Eternal Rivalry: Kennedy Lee vs. Astrid Ostberg (2-out-of-3 Falls Match)

[Pegasus]

Kennedy moved to the side letting her veteran instincts guide her through Astrid’s assault. Hopefully, Astrid will be too distracted hitting the ropes as Kennedy swarmed in behind her. A cornered animal is a more skilled predator anyway and Kennedy was no stranger to pulling out all the stops to get a victory. However, Astrid was on a new plain of anger and she wasn’t so sure she could beat her especially when the first match took a little dent in her stamina. Kennedy had to buy time and it was going to be costly as she reared her left leg back kicking Astrid straight in the groin! The referee saw this and called for the second fall to be be counted disqualifying Kennedy for her illegal blow!

“Ladies and gentlemen, the referee has ruled a disqualification against Kennedy Lee for utilizing a low blow that is strictly against the rules of this match! The winner of the second fall is Astrid Ostberg! The score is tied 1-1 going into this final fall!”

Not what Kennedy wanted to do, but she rolled herself out of the ring and panted trying to regain her composure. Astrid was going to be seriously pissed off now, but Kennedy would be prepared this time and not off her game.

[CaptainL]

Astrid had been whipped into a rage - in no small part thanks to Kennedy herself provoking her. Or more accurately, thanks to her burning desire to prove that she was better than Kennedy, and that she could beat her, provoking her. She had butted heads with the Jungle Queen many times before, and no matter how many times they faced off - sometimes with Astrid winning, and sometimes with her losing to Kennedy - their feud was one that never quite seemed to reach a conclusive finish. There was always a loose thread hanging; always something that left the question of who it was who could truly make the claim of being the better woman of the two. And Astrid couldn't stand to be second best with so much hanging in the balance. When she came charging back into the fray, she was driven every bit by her desire not to appear Kennedy's inferior, and she had no goals in sight other than overpowering the Jungle Queen and proving she would always come out on top.

But it was for that very reason that Astrid had gotten tunnel vision. All she could focus on was the fact that Kennedy was right there in front of her, and wide open for her next move. All strategic planning and any consideration of other angles of approach had fallen by the wayside - and that meant that when Kennedy raised her leg and hurled it right in between the Norsewoman's legs, Astrid hadn't seen it coming at all!

At once, a burst of searing pain shot through her from head to toe. Crying out, she dropped back from Kennedy, her hands shooting down to cup at her aching groin as her face contorted in agony. Her thoughts had blurred into a haze, this time not from her sheer determination to win so much as it was from the pain that caused her whole body to lock up. But even when she could barely focus, Astrid could just barely hear the referee proclaim her the winner of the second fall - and that made her freeze up, her eyes going wide.

Everything was suddenly thrown back into lucidity. Kennedy had gotten herself counted out, and she didn't even seem to care. Now, the score was tied. But all everyone could ask was why she would do such a thing. Many a wide eye looked on in shock, and more than a few fans let out a gasp at the sudden and unexpected turn of events. But most bewildered of all was Astrid herself - who could only stare out into the distance as Kennedy slipped through the ropes and out of the ring.

She grit her teeth, and a shudder ran through her whole body as the aches and pains caught up to her. But she shook herself, putting those thoughts aside. All she could focus on now was what was at stake, and that was a thought that made her snort a breath of hot air through her nostrils. She had won the fall, but at what cost? It wasn't by her own merits. It wasn't because she was stronger, or tougher, or a better wrestler - but because Kennedy had thrown the round for her. As though she needed a handicap just to keep up. The more Astrid thought about it, the more her body grew tense, and the more she shivered. No, she thought, she was better than this. The fact that Kennedy got herself disqualified on purpose just to even the score was a bigger insult than a pin or a submission would be. It denied Astrid the chance of winning on her own terms. And that was what motivated Astrid all the more to fight back, and to bring her best efforts to this final round. She needed to win herself a victory she could be proud of - it was the only way she could live with herself for this!

Hissing through her teeth, the Norsewoman began to rise to her feet, even as her legs trembled and her knees buckled beneath her, still reeling with the aftershocks of the pain. She brought her arm up to wipe some spittle away from her face. But there she looked down to see Kennedy, watching her from the oustide of the ring. When she saw her, she remembered why she was fighting, and no amount of pain was going to hold her back from that! Belting out a battle cry, Astrid took off running and hurled herself over the top rope, prepared to crash into Kennedy with a splash!

[Pegasus]

If Astrid wanted to play hardball, Kennedy had no qualms meeting her there and she simply disqualified herself to prevent taking more damage. It came at a huge cost of losing this match, but she can secure this last fall and have another win over Astrid in the history of the rivalry. It’ll be like 2-0 against Astrid since she was practically handed a fall. Kennedy needed some time outside the ring to recuperate, but she needed to get far knowing Astrid would be hot on her trail. Never in a million years did Kennedy expect Astrid’s next move.

Astrid, the normal heavyweight wrestler that mainly relied on her strength and muscles to display her dominance, actually pulled off a dive to the outside! Kennedy was too astonished to move as Astrid hit her target taking them both out on the outside! Kennedy brushed her back up against the guardrail as the Jungle Queen went down grabbing her back. Her old age was not very kind to her on her back and this was showing tremendously. Not to mention, she had only recovered for a few minutes before Astrid went to the skies so Kennedy needed to get some distance as she began crawling away slowly.

[CaptainL]

It was outside of Astrid's comfort zone in a number of ways. When most of her offense favored the sort of slower-paced, heavy-hitting power moves that were typical of her weight class, few would expect her to attempt anything that made such use of speed and agility. And when Astrid had long advocated for staying on the straight and narrow, achieving success in spite of the limitations placed on her by the rules of competition rather than by breaking them, it didn't seem like her to dive from the ring to take matters out onto the outside - Astrid, after all, had shown in previous matches that when her opponents left the ring she would wait for them to come back inside and face her head to head rather than escalating the chaos by following them! However, even if Astrid was someone who stuck to her principles and lived by them, she still had her limits - and Kennedy was pushing the limits of what she was willing to tolerate.

The Norsewoman was faring far worse in this match than she was comfortable with, especially when she was up against a lifelong rival. She'd lost the first fall, and she'd only won the second on a technicality because Kennedy practically handed the win to her. In the prime of her title run, Astrid thought, she would never have struggled this much. She needed to turn things around - and she needed to prove to Kennedy and to everyone else that she wasn't losing her touch! If she needed to go to desperate measures to achieve that...then so be it!

A gasp went through the stands as Astrid came crashing down on top of the Jungle Queen, bowling both of them out onto the floor below. Now that such an already pitched match had left the confines of the ring, all bets were off - there was no telling what could happen next! The referee moved to the side of the ring to start the count - "One! Two! Three!" - but it did little to slow Astrid down. She saw that Kennedy was trying to crawl away, but she had no intentions of letting her get far. She wasn't done with her!

She crawled forward on her knees, clamboring on top of Kennedy in an effort to pin her down. There, with her teeth gnashing in a snarl, Astrid reeled back her fists, swinging one and then the other straight for Kennedy's face! "Oh no you don't-!" She was done playing around. Now it was time the world knew she stopped for no one!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy grunted and groaned as Astrid clamored on top of her as Astrid start raining down her fierce punches like a woman possessed. Kennedy never knew Astrid to be this aggressive in any of their matches previously whether it be their first one in LAW or those on the indies. Sure, push the two long enough and they may need to up their game with new moves and more intensity, but Astrid was literally foaming from the mouth just to prove she wasn’t a total loser even after leaving the title picture. Kennedy couldn’t do much as Astrid just sat atop the Jungle Queen hammering away ruthlessly!

“4! 5! Astrid, get it back in the ring or I will count you both out!” The referee urged.

[CaptainL]

With the ferocity of her charge, Astrid had thrown Kennedy to the unforgiving floor, and now, there was nothing that could hold her back as she hammered away at the Jungle Queen with fist after fist. Every time she threw one punch, she was already drawing her other arm back for the next, and her eyes flared with a look of wild aggression. Astrid was through being pushed around, and she was through with opportunity slipping through her fingers. It was time she stood up to Kennedy, and showed her what it was she was really capable of - she couldn't let anyone think she had lost her touch, but especially not her greatest rival!

Even as the referee counted higher and higher, Astrid paid it no heed - she was only concerned with how much damage she could land on Kennedy! She watched through unblinking eyes as her head cracked back and forth, rattled by each blow. So too she could feel the strength beginning to melt away from Kennedy's body, as though she was crumbling under the weight of her assault! Just thinking about it was enough to make Astrid's heart beat faster and faster in her chest. This was it, she thought. She was close! If she kept this up just a little bit longer, she'd have this match won - if Kennedy wasn't fighting back, there was no other option!

But in the end, it wasn't Kennedy's own efforts that saved her, but the call of the referee. At the count of five, Astrid was reminded that she was just a few seconds away from a count-out - and that was enough for her to snap back to reality. Her whole body shook as she sat back up straight, and her eyes went wide as she turned to stare back at the ring. That was where the realizations started to set in. Astrid had indeed gotten too caught up in the intensity of the match, and her desperation to reclaim her glory had caused her to lose herself in her aggression. The fact that she was beating Kennedy down outside the ring like this was proof enough that she had lost track of those values of fair play and honor that she had stuck by throughout the heights of her career. And that was enough to shake Astrid just as much as anything Kennedy could do to her - so much so that it stilled her hand, her fist freezing in place as she held it in the air, ready to strike but just short of landing. She couldn't follow through on this punch. But at the same time, she couldn't get to her feet either. Her blood had run cold, and she was rooted to the spot!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy couldn’t stop the raining of punches from hitting her face as each one cracked her head back and forth. She even saw a tooth go flying out as she was pretty much a goner as her face started gathering bruises left and right as her face was looking more purple. However, Astrid had ceased her onslaught upon the referee reminding her of the count and that gave a grace period of rest for Kennedy. She moaned out loud in pain and the crowd was shocked beyond belief that Astrid had really clobbered Kennedy to a pulp. The referee was growing impatient as the count was continued.

“6! 7! Astrid, I won’t say it again! Get yourself and Kennedy in here or you’ll both lose! Do you even hear me, Ostberg?!”

[CaptainL]

"R-R-Right..!" As the ref reminded her, Astrid needed to get back into the ring, and fast. What was she doing? She was wasting time - no matter how much she beat down on Kennedy, it wasn't going to get her any closer to victory if she remained outside the ring, and worse, each second that passed would only put her closer to a disqualfication. More to the point...why was she doing it? Astrid wasn't one to take the action outside of the ring. She believed in honor, and in showing respect for her opponents - she wasn't one to stoop so low as to risk using illegal tactics unless it was truly necessary, and even then she felt guilty about it. Yet now, she had succumbed to anger and desperation and the single-minded will to punish her rival, bringing her to such lengths of brutality, and now she was about to pay the price for it. This wasn't her, she told herself.

No matter what had brought on such an episode, though, Astrid still needed to get back in the ring, fast! Picking herself up, she took a few deep breaths and shook the cobwebs out of her head. The referee kept counting - "8! 9!" - but Astrid at last grabbed Kennedy by the arm, pulling her over to the ring. She set the Jungle Queen onto the apron and rolled her in under the bottom ropes before she followed her into the ring.

Kennedy was still dazed, and she was wide open for Astrid. Now that they were both in the ring, they weren't in danger of being counted out, and any pins Astrid went for would be legal. It was well within her grasp - the pin that would not only win her this fall, but the match, setting the record straight between her and her rival and making it clear that Astrid was no pushover. It was everything she'd been after. Yet, Astrid couldn't bring herself to do it. In that moment, her head was lost in the fog; she stood there rubbing at her temples as she panted for breath. All she could do was ask herself how she ended up in this situation, and if she needed to fear the future.

[Pegasus]

Kennedy was rolled in and the match had almost ended anti-climatically as both Astrid and Kennedy could’ve been counted out. The Jungle Queen certainly didn’t intend on ending this as a draw and wanted to close in on a deserving victory proving her superiority over Astrid. Show Astrid she still has a little more growing to do to prepare for the next match in this rivalry. However, Astrid just threw the biggest tantrum known to mankind over a simple joke and now, she was just lost on what to do. Is this truly the same woman Kennedy has had classic matches on the indies with? Is this the same woman that gave Astrid a classic in her first ever match with LAW? What the hell is wrong with this blonde?

Kennedy was honestly hurt by what Astrid had done. She was nice to Astrid and even gave her some sexy bedroom adventures even if the Norsewoman would rather keep those times in private discussions. Most of all, she was Astrid’s rival and she tried beating her face in, because Kennedy hurt her ego. Kennedy was through being nice at that point and punched the canvas with a raging fury. She let out a loud tiger roar as the crowd was put into swift silence when Kennedy commanded it. She stood up trying to ignore the pain in her eyes as she locked them on Astrid.

“You….bitch. I’m done playing around, Astrid. I’m not just going to beat you. I’m sending you to the damn hospital with me!”

[CaptainL]

Just as much as Kennedy, Astrid was determined to bring this match all the way, and to achieve a conclusive finish. It simply wouldn't be satisfying for her to let things go to a count-out double disqualification. She knew she was better than that, that Kennedy was better than that, and that their rivalry deserved the best efforts they could muster. More personally, though, Astrid couldn't allow herself to be a disappointment. She was already soured by her performance thus far, underdelivering in the first round and all but having Kennedy hand her the victory in the second. To end this match on a whimper would only twist that knife even deeper - it would prove she was no more than a pathetic husk of the woman who'd been Heavyweight Champion. Astrid needed to prove to the world she had more than that in her. She needed to prove that to Kennedy, too - and perhaps most importantly of all, she needed to prove it to herself.

Sucking in a breath and holding her back straight, Astrid tried to collect herself in preparation for the next fall. She rolled her shoulders and tensed her fingers at her sides, getting herself limbered up. Now that she and Kennedy were back in the ring, she thought to herself, she wasn't going to allow for any more distractions or any more interruptions. She needed to give this her all!

Even then, though, the Norsewoman did have to take a pause when she heard the anger in Kennedy's voice. Astrid knew how playful and laid-back Kennedy was, and she knew it wasn't like her to get so worked up. They were rivals, yes, but they were friends too, and they were always working to encourage one another to be the best they could. But now, Kennedy was talking like she genuinely wanted Astrid to suffer. Threatening to injure her. To break her. Astrid didn't know why, but the possibilities were enough to eat at her soul. Was it something she did? Had she crossed a line with Kennedy? Or...had she just let her down?

For a moment, Astrid stared back at her rival, a baffled look on her face. But a moment later, she shook that away, and she sucked in a breath as her body firmed up at the ready. It didn't matter what she thought. She had already promised there would be no distractions - that all that mattered now was her and Kennedy, and that she was going to do their rivalry justice. This couldn't get in the way either - and when she raised her hands to crack her knuckles, she stared right into Kennedy's eyes with a piercing glare! If there was a challenge, she was going to commit to it!

"...Then bring it on!"

That was all the warning Astrid was willing to give. She knew that Kennedy was here to get serious, and there was no room for her to be messing around, either! Lowering herself to prepare for a charge, she hurled herself straight toward the Jungle Queen, attempting to drive her shoulder into her midsection as she bellowed out a battle cry! Astrid needed to show she meant business, and she'd show that with her actions just as much as with her words!