Avalanche 2023: Friction World Title Match: Rebecca Tomko (C) vs Lucia Lynch

When she had first started at AFW it had been an act of desperation. A washed-up typecast actress who was practically unhirable due to her cult popularity on the B-movie scene. Japan was the last vestige of prestige she had left and it had been a mixed bag. Embarrassing defeats, explicit matches, and an overall middling impact on the brand as a whole. It had been a place where her dreams came to die for a time until she got the big call back to Hollywood. That had become its own laundry list of growing pains as she went through the motions of making feature-length motion pictures again.

Now that she was back, for a time at least, at AFW. She had grown to look back on her turbulent times with a bit of fondness. After her losses she had been driven to work on her self-improvement, getting herself in the best shape of her life. She had met Bethany, an unlikely friend who despite Lucia’s many failings seemed to always be there to try to support her. Then there was the exposure, however embarrassing, that had jolted her movie career back to life. She owed this place more than anyone here really understood. Now she was on one of the biggest stages, fighting for the highest honor.

Lucia knew why she was here, to help build buzz for the movie. The fact she hadn’t earned this chance by her own merits as a competitor wasn’t lost on her but she had decided to seize the moment and take what she was given. At least for one night, she wouldn't question it and just enjoy the experience. After all the stunt choreography and repeated takes sucking up her time each day, she was looking forward to a real fight again. She wanted to feel challenged by more than some hipster asshole director and just hit something, hard. Regardless of how things played out, she was going to give it her all. Not for the movie, but for herself.

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Darkness rolled across the arena, instinctively the conversations began to slow to a stop leaving everything silent. Red lights strobed in pounding thumps of beating heart audio played over the speakers. Three pale and lanky individuals wandered out onto the stage looking as if they were up to no good. Fog had started to creep across the stage, spilling down the ramp into the ringside area leaving it a murky trench. As the beats grew faster, a large bright moon rose in the screen over the entryway until it sat high in the sky and bled red. The lights cut again and a deafening howl pitched across the crowd. Three bright flashes hit the stage accompanied by the sound of flashing steel and an explosive squib of gushing blood from each of the three men on stage as they screamed and fell out of sight into the mist. When the lights dimly rose, Lucia stood where they had once been, using her coat to casually wipe fake blood from her fingernails as her music thundered onto the speakers.

Theme:

Lucia Lynch:

She carefully stepped over the hidden seam of the stage door she had come up from, stopping near the front of the ramp for the “dead” bodies of her victims to crawl through the fog and slip out how she had come in leaving the stage empty but with a slick splash of red. The crowd roared for the simple display, how cheesy it was didn't even cause a stir. Lucia flashed a grin, making her way down to the ring. As she stepped into the ringside area the ring apron adorned with LED screens lit up with more blood-red imagery and a full yellow moon in the background. She was depicted here in far more flattering Photoshop glory front and center. A dramatic shot that made her look as dangerous as she felt tonight. In the background a silhouetted figure with glowing eyes, unknown to any but those who followed the news behind the upcoming film as her co-star Bethany Paige. She regarded the display for a moment, taking it in but not lingering too long to slow things down.

She made her way up the ring stairs and threw off her trench coat with a flourish, draping it over the ring post as she waltzed across the apron. Slipping between the ropes she entered the ring and moved to the far corner, climbing to the second rope. Her eyes briefly caught her friend in the crowd, front and center, here to cheer her on. She shot the woman a small wink before letting her gaze travel over the rest of the audience.

“Awrooooo!” she let out a howl into the arena, receiving a disjointed rally back from across the stadium. Hopping down from the ropes, she turned to the entry and waited. The easy part was over. Now it was time to focus and see just how well she could hang with the real big dogs.

The loud impactful droning that hit the speakers before the rifting metal guitar quieted the crowd and caught Lucia’s attention. Even knowing she was facing down the Friction Champion didn't really do the concept of the woman holding the belt justice. Rebecca and Adrian stood side by side the world of difference in their height and size was put on a very measurable scale. The actress straightened up where she stood in the ring, subconsciously trying to feel bigger than she was. Perhaps this being her first official match back since going off to film wasn't the best idea after all… she shook her head dismissing the self-doubt. She wasn’t going to let this woman beat her before they even threw a punch at one another.

Her brow furrowed at the display of Rebecca hurling one of the stunt actors off the stage. She was keenly aware that that hadn’t been planned. She had only worked with these particular stuntmen in the days leading up to the PPV. Local talent, sweet guys who had been almost sheepish around her, the biggest star they had worked with outside of their small productions. She couldn’t see from here what happened to the person the champion had thrown but found her doubts quenched with a ball of hot fire in her stomach as her anger built. Those performers had nothing to do with this fight, they hadn’t signed up for whatever that was.

She stewed in the ring, pacing the far end along the ropes as she watched the two make their way down to the ring. Fingers idly flexed in and out of clenched fists as she considered what to say to Rebecca now. She originally was going to thank the woman for the opportunity to face her but now all she wanted to do was rake this woman over the coals for her treatment of the stunt team…

Once Rebecca had shrugged off her entrance attire, Lucia made her way to the center of the ring in preparation for the match to start. She strode past the official who was leaning through the ropes to pass off the title belt for safekeeping. Passed the mid-way point in the ring she had meant to stop at, and picked up speed into a sudden charge as all the pacing had failed to quell her rising temper. However unbecoming it may have been, Lucia with a head full of steam launched herself at Rebecca, leaping off the ground to throw out a picture-perfect flying sidekick at the woman's chest.

Lucia recalled there being much more give when she did this last, granted it was on someone a foot shorter and almost a hundred pounds lighter. Rebecca felt like kicking a brick wall by comparison. At the very least she had managed to move the beast, which was doubly good considering her landing after the kick was far less picture-perfect. She had expected to sail through but when her amazonian opponent managed to stay upright she was forced to push off and land on her back heel nearly falling.

Even before she had an opportunity to fully right herself, Rebecca came in swinging. Lucia in a snap decision with the looming shadow of the massive woman cast over her thought better of trying to block and opted to be evasive. She dipped, tucking into a simple but flashing tumble to slip underneath the heavy swing, coming right back up on the other side. She reached for the ropes, using them to account for the lack of balance she had when springing back up. If anyone needed reminding she did her own stunts, here it was on full display.

Taking a small hop forward onto one foot, she held firm onto the ropes so centering herself was less of an issue. Her free leg cocked back and snapped forward, trying to smash Rebecca in the gut with a hard kick. She’d be greedy in the exchange, trying to fire off as many more as she could before her opponent retaliating would make her stop. This wasn't a showing of great technique, just a woman trying to hit a sand bag fast and hard.

Lucia was indiscriminate with her kicks, firing off shot after shot. After the first one sunk into the big woman it had been like blood in the water so she kept going. It didn't matter if she hit an arm, it didn't matter if some were only glancing blows. She was high on the moment and nothing wasn’t going to stop her. Until Rebecca did just that.

The reversal of fortune was a fast one, finding herself thrust into the turnbuckles and pinned in. Her head was craned backward, unable to stop the massive woman from forcing her chin up and dragging her meaty arm across her face. Lucia’s amber eyes glared from over the top of the woman's muscle, teeth grit and snarling as she ineffectually pushed to try and dislodge the woman from her.

The referee was a godsend even if the actress didn't see it as such. The voice of authority in the ring managed to reach her though, ceasing her struggles and holding up her arms in an offered ceasefire. The crowd was an unruly mess with many enjoying the high intensity of the mismatched pair while others voiced their opinions on the referee interfering only to help one wrestler or the other. Lines had been drawn and logic was out the window.

“I’m going to take your head off.” Lucia hissed in a harsh whisper, her feeling of ingratiated humbleness all but dashed after Rebecca manhandled her stunt team. The threat lost some bite as it was delivered from a place of weakness, at the big woman's mercy to let her go under the official's watch. She would wait for them to be separated though, respecting the will of the referee.

As Rebecca pulled back, Lucia took a moment to slouch in the corner to get in a breath or two. Now, here of all places was not the place to let her frustrations at life in general vent out. She knew the attack had been a bit overboard but couldn’t help herself at the moment. Being bullied into the corner had been slightly sobering as if that happened after the bell she would have been at the Amazon’s mercy. She let the woman's remark go unanswered, not because she didn't have things to say, but because it was true. She would have to do something about that… like take the big woman down a size or two. The legs were always a hold start.

Lucia made her way back to the center of the ring, taking a longer path to give Rebecca a wide berth as she circled to take position. Arms up, she remained poised for the bell. The moment it sounded she came in hot, sending out a snappy kick to the woman’s thigh. Almost immediately she was grappled, and wrenched forward into a bend as her head was crushed between unyielding muscles. The simple headlock was enough to make her skull feel like it was going to collapse in on itself as the big woman ground it in. Lucia tugged back but found herself locked in far too tight to even dream of slipping free. With a grunt she rolled her shoulder, swinging her arm blindly at the woman's lower back, trying to drill her with elbow shots… hopefully at least one of them to the kidney, to try and earn her freedom.