L.A.W. - League of Anime Wrestling

Daiya had underestimated Esther's willpower or perhaps overestimated her own seductive abilities. While the latter certainly seemed to be having some effect on Esther it was not enough to distract from the match. And not nearly enough to stop her from breaking free of the Monégasque's crushing grasp. The tandem elbow smash and headbutt rocked Daiya pretty badly, sending her reeling to the ropes. She had no choice but to loosen her grip on Esther and drop her to the canvas.

"You're lucky... you have such a silver tongue, otherwise I'd be rather annoyed." Daiya winced, her voice pained. She was very much not a fan of being struck, even when it came with the pleasure of being complimented by someone as cute as Esther. It was not the best thing to have a weakness to when you were a wrestler. That particularly vulnerability was one of the main reasons she struggled so much whenever she reached the highest levels of competition. Vicious strikes like headbutts especially were something she could never get used to even after all her years in the ring. They were just far too uncouth for someone who had lived such a charmed life. She was a wrestler, not a bar brawler.

Dazed and slumped heavily on the ropes, Daiya hoped putting the squeeze on Esther had at least worn her out enough to give her time to recover from those skull rattling strikes the American had landed on her. If it did, she'd be eager to try and press her attack by getting close and locking up with her once she recovered. Grappling with Esther would be the first step to landing something bigger and keeping the pressure on the smaller woman. However there was a good chance given her light touch that Esther would recover before she did. If that happened, Daiya wouldn't be in much of a position to defend herself, stunned as she was from Esther's escape attempt. Her proximity to the ropes could limit Esther's options but she probably wouldn't have much trouble pulling her adversary away from them if she put those muscles of hers to work.

The problem with a headbutt was typically the first half of the name.

If it had involved her butt, Esther would have knocked Daiya unconscious from that range. She was not lacking in the rear end. But as hard of a head as she might have possessed, it still hurt to smash it into another skull. Daiya did drop her, but Esther wasn't raring to go when she did. Unceremoniously, she collapsed to a knee, holding her head and wincing behind her cascading hair. Beyond the throbbing pain in her skull, her body felt... so tired already. It wasn't the sweet, refreshing relief she felt after escaping a more violent bearhug. Her shoulders sagged, and her body radiated with heat - two things a woman in an endurance match didn't want to feel.

But at least Daiya had taken the worst of the collision. Esther peeked up to find her all the way back at the ropes, and the stubborn southerner knew she had to generate some offense off that escape. It didn't help that her body teetered to the side when she forced herself to her feet, but she got it straightened out soon enough. "Then I'll call you hot again and keep you in a good mood," she stated before she got her feet churning beneath her and took off for Daiya's half of the ring.

Daiya was starting back to her feet, but Esther got there first despite her sluggish pace. Or, more specifically, the bottom half of her got there first. With a two-step gather, the Aster managed to push herself well enough off of her feet to lash out at Daiya's midsection to make a pair of Purple Footprints with a straight dropkick. She usually drove that one higher, but she was already lacking the energy for more height. Come to think of it, the fall was going to suck too, even if she landed it.

Although Daiya's earlier hold had some clear effects, it wasn't enough to delay Esther's recovery. And most definitely not enough to stop her trying to cave in her abs with a dropkick and leaving her with Purple Footprints on her abdomen. Once Daiya felt the impact, she realized she had made a good decision to try and wear out her foe because she was fairly certain that if Esther had connected with her full strength she would've been sent over the ropes from the sheer force of the blow. As it stood, she 'merely' felt like she'd taken a sledgehammer blow to the midsection. Daiya let out a pained groan and felt her legs go out from under her. She fell to the ground, rolling under the ropes to escape to the outside.

The crowd began to boo, as expected. Leaving the ring to catch one's breath was a pretty typical heel move. A move for cowards and time wasters. Yet even as the air was driven out of her; Daiya's mind was still working as sharp as ever. She wasn't just wasting time, although a few more moments of respite would be very welcome, she had a plan to try and turn things around once again.

She managed to stumble a few steps away from the ring before falling to her knees but the distance was quite calculated. It was just far enough that Esther wouldn't be able to reach her without having to leave the ring completely. She'd either have to climb down and meet her or launch herself to the outside with something high risk. Either way, Daiya had a plan.

If she decided to dive, Daiya would try to roll out of the way to leave the rodeo queen to face a very rough landing. If the cowgirl came out to grapple with her, she would try and muster her strength to catch her off guard and lift her up off her feet to ram her already strained back into the lip of the ring and steal the momentum from her. And if she was too cautious to take the bait, then Daiya would be given ample time to recover. It seemed like a foolproof plan, although she wouldn't put it past Esther to do something unexpected and leave her with egg on her face.

Despite the pain in her midriff and the booing crowd, Daiya could still feel a smile tug at her lips. Despite everything, this was still something she loved. Testing herself against another competitor, trying to outsmart and outmanoeuvre them. This was what drew her to wrestling in the first place. Esther's charming words certainly took some of the edge of their confrontation but regardless of that, Daiya was having fun.