Heavyweight Championship Match: Astrid Ostberg (c) vs. Dana Ashford

[CaptainL]

Astrid may have been forced to relinquish her grip on Dana, but she wasn't letting go without a fight. She knew enough about her opponent to be ready for her, and she knew that putting herself in a vulnerable situation could spell disaster. At any given moment, Astrid needed to be ready - and she would be ready even now, as she swung up her knee to slam it into Dana's stomach while the veteran was backing away!

With Dana going back, Astrid intended to keep the momentum going. She wouldn't take the pressure off of her foe any time soon! She sprung forward to close the distance, swinging her arm out in an arc to strike Dana across the chest with a lariat!

[Arjuna]

Dana considered herself to be made of sterner stuff, and most of the time, a lariat wouldn't be enough to knock her down, let alone make her flip in the air. But Astrid's sheer strength was too much, even for her as she struck her right in her chest!

"UARGHHH!!"

Dana cried out as she took the lariat straight to her chest. While she didn't end up flipping in the air, it was enough to take her down. She hit the mat with her back, and she gasped for air as she brought her hands onto her chest. Now on the mat, Dana was in danger, which would allow her opponent to capitalize on her current situation.

[CaptainL]

Astrid had to admit, even she was impressed with how she'd been able to take Dana down. After she'd had a feel for how strong her opponent could be first-hand, she didn't think it'd be that easy, but the veteran dropped to the mat against the oncoming force of Astrid's blow, and the Norsewoman stopped in her tracks, catching her breath as she rubbed the soreness out of her arm. She didn't come away from their clash unscathed - Dana was a tough woman, and even if Astrid could hit her, it still left her feeling it.

But there was no time to worry about that now - now, Dana was down, and Astrid had the opportunity to strike! She grabbed Dana by the leg, flipping her over on her stomach before she kneeled down over her back to twist her legs toward her in a Boston Crab! "Let's see if you remember this one!"

[Arjuna]

Knocked down by Astrid's lariat, Dana tried to recover, but with her being downed, she was in a vulnerable position, and Astrid decided to capitalize on this by grabbing her by her legs. Dana wanted to see what the champion was about to do before her suspicion was confirmed as she was rolled over onto her stomach and then put into a Boston crab.

"Nghhhh... h-heh, not bad... but n-not enough..."

Dana said as she endured the hold. She was still pretty fresh at this point in this match, so she wasn't all that bothered when she was held in the Boston crab, though she still felt the pressure from the hold. Focusing herself, she would start dragging herself towards the nearest ropes, clawing at the canvas as she sought to get herself a rope break.

[CaptainL]

Astrid huffed under her breath, tightening her grip on Dana's legs as she leaned back to bend them further. She knew it wouldn't be enough to take Dana down, of course - she was a veteran of the ring, and she'd been in the business longer than many of her coworkers had been alive. There was no way that such a basic hold could break her, not even coming from the Heavyweight Champion. But if nothing else, Astrid could still hope to keep it held in as long as she could - and hopefully it would wear down Dana's reserves, setting her up for the Norsewoman to score one over her later in the match.

Little by little, Dana dragged herself across the mat. Astrid pulled harder at her legs and twisted her hips back and forth to force more of her weight down against the veteran's back, but ultimately she couldn't stop Dana from reaching the ropes, and soon enough the referee called a break. Astrid, always one to oblige, got off of her, dusting off her hands as she stepped aside.

"Hearing your praise is an inspiration to me," Astrid said, in complete seriousness - while she didn't approve of Dana's actions, she couldn't deny that she was someone she had grown up watching, and to face her in the ring was an honor, no less to hear her call her efforts "not bad." But Astrid couldn't help but wonder what it was Dana had up her sleeve. So far, the match had been solidly in Astrid's favor, but knowing the Smiling Demon and her tricks, Astrid was sure she was holding back. She needed to be careful - there was no telling when she would spring a trap on her, and every motion seemed like it was setting up something sinister.

Gritting her teeth, Astrid sucked in a breath, taking a step closer to Dana. Her fingers coiled as she sunk into a stance, and she leaned forward to grab at the challenger. If she could get a hold of her, Astrid would throw her weight against Dana's side, going to pull her over her back to bring her down with a hip toss!

[Arjuna]

Dragging herself towards the ropes for a rope break as she was trapped in the Boston crab, Dana then managed to grab onto the bottom rope, and she was let go by Astrid. Huffing slightly, Dana would pull herself back up using the ropes as her support. Turning around, Dana would look at the champion, her smile still on her face.

Astrid had shown herself to be a young woman with huge potential, and Dana could tell that she deserved that title. Of course, she wasn't ready to say it out loud yet. She wanted to push the younger woman to her limit, and if possible, past it. Of course, defeating her to take that title for herself was also one of her intentions here, and she was planning to accomplish that in this match.

Ready for another clash, Dana stepped away from the ropes, closing in to Astrid as she would mirror her stance. Then, the moment the two of them were locked up with each other, Dana could feel that her opponent was trying to pull her over and throw her down into the mat with a hip toss, and she would try to resist being lifted up long enough for her to make her counter.

As Astrid tried to lift her up to execute the hip toss, Dana would try to stop her momentum by throwing a forearm smash right at the side of her face. The hard-hitting strike of Dana Ashford wasn't something that someone could take lightly. The single strike alone should be enough to leave a lesser woman seeing stars for days, and a direct strike to her face would surely affect Astrid quite greatly.

[CaptainL]

Dana had broken away from Astrid and risen to her feet, but the Norsewoman wasn't letting even a single stray moment pass in between her attacks. She couldn't skip a beat, lest Dana turn that moment of opportunity against her. She saw the smile cross the veteran's face, and the sight of it made a shiver go down Astrid's spine. It was that look that had earned Dana the title of the Smiling Demon - that sadistic desire to see her enemies crushed in front of her. Astrid had seen it many times on TV, and now she recognized that same look in front of her now - as well as what it meant for her. As she clenched her teeth, Astrid's fist balled tighter at her side. Now more than ever, she couldn't afford to let her guard down.

Astrid charged into Dana, throwing her weight against the challenger to try and pull her down over her shoulder - but the Smiling Demon already had a plan. She dug her heels into the mat, and just as Astrid attempted to drag her off the mat, she hammered her in the face with a forearm! At once, the Norwegian released Dana, going stumbling back dizzily as she raised her hands to shield her face. Her feet drifted apart, and her body bent low. She wasn't down yet, but her balance had definitely been compromised, and she was in a dangerous position indeed.

[Arjuna]

Hitting right at the side of the champion's face, Dana could see how damaging her attack was, as evidenced by Astrid stumbling backwards dizzily, holding her face that was struck earlier. Seeing this golden opportunity, Dana would approach her opponent, planning to make use of this opportunity to gain an upper hand over the champion.

While Astrid was still reeling from the hit to her face earlier, Dana would approach her opponent, grabbing her by her head before she wrapped her arm around her head, putting her into a front facelock. After making sure that the hold was snug enough, she would then exert her strength as she would try to lift her up into a vertical suplex before sending her body down into the mat with the move. Such a move would be quite an impressive sight to behold, becoming a clear sign of Dana Ashford's prodigious strength and skill as a wrestler.

[CaptainL]

Astrid had been in control up to this point - but she knew who Dana Ashford was. She knew she was a veteran of the ring with considerable experience behind her back, and a fearsome reputation to match. The whole time she had been dominating, Astrid knew it would only be a matter of time before Dana struck back. And now, that time was at hand - the Smiling Demon had at last thrown her first blow.

Astrid's head snapped backward as she let out a groan, wincing from the pain. One eye twitched, but she still spread her fingers enough to peer back at Dana from in between them, settling a glare on the challenger. Dana, however, was already on the move. She moved in closer to get around Astrid's guard, and as she threw an arm around her head, she was able to steer the younger woman forward. Astrid groaned as she bent over at the waist, her arms slipping away from where she was shielding herself. She could feel the pressure of the facelock, but she knew even more that such a position was often used to set up something stronger, something that a veteran like Dana surely knew as well. And a moment later, Astrid had her answer - as Dana hoisted her off her feet, turning Astrid upside down with her legs in the air!

The crowd gasped, seeing the strength Dana commanded to be able to so effortlessly lift Astrid up from the mat. The Norsewoman was left hanging, her hair dangling down from her scalp, as her teeth clenched in anticipation of what would come next. Soon enough, Dana threw the two of them down to the side - and Astrid landed on the canvas with a thunderclap, her body bouncing up into the air! There, she came to settle back down on her stomach, dazed and groaning.

[Arjuna]

Dana easily lifted Astrid up before sending her down into the mat with the delayed vertical suplex, and after she released her hold on her head, Dana looked at her opponent to see how she was faring after being taken down in such a way. Smiling, Dana reached out to Astrid's head as she would rise back up onto her feet, pulling the champion alongside her as well.

"You're not used to being in the air, aren't you? You could use some airtime once in a while, you know?" Dana said in her typical matronly tone as she would then shove Astrid's head between her thighs, preparing her next move. This time, Dana was preparing to execute a powerbomb, in which she would wrap her arms around the champion's waist before she lifted her up.

Once again displaying her Amazonian strength, Dana would then throw her down into the mat with the powerbomb, the sheer force of the impact causing the ring to shake a little. She wasn't planning to finish the move right away because she wanted to see how good Astrid was at taking damage. After powerbombing her, she would take a second to observe the outcome of the move.