Overshadowing the Grand Duchess: Oleander (debut) vs Alena Stepanova

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander would end up being thrown onto her back by her smaller opposition before ending up in Mount position due to Alena’s sweep.

[CaptainL]

Even if Oleander had the size advantage, Alena had momentum on her side - and that momentum seemed to be working perfectly well for her, if the success she was facing was any indication. Her butterfly sweep had managed to swing the Englishwoman right off her center of balance, and Alena had landed on top of her, her arms clasping around her neck to secure the choke. A grin spread across Alena's face - she was proud of her success, to be sure, but she was even more proud of the knowledge she had Oleander at her mercy. And she was about to go in for the kill!

"You're definitely making me work for my victory," Alena explained as she gave Oleander's throat another squeeze. "I like that about you. But make no mistake, I still intend to win!"

In fact, now that Alena was in control, she was going to take her dominance a step further. She let go of the circle choke with one hand, while keeping her other arm in place around Oleander's head and neck. There, she would slip that free arm underneath Oleander's arm and walk it forward, until she had enough leverage to twist Oleander's arm upward and toward her ear, folding it around her own head. Then, she would be able to squeeze her hands together to lock in an arm triangle choke, entrapping Oleander's arm and her head at the same time!

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0p90C3-62A

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander grunts as she tries to endure Alena’s submission hold, but after a few seconds and nearly running out of breath.. she taps her hand on the canvas.

—Score—
*Oleander: 1/3
*Alena: 1/3

Once Alena let go of her hold, Oleander would start to take deep breaths in order to compose herself.

Oleander: Not bad, you’re really persistence aren’t you??

[CaptainL]

Alena had to give Oleander some credit - she was persistent, and when faced with the triangle choke, she was of no mind to tap out any time soon. But Alena was just as determined to win this fall, and only one of them could win out. She just clenched her teeth, drawing on all the strength she had in her and letting her muscles pull taut as she held onto her foe in a death grip. In the end, it was Oleander who had to fold first - she signaled her submission, and Alena dutifully let go, releasing her hold on her and rolling back up onto her hands and knees.

The Russian grappler took this opportunity to stretch and shake herself out, wiping some sweat from her brow. When she heard Oleander's words, a grin lit up across her face, and she proudly flexed a bicep. "Oh, that's what's gotten me this far!" she boasted. "What can I say - I know what I want, and I'll do whatever it takes to get there!"

With that, she lifted herself to her feet, swinging her arms back and forth to limber up. But she just as quickly got down into a stance, strafing around Oleander and watching her closely for any openings.

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander would then stretch it like Cammy before entering her stance as well.

Oleander: *Thinking* Okay, I just need to weaken her a bit so I can get those last two falls.. but how to do it?

[CaptainL]

As she circled around Oleander, watching every move she made, Alena would soon realize that the Englishwoman wasn't of the mind to press her luck here and now - in fact, it seemed like she was content to wait out an opening. Alena bit her lip - that was going to make things more complicated for sure. Still, she could adjust. If Oleander wasn't going to come for her, she would happily come for Oleander. She just had to do in a way that would keep her guessing.

Letting out a battle cry, Alena took a step forward, closing in on Oleander with one long stride. She lifted her other leg, prepared to let it fly. But instead of throwing it at Oleander, Alena would instead use this to feint her opponent out. She hoped that Oleander would try to dodge out of the way - because if she did, she would hop to the side and circle in that direction to throw an arm around her head and pull her into a headlock in order to gain control!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander saw through the Tsarevna’s feint, and decided to play a mind game with her.. she would bring her leg upward to make Alena THINK she was going to attack with an axe kick, but would instead hit her with a question mark kick to really rattle her cage!

Oleander: I’m just getting warmed up, and I intend on making my career marked for the record books!!

[CaptainL]

Alena tried darting closer to Oleander to grab her by the head, but unfortunately, Oleander was thinking a step ahead of her. The Russian girl only grabbed at the air as she pulled away at the last minute. She grumbled in frustration, but nevertheless turned back to face her foe. She wasn't going to let this get to her for long - she had to keep the momentum rolling!

Unfortunately, Alena had one glaring blind spot. She might've just tried to get close to Oleander for a feint, but Alena was cocky enough when it came to her own abilities that she'd grown used to thinking of herself as invincible. She thought that she'd be able to power through whatever her opponents threw her way - and to that end, she wasn't the most concerned with watching for any potential feints they might throw back at her. When Oleander raised her leg, Alena drew back and brought up her arms to protect herself against the impact...only for Oleander to lash out with a blow to her chest instead, as her kick swung lower!

"Guh-!!" Knocked aside by the kick, Alena went stumbling a few steps back. She teetered backward, but she managed to dig her heels into the mat before she could go down - and she looked back up at Oleander with a glare. "Not bad...but I'm not about to let myself be shown up!" Blowing out a snort of hot air, Alena cracked her knuckles, pushing herself back up to come striding toward Oleander again. Hopefully, she'd be able to get into range quick enough to lash out with a knee aimed to stab upward into the Englishwoman's chest!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander would end up taking the knee before holding onto Alena via Muay Thai clinch, working the Grand Duchess' gut before transitioning into a brain buster as she rolls back.

Oleander: My girlfriend taught me that one, not used to doing so much heavy lifting if I’m being honest.. (She then walks over and puts Alena in an Omoplata) let’s see how long you last against the Dark Cataclysm!

[CaptainL]

As soon as Alena felt herself settle into the clinch, a smile came to her face. Oleander didn't know it, but she had just set up one of the Russian grappler's own signature moves, the Trans-Siberian Railway! Unfortunately for Alena, though, it was Oleander who was quicker on the draw. Just as Alena was raising her leg for another knee strike, Oleander pulled her a little further - and then, dropped to her back, spiking her head straight down into the canvas!

"GAH-!!" The impact was great enough to shake the ring, and Alena slumped down onto her face, coming to settle with her knees folded beneath her and her hips raised in the air. Her head was spinning, and she groaned under her breath. The crowd let out a cheer - when Oleander had been dominating on her grapples up to this point, to see her pull out a bona fide power move was something truly exciting! And it certainly did its job in keeping Alena down - the Grand Duchess had fallen into a daze, long enough for Oleander to get on top of her and hook her leg around her shoulder!

Alena was brought back to reality when she felt the tension yanking on her arm - and as Oleander locked it in, she lifted her head up from the mat, her face contorted in pain! Her teeth were clenched tightly, her eyes were squeezed shut, and her face was growing red under the pressure. Still, Alena wouldn't dare give in now. She was determined to fight it out. Alena was a stubborn girl - that was both a weakness and a strength - and she refused to submit until she had pushed herself to her utmost limits! In fact, she would only take Oleander's words as a challenge! "I'll...show you how long I last, all right-!" she snapped back, shaking her head in defiance as she tried to worm her body from side to side to try and wriggle herself into a better position.