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

The clothesline was just the last of many painful maneuvers Yamato had been forced to withstand at the hands of the United Kingdom Elite over the last several minutes. And while he had one hell of a tough heart and a drive to push on no matter how bad things got, there was a limit to what he could take. And with Mariko much more battle-ready than he was at the moment, delaying one moment longer than he had to to tag in his sister would be utter foolishness. And though Yamato might be reckless, he wasn’t about to do something he knew could cost them their first title match here in Tension.

He felt more than a little relieved that neither Ryan or John was rushing up to drag him away from the corner and prevent him from making the tag, though Mariko was a tad surprised by it. But then again, as she saw Mr. Knight staying still and watching them, she could tell he wanted another go at her. After all, she’d taken the upper hand in their first brief encounter earlier, and there was little doubt a proud warrior like Ryan would want to avenge that. However, while the chances of her getting under the man’s skin through seduction were virtually nonexistent, maybe this pride was something she could work in her favor.

Ryan was smart to guess that Mariko wouldn’t just come charging toward him. And as her brother’s and tagged hers, the woman cautiously stepped into the ring, but gave a confident smirk while strutting forward, hoping her apparent overconfidence would further encourage him to rush at her. “Well well. Looks like it’s you and me again, big guy.” she said. And sure enough, Ryan bolted out and sought to come right at her as she’d guessed. That’s it, tiger. Come get me.

As soon as he was close enough to attempt his spear, Mariko pulled herself out of the way and attempted to quickly wrap her legs around Ryan’s to trip him up with a drop toe hold, aiming to specifically target the leg she’d worked on earlier in hopes of trip the British powerhouse onto his front. If successful, she’d then move as quickly as she could to step over his wounded leg while holding onto it, and would then lie forward and try to lock her arms around Ryan’s head to apply an stf!

Ryan was willing to bet that the longer the match went on the more it could be in the favour of the United Kingdom Elite, Mr Knight knew that he and John had undergone hellish training. The kind that could make even a Spartan balk, squats with more than one truck tire on one's back for example. While up a hill, in the dead of a cold night.

Still though all the training in the world still meant little in terms of real world application and experience, and in retrospect Mr Knight believed that just charging right at Mariko was a bad idea. She countered him quite expertly, to the point where if Ryan was watching he'd have thought himself a fool. But still every second he was in the ring was a second that John had to catch his breath, and just assuming Mr Carnaby to be Ryan's simple toady was a bad idea indeed.

And as the paragon of Britain thought Mariko was attempting to start wearing down on Mr Knight's leg, no sooner had he hit the ground following Mariko's drop toe hold she was attempting to apply an stf hold.

Mr Knight loudly winced, while the leg had somewhat healed during his time on the apron now the pain had reared it's ugly head again. And Ryan's nails scraped against the ring mat. "..D-dammit......" Ryan muttered out, he was trying his best not to show the amount of pain he was in though. Being the paragon of Britain meant he knew how to keep a stiff upper lip when the situation called it, although Mr Knight wished he wasn't in this spot.

John was too far out to risk him coming in and breaking the hold, but Mariko made one mistake. Mr Knight's arms, with a loud war like cry Ryan began to push himself up and dragged himself right to the ropes. Considering he had been facing them that was only going to work in the young man's favour, a flaw in Mariko's counter plan. Now Ryan just needed to try and get himself over to the ropes and hope to limit the damage done to his leg, using the thought of cinching Mariko into the Knightmare to help boost his morale.

Mariko and Yamato may not have had the same impressive and extensive physical training many other wrestlers had, but a style like hers, something like that wasn’t entirely necessary. She may not be capable of lifting anywhere near the amount of weight her foes tonight could, but she didn’t have to in order to execute a well-timed drop toe hold and synch in an stf.

Simple yet effective tactics like that only took a bit of simple practice to get the hang of, and Mariko had been practicing these kinds of things with - or more accurately, on Yamato for as long as she could remember. And they were once again coming to good use now as she managed to trip Mr. Knight and lock him up in her hold.

The paragon of Britain did well to mask his pain, but Mariko knew with the awkward angle his already wounded leg was being twisted in, this had to be hurting quite a bit. “What do you say, handsome?” she said, speaking the words softly into his ear as she wrenched back on her hold. “How about you just be a good boy and submit?”

But clearly, Ryan wasn’t interested in doing anything of the sort, not that it exactly surprised Mariko. She figured those arms of his would come into play soon enough, considering they were the only part of him not either tied up or held down underneath her. She kept up the pressure of the stf as long as possible to get the most out of the hold she could, but it wouldn’t be long before he found the bottom rope.

As soon as he got to the ropes and the ref girl called for a break, Mariko’s arms untangled from around him, before her legs did the same. But just as she started to rise up, she’d abruptly drop right back down and aim the point of her elbow right at the back of Mr. Knight’s knee. She wasn’t sadistic enough to purposely try to severely injure her foe, but the more difficult she could make it for him to stand, the better for the Ishiis.

"I never yield, life is too cruel to allow that." Ryan muttered to Mariko. Mr Knight had learned the hard ways of the world when he was growing up, before he met his adoptive Father. The man who helped give birth to Ryan was dead in his mind. And it was true, Ryan was a staunch believer of "Better to die on your feet, than live on your knees."

Ryan knew that the more time Mariko worked on his leg though the worse his chances would be, and as soon as he grabbed the ropes Mr Knight wasn't wasting anytime. The paragon of Britain winced as Mariko drove her elbow into his knee, in response Ryan spat to the outside ring. "Biding my time...." Ryan thought to himself. So he wasn't doing quite well right now, so what? If there was one thing Mr Knight could do it was stay in the fight, he was the first to go and the last to leave.

The paragon of Britain held onto the ropes, using them for leverage. Ryan merely glared daggers at Mariko, with an icy and stoic expression. And then suddenly he'd lunge forth, making to grab hold of Mariko's closest leg. And then move to sweep her other leg, knocking her down to the mat. If this worked then Ryan would swiftly attempt a spinning toe hold, and then go for a figure 4 leg lock attempt while slotting his good leg in. Mr Knight knew that right now the ropes were behind him, and considering the closeness to Mariko. It seemed like an ideal move, if only Ryan could get Mariko off her feet. Then he could turn things around.

Mariko couldn’t help but chuckle at Ryan’s response. Of course she knew virtually nothing about his upbringing, so to her, the statement just sounded corny. “Quite the philosopher, aren’t you?” she teased. “Wait until a tendon or two snap and see if you still feel the same way.” Mariko didn’t doubt Mr. Knight’s resilience, but she also knew he was human and had a threshold for pain just like anyone else. It might take a while, but if she had anything to say about it, she’d drive the paragon of Britain as far beyond that point as it took to make him submit.

Once Ryan reached the ropes, Mariko’s elbow was crashing into the back of his knee within seconds of releasing the hold. And though the pain was clear as day on his face, she was impressed he’d managed to fight back any audible expression of it. He was one tough customer, and so was John. Mariko knew that, but even still, she had no way of preparing herself, mentally or physically, for what happened next.

“What’s the matter, dear? You don’t look so-- Kyah!” she suddenly yelped as Ryan managed to take her off her feet in an abrupt, swift move. And the next thing she knew, Mr. Knight had spun and danced around her leg before applying a figure 4 leg lock! How he’d managed to pull something like that off was beyond her, but weighing much more heavily on Mariko’s mind was the pain that now surged through her leg as it was trapped in Ryan’s hold. “Agh!” she shouted out, immediately writhing and squirming around in pain once the hold was locked in.

The counter was so quick, it was as if Ryan just put himself on auto pilot. Granted Ryan's leg still hurt like hell, but payback was a bitch. The crowd was actually shocked for a few moments, before roaring in applause at Mr Knight's counterattack. The paragon of Britain had been waiting for this, and now it was time for Mariko to pay the piper.

John's eyes went wide and then he started to clap while saying "Bravo boss! Excellent!" the artist had been a tad worried about his employer's well being in that ring. That leg would still be injured no doubt, but at least now Mariko was getting dividends on it.

Ryan's face gave an ever so slight smirk, just noticeable enough and then it reverted back to stoic. It was rare for him to do such a thing during matches, usually he was grimly focused on the task at hand. He knew that this would only work so much though, the figure 4 could of course be countered. But Mr Knight knew that if he could then perhaps cinch in the Knightmare later, it would be sure to capture victory for Britain's best. For now though he just tried to keep the hold on as best he could.

As shocked as the crowd was at the sudden and abrupt turn of events, no one in the arena was more surprised by it than Mariko. She’d spent so much time and effort tearing apart the leg of Britain’s paragon that she never would’ve guessed he’d be able to move as well as he did, especially as quickly as he did. Then again, a nice rush of adrenaline can do some pretty amazing things. And unfortunately, that was working very much against the Japanese vixen at the moment.

She continued to writhe and shout as the figure 4 sent a continuous surge of pain through her leg. And to make matters worse, their ring positioning and the simple fact that Mr. Knight outweighed her by roughly 70 pounds, there was virtually no chance she’d be able to crawl to the ropes. The only way she was getting out of this was either if Ryan abruptly decided to release her for some strange reason, which seemed neither likely or even logical, or if she found a way to counter the hold herself.

The one potentially major flaw she saw with Ryan’s hold was that it required him to put a strain on his wounded leg, while holding it out right in front of Mariko. Aiming to use that to her advantage, she grunted while pulling herself into a sitting position, before raising her fist and slamming it down against Mr. Knight’s bad leg. That alone might not be enough to break the hold, but it didn’t have to. All Mariko needed from her foe was a flinch.

If his body jolted in reaction to the sudden pain like she expected, then as soon as it did, Mariko would turn her body in the same direction his moved, aiming to make use of his own momentum to roll them both onto their stomachs. If successful, this would then reverse the pressure of the hold so that Ryan’s legs would now be on the receiving end of the pain inflicted by the hold.

Ryan was intent on working Mariko over as much as he could, Mr Knight of course was known for his tremendous power moves. But he was also quite decent at submissions, displaying the proper ring awareness and positioning. The only thing he couldn't do very well was high flying, not after that match in China where he dislocated his arm after a botched suicide dive.

But Mr Knight knew this move couldn't last, it could and would only be a matter of time before Mariko wormed her way out of this. This was just to cause pain, to hopefully set Mariko up for a time where he could perhaps finish it. In fact both Yamato and Mariko could be set up for the Knightmare should Ryan had a chance to apply it, that powerful leg slicer. Or perhaps he could be lucky and attempt the acta est fabula.

However Mariko had performed the counter as Ryan presumed she would, his leg had been bad enough. The flinch couldn't be helped as it was a knee jerk reaction, and Mariko was able to take advantage of the movement. Flipping the hold over and now it was Ryan's legs on the end that got the pain, but Mr Knight didn't need to bear the pain for very long.

As his arms quickly reached out for the bottom rope, his long and toned upper limbs reaching for the rope. If Mr Knight managed to do this then he'd wait till Mariko would leg go, and then he'd quickly roll out the ring and aim to move to his corner. It was time for a strategic retreat in the eyes of the paragon of Britain, although his movement would obviously be hampered a bit by his affected leg.

Right about now Mariko was feeling more than a little thankful for the fact that she’d been able to inflict as much damage as she had to Mr. Knight’s leg as she had. If not for that, overcoming the strength difference to escape the hold might’ve been much more difficult. Or at least, it would’ve required some creativity on her part. Fortunately, she was able to keep it simple while also dealing even more damage to Ryan’s leg in the process.

After striking the leg, Mariko was able to turn them over and reverse the pressure of the figure 4, with Ryan now getting the worst out of the situation. She knew she couldn’t hold the paragon of Britain there long, but at least she was free from that figure 4. Once Mr. Knight grabbed onto the bottom rope, the ref girl tapped against Mariko’s shoulder to tell her they needed to break the hold, then started the warning count.

“Alright, alright already. Just hold on a sec.” she said as she started to untangle her legs from Ryan’s. It wasn’t easy, but in a few seconds she managed to pry herself out. And as soon as she did, Mr. Knight rolled under the bottom rope to the outside and started making his way around the ring toward his corner. However, Mariko didn’t particularly feel like letting him go at the moment.

Pulling herself up, she feigned a “stagger” back into the corner. Her leg was indeed hurt after that hold, but not as bad as she was making it seem. And once there, she then started to pull herself up so she was sitting on the top turnbuckle. Eyeing the paragon of Britain as he continued toward his corner, the Japanese vixen then moved to stand on the turnbuckle, before leaping through the air toward the man while cocking her right arm back!

“RYAN!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, trying to get his attention and make him turn back to face her. And if he did, then at that exact moment Mariko would throw her right forearm forward, hoping to blast Ryan right in his handsome face before he could react! It was an extremely uncharacteristic move for Mariko, and she hoped it would be able to catch him off guard.

Ryan was hoping to get a reprieve, seeing as how he'd been smacked about enough to in the mind of the British paragon warrant a tag to the master of creation. Still though Mr Knight believed that the odds were still in the favour of the best of Britain, one good move was all it could take after all. The thought of it actually bringing a smile to Mr Knight's face.

All that changed though once Ryan heard the voice of Mariko, Mr Knight quickly jerked his head to the side. Thinking that Mariko was there, only she wasn't. Instead she was above him, and was quickly lunging right at the paragon of Britain. There was no time for Ryan to even react to this move, it had taken him by surprise.

Mariko's arm collided with Ryan's brilliant and regal features, earning a loud grunt of pain from the paragon of Britain. He fell down to the mat and moved both his hands to cover his head, Ryan lay there and groaned.

But if Mariko thought she was out of the woods she was wrong, suddenly the crowd would start roaring. And it was none other than John Carnaby moving across the apron, and mounting the corner that Mariko had just lept off of. High flying wasn't really John's thing, but he had learned a thing or two from Lucy.

And he hoped that Mariko wouldn't be expecting this, and John sized her up. And then yelled out "OIIIII!!!!!!!" hoping that she would turn around in time to execute a cross body block. If John managed to pull this off then he would plow right into Mariko, he was betting on pretty much the same thing that Mariko had done. And the artist just hoped to God that he managed to his this, it had been the only real high risk move that he practised. A near 6 foot artist was leaping into the air and hoping to strike down Mariko!