Standard Match: Winner to be declared by pinfall, submission or ko.
Finlay took a deep breath backstage in preparation for his next match. One he actually found himself quite excited for if he was being honest, purely because his opponent was a countrymen, or rather country women of his with her also hailing from New Zealand. While he was never one to necessarily boast about patriotism or pride in the national sense, he did hold up the Maori culture in high regard, especially since he worked in combat, so the fact that Karen was very similar helped his excitement for the bout immensely. Nodding to himself as his music started up prompting him to walk forward out of the entrance area and in front of the fans! Spoiler
Getting a pretty good reaction, especially from the female fanbase as per usual Finlay largely ignored it outside of respectful nods of appreciation and recognition. Otherwise he would simply make his way down the ramp with his usual stoic expression, eyes focused and steely with determination as he did so. Even if behind them was a glimmer of excitement, but that was only for those eagle eyes enough to spot it as he approached the ring and hopped up before sliding between the ropes into the ring. Climbing up a corner he'd make the only real gesture of lauding to the crowd as he posed, showing off his proud Maori tattoo and pattern on his tights, both feeling especially heavy on him tonight before he hopped down and turned to look at the entrance ramp, waiting for his opponent, gripping the ropes in anticipation for her arrival. Spoiler
In her locker room, Karen did a nice, casual stretch as she got ready before the start of the match. She was more than a little excited, truth to be told: tonight was going to be her first intergender match in LAW. She had tangled with guys before, of course, and she had longer ago proven, both to the audience and to herself, that she could give as good as she got against male opponents. Tonight, though...well, the management of LAW must have decided to be funny, as they had gone and put her up against a fellow New Zealander.
His name was Finlay Zeffer. She had only heard of him in passing: apparently he was one of the staples of the intergender division in LAW. Beyond that, she barely knew enough about him. Not that it mattered, she thought, as she finished sliding her boots on and doing up the laces. She was confident she could beat him, either way.
And then her theme music came on. Spoiler
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With a deep breath, Karen exited the locker room and strode out into the lights and cheers of the crowd. Grinning confidently, she strode down the ramp, eyes locked on the distant ring. Her opponent was waiting for her: he was fairly well built, and sporting visible Maori tattoos across the left side of his body. Karen raised an eyebrow, trying to make out the individual tribal markings: while to most outsiders, Finlay didn't look Maori, Karen knew well enough that a lot of modern Maori could pass for white. Spoiler
Striding into the ring, Karen turned and excitedly flexed a little for the crowd, before turning around to stare Finlay down. "Hmm...not bad," she said, giving her opponent a good once over as she settled down and got ready for the tussle to come. "Just don't think I'm going to go easy on you because you're also from Aotearoa, yeah?"
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Waiting in the corner patiently Finlay would look up as his opponent's music came on meaning it was almost time for the battle between the two kiwis to begin. Watching as she came down Finlay would admit... Karen was quite impressive. Physically speaking at least, significantly muscled, form fitting, slightly revealing leotard, but more so from behind to show off an impressive back and shoulders. Not to mention the fact she actually looked Maori unlike himself, something he slightly envied, but ultimately moved past.
After all it was all in their eyes, they both had the same expression, the same warrior spirit, and the closer she drew the more his excitement for the battle ahead grew in turn. Now that she entered the ring and finished flexing for the crowd a bit Finlay would give a nod to her with a small smile pulling on his lips.
"I could say the same to you." He said with a small chuckle before getting serious again, leveling a steely look at Karen. "Trust me, I'd be very disappointed if you did. Along with our ancestors." He said bluntly while approaching the center of the ring and offering his hand to her for a handshake before the match started.
Finlay wasn't the only one excited by the prospect of this fight. While Karen didn't know much about Finlay or his record, she could tell that he was a serious opponent who lived for the thrill of a good bout, just like her, which meant he was absolutely going to give her a hard fight. She could ask for nothing less.
She shook his hand, firmly, letting him feel some of the strength in her grip. "Then I hope your ancestors don't get too disappointed when I kick your ass," she said in Maori with a wry grin, before releasing the handshake and stepping back. At that moment the bell rang, and Karen began to circle Finlay, motioning for a lockup. "Come on, let's see if those muscles are just for show."
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Finlay was as ready for this match as he possibly could be, his opponent was similar in both heritage and spirit, she clearly had power to spare, so this was not going to be a easy challenge. "Believe me, the one feeling disappointment won't be me or them." He shot back to her in their native tongue, not backing down to her in any shape or form as he released her hand and backed up.
Raising his fists up as well in preparation for the bout ahead the bell would soon ring, prompting Finlay to start circling his opponent eyeing her up warily before smirking softly as she invited him to lock up with her. "Wanna kick things off strong out of the gate huh? Fine then." He said to her with a nod as he approached, bringing his hands up to grip her own and start pushing against her with everything he had!
In an instant, the two Kiwis collided in the center of the ring, pushing and twisting hard against one another. Karen gritted her teeth as she felt Finlay's firm body and tight muscles pressing against hers. In the first few seconds of the match, the two were deadlocked in the center of the ring, neither of them able to get past the other as their interlocked hands grappled control, Karen's cheek resting every so slightly against Finlay's.
Then, with a vicious grin, Karen started to pour on the pressure, calling on her prodigious strength to start forcing her fellow New Zealander back towards the corner post. "That...all you got?" she taunted through gritting teeth as she started to power forward. "Give...me...a fucking...break!"
Out of the gate the two kiwis were eager to test their mettle against one another and as a result locked up with no ounce of fear or apprehension between them. No distractions, no worries other than how to get further, how to gain an edge, how to win. In this moment it was the only thing that existed in Finlay's mind was Karen and vice versa as well as they pushed against one another in a test of strength!
"Ngh... hardly!" He growled out in response to what she had said to him, refusing to back down, even as slowly but surely he was getting pushed back by Karen. Now admittedly he could continue to match and maybe even surpass her in raw strength. However doing so would surely eat up a lot of stamina, and there were other ways this could go that were a bit more... conservative.
Work smarter not harder as they said. "That... sounds... great... actually!" He yelled out in response to her insult as he took a gamble raising a leg up and quickly placing it just behind Karen's before pulling back against the crook of Karen's knee. All while pushing forward to hopefully take a base out from under her and send her back first into the mat with himself on top, pinning her wrists to the mat!
Karen's cheek was nudging up against Finlay's as the two of them grappled for dominance, pushing and twisting relentlessly against each other. Finlay was strong-- Karen was having to work hard against him for each step, straining against muscles that clearly weren't there for show-- but little by little she began to force her fellow Kiwi back. She grinned as she started to gain the upper hand, hoping to push Finlay up against the corner and--
Her train of though was cut off as Finlay's leg snagged hers, unbalancing her. With a cry of alarm, Karen went toppling backwards, crashing against the mat as Finlay came down with her! In an instant, Karen found herself lying on her back, Finlay pressed down upon her in a rather intimate-looking position, his hands pinning her wrists down to the mat. Understandably, Karen's face went beet red. "H-hey--"
"ONE--" came the countdown of the ref, snapping her back to reality. With a hissed curse, Karen pressed her boots against the mat, and arched up hard, hoping to throw Finlay off of her and break the pin. If Karen managed that, then she would spin back to her own feet as quickly as she could, red-faced and now more than a little wary of her cunning male opponent...
Finlay was never one to plan certain positions or outcomes beyond something being advantageous to himself. If there was ever more.. sensual or intimate connotations to be had it was almost surely by coincidence. As was the case with his current pinfall attempt on Karen, with her hands being pressed above her head and his form bearing down on her as well for a rather intimate looking pin.
Not that he really noticed, only being focused on the pinfall count. Karen however did take notice and it seemed to spur her even more as she arched her back with enough force to send him off of her! "Ngh!' Grunting as he hit the mat Finlay would roll with the momentum and get back to his feet, looking over at his fellow Kiwi and immediately getting an idea to follow up.
Standing into a crouch Finlay would eye Karen as she spun back to her feet, blushing and seemingly distracted. As a result he would run towards her, seemingly for another grapple.. Only he would duck past her as he approached, instead going towards the ropes and bouncing off thm as he rebounded back towards her, leaping up to try and go for a running dropkick on Karen!
Karen's face was still flushed red as she rolled up to her feet. True, Finlay hadn't tried anything devious while they were in that position, but all the same, the positioning of that sudden pin had caught her by surprise. Huffing, sprang to her feet, and saw Finlay doing the same, rushing at her, seemingly for a grapple.
This time, Karen wasn't interested in a simple contest of strength: she ran at Finaly to meet him head on, swinging one forearm out to nail him with a brutal lariat--
--only for Finlay to duck under her extended arm. Wrong footed, Karen stumbled, caught her balance, and turned to face Finlay...only for his boots to slam hard into her chest as he nailed her with a running dropkick! "AUUGH!" she gasped, the blow sending her crashing onto her back and rolling onto her side, winded.
