her one of the toughest matches of her career so far. The crowd watched, amazed and more than a little bewildered, wondering how Finlay would react to this.

Spoiler

[Bare]

Knocked down by Karen in a mutual exchange of blows Finlay would groan softly as he slowly started to push himself up, the crowd driven to the absolute limit of excitement from how close and hotly contested the fight between Finlay and Karen was thus far. Looking up as he got onto his knees he would look up and saw Karen doing the same.. Before she started screaming out, moving her hands about in the proper motions of a haka.

Smirking slightly as he saw this he would pound his chest as he got up and began doing the same hand motions before roaring out himself "Ā, upane! ka upane! Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā!" He bellowed out, completing the haka before storming forward until he was chest to chest with Karen, their foreheads pressing against one another while he glared fiercely into her eyes, a last challenge before they went into their final exchange!

[Underdoggo]

The crowd was enthralled as Karen and Finlay shouted ritual phrases at one another in Maori, going through all the motions, phrases, and intense facial expressions of a haka in mirror to one another. Many in the audience weren't quite sure what they were witnessing, but somehow knew that it was probably the most New Zealand thing ever. Those who understood the context, however, were on the edge of their seat with cheers.

For a moment, Karen and Finlay's heads were pressed against one another, glaring into one another's eyes, each seemingly daring the other to break contact first. It was Karen who broke contact first: backing away for a quick step, she would try to drive a boot up into Finlay's midsection, before grabbing at his arm, aiming to whip him across the ring and nail him with a brutal lariat as he came rebounding back!