Nora 'Bubble' Bowers vs. Prayuth Sakda - The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

[BlackAkuma]

The moment Prayuth stepped out of the gorilla position and slid through the curtain, he could feel the difference. Before, he’d thought that being in a LAW match would remind him of his days back home, fighting in the cage, when he’d thrown down in front of hundreds in a dirty, decrepit ring. Yeah, it was a smaller venue, but this struck him as the same, just bigger. It was a fight. He’d done plenty. Nothing new, even though it had been a good while since he’d done so competitively. He was Prayuth Sakda, international martial arts sensation. This was old hat, his wheelhouse, his bailiwick.

Then he stepped out, and it was a different animal. ”Holy fuck.”

His music came out over the loudspeaker as the crowd roared, eager to see him in their ring for the first time. Even for him, it was a daunting wave of attention - yes, he was used to being the center of attention, but there was always a separation between him and his fans. They were never this close, never this many, never all at once, screaming for him, loving him, wanting to see him do all the stuff live that he’d been famous for on the screen.

It was good stuff. He stood at the top of the ramp with hands on hips and nodded, taking in a deep breath as a satisfied smirk crawled along his lips. ”Yeah. Good shit.”

Prayuth Sakda

With fists held high in the air, he made his way down the ramp, only bringing them down to occasionally accept a fist bump and sign a few quick autographs. He skipped the steps, slipped through the ropes, and reached the middle of the ring, where he dropped to a single knee and ran his hand along the canvas. A pre-match ritual from his time back home. He felt it, taking in the sensation along his palm, making it a part of him. Yeah, this would do.

Satisfied, he stood up and circled the ring three times, making quick laps before returning to the center and bowed towards the entrance. It might not have seemed like much to the uninitiated, but it was all part of the pre-match ritual in muay thai, the Wai Kru. There was a second part, but that would take long, much longer, and his music was dying. He was content to stay bouncing on his heels as he made his way to the corner, keeping his arms moving and his blood circulating.

Prayuth was ready. More than ready. It’s showtime, Japan.

[Misfit_Alien]

Spoiler

"...Entering next, hailing from Atlanta, Georgia...the lean, mean, bubblegum-chewing machine ready to bring the PAIN...standing at 5'8 and weighing in at 149 lbs...NORAAAA....'BUBBLE'...BOWERS!!!"


Nora arrived at the top of the ramp with a fierce attitude, cracking her knuckles as she popped a badass smirk. Like a fight-hungry scrapper looking for her next brawl, she marched down the walkway, leaping up to the apron in one fell swoop, stomping her boots against the ring's outer surface with a heavy -THUD-
to really emphasize the impact. She slipped through the ropes and walked around the ring, motioning her hand at the crowd to signal for them to cheer her, which they eagerly followed along with as the pink-haired punk turned to get a good look at who her opponent was tonight. "...Sup'-..." Nora said casually. "So...you the tough guy I gotta beat up? That's cool. Maybe you'll actually give me a hard time before I wind up stomping you into the mat." She mocked, her uncaring, nonchalant attitude running at full steam as she reclined against the ropes.

Spoiler

[BlackAkuma]

Prayuth wasn’t sure what he was expecting with a name like ‘Bubble’, but it damn sure wasn’t this.

Instead of some sweet, cute, skinny girl, the person who came down the ramp was a full blown woman. He could see where the name came from - the woman looked like she’d dressed up in a giant wad of chewing gum. But everything else was anything but sweet. Good frame, solid muscle, the kind of body that would’ve bulldozed over a lot of woman in the middleweight class. The hair was a sweet touch, pun intended, and she came down to the ring with a confident swagger, moving like she already had the match won.

Not a bad package, top to bottom. Prayuth was impressed out of the gate. A rare thing. Wouldn’t matter if she couldn't back that up, but a good start.

”That’s Mr. Tough Guy to you. And I'll give you a lot more than a hard time, lady.” Prayuth bounced on his heels as he moved towards the center of the ring, beckoning her on with a curling finger and a wicked smirk. ”Come over here. I’ll show you what I’m all about.”

The referee called for the bell, but Pray didn’t go rushing in straight away. He kept his place at the center of the ring, guard up and ready, wanting to get a good idea of what this woman was about before he committed to anything. Was she a simple grappler, straightforward and typical, or something a little more interesting?

[Misfit_Alien]

"Oh, wow. MR. Tough Guy, huh? I'm SO scared. You've got me shaking in my boots, mister. Don't hurt me TOO bad." Nora responded mockingly, rolling her eyes with that uncaring, unflinching attitude of hers before staring Pray down. "Wannabe action buffs like you are a dime-a-dozen. The same corny lines...the same dorky haircut...and the same rugged body with a full set of muscles and a brain the size of a pea. You really think you're not gonna end up getting chewed up and spat out like a flavorless wad of gum?" Nora said, provoking the man. "Don't make me laugh. It'll be a tough struggle scraping you off the bottom of my boot after I'm done stomping you out." She said, the bell ringing shortly after, signaling the start of the match. Nora moves in casually, not even bothering to put up a guard. It was as if she was saying that she didn't NEED to put in all that effort for someone like Pray...yet again, another provocation. It appeared like Nora was going for a grapple of sorts. A clinch? A Test of Strength? A Collar-and-Elbow Lock-Up? No, this was all a clever trick. If Pray couldn't see through this feint and attempted to match Nora in a grappling contest, the man would be surprised by a sudden boot to the abdomen as Nora aimed to trick him by faking the grapple attempt.

[BlackAkuma]

”Oh, you think my body’s rugged, huh?” Pray snickered, happy to sift out the compliment from the trash. ”Yours isn’t half bad, either, Bubble Yum.”

For all the cockiness, Pray had to admit he was kind of impressed with Bubble’s style. She had a lot of confidence and if the body was anything to go by, she could back it up. Strong and spunky, tough and testy. It made for a good combination, and he took it as a good sign as she came in, looking ready to lockup. It was tempting to try and beat her at her own game, but he still wasn’t 100% confident with his grappling game yet, still trying to work out the kinks and make his transition into the world of wrestling. He figured that the best course of action was to stick with what he knew, at least until he had a good idea of what this woman could do, and that meant kicks - strong, fast, impactful kicks.

He moved in with is arms raised, waited until the last minute, then pulled back and shot his leg out to kick her straight in the chest…

…only for him to suffer a similar fate, as her boot shot into his stomach. He staggered back, clutching his gut - a little hurt, surprised, but nothing too serious. ”That’s the sort of game you want to play, huh?”

[Misfit_Alien]

"Sorry, hun, I play to win just like anyone else...I may look sugary sweet in this get-up, but I can be plenty sour when I wanna be." Nora said after firmly planting her boot somewhere between Pray's lung and colon. She just barely managed to beat the man out by a mere second. Had she not committed to striking first, she would've been on the receiving end of a PROFESSIONAL kick to the chest. Pray's rugged and toned mountain of a body wasn't just for looks. From head to toe, he was sculpted, bearing the figure of a full-blown fighter, one of world-class caliber...makes you wonder what someone like him was doing in a wrestling federation. Regardless, this guy's punches and kicks were more than likely to be devastating if they landed. The bubblegum-themed bruiser loved a good brawl, but she wasn't stupid enough to take a blow to the face and act like it was nothing. Going forward, Nora would have to be careful...

While Pray was recovering slightly, Nora took this as a chance to rush him down with a quick tackle. A good way to handle this tough guy was to limit his options, so Nora would try to do that by running him into the nearest corner. She charges shoulder-first into Pray's body, aiming to knock him back far enough so that he'd hit the turnbuckle with his back, allowing the pink-haired brawler to corner him for a brief moment. Of course, should things go south, Nora would have to deal with the ramifications of charging recklessly at the mountain of a man.

[BlackAkuma]

Nora was confident. Confidence was good. For her, at least.

For Prayuth, it meant that this match was going to get a bit rougher than he might’ve expected out of the gate. He didn’t expect LAW women to be pushovers, but he didn’t expect them to give out kicks that were worthy of some of the rougher cages he’d fought in. Grappling, slams, chokeholds, that was more of what he was prepared for when it came to the squared circle, but he was already learning that strikes were on the menu, too.

Not a problem, though - far from it, in fact. If she wanted to be rough about things, he’d give it to her. He just hoped things didn’t get too bloody. Had sponsers to think about.

She gave him little time to ponder the possibilities, as she came barreling in and drove him hard across the ring, moving with enough force to lift him off his feet and leave him gasping. He slammed into the turnbuckle and made the ring quiver, but he keep his wits about him after the impact - enough to see the tantalizing target before him. With Nora’s shoulder driving into his body, her back was exposed, and his training as a nak muay told him what to do with that.

He brought his arm high and drove his elbow into her upper back, targeting that sweet, soft spot where the shoulders met with a stabbing blow.

[Misfit_Alien]

Nora sent Prayuth's back crashing against the rough turnbuckle after slamming into his ribs shoulder-first. The bubblegum-themed brawler had her opponent right where she wanted her, keeping him on the defensive. With Prayuth's options for both movement and attacking being limited, Nora saw a chance to really lay it on thick and pummel the man into the corner. However, what she hadn't expected was for Pray to be a well-adjusted, experienced cage fighter of sorts...Nora was about to deliver another shoulder tackle to Pray's midsection to knock some of the air out of his lungs, but the shredded blonde hunk quickly responded with a sharp elbow strike across her back. Nora had taken hits to her back before, but she hadn't felt ANYTHING like this. This hit actually HURT. Like...it REALLY hurt. Her eyes widened as her body shook from the impact. Pray's surgical strike to such a direct target had Nora grunting and losing her balance as she hadn't anticipated the man retaliating with such a well-placed strike, leaving her in a less-than-ideal position as she tried to back away from the corner.

[BlackAkuma]

Yeah, she’d never taken a hit like that before, Pray could tell. Nora was clearly tough, had good experience in the wrestling ring, but a strike to the back like that was something she’d never suffered before, a pain she wasn’t familiar with, and those were always the worst. This was going to be an educational experience for the both of them.

”I like it sour, pretty lady.” He refilled his lung as she backed off, smirking all the while. ”Do you?”

With Nora reeling, Pray took his chance, pushing out of the corner and closing in with a quick step. He leaped to her side, brought his leg up, and swung it like a whip into her chest, nailing her with a roundhouse kick at terminal velocity.

[Misfit_Alien]

The strike to her back had Nora reeling as she grunted, gritting her teeth and almost falling to one knee. She tried to push away...but that only served to benefit Pray, who shoved her back and escaped the corner. However, the man wasn't just going to stand idly by with such a tantalizing target being left unguarded before his eyes. The blonde hunk quickly whips around and SLAMS his leg into Nora's chest with an insane Roundhouse Kick that floors the bubblegum-chewing brawler, leaving her sprawled out across the floor in a heap, heaving and groaning as she clutched her chest. "HAUGH-!!!" Nora grunts as she hits the mat with a rough thud. She felt the sting from Pray's leg striking her deep, the agonizing amounts of pain coursing through her body as it felt impossible to breathe, like the kick had somehow made her airway collapse as she struggled and panted, finally taking a gasp of desperation after enough attempts before sitting up in a daze.