SS21 - Adrian Kytes vs Maria Castillo

Maria's roll was stopped DEAD in it's track when Adrian's weight came down on her forearm! The sudden clamp of pressure made her scream out, her athletic body seizing up momentarily. A sudden flurry of movement from the brunette and the pair were suddenly locked into a crucifix pin!

The crowd came alive, shocked at the prospect of a possible quick win, as the ref slid in to see the luchadora's shoulders laying flush to the mat, "One!" she called, just as Maria bucked her body! The movement was enough to get her shoulder up and break the count, gritting her teeth as she managed to roll free!

(sorry for the late response)
It was probably never going to result in a win, but stuffing Maria's escape attempt and rolling her up was one way to send a message to the luchadora that despite all the (entirely fact-based) rumours surrounding Adrian's approach to the rulebook underneath it all was a technical wrestler who could go hold for hold with the best of them, the challenge for Maria then was finding out if she fit in that elite group or if the former cosplayer's shortcut in their previous encounter was just her speeding up the inevitable.

Springing up to her feet in time with her foe, Adrian was quick to grab an arm again, this time yanking on it to send the mature lady of lucha off running to the ropes. What happened next she'd have a few seconds to think about.

Maria managed to escape the roll up attempt all well and good, but no sooner had she rose to her feet, than Adrian once again latched onto her arm! It seemed the former champion was quite keen to keep the pressure up, and not give Maria a chance to breathe or devise a plan of attack, needling her with strikes that may not put her DOWN, but it would keep her off balance!

A hard yank made her wince under her mask, as she was tossed into the ropes! Turning midway, she felt the cables dig into her back, shooting her back to Adrian! But in the split second, she was already ducking her body low, praying that she guessed Adrian's intentions correctly!

Adrian scrambled into position once Maria was sent to run the ropes like she was a rookie doing drills for an impatient trainer, with the speed the luchadora moved at, Adrian wouldn't have much time to get into place, crouch down, then jump and twist her whole body as she aimed to collide with Maria's masked face with the heel of her boot in a spinning wheel kick... that completely missed the mark.

Maria went underneath the former champion's flying legs with ease, giving her time to set up whatever she wanted while Adrian was left to feel the full force of where her momentum had sent her "Ugh..." the brunette groaned as she pulled herself back up to her feet, slightly embarrassed before her foe set to add injury to insult.

Maria slid out of the path of the boot, sprinting toward the opposite side of the ring as the former champ had crashed and burned on the canvas! Her face lit up at the possibility that she could turn the match around in her favor. Put a firm advantage in her corner and never give it up, so even if Adrian wanted to draw this out into a war of attrition, she would be more worse off than the luchadora!

Grabbing the top rope with both hands, she launched herself up onto the top rope, precariously balancing herself on the taught cord. The crowd drew in breath as she bounced backward, flipping her body in midair to slam right into Adrian with her moonsault!!!

It was a remarkable show of agility with how fast Adrian was able to recover from whiffing the wheel kick so badly and keep up to face the Reaper. Unfortunately for Adrian, Maria was performing a remarkable show of agility of her own as she suddenly came down on top of the former champ upside down! "Wha? UMPH!" The brunette let out as she was sent down to the canvas for the second time in as many moments, this time with the added weight of the Latina on top of her.

The move connected flawlessly, earning a hearty cheer from the crowd as the beautiful luchadora landed flush on Adrian, bringing the pair crashing down in the center of the ring. Not wasting the opportunity presented here, Maria grabbed hold of her opponent's jaw, dragging her up onto her feet. One look into her silver eyes showed that the champion was consumed by an intense fire and drive to show that despite all the hardship in her career, from Mexico to Tokyo, she was not content to let this match end in any other way than HER victory.

"RAAGH!' she roared, spinning on the spot to nail Adrian in the jaw with a spinning backfist, only to follow it up with a leaping knee strike to the collarbone!

Up and down, up and down, Adrian wasn't allowed to stay in one place for long as she was yanked up off her back for Maria to start battering her with a barrage of strikes. Even as she managed to duck the spinning backfist letting the luchadora's hand hit nothing but ponytail, the former champ was still to rattled from having the vet land on her to properly defend against the follow up knee, sending the brunette staggering backwards to the ropes.

The knee strike landed flush, and it was clear that the former champion was well and truly on the backfoot. Maria's decision to go on the offensive, now knowing how Adrian decided to play these games, was clearly paying off for her. Unlike her....unfortunate encounters with larger than life opponents, she was the one really bringing the fire.

The crowd was very much on her side, growing louder and louder as the champion was finally showing off exactly who she was.

Adrian was reeling on the side of the ring while Maria took her time to feel the energy from the enthusiastic crowd, but the cheers would soon turn to jeers in the blink of an eye, but not for the reaper. Instead it was the former cosplayer who had once again attained the audience's attention as she rolled through the ropes, her back pressing down on the middle cable as she dropped down to the outside landing gracefully on the floor while she checked her face to see if her nose was bleeding. An act that the AFW faithful saw as blatant cowardice as Adrian took a powder on the outside.