Astrid Ostberg vs. Cali McCloud - #1 Contenders Match

[Faeron]

Cali delivered the second suplex with gusto and looked to deliver the third, but Astrid at the move well-scouted. As Cali lifted the blonde up for the third, she suddenly found her waist ensnared by Astrid's tree-trunk thighs. An audible groan was forced out of the brunette, loud enough for the crowd to hear as Cali was now holding up the large blonde while being crushed at the same time.

"An innovator, aren't ya hun?" Cali managed to quip while struggling to keep herself standing. Alas her legs couldn't quite maintain the weight for long from the vice and Cali found herself falling to her back with Astrid landing on top of her.

"Gah!" The air pushed out of Cali's chest and she found herself winded for the moment.

[CaptainL]

Just as Astrid had hoped, she was able to force Cali's hands down long enough to bring up her own legs, and she clamped those shut around her waist, halting her upward motion! At such a display of strength and such a cunning move, the crowd had to throw Astrid a few cheers. The Norwegian herself was beaming with pride, looking down towards her opponent with a satisfied grin.

"I see an opening, and I take it!" Astrid boasted, as Cali finally went down, bringing Astrid along with her. However, as Astrid pushed herself up, she briefly applauded for Cali. Even if she had only been able to maintain Astrid's weight for a few seconds, those were still a few seconds more than she had expected. "Well done! You must indeed be strong, if you can stand with my weight upon yours...but we'll see if it's enough to grant you the championship!"

Astrid quickly focused her attentions back on Cali, squeezing her thighs tighter around her waist. She clenched her teeth, sweat beading on her brow, as she was intent on keeping this position long enough to do some damage!

[Faeron]

Cali groaned as she felt the strength of Astrid's legs first hand, thick meaty thighs crushing the air out of her lungs. She balled her fists to push through the pain before slamming hammer-like blows to the back of Astrid, trying to force a break.

[CaptainL]

With Cali falling backwards, Astrid maintained her pressure, falling towards her to go along for the ride. But she kept her legs locked in place all the same, compressing her fellow challenger around the waist. At this point, Astrid would be able to hold a position of dominance over Cali while still keeping up the force on her waist, all while not needing to expend much effort of her own. But Astrid wasn't ready to go for the pin quite yet. For now, she was happy with testing the limits of what Cali was capable of - and she was having too much fun to just end it now.

On that note, even now Cali was proving herself capable of fighting back, as she formed rock-hard fists and sent them flying into Astrid's back! The Norsewoman let out a howl of pain, and her position atop Cali began to shift as her grip slipped. With continued effort, Cali proved capable of getting Astrid off, and the blonde rolled over, landing on her back at her side.

[Faeron]

Cali's plan of slamming her fist into Astrid's back succeeded as the giantess rolled off of her. Cali rolled away a couple of feet, slowly standing back to a vertical base while favoring her now sore ribs. She couldn't relent, the match was too important for the brunette to take too long of a break. With a deep breath, she walked over to Astrid and threw a forearm towards her head. If successful, she would then look to lift Astrid up to deliver a backbreaker.

[CaptainL]

Astrid too began to rise, as she started back towards Cali. She was slow to get up, winded from the number of fists she had taken to the back, but she rose nonetheless, stretching and getting back into a stance. The blonde looked ready to face Cali once again - but Cali suddenly struck, catching Astrid again in the head! She let out a groan and started to fall back, but although Astrid had turned so that the blow would only graze her, she couldn't prevent herself from taking it entirely, and got knocked upside the temple for her efforts!

With Astrid thus stunned momentarily, Cali was able to start to lift her - but Astrid wasn't about to let herself be taken out so easily. Sucking in a breath, Astrid tried to throw a kick at Cali's leg to try and arrest her attempts before she was fully off the ground. If successful, Astrid's next move would be to hook her arms around Cali's legs and fall back, in the hopes of catching her in a rollup pin!

[Faeron]

Cali thought she had Astrid in her grasp again only for the blonde to kick Cali's leg in.

"Grk!" Cali grunted as he momentarily buckled, giving Astrid the opportunity to roll Cali up. The referee was quick to slide down to make the pin attempt while Cali frantically kicked her legs.

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

Cali thrashed within Astrid's grasp before she finally managed to break away before the count of three. AS the two quickly got back to their feet, Cali looked to strike quickly with a dropkick to the chest.

[CaptainL]

With both women thinking quickly and countering one another's moves, the match had grown to an intensity that outstripped the expectations of a heavyweight match. Astrid knew she was going to have to rely on quick wits and thinking on her feet just as much as she used her size and weight. And from the cheers of the crowd at every move she made, it would seem the crowd believed Astrid easily worthy of taking on the champion! Nowhere were these cheers heard as loudly as when Astrid rolled up Cali, countering her into a pin, and the count then reached two!

But it couldn't last forever, as Cali was just as keen as riding it out. She kicked free of the pin just in time, and with a huff, Astrid fell back, dusting herself off as she got back to her feet. The pin could wait, she told herself. What was evident was that Cali needed more wearing down. But that was something she could provide.

But not fast enough - as just as Astrid had gotten back into a stance, Cali struck out, lunging forward and nailing her with a dropkick hitting her square in the chest! This time, Astrid didn't have time to prepare for a snap decision from Cali, and she was caught unaware. Coughing, the Norsewoman stumbled back before falling against the ropes.

[Faeron]

The electricity in the air made Cali's skin grow goosebumps as the two traded move for move. She could feel her feet impact against Astrid as the dropkick connected, getting to her knees to see Astrid leaning against the ropes. With her foe stunned, Cali ran towards the opposite side of the ring to get a running start, charging at Astrid at full speed to try and clothesline the blonde over the top rope.

[CaptainL]

Astrid was definitely a resilient woman, but a dropkick from Cali was definitely going to leave her struggling to stand, as her footing gave out from under her. The Norwegian had fallen back, with only the ropes surrounding the ring managing to save her from going over the edge. But that wouldn't stop her from being taken outside by force - and, with Cali coming charging straight for her, it looked like that was exactly what the brunette was out to do!

Taking her forearm clear in the chest, Astrid let out a wheeze, winded from the strike. Her feet were swept off the mat, and she started to be bowled backwards. However, her survival instinct kicked in, and she wasn't intent on going out of the ring yet! Thinking quickly, Astrid's fingers grasped the top rope just as she fell over it, hanging herself off the rope as she dangled over the edge of the apron.