At last, the time had come.
It was months ago that Ambre Brault had made
a public announcement that she was looking to face off against Astrid Ostberg, the former LAW Heavyweight Champion. It hardly mattered to Ambre that Astrid no longer held the title - what mattered was that she had, at one point, and that told Ambre all she needed to know. The Frenchwoman was determined to prove herself as a worthy contender to the title of Heavyweight Champion, and to that end, she had decided she was going to take on everyone who had vied for the belt before, in order to make her case to Alaina Sanders. But she wanted to start with the woman who had held the title last - and when Astrid heard the call, she was happy to oblige.
She was impressed with the girl's spirit and her determination - how she was not only willing to go after the title, but to push herself to even greater lengths just to prove she had a chance. She didn't have to, but she did anyway, just to show the world she could. Astrid couldn't help but be reminded of herself, just a little - though she put that thought aside a moment later when thinking about the past brought up unwanted ruminations on whether or not she still had what it took after her title loss. Astrid grit her teeth - as she reminded herself, tonight would prove she still had it. She was doing this for herself as much as she was doing it for Ambre. She wouldn't hold back - and she wanted the world to see what she could do when she was at the top of her game.
But Astrid didn't want a match with Ambre right away. As a matter of fact, the Norwegian had chosen the occasion quite deliberately. When the two next crossed paths, it would be at Fight the LAW. The Norsewoman wanted Ambre to have the opportunity to train and hone her skills in the meantime - if she was going to fight a title match, Astrid wanted her to be ready for it. And she wanted to put Ambre to the test by putting her up to an even greater challenge - to prove that not only she could beat Astrid, but that she could do so with more scrutiny than ever if she was doing so at one of LAW's most hyped-up pay-per-view events.
Ambre, of course, wasn't going to look back. She welcomed the challenge. And they were set to meet again in Innsbruck. As she flew out to Austria, Astrid took a moment to think about how she would be returning to the country for the third time. She had wrestled there in her tour of the indies after winning the Heavyweight Championship, and before she had even come to LAW, she had trained under the great Sia Karnstein, who helped to shape her into the woman she was today. Tonight, if Ambre looked up to her this much, she would return the favor.
"Lllladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall! Coming first to the ring, by way of Stavanger, Norway! At 6'1, weighing 188 pounds, AAASTRID OSTBERG-ASHWORTH!!"
Astrid might not have had the title any more, but that didn't mean her entrance was any less of an event! At the sight of her coming down the ramp, the fans eagerly burst into cheers - and Astrid held her head high with a grin, proudly flexing a bicep on the way past the ringside seats to show off her physique. When she stepped into the ring, her hands held high, the fans were only cheering her louder. For a moment, Astrid thought to herself, it was as though she had never dropped the belt in the first place. Yes, she'd missed such honors as these...
Nevertheless, it was time to get down to business. Settling into her corner, Astrid cracked her knuckles and sank down into a stance, doing a few last-minute stretches before she turned to face the ramp.
"Alright, Ambre..." she muttered to herself,
"time to see you live up to your promises..."