Eternal Rivalry: Kennedy Lee vs. Astrid Ostberg (2-out-of-3 Falls Match)

[Pegasus]

Kennedy joined Astrid in bellowing out a charge into battle and met her shoulder to shoulder as the two women bounced off each other. These two needed the last fall to count. If Kennedy won, she pretty much won outright despite handing Astrid a fall earlier only because Astrid was going super psychotic on her for a joke she made. If Astrid won, she proved she could still hang with Kennedy in the ring and was worthy of her status in LAW despite the serious losses she had been handed ever since losing her title. Astrid was desperate to prove her worth and she wasn’t going to let Kennedy make her another notch under their belt in their rivalry. Both women have had lost count of the encounters, wins, and losses between them content with the fact that they were pretty much destined to go at each other up until both had had enough in the ring. Even then, Kennedy wouldn’t mind coming out of retirement to feel the rush of taking on Astrid even if she had less than a decade in her left.

[CaptainL]

Astrid was through standing around and feeling sorry for herself! If there was one thing she was learning from Kennedy, it was that the Jungle Queen set a standard that Astrid was determined to hold herself to. She needed to measure up to Kennedy, to prove that she was still on her level, and that she wouldn't let herself fall behind when it came to their rivalry. It was more important now more than ever, with her title behind her and the defeats she had faced weighing heavily on her shoulders. She'd foregone her chances for too long. Now, she needed to put her best efforts forward - there could be no more excuses. She wasn't going to let anyone believe she didn't still have it!

Determined to throw herself back into the fray, Astrid wasted no time. She bent down lower, taking off toward her opponent with a charge, and throwing her shoulder in her direction. She thought it would land with enough force to bowl Kennedy over. But Kennedy, it seemed, had the same idea. When the two women closed in on one another, shoulder met shoulder with incredible power; the crack that rang out from the impact was like a clap of thunder. Both of them had charged each other at full speed, fueled by all the indignation and determination and righteous fury they had to spare. The force of their collision was enough to draw a gasp from the stands. But what was perhaps even more incredible was that, when the dust cleared, the two women were still standing!

Astrid had wavered from the impact of Kennedy's body, sure. She'd begun to bend lower at the knees, and her balance teetered from side to side. But there was no way she was going to fall before her greatest rival like this! Her heels dug into the canvas, and the muscles in her legs popped and flexed to steady herself. Panting and groaning, she looked back up at Kennedy, and as soon as their eyes met, Astrid's teeth locked into a grimace, muffling a growl from behind her clenched teeth. Still determined to prove her dominance, she pushed her weight forward, driving her shoulder even further against Kennedy's own in an attempt to steer her back. By all accounts, the two women had entered a test of strength - without even joining hands!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy was stuck in gridlock shoulder to shoulder with Astrid as they pushed on each other. This was unheard of in wrestling as they weren’t going to let things stir away from here. Kennedy pushed back as much as she could knowing Astrid was much younger and could still hold a candle to her in the strength department-Kennedy would even admit Astrid had more of it than her, but Kennedy was dead set on proving she’s Astrid’s superior. Something ignited a light in her as she started breathing heavily. The jungle was her home and she grew up in it learning from the animals like how monkeys climb trees, how to nurture cubs like a jaguar, and how to hunt like a tiger.

To say she was a cornered predator was an understatement. Kennedy didn’t like how Astrid thought she could throw a tantrum and expect to get very far against her. That wasn’t the Astrid that was her rival. Kennedy started growling and roaring a little slapping Astrid constantly across the face getting even more tense. Kennedy had had enough of Astrid’s new little edgy personality and she was going to show this former champion what the consequences were for royally pissing her off. Kennedy grabbed Astrid by the head and went for a big Headbutt making sure their skulls collided as hard they could!

[CaptainL]

Even without their hands being linked - even without either one of them having a solid handle on the other at all - Astrid and Kennedy had nevertheless become locked in a desperate test of strength. Both of them were pushing up against each other with all their might, the veins in their necks and foreheads bulging as each woman struggled to overpower her rival. Even to just make Kennedy take one step back would be all that Astrid needed - it would show her that she was still in this; that her strength would prevail. But Kennedy was every bit Astrid's equal when it came to physical prowess, and no matter how hard the Norsewoman pushed, Kennedy was able to steer her back for every fraction of an inch she weighed inward. She had just as much determination to prove herself, and to stand up to her foe. And when both of them had the same drive and the same potential, and they were both willing to go the same lengths in pursuit of victory, neither was going anywhere!

At last, Kennedy broke their struggle just enough to send a slap straight across Astrid's face. The Norwegian's head cracked to the side, and she let out a groan as a trail of spittle flew through the air from where she'd been struck. Another slap came, knocking her head again to the side, and then another. But she just dug her heels even more firmly into the mat - she wasn't going to let herself be moved; not for anyone or anything! She was stronger than that, and when she looked right into Kennedy's eyes with a glare and a growl, it was her way of saying as much!

When that didn't do it for Kennedy, she threw her head forward - and with the sound of a loud thud, their foreheads slammed into one another. With that, a shiver ran through the Norsewoman's body from head to toe. Astrid hissed from the pain, her vision growing blurry and her stance wavering from the impact. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her teeth clenched in a wince. For a moment she began to teeter back, the blow threatening to make her lose her balance. Astrid knew she couldn't stay up on her feet forever. But she'd already made up her mind. If she was going to go down...Kennedy was going to go with her!

Even if she was dizzy, even if the world seemed to be moving in and out of focus, Astrid wouldn't go down without a fight - every move she made, and every blow she threw, had to be an attack on Kennedy; anything less was a betrayal of her full potential! Her footing began to give way - but, at the same time, Astrid's hands latched onto Kennedy's shoulders, and she moved to drag her down with her. If Astrid fell to her back, she would push her knees up in the air, so that Kennedy would drop down right on top of them!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy smirked seeing Astrid teeter back and forth thinking she was the winner of their little struggle. It was now their foreheads matching each other in strength as Kennedy gritted her teeth pushing with all her might as Astrid looked to be toppling. She had done it! Kennedy proved she was the stronger one in this encounter and she cheered out loudly……until she realized Astrid wasn’t going to go down without a fight even when she had lost it. She grabbed onto Kennedy’s shoulders falling back, but getting her knees up as Kennedy had no choice, but to fall right onto them!

Kennedy wheezed and rolled her eyes a little as she rolled off on the side grabbing her stomach in pain. She pounded her right fist against the canvas and the match’s toll on her was showing. Her body was adorned with sweat and she had a trembling feeling in her legs. Kennedy tried getting up, but her stomach wasn’t budging on releasing her pain and kept her complacent. She needed to outlast it and fend off Astrid’s counters in the mean time!

[CaptainL]

In any other situation - especially when Astrid was already grappling with the existential implications of her future without the title - the thought of Kennedy actually overpowering her in a test of strength, of proving that she could outmuscle her, would've been intolerable. But right now, Astrid couldn't let herself get stuck on such thoughts. She didn't have the time to spare. This match was moving too quickly for her to slow down even a single moment to catch her breath, and any second she wasted was one Kennedy could turn against her! Already, she was preparing her next move. Because even if Astrid, in this particular clash, might not have been strong enough to stop Kennedy, she was still stubborn. And that stubbornness had decided her course of action for her. If Kennedy going to bring her down...then she would have to go down with her.

At the same time she fell back, Astrid pulled down as hard as she could on Kennedy's shoulders, bowling the Jungle Queen off her footing - and right on top of Astrid's raised knees, the impact driving the air out of her lungs! Astrid pushed her elbows against the canvas to sit up a little straighter, turning and watching as Kennedy went rolling aside. But even if she had Kennedy stunned, that wasn't going to be enough to stop Astrid now. She'd taken the advantage. Now, she needed to hold onto it - and she couldn't let it go!

Barely a second had passed since Kennedy went rolling away that Astrid pushed herself up a little straighter, planting her palms against the mat to prepare herself - and with a battle cry, she pushed off hard to throw herself on top of Kennedy, attempting to slam against her rival with the weight of her body! If she could successfully get on top of Kennedy's back, she'd ball a fist and throw it again and again at her ribs and her sides, trying to land as many hits as she could!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy couldn’t see as she was busy holding her stomach and Astrid had enough time to strike. This would be in the form of a running splash right on Kennedy’s already hurting stomach and even the hands protecting it. To make matters worse, Astrid stayed on top hammering at least six blows to Kennedy’s ribs making the pain almost unbearable quickly and Kennedy was getting desperate as she launched a back elbow as hard as she could to Astrid’s temple! If that waved Astrid off her, Kennedy quickly locked Astrid’s left arm in the Kimura Lock submission move trying to wrench on Astrid’s arm as hard as she could muster! This really wasn’t an attempt at finishing Astrid, Kennedy really just wanted to stall for time and recover while keeping Astrid busy!

[CaptainL]

With a woman of Astrid's size running at Kennedy at full force, and throwing every bit of that weight down on top of her with a vicious body blow - not to mention the sheer determination Astrid had to fuel her - the impact of body against body was surely going to hurt. But Astrid was only getting started. Any damage she might deal out to Kennedy in the process was little more than a side effect; her real goal was to claim an advantageous position with which to launch further attacks. And that was exactly what she was going to do now - as she flung her fist down again and again, slamming her knuckles as hard as she could into the Jungle Queen's ribs! A few of the fans had begun to chant out each number in sequence, counting Astrid's blows - while others were too astounded by the raw aggression on display from Astrid to say a word!

By the end of it, Astrid would almost certainly have left Kennedy's side black and blue. The pain and the soreness were surely nothing to sneeze at. But Kennedy was determined just as much as Astrid was, and she wasn't going to let even an assault like this stop her! Suddenly, her own elbow whipped out in an arc - and struck Astrid right in the temple! Her head snapped to the side, and she cried out in pain from the blow. Astrid turned to the side, her balance teetering - teetering just enough for her to fall onto her side, now face to face with her opponent. And in the perfect position for Kennedy to make her next move - as she grabbed Astrid's arm to twist it at the elbow while stretching the wrist, putting her into the Kimura lock!

As soon as Astrid felt the torque on her arm, a shockwave of pain ripped straight through her system. She threw back her head and screamed; she could feel all the joints in her arm shudder and stretch. But Astrid wasn't going to stop now. She had been through too much, and faced too many disappointments, to count this among their number. She needed to give this her all, and for Kennedy to see the lengths she was willing to go - a submission this early simply wouldn't do!

In this position, Kennedy had good control on Astrid's arms. What she didn't have, though, was her legs - and the Norsewoman was going to take advantage of that. She kicked her legs to try and drive her knee against Kennedy's side, and if that managed to stun her, she would try and throw those same legs around one of Kennedy's own. If all went well, Astrid would attempt to sharply jerk her legs up, hooking Kennedy's ankle with one of her own. Then, she'd roll her hips to the side to try and climb on top of Kennedy before bending her leg back at the knee for a calf slicer!

Spoiler

https://youtu.be/N9xurSOxy9E?t=78

[Pegasus]

Kennedy grunted and screamed like a banshee as her side was hurting like hell. Astrid wasn’t going down that easy as Kennedy released her and Astrid went to work on locking in her own submission. Kennedy felt her legs entangled before being shifted on her stomach as Astrid pulled back on her foot as this brought out another hearty scream from Kennedy. Her stomach hurt like hell, her leg was being bent back, her legs were trembling, she most certainly thought she was going to get injured, and she was stuck in the middle of the ring. Everything was working against Kennedy and normally, she’d have enough spirit to fight back out of this, but Astrid already proven she was on the warpath.

Astrid bent her leg back and Kennedy just had enough. The pain on both ends were unbearable for her at her age. Maybe if she was younger, she could tank it, but in her near early 40s, this shit would just speed up to her retirement and she had to get to Alania. Kennedy just used her left hand to tap out and signal for the referee as the referee called for the bell as Kennedy just screamed in more pain wanting it to end.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your winner of the final fall by submission and the match in total, ASTRID OSTBERG!”

[CaptainL]

When Kennedy's weight came bearing down against Astrid's arm, forcing it into the Kimura lock, she could feel all that force being turned against her. Her nerves surged with pain and flared with heat against the crushing pressure. Even her bones felt like they were being ground into dust. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her face went red as she drew on every little bit of strength she had to resist the urge to cry out, but even that was hopeless; a scream was ripped from her lungs as she bellowed in pain. For a brief moment, Astrid's deepest inner thoughts were about to give the concession to tapping out. But then, she reminded herself she couldn't. It was unthinkable. To submit now would be to admit her inferiority next to Kennedy - one of the longest-running rivals she had. She had known and competed against this woman for longer than perhaps anyone else in LAW, and the two had always been determined to stay neck and neck, always striving to one-up one another and never wanting to be second best. No matter the odds, no matter how hard it might be...Astrid needed to fight back. And it was that urge that fueled her as she kicked up her knee.

She could feel the balance shift ever so slightly as Kennedy recoiled from the impact, and for Astrid, that was enough. That same drive was propelling her onward as she bucked up her hips, as she rolled her weight to the side, and as she brought herself on top of her rival. With each step that fell in sequence, Astrid could feel her heart quicken, knowing she was one step closer to realizing her goal. The pain in her arm had all but been forgotten by the time she had Kennedy's leg snared, knowing she was set up perfectly for what would come next. And she would make good on that promise just a moment later - as she brought her foot up against Kennedy's ankle to twist it back, stretching her calf out between her ankle and her knee!

Astrid grit her teeth; the veins in her neck bulged from the pressure of her muscles. No matter the strain she had to put on her own body, she needed to turn everythng she could against Kennedy - to use all the power she could wring out of her body. And in the end...that was enough. Just as Astrid pulled down even harder at Kennedy's ankle, the Jungle Queen tapped her hand on the mat, signaling her surrender. And with that, the bell rang, and the fans let out a cheer. Astrid had won!

When she heard the noise, Astrid blinked a few times; she looked back at the stands in wide-eyed disbelief. She had gotten lost in the excitement and the adrenaline rush so much that even she didn't realize what she had done. Could it be, that after all her losses and disappointments and all the times she'd felt the sting of such a crushing defeat, when she most needed to succeed...Astrid had finally done it?

But the realization set in soon enough, and with it, the Norwegian threw back her head, belting out a roar while she held a fist skyward in victory. She'd made a statement today. She had bested her rival once again - and with it, she had shown the world she still had it in her!