Anne Misaki Erhardt [D] vs Freezer Katakura - Fire vs Ice

[Galahad]

Freezer was effectively and thoroughly undoing every small attempt of an offensive that Anne tried. So far the ice queen wasn’t pushing her own strategy forwards but working in countering Anne’s. The Phoenix, on the other hand, was a little caught up in the anxiety of her debut to properly think of what to do when it seemed that Freezer had a counter for anything she could think of. In some way the redhead was blocked, and her rival looked more than willingly to use that to her favor.

After throwing a powerful elbow to the side of Anne’s face, one that got the Phoenix reeling in pain and dropping her hammerlock hold, the redhead couldn’t do much more than cupping her pained face when she noticed something strange: where was Freezer? Anne had some instants of relief from her rival’s offensive to concentrate on her pain, but of course that only meant that Freezer was up to something. The instant she took her hands from her face Anne was welcomed by the sight of Freezer running towards her and taking flight to throw a knee to her face. “Uaagh!” the knee got Anne directly on her face and sent her on her back, the strength of the impact and the relentlessness of Freezer’s barrage of hits making the Phoenix’s body so heavy as she was sprayed on the canvas.

[BlackAkuma]

Anne had such a pretty face - light, beautiful features, blazing eyes that complimented her aesthetic, a wonderful smile and lips that begged to be kissed. Freezer hated to damage such a pristine work of art, but alas, that was their competition, and she wouldn’t sully their match by holding back. That meant Anne would be getting the whole Freezer Katakura experience - not just the kisses, but the knees, the chops, the holds, the chokes—all of it. For a woman with such a light touch, she was more than capable of delivering a hard blow when called upon.

Her knee connected dead center and left her opponent reeling, falling on her back with arms splayed wide. For a split second, Freezer worried that she might have done severe damage, but a quick glance told her that there was no need for serious concern. She was loopy, yes, but still awake.

Was she awake enough to get out of a pinfall, though? That was the question and an easy one to answer.

Freezer dropped to her knees, grabbed Anne’s leg, pressed against her chest and slid in for the pinfall. The referee came in quick and started up the count, all while she looked into her opponent’s eyes, their gazes locked.

[Galahad]

Freezer had managed to consistently be on top during most of that match, which made sense from the crowd’s perspective as the Ice Queen was a well-established wrestler for LAW while the Phoenix was a complete nobody, a mystery, so it was only logical that the veteran would own the rookie, or at least that’s what logic dictates. Shows like pro wrestling were well-known for their defiance of logic and expectations more than often, and Anne was still waiting for that chance she would get to turn things upside down and start her comeback.

Just after getting a knee to the face and falling splayed on the mats, Anne looked like she was ready for the count, and in some way the thought passed through her mind when she noticed how Freezer kneeled besides her and hooked the Phoenix’s leg in a pin. Just three seconds and all that pain would be over, no more hits. Then Anne thought what kind of wrestler would that make her, and suddenly the fire within her burnt intensely once again. Letting the count reach one, she mustered all her strength to suddenly jerk her body, raising her shoulders from the mat before the count could even reach two, which got the crowd’s surprise as it really looked like Anne was done for, but Phoenixes were known for raising from their ashes, and that was just what the redhead intended as she crawled back on her feet, a challenging grin on her face when she looked at Freezer.

[BlackAkuma]

Hm. A one-count. That was surprising.

Not that Freezer thought she would win the match after a simple knee to the face, she could tell her opponent was made of sterner stuff than that. But she’d figured a two-count was in the cards, surely, especially coming off such a good run. Victory wasn’t hers yet, but it felt like she was turning the corner, that two or three good moves would finish the deal.

Apparently not. Judging by the look on her foes face as she rose, the Phoenix had no shortage of flames left to extinguish. Not a problem. Not a problem, at all. ”Very well.”

It seemed like the Phoenix wanted more, and Freezer would oblige her. She rose to her feet and moved in as her opponent did, closing the gap with solid and unwavering steps. She lashed out the moment she was in range, swinging her arms through the air for a swift knife-edge chop towards her opponent’s chest, throwing her body weight behind the blow for added power.

[Galahad]

Anne managed to force a break in the pin just after the one count, which got a surprised gasp from the crowd which was thinking that she was done for. Adding some Phoenix flare to the scene, Anne raised back on her feet while looking at Freezer defiantly. Maybe it was unintended because she was too focused on not losing, but Anne was giving the crowd something to remember her by as a wrestler, but what came now?

Freezer didn’t want to give Anne much time to think about what to do, so it would be the white-haired the one taking the initiative once again. Getting up, Freezer strode towards the Phoenix, closing distances while whipping her hand at her with a sharp knife edge chop. Somehow Anne was expecting something like this to happen and that was how she managed to react. If asked later the Phoenix would admit not knowing what happened to her, but she would describe it as her instincts taking over her body. She suddenly stopped thinking about what moves she needed to make and her body just seamlessly started doing them. With a quick hand she would get a grab at Freezer’s wrist, stopping her strike on its tracks. "Hyah!" Then, with a seamless move, the Phoenix would shift her stance to turn a little, using Freezer’s momentum against her and executing an over the shoulder throw that would leave her towering over her rival who would look at the lights lying on the mat for the first time that night.

[BlackAkuma]

Freezer, frankly, wasn’t sure what happened, either. Suffice to say, it wasn’t good.

She had been going in for the strike, intending to level Anne with it, and that would’ve happened, too - if it hit. It didn’t. Instead, she her hand was snatched out of the air, her own momentum was turned against her, she went topsy-turvy, and the next thing Freezer knew, she was getting dumped flat on her back, left sprawled out on the canvas.

A judo throw. The woman had executed a judo throw. It happened so fast that Freezer didn’t even recognize it at first, but there was no mistaking it. Where had that come from?

She had no time to ponder that question, interesting as it was, knowing that her foe would be quick to capitalize. Freezer threw her leg up, trying to hit the woman with a quick kick from below, just to buy her enough time to rise up unmolested.

[Galahad]

Everything happened as if Anne had been possessed by some kind of fighting instinct she didn’t know she had. Suddenly she was facing the rising Freezer and then she was looking at the white-haired as she was down on her back. Anne remained there, frozen in surprise for some instants as she was trying to process what had happened while the crowd let out a collective gasp of surprise at the change of pace and then erupted in cheers. They weren’t half as surprised as Anne was, though.

Without fully realizing what had happened, but using the crowd’s reaction and the sight of Freezer taking a hit as references, Anne knew that for an instant the match’s dynamic had taken a turn and that she needed to capitalize that. Still thinking of what to do next, the Phoenix noticed some blur coming at her from the edge of her vision, reacting by stepping to the side just instants before Freezer’s leg darted past her previous position. Trying to focus on what to do next, Anne threw a stomp at Freezer’s midsection to make her stop on her tracks and if that was successful she would try to grab the Ice Queen from the arm and force her back on her feet before throwing her against the ropes to meet her with a clothesline.

[BlackAkuma]

Freezer might be in trouble. Didn’t see it coming, but here she was.

While she wouldn’t go so far as to say she underestimated the Phoenix, she had felt comfortable in her control of the match up until now, having held sway over the proceedings to a good degree. Her experience and the size difference served her well, but now those advantages were coming undone - her opponent was making a strong comeback. Perhaps predictable coming from someone nicknamed after an infinitely resurrecting bird, but still.

She tried to stop her rise with the kick, but wound up missing and eating a hard stomp for her troubles, driving the wind clean out of her and making her easy prey. Anne lifted her, forced her back to her feet, only to nail her with a clothesline, dropping her back down again.

Disoriented, dizzy, dazed, Freezer rolled away and stumbled back up to her feet, making a hasty retreat and finding her back up against the ropes. Not an ideal place to be, but she had little choice in the matter - she needed space. She needed to breathe.

[Galahad]

Anne wasn’t completely sure about what had got into her, but she knew it was good. Yes, she had a lot of wrestling knowledge stored inside her mind, but accessing that knowledge in the middle of a match and having her body reacting to it in time was proving a more than difficult task, at least until that moment. Now the Phoenix had given honor to her name and looked like a very different wrestler, more resolved and capable. Anne didn’t know how long she would be able to maintain that mojo but what she knew was that now that she was there she had to capitalize as much as she could. Her heart thumped against her chest, asking her for more action.

After the Phoenix got a successful clothesline going she turned back and scanned the ring in search for her rival. Freezer looked like she was caught completely off-guard by the Phoenix’s resurgence. The Kissing Queen tried to roll over and break some distance, getting back on her feer with the help of the ropes showing how she was in desperate need for a breather. Anne wouldn’t give her that. Thoughts on what to do coursed the redhead’s mind at a thousand miles per hour so she couldn’t set for a proper strategy. Unable to think of another move she went for a new clothesline, but this time having Freezer against the ropes would bring much different results.

[BlackAkuma]

While Freezer was accustomed to being the dominant one both in matches and in bed, she wasn’t totally new to being on the receiving end of things. She’d had to take on some larger woman in her career, hardhitters who could put her up against the ropes, and in those times she often fell back on her stamina, trying to outlast them, outwit, outmaneuver.

This was not like those times. She was up against the wall, with an opponent who was surging and threatening to overwhelm her. She needed a way to shut down that momentum, but to do that, she required an opening, and none were making themselves apparent at the present moment.

That trend continued as she pushed up to her feet, only to have Anne come in like a freight train and run straight into her, hitting her with another clothesline. This one sent her spiraling, flying over the ropes and crashing to the floor outside the ring. She landed on her knees, pushed up, and stumbled her way to the barricade, where she stayed for the moment to catch her breath.