SD 15: Tension Tag Team Title Match - United Kingdom Elite Vs. the Ishii Siblings

One thing Mariko prided herself on was her ability to use her good looks to get into her opponents’ heads and throw them off their game. Of course, such tactics are more likely to work on some than others, but she could generally figure out pretty quickly just to what extent it could be used against any given opponent. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem even worth trying against someone like Ryan. He was one of those “Prince Charming” types: a handsome gentlemen whose loyalty to his woman would effortlessly trump any temptation another woman sent his way every single time. Respectable, but for Mariko it could also be a nuisance.

She wasn’t worried, though. After all, mind games can soften an opponent up, but it still took genuine skill to effectively follow up on them. Perhaps she couldn’t distract someone like Ryan with her long legs or her curvaceous body. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t put him on his back for a three count. “Ah, so the knight in shining armor has already rescued the heart of some fair maiden. How unfortunate.” she replied with a giggle.

As the action continued, Mariko felt her boot find its mark and smash into Ryan’s stomach. A solid hit, and the younger Ishii sibling was just about to move again to capitalize on the strike when her foe’s hands suddenly grabbed onto her leg before she could pull it away. “Shit!” she muttered under her breath as Ryan through a wrench into her immediate plans, before pulling Mariko over to his side of the ring. Not the most advantageous place to be, as she was now in between Ryan and John, with limited space to move, especially while he held onto her leg.

A very brief glance was shot in John’s direction, as she wondered whether he might be a bit easier to fluster than Ryan, and if so, how she could make it work in her favor. But the thought was quickly pushed aside. It seemed much more likely that his personality would just mirror that of the paragon of Britain. And as she brought her focus back to Ryan, Mariko knew she’d have to act soon if she didn’t want to get herself overwhelmed in enemy territory. Moving neither left nor right seemed possible at the moment, so she decided to hurl her free leg up in an attempt to strike Ryan’s skull with an enzugiri.

John stayed on the apron, hands tensed around the top rope just enough to let him get into the ring as quick as he could just in case. Mr Carnaby knew that Ryan could count on him, seeing as how John saved him from a chair shot from Mako in their previous match. Mariko and Yamato had the sibling trust sure, but John was putting his paycheck on the line here. And that right there was something, heavy risk. But the prize was well worth it.

In the ring Ryan was moving Mariko inwards, the more the match was in the domain of Britain's finest the better the odds were for them. But Mr Knight knew it was only a matter of time before Mariko attempted some form of comeback, and considering he had hold of one leg Mariko was of course wishing to get it freed.

Hence Ryan followed a simple trail of logic, and was betting on Mariko trying to come up with her free leg. As the leg got sent up his way Ryan released his grip on Mariko's formerly held leg, to block her enzugri attack. The paragon of Britain grunted aloud as his arms tanked the hit, his muscles screaming in response to the impact.

But Ryan was still standing, and Mariko would be sure to by lying down right about now. So with that in mind Mr Knight's gut reaction was to try and grab Mariko and attempt to tilt her over for a boston crab, a bit early to apply submissions normally. But Ryan figured that at least it kept Mariko grounded and slowed, for now at any rate.

Perhaps an enzugiri attempt wasn’t the smartest thing Mariko could’ve tried at this point. After all, with one leg trapped, and the paragon of Britain being out of arms’ reach, it only left Mariko’s free leg left as a potential threat. Anyone with any experience at all could’ve seen an attack coming. She should’ve at least tried something more creative to catch him off guard.

But, nothing she could do about it now. And it wasn’t like her effort was a complete waste. Her formerly trapped leg was now free, and her kick did manage to crash into Ryan’s powerful arms. Considering the loud smack that echoed through the arena upon impact, she was willing to bet that left a sting that would linger for a few minutes, which was better than nothing. But unfortunately, it didn’t do anything to help Mariko fight out of her disadvantageous situation, and might have made things even worse.

Immediately after the enzugiri, gravity pulled Mariko’s body down to the mat, though she cushioned the fall with her arms to keep it from being a painful one. But already Ryan was looking to go on the offensive before Mariko could pull herself up, and grabbed onto her pretty legs. She could tell what he was going for, and certainly didn’t want to let her foe wear her down with a submission hold so early on.

She began to scramble with her arms and resisted as much as she could while he tried to turn her over. The younger Ishii sibling might not be able to resist his strength forever, but the longer she could stall the hold from being locked in, the less pain she’d be put through as a result. And the one advantage about being deep in the United Kingdom Elite’s territory was that the ropes were very close. “Agh!” she grunted out as her body finally turned onto its stomach with his legs being bent under his arms, before lunging out with her right arm to try to drape it over the nearest rope to break the hold.

Ryan despite his regal and gentlemanly attire was focused in the ring, if he were asked Ryan would say that holding back would be considered rather rude. Even more so considering what was at stake here, holding back meant one might as well hang up the career.

Mr Knight knew that Mariko would bust for the ropes, if the roles were reversed Ryan would do the same. But still Ryan was keeping the hold as best he could, not only to try and steadily wear down Mariko. But also to try and send the message that Ryan could handle her, still though once Mariko got to the ropes Mr Knight released her without a moment's hesitation. The paragon of Britain was intending to win, but still Ryan was an upstanding abider of the law.

After releasing Mariko Ryan turned around, and began to size her up. She had granted herself a brief reprieve, however Mr Knight intended to press the attack. Once Mariko got herself up to a vertical enough base Ryan went to bounce her off the ropes and fling her across the ring for an Irish whip, hoping to rush forth with a clothesline attempt on the rebound.

Mariko certainly may not've been the most "honor-bound" wrestler to step into the ring. But even she could no doubt appreciate the sentiment behind Ryan's philosophy. Holding back against an opponent, at least in her opinion, was far more insulting than any slap to the face. So while she definitely didn't want to get locked up in a submission hold at the hands of someone as strong as Ryan this early on, she could at least appreciate that he didn't ease up on her in the early goings just because of his strength advantage.

A few pained grunts came as she was turned over and the boston crab was locked in. But fortunately, she wasn't in his clutches for long, as her arm latched onto the bottom rope just in front of her. And as soon as he released the hold and got off of her, Mariko quickly began pulling herself up.

The paragon of Britain wasn't about to give her any room to breathe, however, and as soon as she was on her feet Ryan sent her running across the ring and into the ropes on the other side. Naturally he wouldn't do something like that and just stand there waiting for her to come flying back and hit him, so she was on high alert as she rebounded.

Sure enough, Ryan was rushing right toward her to close the distance, with his ready to slam right into her chest. But as she came toward her foe, Mariko would suddenly drop down and aim the soles of both boots right at his left knee, aiming to take the leg out from under him with a dropkick.

Ryan was hoping to drive his highly toned arm right across the neck of Mariko, and send her down to the mat hard with a clothesline. It had been a move that the paragon of Britain favoured, it was simple yet it was often quite effective. Even more so considering the immense upper body strength that Ryan possessed.

But this time it just wasn't in his favour, as Ryan was nearing his arm at Mariko's neck like an axe to chop her head off. Mariko then suddenly broke out into a low dropkick, Ryan's arm had caught nothing but thin air. And her legs fired out right into his leg, striking right near the left kneecap.

Ryan's face contorted into a winced expression, and he silently breathed out as the pain shot into his leg. The paragon of Britain fell to the side with a heavy thud, both of his hands clutching his leg. Ryan could feel the numbness of it, the situation wasn't in his favour at this point. Mr Knight would attempt to roll to his side to the ropes to his left to try and salvage what he could.

Often times the best way to deal with a larger opponent is to target the legs and take away their size advantage. And that’s just what Mariko was doing here, as her feet came crashing into the area right around Ryan’s kneecap. An audible smack resounded, and the paragon of Britain collapsed onto the mat. It seemed the pendulum of momentum had started to swing.

Things were certainly looking better for Mariko now than they had been moments ago. She was no longer confined to the small space within her enemies’ corner, having now taken things back closer to the center of the ring. And for the moment, she had her foe grounded. The logical thing to do now seemed to be to attempt following up her dropkick with a hold of some sort on that leg. The more she could break it down now, the less he’d be able to put his superior power to use later. Or at least, that was the idea.

But once again Ryan showed he wasn’t just some muscle head who was only good for his strength. He was wise as a fighter too, as demonstrated when he immediately rolled toward the ropes. Any hold Mariko tried now would be next to useless with him being as close to the ropes as he was getting. But that didn’t mean she’d have to just stand there and wait for him to get up, either. She’d just have to be smart about how she tried to press the offensive.

Quickly getting up and moving over to his body while he rolled, she tried to grab a hold of the left leg she’d just targeted with her dropkick. Very much doubting he’d just stay still and let her do what she wanted, she’d then act quick, and would attempt to drop down while twisting the leg painfully with a dragon screw, hoping to inflict further harm to Ryan’s leg.

Ryan wasn't liking how the situation was going thus far, considering that Mariko had expertly dodged and countered him. His adoptive Father was probably shaking his head in dismay at how the paragon of Britain had been brought down so swiftly, like a large tree that had been brought down.

But still Mr Knight had followed the procedure that he was taught, when you hit the ground you get to the ropes ASAP. Ryan was considering that he should keep the game as vertical as possible at this point in the match, and attempt power moves. And then later once Mariko and Yamato had been softened up by Ryan and his right hand man John then they could move onto submission moves.

But right now it wasn't in Ryan's favour, and as the paragon of Britain expected Mariko was wasting no time in trying to get to work on his hit leg. But she was too fast, Ryan lost his grip on the ropes and was forced to go along with the ride. The dragon screw drove him down to the mat, and Mr Knight winced as the pain shot up his leg again. He then pounded a fist against the mat in frustration, Mariko was holding the advantage. Whatever she attempted Ryan knew he'd have to try and deal with it, if the Ishii siblings were able to set the pace of the match then it would only work in their favour after all.

Right now things were going just the way Mariko and Yamato had wanted. The paragon of Britain was without a doubt an extremely talented competitor, and the one both Ishiis presumed was likely the more dangerous member of the United Kingdom Elite. So for Mariko to not only get him down and off his feet, but also more or less paint a target on his leg that they could focus on to keep breaking him down, it was huge to say the least.

The dragon screw was only another point to this, as Ryan’s leg was painfully twisted, bringing him right back down onto the mat. The ball was in the Ishii’s court, so now they had to make the most of it while they could. Looking to do just that, Mariko quickly got up and grabbed the wounded leg once again, and would drag her foe a bit closer to her team’s corner. Not close enough to give him an easy trip to the ropes, but close enough that if necessary Mariko shouldn’t have much trouble tagging her brother in.

From there, Mariko would drop down and drape one leg over his stomach and the other over his good leg to keep it down, while pulling the wounded leg at an awkward sideways angle to apply a legbar. “Try not to tap out too quick there, handsome. The fun’s only just starting.” she’d tease. She didn’t honestly expect to make the paragon of Britain submit so soon, even while working on the leg she’d already softened up. But a little bit of banter thrown his way while she picked apart the limb wouldn’t hurt anything. Not for her, at least.

Ryan knew that Mariko was trying to hamper his leg, in the hopes of hampering his movements later in the match. Mr Knight might have been a tad eccentric in his manner of dress and attitude, but he was no fool. To this day only a handful of people had managed to defeat the paragon of Britain in the game of chess, and he was also planning to dominate mah-jong.

Mr Knight was dragged somewhat across the ring, no doubt Mariko was planning to try and tilt the odds in her favour. And sure enough she was going for his leg, this was predictable given his situation. Ryan winced aloud as the strain in his leg worsened, Mr Knight moved his body upwards. He might have gone for a few shots at her legs, punching them to whittle them down. Ryan instead began to drag himself backwards, using his powerful arms to save himself.

Mariko might be wearing down the lower body of Ryan, but the paragon of Britain had tremendous upper body strength. In fact he was even grinning as he began to move right back across the ring, even with Mariko still working over his leg. The muscles of his arms tensed as they took the strain, all the while Ryan struggled as much as could with his legs.