Meeting Your Idols: Astrid Ostberg (c) vs. Tina Kelley

[SimplyWoo]

As Astrid began to push down on Tina's body, forcing her to bend even further, she didn't get the screams of pain that she would have expected or normally get. Sure there was grunts of discomfort, but other then that, the bending wasn't bothering her that much. "Nnhhh, my first job was stripping. I made a talent out of..gnh, being flexible." She mentioned as began to squirm her body, looking to shimmy her lower back to scoot herself further away from Astrid, trying to slip herself off of her knee and out of the hold.

[CaptainL]

Astrid couldn't help but chuckle again as Tina explained her past. Certainly, her career history leading up to her arrival on the wrestling scene was an interesting one, and it made her raise an eyebrow at the thought. She was sure Tina would have plenty of stories to tell - but that was something for another time. Right now, the match was still in progress, and Astrid wasn't about to let Tina get away so easily!

"Really, now...well, I see you can put those talents to good use!" She could feel Tina squirming away from her little by little. Tightening her grip on her opponent, Astrid tried to weigh her down even more to bend her back into a steeper arc over her knee, but Tina was doing a respectable job of staying hard to hold onto, and Astrid's grip was slipping by the minute. At last, the Norwegian realized that it was hopeless to try to hold on any longer - but she could still leverage this moment to her advantage, as she gave Tina a hard shove to roll her off of her knee and send her to the mat!

Once she was down, Astrid rose to her feet, dusting herself off and looking down toward her foe. If Tina hadn't gone too far away, she would swing her foot down to try to land a stomp against her side!

[SimplyWoo]

Tina couldn't help but to grin at Astrid's comment finding it funny. She was liking Astrid the person as much as she loved Astrid the wrestler. She wondered if there was any chance that the two of them could become friends after the match, but she had to cast that aside. Tina wasn't expecting Astrid to give her a hard shove, so her dropping to the ground was a little on the unpleasant side as she let out a grunt as she fell onto her side facing towards Astrid. She then felt the stomp of a Valkyrie as Astrid planted a foot into her ribs, causing her to groan out in pain as one arm curved around her lower back to nurse where Astrid's knee struck her lower back as the other folded over her ribs to nurse Astrid's stomp as she only had time to push herself up to her knees as the champ maintained the offensive.

[CaptainL]

Astrid was just as adaptable as she was strong. She had just been cranking down the full force of the backbreaker, twisting Tina's spine against her knee, but even if the challenger looked like she could get out of that, Astrid had a plan. She shoved hard against her side, looking to bowl her off, and sending her tumbling across the mat to bring her to the ground! Astrid knew that after the hold Tina had just been in, she was going to need more time to recover. But that was time Astrid simply wasn't going to afford her, as she delivered a stomp right to Tina's ribs to further pack on the pain!

As Tina crumpled from the strike, Astrid took a step back, planting her hands on her hips and looking up with a grin to the cheers of the fans celebrating the effort she was putting forth. But a moment later, she turned her attention back to Tina, who was climbing back to her feet. She was definitely slowing down from all the punishment she had taken - something that could only work to Astrid's favor. She was perfectly set up for her next move!

While the blue-haired girl was on her knees, Astrid took a step closer, swinging one arm underneath Tina's own and bringing the other around her shoulder to clasp her hands together behind her back. Raising her head skyward, arching her back, and clenching her teeth, Astrid tensed her muscles, summoning the strength she needed to hoist Tina higher - and bring her up off the mat, as she threw herself backward in an arc to slam her into the canvas with a gargoyle suplex!

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2KmTg33z6E

[SimplyWoo]

Tina suddenly felt her arms hooked above her double underhook style as she grunted out in protest as Astrid pulled her up to her feet. She then shrieked out as she felt herself get lifted up and flipped over, groaning out in pain as her back hit the mat. She then felt the lock maintained and felt Astrid's body flip to rest on top of her own as her eyes widened realizing she was now in a pinning predicament. As the ref slid down to slap the mat "1!" Tina planted her feet on the ground as she gritted her teeth and bridged the lower half of her body. "2!" Then before the 3 could come down Tina let out a fierce grunt as she pushed off with her legs up into the air with enough strength to bring her legs and lower half of her body straight up and then let that momentum carry her legs towards the direction of Astrid's head as she kicked to with enough force to flip Astrid back into a laying position with Tina tucked down over top of her while still in the double underhook lock, rolling to reverse the pinning predicament into her favor.

She was also hoping this releases her being in the double underhook if Astrid wants to avoid being pinned. To which case if the pin is broken Tina would then roll off of Astrid to be laying on her stomach panting and still reeling from the suplex as the only sign of movement would be her lifting one of her heels off of the ground behind her to lightly kick the ground a few slow times to try to get the audience clapping for her.

[CaptainL]

Astrid didn't stop there. Now that Tina was down, it wouldn't take much more for her to complete the arc of her motion, throwing herself down on top of the challenger and holding down her shoulders to go for the pin. The referee was quick to fall into place, beginning the count - and as each count landed, Astrid watched her opponent closely, curious to see how she was going to react to this. The count was definitely getting up there, as the ref slapped the mat a second time, and then raised a hand for a third. But laid on top of Tina, Astrid could also feel her body shift as she brought her legs up, getting her feet against the mat. Her eyes ran back and forth along Tina's form as her hips lifted off the mat - she knew she had a plan up her sleeve, and she was anticipating seeing what that would entail. And, sure enough, just before the three-count, Tina didn't disappoint - she rolled Astrid over, bringing the pin back on her!

The ref soon started back up the count, calling out a "One!" now that Tina had the champion down. But Astrid was quicker to recover, and she soon kicked out of the pin, relinquishing the double underhook she had on her foe in the process. Without anything to keep her in place, Tina rolled aside, laying out flat on her face as she sunk down onto the canvas. The fatigue had obviously taken its toll on her as she laid out limp and lifeless. But still Tina wanted to show the fans that she had it in her, lifting her heel in the air to signal she was still in this - and, sure enough, the crowd cheered to her with encouragement! She had nearly eaten a pin from Astrid, but still managed not only to free herself but to turn it back on her, and even keep the Norsewoman's shoulders down for a one-count. By all means, she was putting up a good fight, and displaying she was worthy of the title - the question was if she could keep it up!

For her part, Astrid too was impressed with what she saw. As she rolled back, she reached up to wipe sweat off her brow, getting to her knees and catching her breath. But, as she looked up at Tina, she considered her options - and a smile crossed her face. Sure, she could go in for the kill now that she was vulnerable. But, after the display she'd just seen from her opponent, she couldn't help but feel that would be doing Tina a disservice. She wanted to see what other feats she could bring out of her! Astrid straightened herself back up, doing some stretches as she waited for Tina to recover. In her mind, she had well earned another shot!

[SimplyWoo]

Tina rolled over to look at Astrid to see her...stretching? She turned around to lay on her back as she listened to the crowd, closing her eyes for a brief moment, just taking in the moment, appreciating the crowd rallying for her to get up, she would hate to disappoint the very fans that helped her get past her debut loss. The fans that she fought to improve for. The fans she loved to entertain. With the energy of the crowd, she channeled some energy into her once more as she cupped her hands beside her face so her palms were upside down on the mat as she then flung her legs up into the air and kicked off with her hands to flip herself back to her feet immediately with a kip-up that was bound to give a loud pop, returning from a tired state to seeming energetic again, though she did wince a little bit as that put a tiny bit of pressure on her sore back as her panting slowed as she then gave a bow of her head to Astrid. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, where were we?"

[CaptainL]

Astrid had vowed to do her best, and to give it her all when she came to defending her title - she was going to fight for it like her life depended on it. But that didn't mean she was afraid to step back when the circumstances called for it. Thus far, Tina was putting forth all the effort she needed to to convince the Norsewoman she was a challenger worthy of the Heavyweight Championship, and she was making Astrid proud to be standing across the ring from her, keeping her on her toes and matching her blow for blow with every bit of force the blonde came at her with. To try and take her down while she couldn't fight back hardly seemed to be the respect Tina deserved. Astrid was willing to give her a fighting chance, and when she climbed to her feet, she took this time to catch her own breath as she waited for Tina to recover. She wanted to see what else Tina was capable of when offered the chance of a lifetime!

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the challenger rose back to her feet - and with great gusto, too! Not only did she get to her feet, but she flung herself through the air with a striking kip-up too, displaying a sense of grace and agility that belied her bulky frame. The crowd cheered, rallying behind her - and even Astrid had to show a little clap.

"Impressive as always," she said. "But I'm not one to play favorites, mind - I won't go easy on you!" Chuckling to herself, Astrid bent lower into a stance, moving closer to Tina as she raised her hands to lock up with her once again. Astrid couldn't wait to see what Tina would show her next!

[SimplyWoo]

"Good, I didn't sign up to fight Astrid The Easy. I signed up to fight Astrid on World Champion Difficulty!" She called out and noticed Astrid with her arms up. She smirked as she had the idea of clashing with her another way. She ran away from Astrid to bounce herself off the ropes and rush back towards her. She would then hop at Astrid at the last moment as she tried to collide her body into Astrid's, wrapping her arms around her neck and hooking her legs around Astrid's as she tried to pull with her legs to try to take her down in an attempted Lou Thesz. However, if Astrid was able to maintain her balance, this would set up Tina for a world of hurt.

[CaptainL]

At Tina's spirited response, Astrid couldn't help but throw back her head with a hearty laugh. But she wouldn't have asked for anything less from her challenger - Tina was fully prepared for what Astrid had in store for her, and, even if she was a bit eccentric about it, she was ready to put herself to the challenge, showing the same competitive spirit and willingness to rise to the task that Astrid was looking for in anyone who thought to challenge for her belt! "Well, you're in luck..." she said, "because that's what you're getting!"

As she dropped back down into a stance, Astrid moved in closer toward her foe, her arms raised as she prepared herself for their next meeting. Tina was off like a rocket in preparing to return fire - she charged straight into the ropes, bouncing right back toward Astrid to throw herself onto her in a burst of speed and agility that belied her size! Even Astrid gasped at how quickly she had made a comeback. The Norsewoman barely had any time to prepare herself; she walked right into Tina as she sprung herself on top of her and grabbed her for the Lou Thesz Press, slinging her arm around the champion's neck and her legs around her waist!

Feeling herself suddenly being forced to bear Tina's weight, Astrid let out a gasp, and she shuddered against the force pressing down around her sides. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she started to teeter backward, taking one step back before her footing gave way and she plummeted to the mat. She would soon land against the canvas with a thump that shook the ring - but Astrid still clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes in defiance. No matter what, she wasn't going down so easily; she balled a fist to swing it against Tina's ribs to try and hit her back!