Victory by pinfall, submission or KO
Spoiler
It was another intense night as the arena was prepared for another intergender clash. The audience was cheering as Kyo made his way into the ring, striding down the ramp as his entrance theme blared. Kyo gave them no acknowledgement other than an appreciative nod, keeping his eyes focused on the ring ahead. Still, though, the fact that they were cheering him on was encouraging: he had gone through a handful of matches so far in AFW, and had even scored a win here and there. He liked to think that he was actually making a good impression so far among LAW's fanbase, and even though he absolutely refused to let anything as crass or temporary as fame go to his head, he had to admit that he appreciated the acknowledgement the fans were giving him. But even then, if he was honest, he didn't wrestle for the fans. He wrestled because it was what he enjoyed, what he excelled at.
Truth to be told, Kyo knew he would need a lot more than just the appreciation of the fans to succeed tonight.
When he had first been told he'd been scheduled for this match, he was given a few details about it. Nothing too flashy-- just a standard prostyle match, with the usual win conditions. Nothing gimmicky or over the top, which was absolutely how Kyo liked them. He had never been too fond of some of the more entertainment-driven dramafests that passed for matches in some leagues (and unfortunately also happened quite a bit here in LAW). It wasn't until he had seen the name of his opponent on the match card that he realized this was going to be more than any usual match.
Valley Doll.
The Valley Doll.
Way back when he was a kid, Kyo had idolized his dad, the (in)famous Keichi Akamatsu, also known in the ring as "King Crimson." While personality-wise he had really taken more after his serene, stoic, and self-disciplined mother, he had always known early on that he wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps, and he and his sister Makie had almost religiously watched their dad's matches every night he wrestled. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost; sometimes he absolutely devastated his opponent, and more than a few times he had to be carried out of the ring by his valets. But no matter what, he always gave each match his all, and his gregarious (some might even say arrogant) meant that he had an eager fanbase that always followed his matches as much as Kyo and Makie had.
His father had had more than a few rivalries during his career: one that stuck out in Kyo's mind was a trio of matches against an American woman named Valerie-Dolores Cotes-Welles...better known by her ring name, Valley Doll. She had been an impressive sight in the ring, her athletic, slender body, pink and white wrestling gear, short cropped blonde hair and winning smile earning her an eager following among the fanbase. But she had been more than a pretty face: she was well known as one of the most tenacious and skilled wrestlers at the time, man or woman, and she would fearlessly take on anyone who would face her. And King Crimson had been more than up to the challenge.
There had been three matches between them, in total. Kyo had remembered them all vividly: in the first match, his dad and Valley Doll had fought back and forth in a fairly standard match, one that Valley Doll had eventually won after a lucky counter turned into a top rope death valley driver and pinfall. The match had been popular enough that they couldn't end it there, though, and so a rematch had been scheduled. This time, the match had been much more intense and fast paced. Kyo could tell that his dad had been holding back even less than usual this time, and it showed after he piledrove Valley head-first into the ring to pick up the win.
The third match had been one of the most intense Kyo had ever watched. The two wrestlers did not hold back at all, slamming, stretching, and striking each other relentlessly for half an hour, to the point where they both seemed about to collapse from injury and exhaustion. Finally, though, Valley had ended it, landing three successive moonsaults in a row on Keichii before wearily covering him for the three count. Despite the fact that their father had been soundly beaten, Kyo remembered that he and Makie still cheered over how hard-fought and exciting a match it had been; his younger sister had even exclaimed "I wanna do that!" in reference to Valley's triple moonsault-- and, funnily enough, Makie would go one to adopt just such a finisher years later when she started her own wrestling career. At the end of the match, Keichii had picked himself up, laughed, and gave his victorious opponent a grateful hug for an excellent fight.
That had all been years ago: and now, Kyo was going to be facing this woman in the ring.
It couldn't be her, he told himself. Hadn't she retired years ago? Surely this was some sort of mistake? But there was no denying it: according to the schedule, he was fighting Valley Doll tonight. Or at least, someone using her name. If it was the former, then he would be up against a legend, someone whose matches he had watched as a kid; if it was the latter...then someone was using Valley Doll's name, and Kyo couldn't be more furious about that.
Calming the conflicting thoughts racing in his head, Kyo slid under the ropes, Kyo stood up to his full height and did a few rotating stretches, waiting for his opponent...whoever she ultimately was...
