Felina Rodriguez vs. Armando 'Army' Rodriguez: All in the Family

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, or Knockout
Stipulations: If Felina loses, she has to leave Tension for Friction, and can't live with Army and Carmen. If Army loses, he has to take Carmen and Felina out for a 'day of fun'.


Army was out in the middle of the ring for his match, wearing his red and black boxing trunks. He threw a few punches, letting his taped fists whistle through the air, as his music began to finally die down. As it did, he could hear the audience more and more clearly, and what he heard wasn't good. Not really bad, either. Just weird.

He'd been wrestling for over a year now, and in that time, he felt like he'd gotten a good sense of the way the crowd worked. It wasn't like with boxing, where you just rooted for the guy you liked or had money in. No, wrestling fans liked it clear cut. They wanted it to be black and white. And a match where a 200 pound brawler was taking on his little rookie cousin? Anything but monochrome. So there wasn't a lot of cheering, wasn't a lot of booing. They didn't know what was behind all this, it was just...happening.

Army sighed as he stretched, looking out through the crowd. He'd finally managed to make things right after Jackie screwed with his life a few months ago, and now Felina was about to ruin it. There was no way he could beat her and not just look like he was picking on some rookie with zero experience. The boos would come. Oh, they'd come, and he'd have to do damage control again.

Wonderful. Fan-fucking-tasting

He rolled his neck about as he made his way over to the corner, throwing a few practice punches at the turnbuckle pad while he waited. Psyching up. He'd come at her hard from the start, end it quick. Maybe he could finish before anyone knew what happened, skip all the bulllshit. Not likely, but worth a shot.

A few quick jabs, followed with a lightning-quick roundhouse kick, then repeat for the other leg. Felina was getting herself nice and warmed up for her big debut with the AFW. She’d been looking forward to her first pro wrestling match for quite a while now, but in all that time she’d never guessed her opponent would be her own cousin. Then again, who better than Army?

Army was the one living soul in the Rodriguez family who had never accepted or respected her fighting capabilities. Or at least, he was the only one open about those thoughts. And aside from a few spars and brawls they’d had at various points over the years, they’d never had a chance to really settle things. Until today, that is. This was her chance to prove she was every bit as dangerous in the ring as a Rodriguez should be, and that she belonged among the ranks here in the AFW.

Avalancha by Heroes del Silencio soon began to play over the speakers in the Tension arena, and Felina stepped through the curtain onto the stage, clad in a small turquoise top and matching shorts, and a pair of lightly padded black fingerless gloves. A bright smile spread over her features as she looked out into the cheering crowd for the first time. Based on the whistles and cat calls that soon followed, it seemed they were certainly liking what they were seeing so far. Certainly not minding all the attention now focused on her, Felina grinned while sauntering down to the ring, before walking up the steps and stepping through the ropes. Eyeing her cousin across the ring, Felina then made her way into the corner and bounced on the balls of her bare feet a few times.

“Hope you’re looking forward to a full day of driving me and Carmen around. It’ll be nice having me own chauffeur.” she said, winking at Army before putting up her fists and bending her knees a bit as she waited for the bell to ring.

Army raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder when he heard Felina's choice of theme. Couldn't help but give a quick nod - Felina had a good taste in music, at least. His brief good mood was slightly dampened when he heard the catcalls coming from the audience. Not that it wasn't anything he'd never heard from the Tension audience over a thousand times, but this was the first time he'd heard it aimed at a girl he used to play tag with when he could barely walk. Little awkward.

...oh, God, what if she had a hentai match?

...oh, God, what if she had a hentai match with Clyde.

That sent a cold shiver down his spine, and he hadn't quite recovered by the time she was sending taunts his way. Army shook his head and turned her way.

"Maybe if you do good in Friction you can afford one." Army gave his knuckles a quick crack and made his way over to the center of the ring as the referee waved them. He had a little bit of a smirk left on his face, but it was dying. "Last chance to back out. Sure you're ready for the hurricane?"

Felina wasn’t a mind reader, but she could’ve sworn something seemed to be bothering her cousin for a moment. She had no way of knowing what it was, but whatever it was, it seemed the big guy was able to shake it off and focus up. And Felina chuckled and rolled her eyes when Army retorted to her taunt with one of his own.

“Oh I’m ready. Don’t you worry about that, Army.” Felina replied as Army made his way out to the center of the ring. “But I don’t think you are...” she said, inching out toward her foe as the ref called for the bell to ring, starting the match.

As much as Felina knew Army would hate having to be her and Carmen’s driver for a day, she also knew she had put far more on the line in this match than her cousin. His penalty for losing would only last a day. But Felina? Losing would mean having to find a new home and trying to establish herself as a wrestler all over again. Not something she had any desire to do. So, probably better to exercise some caution for now.

The latina kept a watchful eye on her cousin, carefully following his every movement. And once she was close, she’d start things out by swinging her leg to aim a quick kick right for the side of Army’s thigh. Nothing that would be dealing any lasting damage, but it packed enough power to sting if it hit. Though more than anything, Felina hoped to discourage any attempt at charging straight at her.

And there went the bell. Army brought his fists up, almost on reflex, and moved into his orothodox boxing stance, getting into the zone. "All right, suit yourself. When you're brothers call up to give me shit, make sure you tell them it was your idea."

Army started to move, inching in as she did the same. Now that he stopped and thought about it,  Felina was the second tallest opponent he'd fought in the AFW, missing him by a scant two inches. Most times, that would be enough for him to still get the reach advantage, but with Felina he still had to worry about...

THWACK!

...the kicks. Her foot came out like lightning and struck his thigh, way too fast for him to even think about dodging it. Army jumped back with a quick whistle, shaking his leg to get the pain out before he settled back into his stance. Kickboxing wasn't that different from the regular variety - Army knew the game. She was trying to make him nervous, get him to back off and play it cautious. Wouldn't work.

He took a sly step forward, then tried to close the distance with a couple of bounding steps, charging her way and throwing out a right cross towards her chest when he was close enough to land it. Felina was tough, he knew that, but if he could land a few good heavyweight punches, she'd go down fast enough.

Most of the times Felina had opened with a warning kick like that, it was enough to make her foe vary weary of coming within range of those legs again. Gave her time to watch her opponent and strategize around what she saw. She didn’t know the exact number, but she would’ve guessed that’s the way it went down roughly seven or eight out of ten times.

Her foot smacked right up against Army’s big thigh, and the sharp impact rang out through the arena as her cousin hopped back. After taking that sting to the leg, she’d hoped that would dispel any preconceived ideas of charging straight at Felina. But, no such luck. Much as she and her cousin didn’t get along, the big guy was not easily intimidated, that much she had to admit. And despite the hit he’d just taken, now Army was still coming right at her, and fast.

Time for some quick thinking. And as her cousin through his fist right at her chest, there was almost no time to consider her options. So the latina put up her guard and let the her arms take the force of the hit, which pushed her back a few steps and even sent her up against the ropes. But she was quick to react, and quickly sidestepped to circle around Army and move back toward the middle of the ring, never taking her eyes off of her foe.

That one stung, no question, though Felina certainly wasn’t letting it show. In fact, she even smirked a little at her cousin. “That the best you got, Army?” she asked tauntingly, as she retook her stance, this time electing to wait for him to make his move.

Army's punch connected and dropped Felina flat on her ass, to the sound of thunderous boos. Not what he wanted, sure, but at least it would give her a more concrete idea of what she was really up against and knock a little sense in that stubborn head of hers.

That was what Army expected to happen, anyway. What actually went down was the complete opposite. She guarded the blow, and while she didn't exactly shrug it off, it didn't seem to have the stopping power he was going for. She was still moving, still dancing, still taunting, and the audience was eating it up, cheering her on as she survived and thrived. Felina was trying to dictate the pace, and he could already see this was going to be a problem

Army bounced from side to side, staying loose as she circled around him and finally came to a rest at the center of the ring, making a decent target. "Hope you're ready." He kept bobbing and weaving, moving faster and faster with each bounce. "Because here I co-"

He suddenly broke out of the pattern and bounded towards her, charging full steam ahead once again. Instead of throwing a punch, he decided to dip into his wrestling toolkit and pulled out a classic big boot - he brought his foot up and tried to plant it right in the middle of her chest with a good bit of his weight behind the blow, hoping it would all take her by surprise. If he could take this to the ground, make it about grappling and not strikes, he could get her pinned fast. Not a doubt in his mind.

Felina had to fight the urge to rub her forearms in reaction to the lingering pain from Army’s punch just a second ago, all the while continuing to smirk confidently at her cousin. It had been a while since she’d taken a shot from him, but she could tell he’d definitely put on some more strength in those arms since then. Avoiding his fists was already a top priority in this bout, but there was definitely some extra emphasis on that now.

“I’m always ready.” Felina replied as her foe bounced, bobbed and weaved. And her eyes focused on his body as it quickly moved around. Something was coming, though Felina wasn’t sure what just yet. But considering Army’s boxing background he was always so happy to rub in her face, she was willing to bet it’d be another big punch just like last time.

But as her cousin bolted forward, the latina watched to see which fist would be flying at her, only for a large boot to suddenly come into her vision, slip through her guard and slam right into her chest! “Oomph!” she gasped out at the impact, as the hit knocked her off her feet and onto her back. Very quickly Felina was reminded of the fact that Army wasn’t just a boxer anymore, and was quite a different fighter than he’d been last time she’d seen him. Lesson learned. And now she tried to pull herself back up as quickly as possible, in hopes of getting to her feet before he could take press his advantage.

Felina shouldn't have gotten up after that. No way, no how.

Oh, Army was sure that she could take it, didn't think it would be that easy to put her down for good. But he expected her to go down at least long enough for her to slap on a hold or something. Instead, she was up before he could even start bending his knees, quickly popping up. Hurt, a little, but still bright and begging for more.

Army straightened up and got his feet back into stance. "Don't look all that ready to me." He spat to the side and moved back in, keeping his arms in a grappling stance as he neared. Aggression worked for him so far, so he figured that was the best way to keep going, and things didn't get much aggressive than one of his favorite moves - a bearhug. He reached out her way with wide, open arms and tried to pull her close before she could evade, hoping wrap her up and get a squeeze on. That was the best way - limit her movement, take away her options. Maybe get a submission, if he was lucky.

Really lucky.

Even as she moved, Felina questioned the wisdom of her decision to get up as quickly as she had. True, it kept the fight off the mat for now. And considering Army was by far the more experienced in that area, maybe it was for the better. But, she hadn’t gained back the wind that had been knocked from her sails by her cousin’s boot either. Might not’ve been the best time to force that kind of movement on herself.

She’d find out for sure soon enough, but for now she had to keep her eyes locked and focused on Army. His whole body this time, not just the top half. “Well come on over here and I’ll show ya then.” Felina retorted, turning her hands inward and motioning to herself with her fingers, as if daring him to come rushing at her again. Kind of made her feel like a matador staring down a bull. Not too inaccurate a representation either, albeit slightly stereotypical.

In any case, just as Felina expected her dear cousin came at her just as she expected, this time with his arms wide out to the sides. And as they closed in toward her, she ducked down underneath his left arm, while lunging forward and hurling her knee up right toward Army’s toned abdomen, hoping to blast some air right out of the big guy.