Astrid Ostberg vs. Cali McCloud - #1 Contenders Match

[Faeron]

Cali slammed her forearm hard against Astrid's chest and she watched the blonde woman buckle from the hit. Thinking that she had Astrid stunned, Cali started to move towards Astrid to continue the assault only to suddenly get slammed in the chest by a rushing shoulder tackle from Astrid. Cali dropped backfirst onto the mat, her legs hung in the air and her hands clenched into fists as the air was forced out of her lungs. Stunned on the mat, Cali tried to take gulps of air in an attempt to recover.

[CaptainL]

Astrid's body was sore as she tried to shake off the hammering blows of Cali's forearm, but the Norwegian didn't fancy herself a woman who was easily moved by her opponent's resistance - and a little pain wasn't going to stop her! Shrugging off the sensation, Astrid charged forward into a shoulder tackle that hurled Cali downward, bowling her straight off her feet.

"It'll take more than that to best me!" Astrid boasted. She saw Cali gasping for breath, but at this point in the match, she had seen what she was capable of, and she wasn't about to believe for a second that a single takedown was going to put Cali away. If she wanted to go for the pin, Astrid would have to work on wearing her down further. And to that end, she charged back into the ropes, going to spring herself backward into Cali to land a senton on her chest, hopefully keeping her stunned!

[Faeron]

Cali's legs finally rested onto the mat, seemingly given a moment to take a breath. Cali's eyes reopened just in time to see Astrid leap into the air and within a second, all of the air that had just reentered Cali's lungs were pushed out again. Cali's face twisted in pain and the crowd could feel it as she temporarily sat up clutching her chest before laying facedown, a fiery discomfort burning in her chest as she once again tried to take breaths of air.

[CaptainL]

While Astrid could reasonably expect Cali to get back up after one hard landing, after she had plowed into her with a senton, the Norwegian felt confident that it would be harder for her foe to get back up. She certainly thought as much as Cali gasped for breath, jolting back upwards only to collapse once again at the Norsewoman's side, falling onto her face.

In order to do the next thing she planned, Astrid would have to get Cali back up, but she was sure she'd meet little resistance. She leaned down to hook her arms under Cali's and hoist her up, so that both heavyweights pointed in the same direction. Then, Astrid hoped to roll backwards to bring Cali's shoulders against the mat, in what she was sure would prove to be an impressive pin courtesy of an O'Connor Roll!

Spoiler

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

[Faeron]

Cali was struggling to get back to her feet, now knowing what it was like to feel the senton crush her lungs after doing it to so many other girls. She was still groggy when Cali found herself standing up only to be suddenly pulled backwards. She managed to shake the cobwebs off to noticed that Astrid had rolled her up with an O'Connor roll and the crowd counted along with the ref for the pin count.

"ONE!"

Cali started thrash with her legs, but Astrid's bridge was near perfect and trying to unbalance the Norsewoman proved to be difficult.

"TWO!"

With no time to spare, instincts kicked in as Cali suddenly wrapped her right arm around Astrid's neck as did her legs around the blonde's waist, shifting their bodies to the side and immediately locked in her dragon sleeper dubbed "Osterra's Peace", intent on putting the Norsewoman to sleep right as the referee's hand was halfway to count the three. The crowd, who were already excited to see if Astrid's ingenuity would win the day, grew to an even higher pitch at Cali's method of breaking out of the pin.

[CaptainL]

Taking Cali to the mat, and forcing her shoulders against the canvas, Astrid's face shone with a confident grin as she bridged her back to secure the pin attempt. She was staying put, and the blonde felt like this was her chance to pull ahead to the title shot she was promised! With the count reaching two, Astrid's heart beat faster in her chest, sure that nothing could stop her now.

But Cali was able to turn the position against her - as she lifted her shoulders from the mat to throw an arm around Astrid's throat. That was enough to give the Norwegian woman pause, as her eyes went wide, and so too did she lock her legs around her waist! Now Astrid's steely confidence had given way to surprise, as she let out a gasp, her body easing. One thing was for sure - this match could be anyone's game at this point!

[Faeron]

Astrid was in her grasp and by extension her title shot. The dragon sleeper was locked in and Cali wrenched the neck of the Norsewoman as much as she could with the full intent of choking her out. The referee checked on Astrid to see if the blonde could maintain consciousness, all the while the crowd were watching with anticipation to see if Cali can secure the victory or if Astrid had any tricks up her sleeve.

[CaptainL]

Astrid was being bent backward, and with her opponent's arm coiled around her throat, her airways were being choked off. She tried to twist and turn back and forth in an effort to loosen Cali's grip, but she was having a hard time shaking it - and so too, she was starting to feel her energy draining the more she tried to resist, a hoarse groan leaving her lungs. This wasn't working for her thus far - but, conversely, there was simply too much left on the line for Astrid to pass it up!

With the Norwegian likewise caught in a bodyscissor at the same time, her range of motion was limited. The best she could do to try and resist was to let her hands go for Cali's arms wrapping around her throat, as she tried to pull at them to wrench herself free.

[Faeron]

Trying to keep Osterra's Peace locked on was like trying to out wrestle a bull. The larger woman was doing everything possible to escape Cali's lock, but Cali held on as much as possible. When the thrashing wasn't working, Astrid started to pry Cali's arm off of her throat and it was working. Cali's eyes widened as the Norsewoman was close to escaping the hold.

"Oh no you don't!" Cali started to use her free hand to drop hammer-like blows onto Astrid's side to try and keep the blonde from escaping.

[CaptainL]

It was definitely taking Astrid no small amount of effort to try and break the hold. Cali had her locked down, with an arm around her throat and her legs grasping her waist, and it was causing the Norwegian to gag and cough with her breath held off in her opponent's powerful grasp. A lesser opponent would likely have passed out or submitted by now. But Astrid was drawing on her resilience and stamina to keep her going, and she refused to give in now. Not when her opportunity to challenge for the title hung in the balance! She tried to pry Cali's arms off her throat, her muscles bulging under the pressure, but Cali fought back, slamming her fist into Astrid's side. This proved enough to ward off the blonde, whose arms fell from Cali's as she was stunned. She would need to try something else.

Clenching her teeth, her face growing red from the strain, Astrid forced her body to move. She started to roll her weight over, moving to turn the two onto their side, and from there, she reached outward to grab at the canvas, attempting to use it to drag her closer to the ropes. If nothing else, perhaps she could force Cali to break her grip!