The Gold Standard

[Teenwrestler]

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Match type: 2/3 falls.
Winning conditions: Smother submissions/ KO only

Ryu was not having a good time at LAW anymore. At 41, he was getting slower, his stamina and endurance were withering away and more importantly he was struggling to win wrestling matches. Many of his colleagues, friends, family and the fans called him out to retire. He had done what he wanted to do in his career, won championships, had a long and good career but when your body starts to fail you it is time to retire. Wrestlers did not have a long career due to the physical nature of the job but many wanted to cling onto it for as long as they physically could to hang onto the fame, the fortune and the feeling of adrenaline rush when you enter the ring or mats to test yourself against another wrestler. The Dragon was now scheduled to wrestle Isabelle, another wrestler that was not part of the younger and up coming talent but still a formidable opponent, as Ryu was told.

Ryu Hiroshi

Isabelle was relatively new to LAW, Ryu had never seen any of her matches before here so perhaps this would be the match that would set his career or rather his confidence back on track. He changed into his blue wrestling briefs in the locker room, before heading out to the main gym area where they were scheduled to wrestle.

Spoiler

Ryu would walk up to the mats and take off his sneakers before stepping up to the mats. He would stand in the center and start to do some stretches and warmups, looking to bend down to touch his toes, move his hips from side to side, stretch his arms and necks to limber up. He was not going to treat this match as an easy one despite not hearing about Isabella.

[Misfit_Alien]

A mat wrestling match? Nothing too out of the ordinary...the 'Gold Rush' Isabelle Romero was no stranger to the idea. She mainly practiced on mats to hone her grappling techniques, but never before had she been booked for an official match that had been assigned to the mats. Not only that, but this match had some 'interesting' additions made to it...some of which Isabelle had never heard of before. With a two-out-of-three falls stipulation, further modified with the win condition of smother-based submissions only...Well, the Spanish-born newcomer was quite intrigued by the concept. She was as fascinated as she was confused...but she merely chalked it up to LAW's impeccable booking strategy, jumping on opportunities and taking risks where other companies wouldn't, pushing the envelope in this ever-changing industry. It was quite an intriguing, unique mix of rules and stipulations...one which Isabelle was not familiar with. LAW was unlike any other promotion Isabelle had been part of. Given its vast roster, interesting match types, and massive fanbase, there was no denying that this was the PREMIER platform to wrestle for. Well, she had a job to do and would commit to it as such. The Spanish beauty finished dolling herself up in the locker room, finishing her preparations, and making her way to the gym's main area, finding her opponent already there, waiting on her while performing some stretches.

"Hello there~...I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long~..." She said, giving her head a slight bob as she nodded toward the man respectfully, greeting him with a smile. "Isabelle Romero, pleased to make your acquaintance...Mr. Hiroshi, I presume? It's a lovely day to wrestle, is it not?" She continued, holding out her hand to shake with his.

Gear (Minus Boots)

[Teenwrestler]

The truth was that Ryu was low on confidence. With his aging body and rather depressing losing streak, the Dragon was not really interested in wrestling in front of a live crowd until and unless he was satisfied that he still had what it takes to wrestle, perform and win against strong opponents. He was lost in thought when suddenly his opponent, the beautiful and elegant Isabelle would arrive to the scene. Despite there being no crowd, the match was still official and not simply training. This one was for the record books. Her greeting made him snap back as he shook his head and quickly returned the gesture, bowing his head in respect as he approached her.

“Hai, it is nice to meet you Ms. Romero” he would say, accepting her hand and shaking it rather gently, not wanting to do a firm handshake in an effort not to pass off as rather rude! “Yeah, I suppose it is” he would say, sighing a bit as he did not share her enthusiasm as much. He was still a bit shaken because of his recent performances but he didn’t want to let Isabelle know about it. “I hope you don’t mind wrestling with just us two and the referee. Don’t worry though, I will still aim to give it my all and aim to make you submit” he said.

With that, Ryu would take a step back and then start stretching a bit. “Let me know when you are ready….” He said, ready to get this match officially started.

[Misfit_Alien]

"Well, likewise, hun~...I'm expecting nothing but the best~...So give it your all~." She said with a warm, pleasant smile. Following that, Isabelle would stretch a little bit, flaunting her figure for a moment before signaling to the referee that she was ready to wrestle. After a few more checks and preparation, the referee would ring the bell, and the match would begin, with Isabelle immediately shuffling forward to try and lock up with the man in a opening Collar and Elbow tie-up, trying to show off her well-refined technical prowess and experience while using her more youthful body to try and outpace the aged veteran as she aimed to overtake Ryu and seize an early lead right off the bat.