Haruka Date vs. Julia Rogers

The move came off with a resounding crash as Haruka slammed into Julia then into the mat. It was perhaps unwise to launch an assault leading with her back when the lionsault had come crashing into her spine, but it was far too late for that now. Haruka groaned a bit in pain but then quickly tried to get her body into action again. It was too early for a pin. Or rather, Haruka respected her opponent too much to try and pin her after only a move or two.

So Haruka moved quickly to try and secure a submission. No one would have called her a submission specialist but Haruka wanted to wear down Julia's legs. Maybe she would stop springing at her with all sorts of flying attacks if she were launching off of pained legs. The Silent Phoenix straddled Julia, bent over and picked up one of her long and powerful legs.

She then pulled it back into a single leg Boston Crab. It wasn't the most complex or vicious of all the submission moves, but it had a simple and elegant efficacy that none could deny. Perhaps the fans would be hacked off that this previously high-flying match was being ground to a halt but they weren't Haruka's concern at the moment.

The impact made by Haruka’s daring dive hadn’t been comfortable for either woman, but there was no doubt at all who got the worst of it. Julia remained on the mat, trying to regain the breath that had just been blasted right out of her body. Haruka on the other hand, despite feeling some nagging pain in her back, was already back up and on the move once again. And, still dazed and winded, Julia wasn’t in any position to do a thing about it for the moment.

No immediate resistance was offered as the Silent Phoenix moved over the blonde and grabbed a hold of her leg, before turning her right over to apply the single leg crab. “Aagh!” Julia shouted out as pain riddled her leg and back in Haruka’s hold. Her body instinctively reacted to the pain by writhing about, though it was quickly clear that squirming alone wouldn’t being the grounded high flyer the freedom she sought.

She could have begun trying to drag herself and Haruka toward the ropes. But they were pretty far away, or at least it sure felt like they were. And frankly, Julia wanted to show both her foe and the audience that she was capable of escaping this hold on her own. First, the luchadora fired her right elbow Haruka’s lower back, aiming to take advantage of the damage done to that area earlier. And if it caused Haruka to loosen her hold, Julia would then attempt to twist her body to the side to roll over onto her back while also twisting the Phoenix back around to face her, before firing her free leg out to send a quick kick toward the woman’s skull. It likely wouldn’t be strong enough to deal any severe, lasting damage. But with any luck, she would at least force Haruka to release her hold on Julia’s leg.

Haruka grunted. The exertion of holding Julia into the lock was getting to her. Even while holding Julia in the painful hold, Haruka couldn't help but admire Julia's long and powerful legs. The pretty blonde woman must have been at the gym constantly. The Silent Phoenix and the crowd admired Julia for her appearance and her wrestling skills.

But that came to an end when Julia finagled her way into swinging an elbow into Haruka's pained back. Haruka broke her silence and cried out in pain and gave Julia a little leeway in the hold. The masked woman used her freedom of movement to roll over and launch a solid kick towards Haruka's head. There was no way the Silent Phoenix could have seen it coming and couldn't react to it.

Well, she could react to it one way. Haruka slowly fell to the mat as her bell was rung. Haruka went spread eagle for a second before bringing her limbs into a more ready position. Julia was surely aching from the submission hold, but she was still dangerous and Haruka would have to be ready for her. The mat was wet from Haruka and Julia's sweat and the lights high above her almost blinded her. But she thought she was ready for whatever was to come.

Julia breathed a sigh of relief as her boot hit a bullseye, causing Haruka to topple over onto the mat again. Her leg still ached from being bent back in her foe’s clutches, but the luchadora had been fortunate to escape the hold before the damage could become serious. And just as importantly, she had a chance to turn things back around again.

Julia rolled up to her feet quickly as she could, but winced in pain and put a hand over her ribs as she moved. She could tell the effects of that senton Haruka had hit her with were going to be sticking around for a while, so she simply did the best she could to block it out of her mind.

Despite being down on the canvas after taking that kick to the head, Haruka had brought her hands and legs up, ready to move on the defensive again. Mental fortitude and ring awareness like this wasn’t excessively common, and Julia could tell being too obvious with her approach could easily lead her right into a deadly trap. Whatever she did, she’d have to be methodical about it, and even then there wouldn’t be any guarantee of success.

Moving around toward Haruka’s side, first the blonde would try to stay just far enough away to tempt the Phoenix to start pulling herself up. And if she did, Julia would quickly step in and fire off a roundhouse kick seemingly aimed at Haruka’s head. But in actuality, the kick would just be a faint intended to make her duck back down under it on instinct while allowing Julia to simultaneously spin to bring her back facing the Silent Phoenix. If that succeeded, Julia would complete her somewhat intricate plan by suddenly flipping backward with a standing moonsault aiming herself right at Haruka’s torso. And in the process, she’d make sure she pushed off more with her good leg than the one her foe had worked on with her hold moments ago.

Haruka took the bait. She began to get up and then brought her guard up to protect her head from some mammoth kick. But it was just an expert feint and Julia took the opportunity to do a flip and land on Haruka. The Silent Phoenix was flattened immediately. She cursed herself for so foolishly falling right into Julia's clutches but still appreciated how deftly she moved and sliced through the air. Julia's full body weight crashed onto Haruka's already aching back and Haruka grunted.

There was no getting up from this one. Her back was taking a pounding, the likes of which she hadn't seen in a long time. Haruka balled her hands into fists. She wanted to strike back and get herself back on the offensive but the pain proved to be too much. All Haruka could do was groan and try to bear it.

The crowd was doing considerably more than bearing it. They were going nuts, ecstatic with Julia's airborne proficiency. Maybe Julia was a little hurt from the splash as well. That was the best Haruka could hope for, lying under Julia like a sack of potatoes.

The only thing more explosive than the impact of Julia’s body as it crashed down onto Haruka’s was the immediate response of the audience. Hearing that kind of response was always borderline euphoric for Julia. It was not only clear confirmation that she’d pulled off something big against an opponent, but perhaps even more importantly, it told Julia that the crowd was having one hell of a time watching the match. And that knowledge alone was enough to cause a smile to tug at her lips.

The landing hadn’t been comfortable for Julia either, and even aggravated the pain in her back as well. But it likely wasn’t anything at all in comparison to what Haruka was feeling at that moment. And immediately after she landed, the blonde luchadora kept her body laid out across the torso of the Silent Phoenix, while reaching an arm out to hook one of Haruka’s legs to attempt a pin.

Despite the damage she’d inflicted thus far, Julia highly doubted it would actually be enough to secure a pin over someone as tough as Haruka. Still much too early for that. But, it would give Julia a bit of time to plan out her next move, and force her foe to put a strain on her aching back if she wanted to escape the pin and keep the match alive. And as she bore all this in mind, the ref slid over and slapped the mat by Haruka’s head to start the count.

“ONE!”

"TWO!!"

Damn. The blow must have hit her harder than she thought. Haruka shot her shoulder up the second the ref girl's hand hit the mat for the two count. Haruka tried to disentangle from Julia as much as she could and roll away. Pain shot through her back as she stood up. The fans were still cheering her on. But Haruka was not even concerned with them in the least. She focused on Julia like a laser.

Haruka breathed out. The Silent Phoenix had just been on the receiving end of quite a nasty string of attacks. If she wanted to get back in this match she would have to put a massive whallop in, and fast. Haruka surged forward, intent on getting some of her momentum back.

She planted her foot and side a strong arching kick at Julia's head. Sure, she was probably fast enough to block it, but Haruka had to do something to try and claw her way back into this match. And muay thai, her roots, was not a bad place to start at all.

As soon as the ref’s hand struck the mat a second time, the shoulder of the Silent Phoenix jumped off the mat, breaking the count. Haruka then wriggled out of Julia’s clutches and rolled away, while the blonde began to pull herself back up. And while her foe paid no mind to the cheering fans, Julia was feeding off of their energy.

“Lets go, Tokyo!” she shouted out enthusiastically to the crowd while momentarily turning away from her adversary and throwing a fist up into the air. The already frenzied audience began to yell even louder. Ever one for showmanship, little could’ve made Julia feel better about her situation than their resounding approval. However, unbeknownst to her, that same love of the roaring crowds was about to play against her.

Haruka was already up as well by this point, standing right behind her. And right as the blonde luchadora turned back around to face her... *BAM!* The Silent Phoenix’s kick blasted Julia right in her head, causing her to drop right down onto the mat! She was still conscious, but all the noise in the arena was now replaced with a loud ringing in her skull, and the room practically seemed to be spinning all around her. “Ughh...” she groaned, as her hand slowly moved up to rest over her throbbing head.

Haruka's foot collided with Julia's pretty head with a sickening crunch and it sent Julia to the mat. The masked woman had been wary of Haruka and her lethal kicks the whole match and now Haruka provided her with an excellent reason. The Silent Phoenix was a little bit impressed that Julia managed to stay in the waking world. Impressed and a little irked. That could have been it.

But it wasn't and Haruka was going to have to knock her out. She knew a few ways to do exactly that but opted for something else. It looked like flying through the air was Julia's bread and butter and Haruka was going to co-opt that for her own use. Haruka made a dash towards the ropes and jumped to the top one.

Haruka then jumped off them like a rocket and soared through the air. The Silent Phoenix did a slow, graceful flip, and tried to bring her strong legs down on Julia. Maybe there was a name for it, but Haruka didn't know it. She just loved the sensation of being in the air and knowing that the crowd was watching on with awe.

One second. That’s all it took.

Julia had come into this match knowing full well how lethal Haruka’s legendary kicks were. And she knew taking her eyes off the Silent Phoenix even briefly was a perfect recipe for catastrophe. Yet the luchadora had still made the extremely terrible mistake of losing her focus for a single second, and now she was paying dearly for her moment of utter foolishness.

It practically seemed like a miracle that Julia had even remained conscious after that intense kick rocked her skull. But that didn’t mean too much, as she was currently unable to do more than stare up at the lights while massaging her head, and waiting for her senses to come back to her. Haruka, on the other hand, was already on the move and looking to take advantage of Julia’s dazed state.

Each second it took for the Wrestle Angles veteran to move to the corner and ascend to the top rope was a precious moment of rest and recovery for Julia. It wasn’t much, but against an opponent as skilled as this, every little bit always counted. But the Phoenix then took flight, awing the crowd as she gracefully soared through the air, before bringing her legs crashing down right onto Julia. “Gwah!” she gasped out in pain, her body folding up in instinctive reaction to the impact before turning over onto its side.