Haruka Date vs. Yuki Kanno

Standard match: Win via pinfall, submission or DQ

Haruka could have glared a hole into the wall. The Silent Phoenix was sick and tired of jobbing out in this new league. AFW was a chance to reinvent herself, to conquer and knockout. But Haruka had a string of bad matches and only one win. Tonight would result in victory, or Haruka would perish in the attempt. Two swift kicks sliced through the air of the locker room. Her opponent tonight would be Yuki Hanno. The Silent Phoenix would have to kick her and pummel her and punch her into ignominious defeat and the phoenix would soar once again.

The wrestler was all stretched out and ready to go. She tried to restrain herself. Anger was never useful in the wrestling ring, at least not for her. The Silent Phoenix preferred a calmer, more zoned in style of fighting, where she could see everything. Rage always served as a blinder for her and when the red mist descended, Haruka was vicious, but useless. Focus and precision is what she would have to go for. Not just wanton violence.

The short walk to the entrance ramp was done quickly. Haruka was bustling and ready to go. Starlight by Muse heralded her entrance, and Haruka entered the arena to a somewhat tepid response. The crowd, like Haruka, wanted to see her win and were disappointed in her just as Haruka was disappointed in herself. Well, if Haruka had her way, they would get what they came for. The look on Haruka's face was stoic her gaze was directed towards the ring. The Silent Phoenix hopped into the squared circle and looked back up the entrance ramp.

Not long after Haruka's entrance passed and things calmed down a bit, the theme of Yuki Kanno and her favorite song Daze by MARiA from GARNiDELiA started to play. Doing the usual routine of playing for 5 seconds before Yuki entered the arena and standing on the stage, clad in her graffitied black hooded jacket with red spray paint lines over her crimson leotard. The 6 spark fountains on the stage go off shooting the multiple shades of red sparks while Yuki as usual stands there til the lyrics kick in before she walks down the ramp towards the ring, all while the crowd cheers for the young Crimson Daze.

She was a little bit worried but excited at the same time as her opponent is from the all but forgotten Wrestle Angels league, so Yuki was up against a veteran wrestler and this will sure to be a tough match for her. As she walks down the ramp Yuki gives lots of fans high fives and fist bumps whenever she could before she arrived at ringside, climbing up the apron and sliding in between the ropes to enter the ring.

As she then walked towards her corner, Yuki waved to the crowds around her while looking over to see who the opponent was closer, and she recognized her. Haruka Date, a very popular wrestler from Wrestle Angels who was talented in using strike attacks, definitely gonna be a real tough match. She then stretched her arms a bit while leaning against the corner with her arms over the top ropes after taking off her hoodie and throwing it out of the ring for the stagehands to take and bring back.

Haruka took a long look at her opponent. To be honest, she didn't look like much. But the Silent Phoenix knew better than to gauge a woman's skills by her looks alone. She took a step forward and bowed deeply, respectfully. At any moment the bell would go off and they would be locked in struggle. But for the time she could be fair, even kind.

The crowd swelled with anticipation. If Haruka was being truthful with herself she was filled with anticipation too. She was on a bad run and desperate to turn it around. But she wasn't a caged animal that needed to thrash out to survive. Haruka was an experienced woman that had bad runs before and would have them again. Be aggressive, but not thoughtless. That was her mantra.

The bell went off and Haruka went off too. The Silent Phoenix launched forward to try to get the match with a bang, surging forward and launching into the air, sending her knee towards Yuki's chin.

As Yuki looked at her veteran opponent from her corner, while it may not be on her face that much, Haruka looked a bit tense as if she had a bad time. From what it may seem to her, she might just take that out on the young rookie tonight but hoped she was better then that and wouldn't. Yuki stepped out of her corner as Haruka did and bowed back to her after she straightens up from her own bow. "Let us have a good match tonight." She will say before raising her head up and getting into a stance to be prepared for the match to start.

Waiting for the gong, it rings the next few seconds and Yuki walks a bit from her corner but notices Haruka running at her right off the bat! While this does surprise her, considering the distance between the two girls, Yuki wasn't worried at all here. She stood in place and waited for when Haruka got close and since she was still close to her corner, when the WA girl leaped up to try and knee her, Yuki stepped to the side at the last second to dodge and let her opponent fly into the corner instead.

The knee sliced through the air, full of fury and ultimately fruitless. Haruka landed on her feet before her momentum carried into her in to the turnbuckle. She got her hands up quickly enough to avoid crashing into it but the embarrassment of missing and the impact on her arms were harsh. The Silent Phoenix started the match zero for one. There were worse ways to start a match, sure, but there were better ways too.

Haruka spun around. If she had to start the match with her back against the wall, so be it. Her fists were up and her legs were at the ready. She didn't have much space and she doubted she would have much time. But whatever would come, would come. All Haruka could do was steel herself for it.

Yuki watched once she stepped to the side to see Haruka crash into the turnbuckle, while using her arms as an airbag, so to speak. She made an "ouch" expression on her face as seeing that was painful, and it sure looked painful too. But at the same time it helped give Yuki a quick advantage right now, so she shrugged it off before getting back into the match.

Right away she will dash at her opponent while her back was still aimed at her, wanting to get a hit on her at this chance. Once Haruka turned around, Yuki was right in her face almost. She will put her hands on her opponent's shoulders then jump up to sit on them with Haruka's head between Yuki's legs as she then leans back to roll and throw slam her with a Hurricanrana.

Haruka barely had time to whirl around when her opponent was upon her. Her brown eyes went wide with fright and Yuki gave her a good reason to be that way. Two strong legs bound Haruka's head and spun her to the mat. Haruka let out a quiet "oof!" as she hit the mat. It appeared that she had overestimated this spry young girl.

It wasn't a mistake that she would make again. Haruka popped right back up like a cork and brought her arms to bear yet again. That was a setback, nothing more, and Haruka would prove that she was still ready and raring to go.

"Alright!" Yuki felt very accomplished in that moment while on her knees, raises her arms up and bringing them back down in fists with a grin on her face. She felt great because she was able to outsmart and get the first hit, or slam, on her opponent who was a veteran from Wrestle Angels, that couldn't have been an easy feat to do for a rookie such as Yuki. Quickly her moment ends and then the grappler pushes herself up back onto her feet before turning to face Haruka.

Just as she did and because it was just one simple attack, Yuki sees Haruka bounce back up almost instantly and then raises her arms up defensively. She needs to not get cocky after that or it will cost her later. So Yuki will move in slowly towards Haruka while strafing to the side and once she gets close enough, if she can, she'll try to throw her arms at her opponent to get into a Collar and Elbow Tie Up to try and overpower her.

Haruka had a puzzled look on her face. The girl was downright ebullient after landing one hit. The confounded look became one of subtle joy- the girl she was fighting against was a rookie after all. Maybe she hadn't landed anything big against a real wrestler before. Well, welcome to AFW, kid. After the successful blow her opponent took on a cautious air and chose not to rush on ahead. Awfully wise, she thought.

The Silent Phoenix gladly accepted the tie-up. She was strong and had been honing her body ever since she had joined the new league. Haruka was not about to get overpowered by this rookie, no, far from it. Her might was brought to bear against Yuki and she pushed with all of her strength. Some ground was gained, but not enough. To make the match more interesting Haruka attempted to pepper Yuki's get with a few sharp knees.

Once she locked up with Haruka in the grapple lock, Yuki gave it her all to try and overpower her the best she could if possible. But almost immediately she is given trouble as her opponent pushes back, making the girl move back a little bit. She dug her feet into the mat to steel herself as Yuki starts to push back with all of her strength, and at best try to get a hold of Haruka in the process.

In the mids of the lock up before Yuki knew it, her gut was being bombarded by her opponent's knee repeatedly. "Oof! Ugh!" Just from where it was aimed at was making Yuki puff her cheeks as if she were to throw up, but she wasn't. Now she had to do something right there if she could. Yuki will let her grip with her arms go then grab Haruka's head, from there she will try to leap up and raise her knees into her chest and slam her opponent into her knees once she hits the ground with a Lungblower.