Sanae Saitou vs Kennedy Lee — Standard Match

[Pegasus]

Kennedy gritted her teeth as Sanae worked her way up the former Jungle Queen’s body and grabbed the legs crossing them and holding them tightly as Sanae expertly switched tactics. She left the kneebar for a Texas Cloverleaf! Kennedy gritted her teeth more aggressively and held her head with her hands ruffling her blonde hair. The referee got on one knee with her hands firmly on the mat asking Kennedy if this was it, but Kennedy slapped the official’s hands away. The crowd booed this motion, but under these new rules, Kennedy wasn’t in danger of receiving warnings or getting disqualified. There wasn’t anything the official could do to her!

Kennedy propped her hands on the mat lifting herself relying on her muscles to claw the canvas and move towards the opposing ropes. Kennedy was too fresh right now to keep down so easily, Kennedy reached the bottom rope grabbing it! Kennedy shook it to get the referee’s attention!

“REF! I GOT THE ROPE! GET HER OFF ME!” Kennedy shouted.

“Oh! R-R-Right! Ms. Saitou, let her go! It’s a rope break!” The referee told the idol.

[CaptainL]

Sanae had already secured an impressive grasp on Kennedy's legs - but as everyone in the audience would soon see, they hadn't seen anything yet! Sanae knew that stretching Kennedy's knee was a good start, but she could do better than that. After all, Kennedy wasn't a small woman, and it was going to take more than just a single kneebar to take her down. But if she kept targeting her legs, she could weaken her stance and make it harder for her to keep her balance, and in the long run, that could well compensate for the size advantage Kennedy held. Her experiences with submission matches, and having to train for them, had taught her well - but then, Sanae always was a fast learner. Now, she was looking to put that knowledge to good use, as she transitioned into a Texas cloverleaf, and leaned back to bend Kennedy's back into an arc!

Sanae grit her teeth, putting all the effort she could force out of herself into keeping up this hold. Even that wouldn't be enough to get Kennedy to break, though. She still had enough energy and willpower left in her to haul her way over to the ropes, and as she grabbed onto the bottom one, Sanae had no choice but to let her go. She huffed, dusting off her hands as she stepped away from her foe to get into a stance. Even still, she had no intentions of giving up now.

"Doesn't matter! I'm prepared for anything!" she boasted - she could only hope she'd live up to such a statement.

[Pegasus]

Kennedy used the ropes to get up as she groaned her legs starting to let the pain sink in. She was good to go, but had to outlast the pain in her legs. Good thing her better suited body parts are her muscles and arms. Kennedy glared down Sanae as she tried grappling the idol into a front facelock going down to hunker her weight on Sanae giving her a nice rest hold while her legs recovered. Kennedy used her free arm to lay shots to the back of the idol as she was trying to keep Sanae down. From there, Kennedy scooted to the side trying to go for the Bulldog Choke early on! This move made many women before pass out from exhaustion of fighting and Kennedy looked to be trying to get another notch under the belt by locking Sanae in!

Bulldog Choke

[CaptainL]

Sanae sucked in a deep breath. Her muscles coiled tightly as she held her body rigid, keeping a close eye on Kennedy. She had just made a strong showing early on in the match, managing to take Kennedy down with a well-executed submission - but she knew just as well that things were far from over, and she couldn't expect victory to come easy, especially not when Kennedy had engineered the stipulations to give herself the advantage. Her lip pulled back as her teeth clenched in a snarl, but she thought to herself that she was going to need to stay on her toes...

In fact, Kennedy would soon strike, grabbing Sanae by the head! The green-haired idol let out a groan against the pressure, and that pressure would only increase more and more, as Kennedy struck a few blows against her that caused her to cough and sputter as the air was driven from her lungs - just before the heavyweight weighed her down under the crushing force of the Bulldog Choke, locking her arm around her neck!

Now, as Sanae fell flat on her face, she threw back her head with a scream. Or, at least, it was supposed to be a scream; when her body was being torqued as hard as it was, she couldn't manage much more than a hoarse gurgle. But her eyes were squeezed shut, and her mouth opened wide in agony! It felt as though her throat was narrowing down on her, trapping all the hot, stifling air inside her lungs, and the whole while, Kennedy's weight was pressed against her back, which threatened to cave in against the strain! But Sanae knew she couldn't give in - not now!

Hissing under her breath in desperation, Sanae shook her head, just to signal that she was in no mood to give up now! She grabbed for Kennedy's arm with one hand and tried to pry it off her throat, while her other arm swung back to try and land an elbow against her opponent's side. Her back and spine felt like it was on fire - but she knew that to give up now, right as the match had begun, simply wasn't an option!

[Pegasus]

Sanae was being tested to the max so early in the match and according to Kennedy’s specialized rules, Sanae couldn’t hope for release as Kennedy had to accept any moments of surrender which just forced more pressure on Sanae going into this torture chamber. If Sanae couldn’t expect a normal submission that would at least release her from confinement, what would make Kennedy see that enough was enough? Whatever the alternate future of that scenario looked like, Sanae was going to alter things right now as she grabbed Kennedy’s arm around her throat and pried it open bit by bit. She waited for a chance for Kennedy to lower the pressure and then struck as Kennedy had no time to regroup her muscles and her grip. Sanae had an easy time prying open her airwaves and sucked in lots of oxygen.

The crowd was getting behind her more and more and her dedicated fans were chanting her name. Even if she couldn’t interact with them, she needed to know they were still with her. Sanae would hear her name chanted all around the arena and that gave her the energy to elbow Kennedy three times in the side hard to get her to let go! A moment of history had been created! Sanae became the first person to break free of Kennedy’s Bulldog Choke! A few people had passed out within the choke, but Sanae wouldn’t be added to the list!

[CaptainL]

Sanae was in no mood to wait around and find out what Kennedy had in mind for her. She knew that when Kennedy held the advantage over her when it came to size and strength, being trapped in one of her holds couldn't possibly end well for her. The odds were stacked against her already with the ruleset Kennedy had outlined - the last thing Sanae needed was to leave herself at the mercy of her opponent's vise-like grip. Squeezing at her arm with enough force to make her knuckles go white, the green-haired girl pulled as hard as she could. Her teeth were clenched in a grimace, and she tried to hold the air in her lungs just so that she wouldn't have to risk taking a breath against the force crushing her windpipe - but with enough effort, she was able to pull Kennedy's arm down just enough to suck the air into her lungs!

As soon as she heard the fans cheering for her, a smile crossed Sanae's face. They all still believed in her, she told herself - she couldn't forget that! If they still had hope she could win this, even in the face of certain doom, she could carry on with that hope too! That hope was driving her forward as she swung her arm behind her, clipping Kennedy in the side. And, after a few well-placed blows, Kennedy had no choice but to let her go!

The fans might've already been cheering Sanae on, but now, to see her break free of Kennedy's hold was enough to make the whole arena erupt into cheers! Sanae looked out at them with a smile - she might not have been allowed to play to the crowd, but she could still appreciate that she had all these people on her side, even when Kennedy had tried to bring her low. With her grip on Kennedy's arm growing firmer with determination, Sanae would try to pull it back toward her, cranking on her hand with a wristlock. If that worked, she'd throw her legs around Kennedy's bicep to try and transition to an armbar!

[Pegasus]

Im-freaking-possible! Kennedy had always counted on the Bulldog Choke being one of her strongest moves as it usually cut off an opponent’s air circulation either to let her submit them or pass them out. Ana, Snow, and Alizeh were not fortunate enough to survive the attempts to escape, but Sanae had these stupid people driving up her moves. Their support fueled her even if she couldn’t play to them like she normally did. Sanae has been proven that these people care for her and they want to see her beat over Kennedy to get the biggest win possible. Kennedy got her arm grabbed and bended behind her back before she was shoved on her back and Sanae locked Kennedy’s arm in a leg-trapped armbar! Kennedy screamed as Sanae leaned into her submission training to take her further in this match!

[CaptainL]

At the very moment Sanae kicked free of the Bulldog Choke, the entire arena burst into cheers. The odds were surely stacked against her - not only was this one of Kennedy's proudest and most well-practiced moves, but she easily eclipsed Sanae in size and strength, and even managing to force her to move would be an accomplishment in its own right. Yet, despite it all, the little idol wasn't going to let anything deter her - and with a few more elbows aimed behind her, she was finally able to get Kennedy to back off!

Sanae's head was still throbbing, and her face had gone red from lack of air. She wanted to stop what she was doing and gulp down some precious oxygen. Her body was screaming at her to give it a rest. But Sanae knew that was simply out of the question! She couldn't slow down for a moment, lest Kennedy use those few seconds to spring a trap on her and catch her unawares. Every thought and every action had to be concentrated on taking the former Jungle Queen down!

Now, as Sanae locked her legs around Kennedy's arm, she wasn't about to let go any time soon! Remembering everything she had learned about submissions in training for her Apex matches, she was ready to utilize her newfound skill against her opponent! Arching her hips up off the mat, Sanae went to apply even more force against Kennedy's arm, trying to stretch it to its limit. The crowd was cheering for her louder than ever, but Sanae didn't pay them any heed - she wouldn't even if she was allowed to. She was doing this for herself alone!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy screamed in agony as she felt her arm being pulled on and Sanae, for such a little woman, was doing a good job at tightening her hold on Kennedy’s hamstring. Sanae wrenched and wrenched hard on Kennedy’s arm as the Glamorous One had fallen victim to the determination of this little runt. However, just because Kennedy just now found herself in the midst of this hold, it didn’t mean she was out of the game completely. Kennedy was able to use every other body part to roll back to her feet slowly with her arm still wrenched downwards which gave her another jolt of pain.

Kennedy used her muscle strength to lift Sanae off the ground as Sanae still felt like a toothpick compared to Kennedy. She was able to pry open Sanae’s legs and used her free arm to latch onto Sanae’s throat. Kennedy glared down her rival and gave the throat a little squeeze adding pressure to it and giving it a second reckoning from the Bulldog Choke earlier! Kennedy lifted Sanae up and tried slamming her down with a thunderous Chokeslam!

[CaptainL]

Sanae knew now that she couldn't let go - not for anything! Her teeth clenched in a tight grimace, and her knuckles went white under the pressure as she strained every muscle in her body to its limit to try and hold onto her opponent's arm. She knew that Kennedy was bigger and stronger than she was, and that she could probably force herself free of the hold if she wanted to - so it was up to Sanae to ensure that even if she did, she would come away worse for wear, doing as much damage as she could! She might not have been much of a submission specialist when she had started, but the lessons she had learned from Alizeh had taught her well - and for now, it seemed she had Kennedy locked down under her control! The crowd was only cheering louder, eager to see Sanae turn the tides no matter how much of a mismatch it might've seemed!

However, Kennedy wasn't going to let Sanae boss her around for long! Finding strength through her frustration, she managed to push herself up off the ground - rising toward her feet, with the idol's legs still tangled around her arm! The fans let out a gasp at the sight, seeing Sanae dangling from Kennedy's arm with undying tenacity. Even if they favored Sanae, for Kennedy to be able to keep up the fight with another woman's weight dragging down at her limb was a commendable feat! But she was able to force Sanae's legs apart - and then, to grab hold of her throat, leaving her suspended in her grasp!

Now, the look of determination on Sanae's face gave way to a wide-eyed gape of shock. Her neck was still sore from the pressure it had been under a moment ago - and when Kennedy's fingers dug deeper into its sides, she coughed and wheezed, her legs kicking and her body spasming. Every ache and pain in her throat was being stirred back up, and it felt like it was on fire! Slowly, her muscles began to go slack from the pain and fatigue, and she shrunk away from Kennedy. Which left her wide open when the blonde hurled her down into the mat!

Sanae struck the canvas with a loud thud, causing the ring to vibrate as her arms and legs shot up from the ground. Then, she sank onto her back. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, and she rasped out a few desperate gasps to get the air back in her lungs. To take a chokeslam from Kennedy Lee was no small task - and it left her stunned!