[Standard Match] Astrid Arvidsson vs Miranda Tomi - When size doesn't matter (Apex Qualifier Match)

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Despite the fact that Astrid was rightfully considered a very hardy fighter, now she had big problems coping with her heavy breathing. She tried not to forget that it was very important for her to take deep breaths through her nose. However, she had spent so much effort that her body simply refused to act properly. Because of this, she was breathing through her mouth, which clearly indicated that most of her strength was left somewhere at the beginning of the match.

However, she still had some reserves that she could use. It wasn't hard to calculate that Miranda had made several times more attacks than Astrid. And therefore, the only chance of victory for the Golden Dragon was the need to make sure that each of her next attacks would be more destructive than the previous one.

That's why she decided to work on the American woman's abs first. The joined palms slammed into Miranda's bare stomach, causing the lightweight to writhe in pain and cough due to breathing problems. For Astrid, the condition of her rival became something like a red rag for an angry bull.

Despite the pain in her muscles, the blonde intended to immediately grab her rival by the head, and then get to her feet, thereby lifting Miranda herself too. Any delay was now unforgivable, Astrid knew it perfectly well. So she was going to keep attacking until Miranda literally couldn't move anymore. And she had a great idea about how to achieve this.

"Pffff..." With a deep breath, Astrid shook her head, thereby causing large drops of sweat to fly off her face.

The Golden Dragon intended to put her right hand between her opponent's legs, and grab Miranda's right shoulder with her left hand. Wasting no time, the descendant of the great Vikings was going to lift the American woman over the mat, while turning her upside down. She had several options from this position, but Astrid chose one of the most heavy.

Accompanied by the screams of the audience, she intended to jump up and spread her legs to the sides. Falling into a sitting position, she was going to jerk Miranda's body down and thereby smash her head and upper back into the mat with the destructive Michinoku driver! And if successful, then this time the Golden Dragon was determined, without changing her sitting position, to grab Miranda's right leg under the knee in order to go for her own first pin attempt in this match!

[Fairy Dragon]

The pain made inhaling hurt just as much, taking in air seemed to make her sides tingle with pain and a strange pain followed in her back as well. She wasn't sure what was wrong other than Astrid being incredibly strong and Miranda's once tight abs nearing their limit. She dreaded more axe handles, but once her hair was grabbed and Mira was carefully pulled off the mat she knew she had other things to worry about. It was clear Miranda had a fighting spirit that had carried her this far, but her body was getting weak and as she was lifted up trying to prepare for what Astrid had next, everyone started to wonder if she was at her limit. Mira would have to find the answer herself, once she was in the air she had little time to prepare for being dropped back down with the Michinoku driver that dropped her right on her back.

"Ughh!" Miranda spat. Her back shook from the fall as the rest of her flopped on the mat in shock, taking a rest and showing little sings of movement before Astrid sat on her for the pin. This could be it, and everyone was watching carefully when the ref moved in to start the count, watching the lightweight dancer very carefully.

"ONE!"

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The whole ring shuddered at the moment when Astrid threw Miranda on the mat. The strangled cry of the American woman and the saliva that flew out of her mouth clearly indicated that the Golden Dragon's attack was truly tough for her. However, the most important question was just one. Was that enough to make her stay down? Astrid was determined to check it out and the referee did not take long to wait.

"ONE!"

Breathing heavily, the Golden Dragon gritted her teeth. In this match, her opponent surprised her literally at every step. Miranda clearly had talent. However, despite all the respect for this woman, Astrid did not want to lose at all. And so she didn't have a single thought about relaxing.

Instead, she only tried to channel even more strength into her arms in order to strengthen her grip. She was only a few seconds away from winning, and therefore she intended to make this pin strong enough. Even if Miranda found the strength to break it, the blonde was going to make sure that for her rival this would be worth a tremendous effort.

Well. Soon enough, it will become clear whether Miranda will be able to surprise everyone again, because whatever it was, but her time was coming to an end. The referee reminded them of this at the moment when she raised her hand, and then abruptly lowered it to the mat for the second time.

"TWO!!"

[Fairy Dragon]

Miranda didn't know anything right now. She didn't know how to beat Astrid or what her plan was if she could kick out of this pin. In fact trying to think of what she could do made her head hurt more, the tension and struggles that came with trying to be a wrestler and fight everyone when you were the smallest dog in that fight. It did create a question if trying to win Apex was worth it? There would be girls bigger and meaner than Astrid, though maybe not as stubborn or driven to win until every bone was broken at least. All would be after that title and they would keep coming after her like this, taking her best hits and refusing to stay down while hurting Miranda until she was covered in welts and bruises. Was any of that worth it?

"THR-!"

Miranda kicked out, a close call that the ref almost missed. Yes it was worth it, she was drawn to wrestling to be the best. No matter how crazy that made her she still had that goal in mind and wouldn't let her body type keep her from reaching that goal. All she had to do was keep trying, part of her was enjoying the struggle with tougher fighters like this. Mira laid on the mat smiling to herself, knowing that she had defied expectations with a simple kickout.

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Everyone, including Astrid, held their breath the moment the referee raised her hand for the third time. Now everything depended only on Miranda. And, considering all that she managed to do in this match, no one could know for sure if this was the end. Despite the fact that Astrid was able to catch her opponent only a few times, each of her attacks was damn destructive. Therefore, all sounds seemed to disappear at the moment when the referee's hand went to the mat for the third time. The Golden Dragon could have sworn she heard her own heartbeat, and then…

The silence was replaced by such loud screams that it was not entirely clear how the walls of the arena withstood it. Astrid kept her grip tight, but Miranda jerked with such force that Astrid's hands literally parted to the sides. And although the striped shirt was forced to fall on the mat in order to change the trajectory of her hand, the result was obvious. Miranda, having shown reinforced concrete willpower, found the strength to stay in the match.

"ONLY TWO!!!!!!" The referee said, getting to her feet.

Sitting on her ass, Astrid bent her left leg at the knee and put her right hand on the mat. Breathing heavily, she shook her head, but there was a smile on her face. Yes, she was a damn proud woman, but she knew how to respect her rivals. The whole point of her life was to find the most difficult challenges. And who would have thought that Miranda would be able to make Astrid remember this match forever? This little woman was truly amazing.

The blonde looked at her rival's face and saw a smile there. Yes, she could be understood. Weight categories exist for a reason. Of course, lightweight vs heavyweight matches are not the most unique things, but still such matches are not something that you can see every day. It was the openweight title that literally erased all boundaries. It was the openweight title that awakened in many fighters what they themselves did not know. And it was the openweight title that gave everyone the opportunity to take part in such outstanding matches.

"To the last drop of sweat..." Astrid said softly, realizing that this applies not only to her, but also to her rival.

There will be no more rest in this match. Not a single second. Despite all her endurance, the Golden Dragon was in a too bad condition and she understood that it all depends on the next few minutes. It will not be a competition in strength or agility. Even stubbornness and pride have nothing to do with it. Astrid knew in her heart that neither of them had expected things to go this far. They just have to figure out whose willpower will lead one of them to victory.

Wiping sweat from her face and pushing her hair back, the descendant of the great Vikings intended to get up on one knee and grab her rival by the shoulder and wrist. Even if she had to lift Miranda to her feet on her own, she would do it. And once they were both on their feet, the Golden Dragon intended to take a step to the side, still holding the American woman by the hand, and then push her in the back in order to send Miranda to the ropes with the help of an Irish whip.

Astrid herself intended to run to the opposite ropes. At the last step, she was going to turn around in order to fall back on the ropes and bounce off them, thereby gaining even more speed. The Golden Dragon wanted to meet her opponent in the center of the ring, and then, like a freight train, ram Miranda's chest with a lariat!

[Fairy Dragon]

Miranda still had something to give in this match, and her kickout was met with resounding cheers that she was still fighting this titan when most likely would give up. It was tempting after hits like that, she knew earlier in her career she'd be looking to let the match end. Something Rosie Knuckles taught her fixed that and she refused to look back or consider giving up until she'd done everything she could, she wouldn't let what happened in her match with Piper happen again and she wouldn't be beaten just because she's the smaller dog in a fight. Mira was still recovering when she was pulled up by her arm, and whipped into the ropes. Mira knew she had to be prepared when she came running back from those ropes, full speed at Astrid and within the few seconds she ducked when she saw Astrid's arm raised to take her down.

Having ducked the lariat she had a few other things to think about, would Astrid stop and turn around after the missed lariat or would she keep running and come back at her? From what she'd seen from Astrid, the second one seemed to be the most likely outcome. She knew if she was wrong this would end up backfiring so Miranda had to trust her gut and act. Instead of grabbing the ropes to stop her momentum, Mira would turn and bounce off them again to run back at Astrid. With nothing to lose now Mira would center herself at Astrid and head right for her, jumping up and rolling at the same time to try and catch Astrid in the face with a liger kick.

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Usually Astrid didn't catch herself thinking about the wish to finish the match as soon as possible. But, not going to trick herself, Astrid was ready to admit that Miranda pushed her to this. The Golden Dragon was fully aware that if she allowed the American woman to make another series of powerful attacks, it was unlikely that she would have the strength to break the pin for the third time, given the state of her body.

Therefore, the descendant of the great Vikings wanted to knock Miranda down as hard as possible with her next move. As she planned, Miranda bounced off the ropes and now they were moving towards each other, gaining more and more speed with each step. Astrid stretched out her arm to the side at the very last moment, hoping that her opponent would not have enough reaction to avoid it.

"FUCK!!!" Astrid screamed in her head so loudly that for a moment she thought she had shouted it out loud.

She barely restrained a growl of annoyance and despair. The reason for this was very simple. A split second before the collision, Miranda dived down, as a result of which the blonde's arm barely touched the top of Miranda's head. And although even before the start of the match, it was clear to everyone, including Astrid herself, that she would have to put a lot of effort into keeping up with her lighter opponent, she could hardly be blamed for the fact that she was annoyed by the fact that this was not the first unsuccessful attack for her.

Perhaps this played an important role in the decision Astrid made. Instead of stopping, the Golden Dragon continued to run forward. At the last step, she turned around, falling back on the ropes. At that moment, she saw that her opponent had done the same. As a result, they started running to meet each other again.

The descendant of the great Vikings intended to try to knock Miranda down again and prepared to stretch out her arm to the side. Last time, the American woman barely had enough time to avoid a collision, but this time the speed was much higher and Astrid counted on success. Right up to the moment Miranda made a flip.

The last thing Astrid heard was the beginning of an enthusiastic shout from the audience. Then her hearing seemed to shut off. The reason for this was Miranda's foot, which crashed into her jaw. There was a loud click in the arena. The Golden Dragon's head jerked to the side while her eyes involuntarily rolled back. Literally for a second or two the Norwegian woman stood on her feet as if nothing had happened, but then she fell on all fours.

"KHA!!!"

Astrid spat a large amount of thick blood. With almost no control over her body, she lowered her head so low that her forehead almost touched the mat. At that moment, she was unable to restrain painful groans. Her head felt as if it had been split into many pieces, and there was a ringing in her ears like after a grenade explosion.

[Fairy Dragon]

Mira's heel bit Astrid's chin and the rest her jaw. She could almost cringe from the thud, knowing it hurt her foot before she started to feel the pain. the reward was worth it, Mira rolled through in time to see Astrid's very large and powerful body wilt and crumble to the mat after the kick. She'd shown everyone that the Golden Dragon was capable of falling and now it was time to show that she could be slain. Mira was back on her feet and jumping in the air, raising her knees up to her chest before she dropped them down as she started to descend, planting her feet right on Astrid's chest with all the momentum that came from the roll and jump. Mira slipped off when she came down, and briefly groaned in pain at what felt like her ankle getting rolled. Risky offense at risky consequences, she couldn't stop now that Mira felt closer than ever to a win. The Sailing knee already failed to put the match away, Astrid didn't seem like she'd fall for the same trick twice. That meant Mira had to go higher.

"Get moving!" Miranda told herself stepping up and pointing to the corner to signal to the crowd what her next move was. She was met with roaring applause as Miranda started to gingerly step over to the ropes, weary of the leg she rolled on before she started to climb, it was the closest to where Astrid was currently laying down and the safest place to attempt the move. Miranda started to climb up until she was on the top looking at the crowd giving her their full support. Miranda took that support with a grin before she steadied herself, stood all the way up, and jumped backwards for her moonsault BDM! Miranda would aim to come right down on Astrid either as she was still down on her back or getting up to knock her back down, hitting her with her entire body and then staying on top to pull her leg up for a pin.

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Due to the ringing in her ears and a terrible headache, Astrid practically did not understand where she was. The whole world turned into a continuous whirlpool for her. You can feel something similar when you try to get home after a few pints of beer and a whole bottle of whiskey. Not an easy task, right? But even so, her instincts continued to work. She must to get back on her feet.

Channeling the force into her hands, she tried to take an upright position. It was hard to say if she was able to get back on her feet at that moment, but at least it was a good start. More precisely, it was correct to say that it would be a good start if Miranda was still lying somewhere two or three meters away from her. But no. The American woman was already waiting for her. And as soon as Astrid started to straighten up, the lightweight's feet crashed into her chest.

With a terrible crash, Astrid fell to the mat and the whole ring shuddered. Hugging her ample breasts with her hands, she turned on her side and involuntarily curled up. It was as if she was trapped in a hydraulic press. No matter how hard she tried to take a breath, her chest refused to rise. Tears flowed from Astrid's closed eyes because her body simply could not react in any other way to such a huge amount of pain.

The descendant of the great Vikings tried to prepare herself for the fact that now she will probably have to try to break her rival's pin. However, despite her expectations, Miranda did not lie down on her. Astrid had enough experience to understand that her opponent probably decided to make sure that the next pin would be the last. She decided to overflow the damage cup that Astrid could drink. A wave of applause only confirmed the blonde's guess.

"Ghhhhh..." With a groan of pain, she rolled on her other side and opened her eyes.

She had double vision, but that didn't stop her from seeing that Miranda had already reached the corner and started climbing to the top turnbuckle. She would gladly have jumped to her feet in order to hit the American woman several times and then throw her to the mat. But Astrid just couldn't do it. Miranda took care of it.

"Get up..." she mentally told herself. "Remember who you are... remember your promises..."

Puffing and snuffling, the Norwegian woman put her palms near her head. If she had been told that by the end of the match against a lightweight she would feel as if her body had been put through a meat grinder, she would hardly have believed it. But facts cannot be deceived. Miranda was an amazing woman. And although she used far from the most honest methods several times, she exceeded the expectations of everyone who came here today. And yet…

"GGRRRR!!!"

Pushing off the mat, Astrid forced herself to get up on one knee. Many even believed that now she would get to her feet, but the blonde stopped. She put her hands on her knee and gasped for air. She just didn't feel strong enough to finish what she started. Still, she raised her head to look at Miranda.

This was exactly the moment when the lightweight looked at Astrid to make sure she was still in place. Their eyes crossed. Astrid saw nothing but confidence in her rival's eyes. Astonishing. The Norwegian woman has always believed that only in a fight can you really get to know your opponent. Miranda was a great fighter with a great willpower. And the confidence Astrid saw made the corners of her lips lift a little.

Miranda jumped, and the blonde closed her eyes. Did she keep her promise? Miranda was really able to take even the last drop of strength from her, because Astrid could not get to her feet. So, yes, that's right, to the last drop of sweat. It was a prick for her pride, but she really didn't have the strength to overcome Miranda just like that. But the confidence Astrid saw in her rival's eyes seemed to ignite a fire in her. And if her own strength wasn't enough, then maybe…

"Miranda..." Astrid mentally turned to her rival. "You woke up the dragon..."

Opening her eyes, the Norwegian woman held her breath and bit her lower lip with such force that a thin stream of pain ran down her chin. The muscles in her arms and legs tensed so much that her veins bulged. Because of the play of light, her lavender eyes seemed to turn red for a second. It seemed to her that every cell of her body was filled with pain. This was the price for using her body beyond her capabilities. But if she wasn't willing to pay that price, she would never have ended up here.

"GGGRRAAA!!!!" She groaned without holding back.

In one motion, Astrid, to the surprise of the audience, got to her feet and threw both hands up. Her right arm ended up between Miranda's legs, while her left arm wrapped around the American woman's head. The lightweight fell on the shoulders of the Golden Dragon. And despite all her strength, Astrid fell down.

But only on one knee.

Under the weight of her opponent, her body trembled. The blonde bared her teeth and exhaled so loudly that it was strange that black smoke with sparks did not fly out of her nostrils. Instead of falling, she strained her arms, she wanted Miranda to feel the strength of her grip in all its glory, and then forced herself to get up from her knee to her feet. Nothing personal. It was the truth. Astrid was ready to lose to her opponent because Miranda really deserved to win. But the truth was that the Golden Dragon wanted to win no less than her opponent.

Everyone could see it in her lavender eyes at the moment when she straightened to her full height, holding the lightweight in a fireman's carry position. Giving Miranda all the strength that the American woman awakened, Astrid intended to throw her opponent's legs back, at the same time throwing her own legs forward in order to fall on her back. She was going to grab Miranda's head with both hands and then drive it into the mat with one of her most destructive moves, the Jormungandr's mouth!

[Fairy Dragon]

Miranda aimed right for Astrid's body, prepared to throw herself into her final attack while she was still down. It was while she was in the air that Astrid was able to jump up to her feet and ready to catch her before she landed on her, holding Mira in her arms as the dancer looked shocked upon Astrid's shoulders. She'd been caught in an unexpected move and was only able to start to shift her body to try and escape when Astrid changed things up again and tried to drop her. Tossing her legs up so that she was facing the ground and then grabbing her head as she fell to send Mira flying down on her head.

"Ugghh!" Mira screamed as she was slammed. Her body folded from the drop with her legs dangling on Astrid's shoulders before they would start to fall to the floor with the rest of her. Slowly her tensed up self started to slack up as she was struggling to stay conscious after Astrid's strongest move.