[Standard Match] Charlotte Ravel' vs Angela Belti - Up to the top (Apex Qualifier Match)

[skip-stop]

It was worth paying tribute to Angela. Despite the fact that the Frenchwoman moved very quickly, the purple-haired woman almost completely managed to get to her feet and even prepare for a possible attack. Of course, it is impossible to predict with one hundred percent probability exactly how the opponent will attack. But, apparently, the experience of the Italian woman played an important role in this, she raised her hands, covering her chest from the knees of the Sand Lizard.

But even though Charlotte's attack had lost a significant part of its effectiveness, it was still a powerful attack. Her knees crashed into Angela's hands, but the impact threw the Italian woman backwards, causing her to crash into the corner. Charlotte would have preferred her opponent to fall on her butt, but Angela grabbed the ropes, thereby remaining on her feet.

Trying not to waste time, the Sand Lizard pushed off from the mat, jumping to her feet. Her opponent was in no hurry to attack, which suggested that the attack of the pink-haired woman had stunned her to some extent even despite the block.

The first drops of sweat appeared on Charlotte's body. Those who closely followed her matches knew that she was far from the most endurance fighter. For this reason, she preferred to increase the pace smoothly rather than abruptly, because she needed to conserve her strength. However, the match with Amy showed her that such tactics do not work when it comes to rivals who surpass her in size and strength.

Therefore, she began a series of workouts, absolutely not sparing herself and her body. Martial arts is about self-development. Martial arts is the way to become the best version of yourself. The first defeat in the LAW ring hit Charlotte hard. But it also became a reason for her to become stronger.

"Vite..." she muttered.

The Sand Lizard intended to take a step forward and then throw both hands up. She wanted to grab her opponent's head and then turn to face the center of the ring, thereby closing Angela in a simple side headlock hold. In another situation, Charlotte would have thought three times before making such a move, because her opponent could have tried to banally push the Sand Lizard away, given the difference in weight and strength. However, she had gained extra muscle mass through training and now she was going to use this to firmly squeeze the head of the mature woman.

And if she didn't have a problem with it, she would immediately rush forward. Two wide steps were more than enough. Because on the third step, Charlotte intended to jump and throw both legs forward. She was going to fall on her back and at the same time send Angela's face straight to the mat with the help of a running bulldog.

[BlackAkuma]

While she wouldn’t go so far as to say that was the heaviest hit she’d ever taken, Angela could definitely vouch for it being one of the rough blows she’d ever suffered from someone in this particular weight class. She had been a little confused at the reasoning behind this matchup before, but now that she was having to take this woman head on and really feel what she was working with, the sense of it all was occurring to her.

Thi was a styles clash. Putting someone with her more traditional way of wrestling against a fighter who had that quicker, more impactful new approach that was so popular these days. An interesting matchup, and a good way for Dizzy to see a wide range of options when it came to developing her own path.

Of course, she wanted to teach that lesson with her winning the match, and this was a bad start in that direction, but there was still ample time to change that around. The match was still young.

Even now, as the so-called Sand Lizard slithered closer, she could see a strategy forming in her head, and it was a painful one - she had to outlast this woman, push her into deep water and drown her there, then seize the opportunities when they came.

That might be a hot minute, though, as Charlotte seemed driven on pressing her advantage in decisive fashion. She came forward, seized her head in as tight a head squeeze as one could ever hope for, then proceeded to march forward with her head secured, nice and tight.

Angela tried to fight her way out of it, but to no avail. There was nothing to stop her as she went forward, then up, then down, and she was only able to turn her head at the last second to keep her face from smashing against the canvas at full force, It was still far from a pleasant experience, though, and one that had her rolling to her side and grasping her head in pain while she looked up at the lights.

[skip-stop]

Charlotte felt resistance. Not too active, but still. And maybe a few months ago it would have been enough to prevent her from making the move that was on her mind. However, the Frenchwoman made enough effort to hold Angela's head.

After the Sand Lizard made a jump, there was a loud bang. The purple-haired woman's head crashed into the mat to the enthusiastic shouts of the audience. Charlotte wiped the sweat from her forehead and then took a sitting position. When she got up on one knee, turning to her opponent, she found that Angela was lying on her back, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to calm the pain.

It was a good opportunity for a submission hold. At least this tactic was very effective. First stun the opponent, and then inflict damage to their limbs. It was effective not only at the beginning, but also at the end of the match. That's exactly what Charlotte would have done if the Italian woman wasn't so big.

But Amy and Astrid showed the Sand Lizard that submission holds are far from the best idea when it comes to a heavyweight opponent. It was still a good option for the end of the match when a heavyweight lost most of their strength. But Charlotte knew that if she tried to lock Angela in a submission hold now, the purple-haired woman would not only be able to resist effectively, but even turn it in her favor. Therefore...

For one brief moment, Charlotte raised her fist above her head in order to heat the audience, and then, taking a deep breath, she ran forward from a low start position. Perhaps someone might have a question, why did she need such speed, given that Angela was lying on the mat? And the Sand Lizard wasn't going to keep it a secret for long, especially after she ran past her rival.

"Forward and up!" she commanded herself mentally.

The pink-haired woman intended to grab the top rope, quickly pull it down and then push off from the mat. Using the strength of her own legs, as well as the force of tension, she was going to jump right onto the top rope. But only to immediately push off again, literally soaring into the air.

After she was kicked out of the family, the meaning of Charlotte's life became self-development. She decided to connect her life with martial arts. And her goal was to become the greatest fighter of all time. Having received a defeat from a heavyweight, she learned a lesson from it. She expanded her arsenal of moves and changed her tactics. A wise learn from mistakes of others. A smart learns from their own mistakes. And only a fool never learns. Now she was ready to face no less a strong heavyweight than Amy was. And Charlotte was going to prove it with this springboard elbow drop, which she aimed straight at her rival's chest!

[BlackAkuma]

Angela was in a bad place, and it didn’t seem like there was a good chance of it getting better anytime soon. She was still reeling from that last hit, with her opponent showing an impressive burst offense straight from the start. It was hard not to be impressed by it - with all her experience and all her size, La Donna Perfetta was still coming out on the losing side of this match far more often than not. There was still time to change things, but the window was closing more with every move she suffered through.

Desdemona was starting to wonder if it was maybe becoming a little too much for her mother to take. While she didn’t want to underestimate the elder Belti, she knew that age wasn’t exactly something you could fight, and everyone had their limits. As good as she was, her body could only take so much, and she wasn’t sure if her mind was going to smarten up and realize that any time soon. Her mother could be legendarily stubborn when she wanted to be, one of the few traits that they shared from the gene pool. She could respect the whole thing she had going, wanting to show the new generation what wrestling was about and set a good example for her daughter, but not at the cost of her own health.

There was no way anyone could tell from the frantic blinking on her face, but similar thoughts were starting to surface in Angela’s mind as well, as she heard the crowd heat up around her. They were getting spurred on by Charlotte’s energy and charisma, and she couldn't blame them. The woman clearly had an energy to her, the sort of drive that Angela loved to see in wrestlers to do.

She just wished it wasn’t being used against her.

Whatever the case, the first step to changing this all around was moving and getting up, and-

”Look out!”

Angela heard Dizzy’s cry a second too late, just as her opponent came crashing down from up above. Charlotte’s elbow dropped into her chest and felt like a knife digging into the bone, knocking the wind clean out of her and leaving her gasping and wheezing. SHe needed space, needed to catch a breather and she did the only thing she could think to do: roll out of the ring.

Instincts took over and she made it under the ropes, coming to the outside of the ring while she clutched her chest, hissing as the pain coursed through her bones.

[skip-stop]

Already in the air, Charlotte heard the cry of Angela's daughter. And although the Frenchwoman did not approve of this kind of behavior, because in some way it was interference in the match, but still she was not going to complain about it. The pink-haired woman wasn't an expert in family relations, but it was very clear to her that this girl just wanted to protect her mother. Charlotte could only hope that despite the warning, her opponent would not have enough time to react to this.

And this time the martial arts master was lucky. Even though Angela started to get up, the Sand Lizard's elbow landed right on her chest. The Frenchwoman heard the air leave her opponent's lungs, followed by a series of wheezing and coughing. Charlotte shot a quick glance at Desdemona. There was no censure in the woman's gaze, but she wanted to make sure that her opponent's daughter would not interfere in the match directly, which was quite possible, given that so far her mother's situation continued to worsen.

Speaking of which. Now that the purple-haired woman was not only stunned, but also deprived of the ability to breathe normally, Charlotte could afford to switch to more familiar tactics for her. Before that, she didn't want to take any risks, but now the Frenchwoman was sure that the moment was right. Therefore, she intended to close her rival in a submission hold. She didn't expect to win this way, but given Angela's condition, Charlotte would surely have done some damage before the Italian woman could break it.

However, the Sand Lizard was in for a surprise. As soon as she reached out her hands to the purple-haired woman, Angela began to roll quickly to the side. Charlotte even blinked several times, being impressed by the fact that in such a state Angela found the strength to take the distance so quickly. Charlotte jumped to her feet and by that time her opponent had left the ring.

"ONE!"

The referee reminded everyone that this is a standard match and that the time that can be spent outside the ring is very limited. Charlotte knew that too and understood that she had to make a quick decision. She could give her opponent the opportunity to regain strength or…

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte rushed to the ropes. Now the advantage was on her side and therefore she decided not to stop. There was no guarantee that if she gave Angela a break, she would be able to start a new round in the same good way. Therefore, the Sand Lizard intended to continue the offensive in order to prevent the Italian woman from resting and returning her to the ring. Picking up speed, Charlotte abruptly leaned back, literally falling onto the mat in order to slip under the bottom rope and hit her opponent right in the head with both feet using a baseball slide.

[BlackAkuma]

This match wasn’t even five minutes old.

Angela had to remind herself of that as she went careering out of the ring to the floor, with the wide significantly knocked out of her. It was easy to lose track of things with all the damage she was taking, and sometimes a match could run away from you in terms of time. People often underestimated how taxing these fights could be, and the toll it could take on your body and mind in such a short time.

But Angela was aware. Painfully aware. Sweat was starting to accumulate, her heart was threatening to beat its way out of her chest. She forced some calm into her body, but she knew that was only a stopgap measure. She needed to enforce some control in this match. She could already tell that Charlotte was possibly the worst kind of opponent for her to face - fast, skilled, talented, and relentless, the kind of foe who could apply consistent pressure and keep her on the backfoot.

Dizzy could see it, too. While she wasn’t an expert on this sort of thing at all, she’d caught that quick little glare from Charlotte a moment ago, and she translated it as a crystal clear ‘do not mess with me’ message. Her mother had expressly forbade her from sticking her nose in matches, but even that had been the sort of thing she was keen to do, she wouldn’t have tried it with this woman. Charlotte was not playing around, not at all, and she wanted no part of it.

Angela, unfortunately, didn’t have the luxury. She was just making her way up when the referee’s count grabbed her attention, making her look up just in time to see her opponent rushing to the opposite side of the ring, building up speed. The audience’s voices began to raise in anticipation of something, and she only had a few precious seconds to react.

Angela waited for the last second, just as her opponent ducked under the ropes, then threw her body to the side with a wide step, avoidin the dropkick entirely. She wouldn’t stay away, though, knowing the moment was crucial. As soon as she was clear, she stepped forward, raised her arm, and attempted to lay Charlotte out with a lariat to the chest.

[skip-stop]

When it comes to the ring, time is almost never on your side. Right now, that could be said of both Angela and Charlotte. The Italian woman did not have enough time to recover, given that the start of the match was not in her favor. And the Sand Lizard didn't have enough time to quickly get out of the ring and continue the pressure on her opponent.

Although the Frenchwoman had no better option than to try to do everything in her power. Speed was her best characteristic and she tried to apply it to the maximum, besides the ropes from which she pushed off gave her additional acceleration.

Approaching Angela, it was not difficult for her to see that the purple-haired woman had already fully risen to her feet. However, it was too late to stop. Charlotte hoped that there was still not enough oxygen in her opponent's body and that she was able to roll away only thanks to willpower. Therefore, the Sand Lizard leaned back, starting to slide on the mat.

It seemed that her feet would inevitably crash into the face of the Italian woman. But you should never rejoice ahead of time. Here, in the LAW ring, there is always a place for what you don't expect. And this was the case, because instead of Angela's face, Charlotte's feet found only an empty space. Charlotte's opponent dodged her attack with one sharp movement to the side at the last moment.

In order not to fall on the concrete floor, the Sand Lizard sent her legs down. However, the moment her feet landed, inertia pulled her further. And although after the first step she put her right foot forward in order to stop, it no longer mattered. Why? Because the situation turned out in such a way that Charlotte made a mistake that cannot be allowed under any circumstances during the match. She let her rival get behind her.

"Merde..." flashed through Charlotte's mind.

The only thing she could try to do was turn around to face her opponent as quickly as possible in the hope that she would have time to react to the attack that Angela prepared for sure. However, the second Charlotte turned around, it became clear that she was not destined to have time to do anything, because the purple-haired woman was right in front of her, and her arm was already approaching the chest of the Sand Lizard.

"Guah!" Charlotte screamed involuntarily.

Her upper body abruptly tilted back, and the ground was knocked out from under her feet. This blow was more than enough for Charlotte to feel pain, because her opponent's pure physical strength was much greater than her own. However, this was only the beginning as the Sand Lizard was waiting for a hard landing on the concrete floor.

"Ghhh..." she groaned through clenched teeth.

Once on the floor, the Frenchwoman immediately grabbed the back of her head with her hands, because it was this part of her body that took most of the damage. The only thing she was busy with at that moment was trying to calm the pain and sharply dizziness. Yes, it is because of this that you should never allow an opponent to be behind your back.

"TWO!" the referee did not forget about her duty.

[BlackAkuma]

Perfect impact.

Angela’s arm connected with Charlotte’s head, and she knew right away that it was a killer hit. She could feel the impact reverberating through her body, starting at her arm and traveling all the way down her spine. She used to land lariats like that all the time in her youth, when she was at her prime and couldn't be touched, but it had been a while since she’d busted it out. With Dizzy as her only real sparring partner in the past few months, she couldn't be sure if that move was primed.

Well, the suspense was done with. If the response she got from Charlotte was any indication, then it was safe to say that her lariat was still in tip-top shape.

It was a direct hit, and a satisfying one, as the blow sent her into a wild spin, one that brought her crashing down on her back. At least, that was what Angela assumed happened from the resulting sound - she was a little too busy stumbling forward to see it. After all the damage she’d taken in this match so far, she was running low on energy, so much so that she stumbled forward and came close, too close, to hitting her head on the steel steps. Just another sign that this was a match she needed to get a hold of, before her body gave out. A ticking clock, halfway to the end.

With one hand on the ring apron for support, Angela pushed her way back up, just as the referee was reaching a three count, getting the perfect view of her floored opponent. Ideas were racing through her mind, and most of them involved getting some damage out on the outside of the ring - an area a lot of the younger wrestlers liked to spend their time in, daring the referee to count them out.

That was never her style, though, and not the sort of brawling she wanted to show off to her daughter. No, she had every intention of bringing this back into the ring.

It didn’t mean she would be graceful about it, though.

She huffed, puffed, then pushed off the ring to close in on her opponent. Angela reached down and grabbed her by the head, getting a good grip so she could haul the woman back to her feet whether she wanted to rise or not. The moment she was up, she shoved Charlotte’s head under her shoulder and gripped tight, capturing her with a front facelook and gripping her tight.

Angela took a quick look to make sure she was in the right position, then lifted her opponent, tilted to the side, and brought her back crashing down hard on the ring apron with an inverted suplex, one that would leave her stretched out on the edge. She’d push the woman in under the rope right after to the break the count, then fall to her knee for a quick breather.

[skip-stop]

It would be foolish to believe that Charlotte will be able to hold the advantage throughout the match. However, her opponent gathered her strength at the most inopportune moment for the Sand Lizard. Given the fact that events were not in favor of Angela, it was hard to imagine that just one move would be enough for her to cool Charlotte's ardor. But that's exactly what she did.

Knocking the Frenchwoman down, Angela received loud support from the audience. For them, first of all, it was important to see a good match. And although the beginning of the match was on Charlotte's side, they were sure that the most interesting was yet to come, because thanks to Angela's sharp counterattack, she was able to even the scales.

This was also understood by Charlotte, who was desperately trying to cope with the pain in her head. However, considering that the back of her head crashed into the concrete floor, it was not so easy to do. Besides, her opponent wasn't going to stop. Now she had a chance to fully return to the game and it would be too naive to think that she would not take advantage of it, despite all the damage she received.

"THREE!!!"

It was after this count that the purple-haired woman bent down to grab Charlotte by the head. To her credit, she grabbed the Frenchwoman by the head, and not by the hair as most other fighters would have done. It was a gesture that Charlotte would have appreciated if not for the circumstances. The Sand Lizard raised her hands up, grabbing her opponent's wrists. But the dizziness was so strong that she couldn't bring herself to squeeze Angela's wrists hard enough to stop her.

As a result, the Italian woman not only got Charlotte to her feet, but also closed her in an inverted facelock hold. Charlotte felt a tremendous pressure on her neck at the moment when Angela began to lift her above the floor. Charlotte assumed that the purple-haired woman would either abruptly lower her down, landing her back on a knee, or simply throw her on the concrete floor again.

But, apparently, Angela was too old school and staying outside the ring did not appeal to her too much. So instead of throwing Charlotte back onto the concrete floor, she used an inverted suplex and threw the Frenchwoman to the edge of the ring. It was definitely less painful than falling to the floor, but it still hurt like hell, considering that Charlotte landed flat on the mat with her whole body.

"Gggphhh..." she groaned in a strangled voice because of the pain.

Angela pushed her, causing her body to roll several times. When she stopped, lying on her back, she realized that she was once again within the ring. From some point of view, it was good, because she would not have to look for strength in order to return to the ring. However, at the same time, her situation continued to deteriorate, because the only thing the Sand Lizard could do now was to try to regain her breath in an attempt to gather her strength.

[BlackAkuma]

Up, over, down. Angela brought Charlotte down for a crashing impact on the ring apron, one that had the audience recoiling in sympathy. In truth, it wasn’t as bad as it might’ve looked to the outside eye. After all, she could just have easily brought her down on the floor instead, or even dropped her on the announcer’s table if she was in a particularly bad mood.

Lucky for Charlotte - and, more specifically, lucky for her spine - Angela wasn’t out to seriously hurt this woman, she just wanted to win this match in as effective and quick a fashion as possible. Ringside brawling had never been her forte, anyway, and she had the feeling that her younger, lithe opponent would fair better in that area, anyway. No, the strategy would have to work between the ropes, and it would involve getting the woman on the ground and grinding her to paste, using size and strength to nullify the myriad of advantages she enjoyed.

So far, so good on that front. Angela was back in the ring. Just had to make something of that.

”Come on, Mom!” Dizzy’s claps came from nearby, along with that soft, squeaking voice that hadn't changed all that much from when she was a baby. It wasn’t much, but it was the only voice that mattered, as far as she was concerned. More than enough reason for Angela to keep going.

With Charlotte back in the ring, she grabbed the bottom rope and used it to pull her way back into the ring. Angela crawled over to her foe, hooked her leg, and leaned on her chest, looking for a pinfall. She knew there was little chance of it working at this stage, but that wasn’t the point. It was all about keeping up the pressure and forcing her foe to waste energy, all while staying on top.

The referee came over, dropped down, and started up the count. ”1…!”