Candace 'Fang' Lewis vs. Armando 'Army' Rodriguez - Nice Meeting You

[BlackAkuma]

Not even one minute into the match and Army already knew what Fang’s foot tasted like. That had to be some kind of record.

He was still shaking off the kick when that occurred to him, reeling from the blow, thrown off kilter. Not the end of the world, he took shot to the head all the time, but the worst hits to take were the one you didn’t see coming, and that one was right out of left field.

Fang was all over Army just as his head was clear, moving in and spinning him, which did wonders for his faltering equilibrium. A dropkick was waiting for him when he turned about, striking him hard in the chest, and he went stumbling back all the way into the turnbuckle.

That was a wake-up call, giving him a good idea of what he was up against. Fang was fast, damned fast, and smart enough to use that speed effectively. He needed to get in close, catch her, before she whittled him down to nothing.

Instead of taking a moment to catch his breath, Army came surging out of the corner, rushing towards Fang, trying to get in close before she could get away. He spun about as her neared, a total 360 degrees, and swung his arm around to nail her with a discus lariat - or, as he liked to call it, Hurricane Armando..

[ZorzLeth]

Fang briefly paused after she managed to land the dropkick that sent Army stumbling into a turnbuckle. The crowd cheered and awed at Fang as she clearly had the first advantage of the match. She took an opportunity to catch her breath, but she did not expect Army to come back swinging so soon.

Realizing at the last second that Army was not done, Fang saw him blitzing her fast, she was uncertain of what he was going to do.

Then, what looked like a frontal assault turned into a spinning, discus lariat move that Fang barely had time to react. She could not dodge in time, so she instead raised her arms to help shield her from most of the impact. The lariat made contact with Fang and slammed her into the mat.

"Ugh..." Fang grunted as she tried to get to her feet, but was left slightly dazed.

[BlackAkuma]

Hurricane Armando. Never failed.

Not counting the times he missed with it, of course.

But the times he connected? Oh, he knocked the fuck out of whoever he landed the move on, always put them down for a little. It had been a good while since he’d connected with it or even had the chance to bring it out, but it was like riding a bicycle. Some things just stick with you, no matter what.

He rarely won a match with it, though. ‘Rare’ wasn’t the same thing as ‘never’, though…

”Screw it.” Army dropped down on Fang, using his body weight to flatten her into the mat, then reached over, pulled her leg up, and went for the pinfall. The referee slid over nearby and started the count. He didn’t think this would work, but hey, stranger things happened all the time, it was worth a shot.

”1…!”

[ZorzLeth]

Fang did not have time to react as she was immediately flatten on the mat by Army dropping on her. She gasped out from the shock and the impact. She did not expect Army to go for a pin this soon, as she felt him pull her leg up.

"One!" The referee shouted, beginning the count to three. Once it hit three, it was game over. However, Fang was not going to let this match be over like that; nor be beaten so easily.

"Tw-" the referee attempted to say "two" before Fang immediately buckled up and kicked herself up, breaking the pin. Once Army would get off her, Fang would roll back onto her feet to reposition herself.

"Sorry Mr." Fang said, "But I won't go down that easily."

[BlackAkuma]

Yup, she kicked out. Army kind of figured she would, no big surprise there, but again - he had to try. Just good wrestling fundamentals, there.

He rolled in the opposite direction as she did the same, and popped up to his feet a moment before she did, bouncing on his heels as they reset. ”Honestly? Would’ve been disappointed if you did.” He shrugged. ”Just testing you out a little, making sure you’ve got the goods.”

He lowered again, going into a grappling stance this time, arms open and knees bent and eyes forward. ”And please, don’t with the ‘Mr.’ thing. Pretty sure we’re the same age. Making me feel old.”

Army moved in once more, this time going slow, no sudden movements, trying to see if he could pressure her into engaging him with a collar-and-elbow

[ZorzLeth]

Fang observed as her opponent got back onto his feet. She heard his response about how he was testing her out. That was fair. After all, if she could be taken out so easily, Army would definitely be disappointed. She rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrassment when Army asked her to not refer to him as "Mr", as he found that it made him feel old.

"Right. Sorry." Fang said sincerely as she rubbed the back of her head. As they resumed the match, Fang found that Army was not making any major moves. Maybe he was trying to goad her into doing something. She decided to do a bit of testing and see if she could make something out of this.

For the time being, she decided to engage Army with a collar-and-elbow move and to find a weak point in the hold to take advantage of.

[BlackAkuma]

”Pfft, don’t apologize. You’re fine.” He chuckled as they moved closer. ”Ms. Fang.”

He was teasing her a bit, but he did appreciate the politeness, kind of a refreshing change. Way too often, he found himself dealing with the worst kind of women in these mixed matches, the ones who got off on abusing and using and were just the worst kinds of bitches overall. Or worse, the ones who were too nice, and made him feel bad for hitting them. A fun middle ground, like Fang, was a welcome exception.

She didn’t shy away from taking him head-on, either, despite the clear size advantage, and he was happy to oblige. He grappled with her for a few seconds, holding her off well enough, before he dipped down and tried to slip around her, hoping to catch her from behind and lock her down with a tight waistlock.

[ZorzLeth]

Fang locked onto the grapple with Army, but it soon became apparent (but too late) to the Jungle Girl that Army had something in store for her. Before she could react, she felt Army slip behind her and lock her with a waistlock. She gasped as she felt his arms secure and squeeze on her waist. She gripped his arms to try and pry them open.

As they did this, she wiggled and squirmed, to try and make it difficult for Army to hold her. She looked around to see how far away she was from a corner of the ring.

[BlackAkuma]

Army was a striker, primarily, but his time wrestling had taught him a good deal. He wouldn’t be winning against any Olympians or anything, but he could handle himself well enough on the technical side these days, to the point where he could outmaneuver those who weren’t expecting it. Like Fang.

He moved in, got her from behind, held her tight. Of course, she put up a hell of a fight, squirming this way and that, looking for the ropes to escape. She might even get them, too, they weren’t that far off.

Of course, he had no intention of letting that happen. Army promptly planted his feet, lifted her up, arched his back, and attempted to send Fang flying overhead with a release version of the German Suplex, hurling her towards the center of the ring.

[ZorzLeth]

Fang felt Army secure a good hold on. Then, she felt herself being lifted off the mat and being flung backwards. Army was going through with a German Suplex and hurled her towards the center of the ring.

The slamming impact that the move had on Fang’s head and back left a ringing noise in her body, as she was left staggering to get to her feet.

She was attempting to recover, but she was a bit slow at getting back to her feet.