L.A.W. - League of Anime Wrestling

Astrid hadn't counted on the soda can erupting in Cecilia's face, but if it gave her the edge she needed? So be it. As soon as she had caught her breath and wiped the liquid clear of her eyes, giving her head a shake to dry off her hair, her eyes settled on Cecilia with a cold, stern glare. Astrid had never been the type to fall back on using the environment to her advantage; she'd always preferred to put forth a pure show of her own strength so that she could compare it against her opponent's from even ground. But it had become abundantly clear that Cecilia didn't think like that. Cecilia would've done anything she could to beat Astrid down and to claim her dominance over the champion. Astrid didn't want to stoop to her level, but if she wanted to stand a chance against such a ruthless foe...she was going to have to take what she could get. With the Hardcore Queen involved, this was never going to be a fair fight, so what was stopping her?

Hurling herself straight into Cecilia's stomach, Astrid tackled the woman right into the wall, sending a thud through the hallway! Astrid could feel Cecilia's midsection sink inward against the impact, and her body buckle. But she couldn't rest easy just yet - things were far from over. Cecilia would prove as much when she began to shove back at Astrid, trying to steer her away!

Sure enough, the Norsewoman began to shrink back, giving Cecilia a bit of space - but only for a few inches. Her teeth clenched and her fists balled tight as she swelled with determination - whatever she did, she couldn't show any vulnerability or any weakness! Just as soon as she'd caught herself being pushed away, she dug her heel into the ground, steadying herself before shoving her shoulders back toward Cecilia to assert her refusal to budge. And then, she would reach out to throw her arms around Cecilia's sides - where, if she could get a good grip, she'd bend at the knees and push her weight back upward to try and lift Cecilia off the ground, and into a German suplex, as she aimed to pull her over her shoulders and toss her head-first into the floor behind her!

The face and hair of the Hardcore Queen was still absolutely covered, drench, soaked with the soda, the fragrance of citrus combined with various spices and herbs. The taste of which lingered on her lips, a taste which tickled her taste-buds as she was forced to gasp out with Astrid's shoulder digging into her midsection and her back hitting the wall! "Gah...!" Cecilia grunted, her hands reached down to Astrid's shoulders and she began to push the woman back, trying to force her away and give some breathing room for the Californian Swede.

Cecilia started to gain ground, slowly forcing Astrid's shoulder away from her midsection which allowed Cecilia to get a breath of air into her lungs. Then Astrid forced herself right back in! Ramming her shoulder into Cecilia's abs again...but she didn't stop there! The arms of Astrid went around her waist as she slipped in at the blonde's side, then plucked Cecilia off her feet!

Hoisted up for but a second, Cecilia was thrown into the floor with something akin to a side suplex! The blonde managed to tuck her head in, leaving her to crash into the floor behind Astrid, shoulders first...it was a nasty bump and if Astrid's arms released her waist then Cecilia would sink down onto her front on the floor, a low groan of pain escaping through her lips.

Cecilia had managed to force Astrid back from her, breaking the Norsewoman's impromptu pin that kept her back to the wall thanks to the crushing pressure of her shoulder against her well-sculpted abs. But it wouldn't stop Astrid for long. The Heavyweight Champion was on a mission - a mission to prove that she wouldn't let anyone boss her around; that she was capable of taking on anyone who felt bold enough to threaten her! Letting Cecilia break her grip on her now felt like it was tantamount to letting her win - it would give the Hardcore Queen reason to believe that she could overpower Astrid. And that was nothing Astrid was willing to let her think she could get away with!

Her teeth clenched in a determined snarl, Astrid only threw herself back up against her foe, shoving her against the wall! She knew that Cecilia had it in her to break the hold, if her escape a moment ago had been any indication. But this time, Astrid would be prepared for that. This time, before Cecilia had a chance to fight back, Astrid would throw her arm around her - and, as she kicked back off her feet, throwing all her weight in an arc, she sent Cecilia sailing over her shoulder, crashing head-first onto the floor!

As soon as she hit the ground, Astrid rolled over onto her knees. She braced herself with her palms against the floor, gasping for breath and shaking some droplets of sweat away from her brow. She saw Cecilia laying there motionless, and for a moment, that thought was enough to make her wince when she realized what she'd done. She had, after all, dropped her head directly onto the hard, unforgiving floor. It was a step further than Astrid was used to going, a step perhaps beyond what she should have wanted to do, and the thought of her being willing to go to such extremes sent a chill down her spine. But...it worked, didn't it?

Sucking in a deep breath, Astrid threw her weight forward, attempting to clambor up onto Cecilia's chest. There, she pressed her knees down against her bust, her hands grabbing at her shoulders as she rolled her weight forward to hold them down. And even if she bobbed up and down with each breathless pant, and even as her sweat trickled down her dangling strands of hair, she still looked Cecilia dead in the eyes.

"Do you give?" Her body tensed; she had to focus everything she had on keeping her foe still. Deep down, she hoped Cecilia would get the hint. She hoped she wouldn't have to take this any further...

Cecilia was down on her front after having sunk down onto the floor after Astrid released her, that low groan escaping her mouth as she laid there, slowly she rolled over onto her back with her arms spread slightly outwards to her sides. Her eyes slowly fluttering open as Astrid's body started to move on top of her, she felt the knee of the Heavyweight Champion press her down as those hands of hers grabbed at the Hardcore Queen's shoulders.

Hearing the words spoken to her, Cecilia couldn't help but grit her teeth. The eyes of the Hardcore Queen would begin to focus as she threw a glare up at Astrid. There was a fire in the eyes of the Swedish-America. Taking in a deep breath as she glared up at Astrid, Cecilia would suddenly buck up! With a burst of power as she threw her legs up and would try and drive both of her knees hard into the back of Astrid as she sought to dislodge the other blonde off her!

The Hardcore Queen would then roll up to her knees and start to push up to her feet. " No chance..." Cecilia spoke as she huffed out.

At last, Cecilia was down, and that gave Astrid a moment to slow down and catch her breath. Sweat dripped down the side of her face as she leaned forward against Cecilia, pinning her beneath her weight. When she had a moment to stop and think about what had happened to her, she clenched her teeth in a wince - a stinging pain rippled up her back from all the punishment she'd endured so far. She didn't know how long she would be able to keep this up for. But, at the same time, she couldn't back down - not a chance! Astrid knew full well that to do so would be admitting she didn't have it in her to back herself up, and to stand up to Cecilia's challenge. But she was a champion - she had to be ready for anything. She couldn't be weak. The only option was to dominate her opponent once and for all - she just hoped that Cecilia would listen.

Unfortunately for Astrid, Cecilia was every bit as determined to rise to the challenge - and she, too, wasn't going to give up as long as she could still draw breath! It was just then that her knees swung forward, nailing Astrid right in the kidneys! The Norwegian cried out in pain as the impact threw her forward - she fell onto her face in a heap, clutching at her back as her face contorted in a wince. Her whole back felt numb.

But Astrid wasn't going to let this keep her down either. She needed Cecilia to know she was ready to fight her as long as her body would hold out - she just hoped she had enough in her to keep going. Gritting her teeth to try and dull the aches and pains radiating through her body, Astrid pushed herself up to her feet. She groaned and bent over as she steadied herself...but she wouldn't let this be the end. She had to be ready.

"Then...do your worst-!" Astrid dug her heels into the floor, trying to hold herself steadily in place. She bent at the knees and lifted her hands, readying her stance. For now, she knew she needed to conserve her strength, and she would wait to see what Cecilia would throw at her next. But whatever that was, she wanted to be ready for it...

The knees of the Californian drove right into the back of Astrid, hammering into those kidneys of her blonde counterpart with enough force to throw the Heavyweight Champion off the Hardcore Queen. Cecilia grit her teeth and winced as she pushed herself up to a seated position and then rose to her feet...she would turn around to face Astrid as she watched the fellow Heavyweight wrestler rise up to her feet.

Seeing Astrid raise her arms like she was and ready to continue, Cecilia would narrow her eyes and raise her arms as well. She anchored herself, steadied her breathing and steeled her mind...then suddenly the Hardcore Queen would take a massive step forward and try to close the distance between them. Her right arm firing off at great speed as it would be aimed right at Astrid's face, It didn't matter if Astrid kept a guard up or blocked the blow to Cecilia as the second she started to pull the arm back she would fire off her left arm with another powerful straight, hammering off with both arms like pistons firing in an engine as she tried to hammer through whatever stood in her way to punch relentlessly at the Champion's face and torso!

Even when Astrid lifted herself to her feet, she could still feel the searing pain shoot through her body where Cecilia had nailed her square in the back - her teeth clenched, and she let out a hiss, her hand clenching into a fist just to try and distract herself from the burning sensation. But she knew all the same that she couldn't let it stop her, either. She had vowed to stand up to Cecilia, and to prove that she wouldn't let her taunts get the better of her. Astrid was a champion, and she was committed to representing her status as the best in her division. She couldn't shy away from any challengers. She had to be ready!

She had dared Cecilia to do her worst. But even when Astrid herself had issued the challenge, there was still that creeping doubt in the back of her head. Was she making a mistake? Could she even withstand Cecilia at her worst, in her current state? No, no - just as quickly, she shook that thought out of her head. She couldn't think like that! She knew she was better than that! Whatever Cecilia threw at her, Astrid needed to be ready. Even the thought that she might not be enough was a failure she couldn't forgive herself for!

When Cecilia came charging closer, Astrid's fists clenched tighter, and her heels dug into the ground, bracing herself for impact. The Hardcore Queen's fist shot out straight for Astrid's face, but, driven by instinct, she shot herself to the side to dodge. But that wouldn't do anything to stop Cecilia, who just lashed out with her other fist, landing a solid blow against the Norsewoman's side! Astrid reeled backward, her eye twitching as she winced from the pain. But no matter how hard Cecilia hit...Astrid would just need to hit her back just as hard!

Letting out a roar, the Norwegian swung herself back at Cecilia, her elbow cutting through the air to try and land against Cecilia's side! If that hit, her other fist would lash out to her ribs! If Cecilia was going to lay into Astrid with a ferocious double-fisted assault, Astrid would just adapt to her tactics, and follow suit!

It didn't bother Cecilia too much that Astrid had avoided her first punch, after all she had already decided to go in and start swinging at full force. A simple punch being avoided wasn't going to stop her barrage. The second blow which came drove right into Astrid's side and Cecilia saw the impact it had on the Heavyweight Champion. However, Astrid was resilient and was able to fight back, throwing her elbow right into Cecilia's side which caused the Hardcore Queen to wince...

Cecilia didn't slow down though. She pushed forward and decided to swing right back. Trying to intercept Astrid's next blow but aiming to hit the fellow blonde with a thunderous uppercut straight to the chin! Aiming to put a stop to Astrid dead in her tracks and perhaps even daze her long enough to step in with a strong right hook aimed square at that belly of the Norwegian!

Cecilia was tough - there was no denying that the Hardcore Queen moniker wasn't for nothing. Not only could she hit hard, she was ruthless, and well prepared to do whatever she needed to get ahead. In a backstage brawl like this, with no referee in sight, there was nothing off the table. But as hard as Cecilia could hit, Astrid wasn't going to let herself be deterred. She hadn't won the title of Heavyweight Champion for nothing - her own endurance was legendary. And even if the punches Cecilia was bludgeoning her with all up and down her body undoubtedly hurt, that pain wouldn't be enough to stop her from proving what she had to prove!

The two of them were caught in a whirlwind of flying fists as they traded punches. Their arms cut through the air in all directions and at all angles. For every punch Cecilia landed on her, Astrid was determined to trade her opponent back one of her own, just to prove she wasn't going to fall behind! But if that was what she wanted...Cecilia was just going to hit her even harder to try and break her rhythm! Her fist lashed out like a crack of thunder, flying straight into Astrid's jaw and causing her head to snap backward as she went stumbling over to the side. Unable to hold the position against such force, Astrid had no choice but to take a step back, her hand shooting up to clutch at her chin. And that gave Cecilia the opportunity to strike again - with a punch aimed square at the center of Astrid's gut!

The impact knocked the air out of Astrid's lungs, causing her to double over forward; her body all but collapsed in half as it slumped over Cecilia's arm. For a moment, she stood there gasping for air...but then, Astrid's head began to rise. No. She couldn't stop; she couldn't slow down - that would just give Cecilia what she wanted. Every move had to keep the pressure on her foe. She locked onto Cecilia with a deathly glare, her eyes narrowing on her with nothing short of rage. Astrid hurt, yes. Her stomach was still burning, and her body felt stiff and heavy. But she wasn't about to go down now!

Reaching out in front of her, Astrid attempted to grab hold of Cecilia's arm, pulling forward on it to haul herself closer. If she could get into point-blank range, she thought, Cecilia wouldn't be able to hit her with such powerful blows. If she could get close enough, she would throw her arm around Cecilia's side, trying to hold herself there as she kept hurling punch after punch against her opponent's ribs! She huffed and groaned with every move she made - but she had to keep moving!

Cecilia hammered away at the Heavyweight Champion, her fists went flying and struck hard and true! Each blow seemed to rock Astrid, as she drilled her fist into the jaw of the fellow blonde and then followed it up with a devastating blow to that belly of Astrid's, driving her punch hard into that gut and forcing the Norwegian to fold over her arm.

The Hardcore Queen had planned to continue her assault, but it looked as if the champ's tenacity was not to be underestimated, she was jerked forward as Astrid gripped her arm and pulled her into a half hug. Only for Astrid to then deliver a few powerful close range blows with her other arm, hammering into the Californian's ribs! Each blow elicited a heavy grunt of pain from Cecilia, her body jolting a tad with each strike.

Yet, Cecilia wasn't called the Hardcore Queen for nothing. If it was a matter of tenacity and grit then few stood a match to her. The blonde powerhouse would take both her arms and try and wrap them around the body of Astrid, only to then try and lift her up high into the air. taking a couple of steps forward and then would try to throw them both down forward, aiming to put a stop to Astrid's strike by trying to spinebuster her right through a table!