Natasha Han vs. Valley Doll II - Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Getting slammed by Natasha's out-of-nowhere powerbomb wasn't the worst part of it all. Oh, the impact itself was bad enough - Valley was suddenly very aware of all her major organs, as she laid on her arched back and tried to fight past the pain. Her back was on fire, and every breath she drew seemed to make it worse. If something wasn't broken already, it would be if she took another hit like that.

But the worst part was just the suddenness of it, the instant change. One second she was flying high towards a smooth win, the next she was on her back, Natasha had her leg up, and the referee was going for the count. It all happened so quick that her mind was having trouble processing it all, like a computer that was taking in far too much data.

"2...!"

The crowd counted along as the referee raised her hand for the final time, so close to giving Natasha the win, but Valley's body jerked up and broke the pin. Barely half a second to spare between victory and defeat. It wasn't the most energetic break, more of a wild spasm than anything, but it worked and kept her in the fight. For now. She was still in a bad way, and it didn't seem like Natasha had a good mood left in her.

She thought she had it. She honestly thought that the powerbomb would have ended the match.

When Valley kicked out, however, her body spasming beneath the Russian's own, Natasha knew she was wrong. She knew she was wrong, but she was still going to end this.

Slowly but surely, she began to climb back to her feet, and in the process, she grabbed for one of Valley's legs, trying to twist the blonde over, and onto her belly. Once she had done that, she would drop back onto her, trying to wrap her arms around the woman from behind, trying to work her into her STF finisher, her Honorbound.

Maybe she was being a bit hasty, but she was confident that unlike the last time they had fought, she could finish Valley with this. She just had to lock it in, and the match would be her's.

Honorbound.

That word echoed through Valley's head the moment Natasha flipped her over. After getting tortured in it the last time, she did some hard research on Natasha and learned that the STF was her finisher, one she'd effectively used to climb up the ranks of Wrestle Angels and establish herself. She'd came close, so close to making Valley tap out with it last time, too, and the harrowing experience was something she'd never forget, even mixed in with over a decade of wrestling experiences.

"No!" Her body sprang to life right after Valley was flipped over, scrambling towards the ropes as fast as her hurting back would allow. She wasn't able to get too far before Natasha dropped on her back and added her weight, but that didn't stop her - she kept pulling, kept reaching, kept straining for the ropes. Closer, closer, closer...

"Grrraah!" A shrill shriek escaped her lips as her head was wrenched back and her leg was bent, locked into the brutal STF. It was a move she'd suffered through a few times since coming to the AFW, but none of her opponents pulled so hard or locked it in so tight. Natasha's overbearing power was on full display, as Valley's neck was wrenched back further and further, reaching insane angles.

"Yes!" Natasha fired back at Valley, as she wrapped the blonde up tight in her hold. Valley had managed to make it closer to the ropes, but that was as far as the Russian was willing to let her go. She had the Slamazon now, trapped in her STF, and she wasn't going to let go.

She pulled back, as hard as she could manage. She was tired, exhausted even, and her body was feeling every single bit of suffering that Valley had put her through tonight, but she still pulled back, wrenching Valley with every bit of desperate power she could muster.

"Submit!" She screamed, she practically begged, her voice every bit as desperate as it was demanding. "Just be giving up and end this!"

At some point, while Valley was being pulled back and it felt like her head was in serious danger of separating from her shoulders, she decided that Natasha's Honorbound wasn't as bad as the last time. No, this time it was worse. How that was possible, she didn't know, but she swore that was the case.

Maybe it was just her imagination, maybe it was just the pain messing with her head, but there was a strange weakness in Natasha's voice. The way she spoke, it was almost as if she were the one in the submission hold. She pulled and pulled and pulled away on Valley's neck, like getting a submission was the single most important thing in her entire life. The crazy thing was, something told Valley that wasn't too far from the truth.

That didn't mean it was going to happen, though. Valley shook her head at Natasha's demands and continued to struggle forward. "It didn't work last time, Han..." She slammed her fist into the canvas, defiantly hammering away while the crowd began to clap, egging her on. "...it won't work now!"

No. No no no no no. This couldn't be happening. Natasha could barely believe it. She was giving Valley everything she had, wrenching her back as painfully as possible, and somehow the Slamazon was still slowly making her way towards the ropes. It wasn't by much, but little by little she was getting closer and closer, and Natasha couldn't, she wouldn't let that happen.

"Nn. It WILL work!" She practically screamed at Valley, fury and desperation and panic and anger in her voice. She grit her teeth, and focused, trying to draw up every little bit of strength she had left. She was going to end this, even if it meant breaking Valley in half, even if it meant that she herself couldn't leave the ring by her own power afterwards.

She wrenched back with the STF, and closed her eyes tight, trying harder then she had even tried in her life to force a submission from her opponent.

Valley screamed - a full, unadulterated, unhinged scream - as Natasha cranked up the pressure all the way. Tears were starting to roll down her eyes. She wanted to tap. She wanted to give up. She wanted to be out of this ring and go home and have Haley massage her neck for the next two days. She'd submitted to far, far less in her career without a hint of shame, so why couldn't she just quit here?

Because it didn't matter what she wanted - she needed to win. She still remembered the taunts from last year. She still remembered getting dumped on her head by Akashi. She still remembered Taylor Parker yucking it up while she walked up the ramp in shame. She still remembered Morrigan beating her and ripping up her outfit. She was not going to be the weak, pathetic Valley from 2014. This Valley didn't give up - not for Natasha, not for anything. She'd show every last person who doubted her just how wrong they were.

"Valley!" The referee got down on her knees and looked the hold over, making sure it was still safe. "Valley, do you want to quit? Are you ready to give up? Valley? Will you-"

"No!" She dug her fingnernails into the canvas and dragged forward, working hard for every centimeter she advanced. "No! No! No!" The crowd clapped along with every syllable, like the beat of a war drum. Onward. Onward.

When she thought she was close enough, Valley shot her hands out and reached for the ropes, stretching as far as her arm would go.

With every ounce of strength she could muster, Natasha wrenched back on Valley. She pulled on the woman with every little bit of remaining power she could, her biceps bulging as she tried as hard as humanly possible to make the blonde submit. She heard Valley's scream, and she knew she had her. She just had to hold out, one moment more, one second longer, and the Slamazon would be done with...

But before she had even realized what was happening, the referee was in her face, yelling at her to break the STF. The Russian opened her eyes, bewilderment on her face as she looked up, looked at Valley, only to see the blonde latching out onto the ropes.

The sight almost broke Natasha. It felt like something in her died at that moment. She stared towards the ropes, unable to comprehend what she was looking at, but she soon did as she was told, releasing the hold and rolling off of Valley, lying on her back beside of her.

She stayed there, unmoving, staring blankly up towards the lights. She was tired. She was upset. She needed a moment to recover. She had put everything she had into her Honorbound hold, used up all the fuel in her tank, and yet Valley had still managed to break free.

She needed a moment to rest. She just hoped that Valley would need one, too.

Valley held onto the ropes tight, shaking them wildly, squeezing tighter than she had the last time Natasha had her in this hold. "Let go! Let go!" She shrieked as the relentless Russian just kept on cranking her neck, as if she didn't notice - or cared about - the rope break. The pain was reaching dangerous levels, and she was starting to become genuinely afraid there wouldn't be any escape. If Natasha didn't want to let go, it would be a little while before they could get anyone to make her.

Finally, thankfully, mercifully, Natasha did let go, and Valley flopped flat on her face, releasing the ropes and just laying there. The crowd was clapping, cheering on her effort, and she wished she could have given them a thumbs up or something to respond. She couldn't. Moving hurt far too much at the moment. Her hair had fallen down all over her head, masking her pain-stricken face, keeping them from seeing the pure agony she was going through at the moment.

"God..." After a moment, she managed to muster enough strength bring her hand up, so she could massage the back of her neck. She gave it a few quick squeezes, then hissed as she struck a particularly painful part. It wasn't so bad that she couldn't continue the fight, but if she took another bad hit - if Natasha dropped her hard with another suplex or if she just put her in the Honorbound once again - it would quickly reach that point. She needed this match to be over in the next minute. Period.

It was a little funny, though. The last time she'd seen the AFW's chiropractor and asked for advice, he'd made a little joke about not having a match with Natasha ever again. She was going to pay him another visit soon, and this time, she doubted it would be a joke.

For whatever reason, Natasha wasn't pressing the attack. Valley didn't know why and she couldn't have possibly cared less, all that mattered was that she had the chance to get back up. She rolled over, twice, getting next to the turnbuckle. She reached up, grabbed a pad, and started to pull her way back up, slowly but surely rising up to her knees. "Jesus Christ, Lord in Heaven..." She said a quick prayer and looked over her shoulders at Natasha - she'd been down a moment ago, but that wasn't going to last for long.

As the Russian lied there on the canvas, staring blankly towards the bright burning lights above, she realized her mistake. She hadn't paced herself well. She had come into this match going full throttle from the first sound of the bell, and she had burnt up everything she had in her. She was almost, almost done, and just like her blonde rival, she knew she needed to end this match now.

By the time Valley had gotten up and looked her way, Natasha was already rising back to her feet, glaring coldly towards the Slamazon. This was it. She needed to come at Valley as hard and as fast as she could manage in her state. She needed to bring her down again, and bring the long, brutal match to it's end.

She rose up to her feet, and quickly stumbled in towards Valley. She reached out as she approached her, trying to grab a big handful of her blonde hair, trying to 'help' the Slamazon back up to her feet, if only so that she could turn her around and shove her back first into the corner.