Nekketsu Championship Tournament: Round 1: Leah Shaw vs Ami Takeuchi

"...*squeee*...There he is!!! THE Bryan Daniels~..."

"...He's SUCH a dreamboat~..."

"...Totes jacked, on fleek, AND drop dead gorgeous~...*sigh*..."

What could Bryan say? Not much more than his swooning fangirls could as they followed him as best they could from behind the barricade as he strutted around the ring as if he were debuting the latest trend-setting fashion line on a catwalk lit ablaze with camera lights. The actual wrestling fans in the front rows who were paying attention to the tussling action in the ring were non to pleased getting their view obstructed by Bryan's personal fandom captivated with his every hair wafting, beauty-admiring movement. Not that The Gorgeous One offered them even the most minuscule of acknowledgment as he strutted about in meticulous examination of chiseled jawline and defined cheek bones through his cell phone's reversed camera lens on his furry coated selfie stick. He knew his cerulean-haired boo had this match-up in the bag, and this was all just a troublesome formality. An irksome bit of triviality on their day planner right before the scheduled date with the tanning beds...

"Hm?..." Peeking up from his self-admiration in a rare bit of environmental acknowledgment, Bryan noticed himself standing beside what appeared to be that irksome blonde uggo from earlier with the tacky fashion sense and in dire need of a makeover. Not looking any better as she appeared flaccidly hung out to dry and somehow even more pathetic than when Bryan first laid his gorgeous eyes on her. Still, Bryan recognized this as a chance for a positively lit photo op that this grody-faced blonde should be on her hands and knees thanking him for. Prince Pretty shuffling up besides Leah with the intent of taking a selfie pic right than and there. B-RY scoffing when noticing this uncooperative fashion reject wasn't even looking into the camera. Ugh...how hopeless was this lady. He fixed the issue by cupping her chin and bobbing her head up, her pursed lips smooshed outward as well in a near identical imitation of Bryan's own puckered face as he cocked an eye brow high and uttered "Say Cheese~..."

Somewhat content with how the picture came out, Bryan unhooked his phone from the furry stick and admired himself longingly...before winding back and thwacking the metallic rod right upside the blonde uggo's face. Earning the fashion model cascading boos all around as he nonchalantly started walking away with a winking air kiss in Ami's direction. The rest of his attention diverted to uploading that picture to Twitter with unflattering hashtags and captions, garnering Leah a newfound level of internet fame she might have rather done without.

Leah was no stranger to being manhandled in the ring. The rather resilient blond had come up against athletes she had no earthly right to stand toe to toe with with her inexperience and come away from it fairly well. It earned her some measure of praise from fans, colleagues, and even some AFW higher ups. But knowing how to take hits and land well never really prepared someone for being garroted. The underhanded use of the ropes had proven to be exceptionally effective in ripping away her momentum and siphoning it off to Ami. So as she lay across the ropes recovering, she hadn't even noticed Bryan coming her way until he lifted her head.

She winced at the manipulation, limp to his playing with her features as a few errant hairs hung frazzled and out of place in front of her eyes. She let out a soft groan as his fingers gave her cheeks a squeeze, forced into a duck lipped pose for… was he taking a picture? Leah was baffled by the exchange, caught so off guard that even if she had the energy to fight it, it never occurred to her to try.

"Chheas…?" Leah responded best she could given the hand smooshing her features together. Unsure exactly why she even responded at all, it was just habit that normally had her saying the favored dairy products name with a smile when photos were being taken. Unfortunately for her, the snap of the camera caught her in even less flattering light, mid blink, giving her the appearance of being near death or possibly drunk with lidded eyes. A questionable photo op to be certain and likely one that warranted deleting later due to its poor quality.

When her head was released the rookie slumped back down across the ropes, body bouncing slightly as the springy cables balanced the weight of her. She had just started to look back up when she was blindsided by the extendable metal arm, catching it full on across the face. The hollow rod bent harshly and irreversiblely with the force of the blow, cartoonishly losing most of its old shape to curve around her skull. The blond's head snapped back, throwing her off the ropes to collapse backwards onto the mat. Leah's eyes rolled back, lashes fluttering as she lay dazed on the canvas, unmoving.

While all the shenanigans occurring behind the referee's back, the supermodel was tasked with the job of keeping the Referee busy and distracted. If her devilish good looks weren't good enough to distract any person, man or woman, her mouthy and argumentative attitude surely would do the job.

With the referee distracted by Ami, Bryan proceeded to 'help' his girlfriend by not only embarrassing Ami's opponent but smacking her in the face with the selfie stick. Once the deed was done, Ami would raise her arm up to own her mistake of holding onto the submission hold despite the referee yelling for a rope break.

By now, Ami had a clear advantage and would look to press on it. She would move towards Leah, stomping her boot down on her sides to keep her down before reaching down to grab her hair and pull her up. "Aww poor baby, let me help you up there" she would say. Once Leah was back up on her feet, Ami would yank her hair to bring her face towards her and unleashing a humiliating slap right across Leah's left cheek before letting her hair go and laughing like a mean bully.

There was no real sign Leah was trying to rise on her own as she lay on the canvas, mind swimming in a haze. She could hear the garbled boos and cheers of the crowds around her but they all blended together in a cacophony of noise that made her wince. She wasn't bleeding, but each thump of her heart she swore she felt in her head as an added pulse of pain. Her eyes drifted towards the looming form of Ami as the other woman neared, following her movements sluggishly. It wasn't until the shock of a boot striking her side gave her a jolt that she moved at all.

"Gugh!" The blond's limbs bounced with the impact like tension springs retracting for the briefest of moments. Her arms came up weakly to wrap around herself, gripping her side as she winced. Before she had any time to nurse her wounds she was grabbed by the hair, those silky blond locks of hers being tugged taught causing her to cry out in paid as her battered skull ached. It was a difficult task to stand, her own boots fumbling the steps as Ami helped to hoist her upright until the two women were face to face again.

The slap cracked across her cheek, reddening her features immediately and making such a resounding clap that members of the crowd hissed at the thought of the pain. Leah's head snapped to the side as she staggered and teetered. Her legs gave out again as she stumbled forward and fell onto her knees, collapsing again onto the mat with her face planted firmly on the ground. Taken out of context, it looked as though the model had a slap on bar with the knock out hooks of one of Momentum's boxers with how easily she had been able to floor the rookie. Leah turned her head, pressing her cheek to the canvas while the other burned red hot from the sting of the slap. She let out a whining groan as she stared at Ami's boots.

With the help of one half of the Fashion Icon and her boyfriend, Ami's victory was practically guaranteed against this rookie wrestler. She had royally pissed off the Takeuchi princess and now Leah was going to suffer for it. After Bryan's assist, the supermodel would continue her offence by striking the rookie with a stiff kick to her side before pulling her up by a grabbing her hair and unleashing a wild slap to the rookie's face. The impact was enough to send poor Leah onto her knee before collapsing onto the mat face first.

The supermodel would turn to Bryan, giving him a flying kiss and a "V" sign of victory before turning her attention back to the task at hand. Ami would step over Leah and face her legs, with her own legs on either side of Leah's waist. She would proceed to grab both of Leah's legs and pull them up, tucking them under her armpit before sitting onto the small of her back and yanking those captured legs back towards the head of the rookie, bending her in a "C" like position.

"Nrgh, how do you like the Boston Crab eh? Arghh, feel free to....submit anytime you want" she would taunt, looking back over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of Leah's pain stricken face.

Leah's eyelids drooped as she lay battered on the mat, the world spinning with each throb of pain in her skull. The referee circled both women in a wide berth, checking to make sure the blond was still responding. Ami had no reason to rush, soaking in the moment as she positioned herself without any issue. Gathering up Leah's legs came with no resistance making it seem to many in the crowd as if this fight was already over. It was child's play to find the perfect perch to sit on and nestle in along her back, cranking her legs into the Boston crab without an ounce of fight to hinder her progress.

Even as Ami leaned back and pulled her legs painfully back, it had barely gotten a response from the nearly comatose blonde. Each burning crank of the hold making her body rock on the mat with a soft groan. It was almost too easy for someone as talented as Ami. Slowly the pain would start to register more and more as the crippling potential of the Boston crab jarred Leah from her clobbered state.

"Agh-ahh! G-get off!" The blond would no doubt scream when Ami worked the hold, her legs and back already having been made to endure the hold for longer than anyone would want. Between this and the camel clutch her spine was starting to give out, making each bend send a searing pain through her body. She searched for the ropes in a panic and found them… so far away. Her first attempt at dragging both women towards the but  barely moving the needle… could she even make it if she wanted? This could very well be the end.

"Agh...ngh...a….a...Aroooo!" Leah dug down deep, past the pain, through the base, and found that burning passion in her heart. Like wrestlers of the old guard she was firing up, finding her second wind as she let fly a bowl that would make Beowulf proud. Her palms slapped the mat with a thunderous clap as she dug in, arching her back even further, causing her figure to shake. Hand over hand she began to claw her way to the ropes with unbridled determination as ever fiber of her body screamed for freedom. Member of the audience began to clap other to stand and cheer. Throughout the arena Wulf cries began to echo out one another the other, me ring her support!

Ami would have to personally thank Bryan for the assist later this evening. They had a whole victory party planned after the first round was over to celebrate both the couple making through the first round of the tournament. The invites had already been sent out and some were puzzled why the party was pre-planned a week before the actual tournament was going to start. Such was the confidence of the supermdodel and her dashing boyfriend who were quite sure that nobody could ruin their plans.

The bluenette had the blonde captured in yet another submission which sought to focus on bending her back. Ami figured she had a good target to work on and would slowly chip away her defense by continuing to work her back over. "Get off? Haha?! Get off, are you kidding me? MAKE ME" Ami would suddenly yell and wrench back Leah's head even further. The Takeuchi princess would grit her teeth and smile cruelly while torturing the back of her opponent.

It seemed as if the blonde was ready to call it quits, her will seem to falter until she would catch her second wind and slapped her palms against the mat, slightly rising up and crawling, clawing her way towards the ropes much to the shock of Ami who had eyes widened. "Wha?! Nonononono! This can't be, just....give up damn you" she hissed pulling back harder but unable to stop Leah from edging near the ropes.

Leah slammed her forearms to the mat in time with each clap from the audience, dragging both women across the canvas inch by inch in an army crawl. Driven on by her own hot-blooded nature, soaking in all the energy the crowd, she fought through the pain and forming tears with grit teeth. She couldn't give up, not now. She had already been gifted an opportunity for gold once back in Tension's Elimination Chamber and had fallen short of greatness. This was her chance for redemption and she couldn't let herself give in this early into the tournament. She had to fight and claw with all her power to escape.

"Never! Eurgh!" Leah struggled at each hard wrench of her legs, slowing but not stopping. She pushed her forehead to the canvas, trying to give herself something else to think of other than the pain. She was so close now though. Through drilling sweat in her brow and a veil of blond hair in front of her face she could see the ropes. Just a bit further…

She threw out her arm, stretching it to it's limit just far enough to wrap her fingers around the bottom rope. White knuckled, holding on for dear life as she screamed at the torturous hold. The official was quick to circle the two women, calling for an immediate break. While she might have earned her freedom, the damage had already been done. The Fashion Icons had done a remarkable job of dismantling the rookie, leaving her in a terrible position to make a comeback from.

Her confident smirk was slowly fading away, no matter how much Ami tried to keep the pair in one place it simply was not working for the supermodel. Gritting her teeth in anger, she planted her boots firmly on the ring mats while pressing her butt down against her rivals back to try and make sure she would have her pinned down in place while wrenching those legs back. Even that was not enough as Leah continued to scratch and crawl her way towards the ring ropes.

The crowd was on her side, she was getting this adrenaline out of nowhere which pissed the bluenette off. "There's no way you can....NO! Shut up all of you" she yelled to the crowd but soon there was a new voice screaming at her it was the referee telling her to let go because Leah had reached the ring ropes. "Screw you!" Ami barked at the referee, she was going to use up all the four seconds she would be given before finally letting go before the five count to narrowly avoid defeat.

"Heh, this changes nothing. I'm still gonna win this" Ami said, whipping her hair back confidently before stomping down on Leah a couple of times and then reaching down to grab her hair and pull her up. "Geeeet up, I'm going to enjoy this" she said grabbing Leah's face to make her pucker up and squeezed her cheeks before using her free hand to send a vicious slap.

Leah’s arm shook as she pulled as hard as she could, stretching the rope ever so slightly closer. It was enough to finally let go, hooking her entire arm around it to keep it trap in the inside the crook of her elbow to make sure she couldn’t be dragged away. Her opponents had already put their aptitude to bend the rules on full display, there was no longer a reason to give these two the benefit of the doubt… they were seriously bad apples… and she was going to try to remember not to send them Christmas cards.

Her legs dropped back to the canvas, finally giving her sweet release. It was hard to really celebrate, she had be stretched so hard her entire lower body was practically on fire. What she needed now was a small breather, thankfully the referee was on hand to keep Ami off her… or should have been. Instead, despite the count, Ami managed to hammer her a few more times, digging her heel heel into the small of her back. The rookie winced through watering eyes as her hair was roughly yanked, lifting her face to look Ami in the eyes with squished cheeks making her lips purse like a squeezed fish.

Her expression, distorted as it was, hardened. Brow furrowed in an uncharacteristic show of anger as she watched Ami draw back her palm, intent on smacking her yet again. This time however, when her arm whipped around, Leah’s hand snapped up, catching the other woman’s swing at the wrist to stop it dead just short of it’s mark. Her fingers clenched, roughly starting to twist Ami’s arm against the grain while pushing herself up to her feet. Still feeling the effects of the extended submission, she staggered, having to use the ropes to drag herself upright.

“Why are you... eugh... so mean?” There was a hard edge to her voice but the underlying emotion was one of genuine confusion. Ami was a beautiful woman, famous, skilled, she had everything. So why was she like this? Steadying herself, Leah twisted Ami’s arm harder to the pound the other girl wouldn’t be able to face her fully without feeling the pain. Turning from the ropes, Leah kicked her foot out, trying to boot Ami as hard as she could muster in the stomach, thrusting out her leg after making contact to shove the blue haired woman away and release her wrist. Her legs gave out again under the weight of only being on one, forcing her to fall back down to the canvas on all fours, huffing.