Tension 24/7 Title Match: Carmen Rodriguez(C) Vs. Clyde Gastin

Carmen was hurt, but not so hurt that she wasn't acutely aware of Clyde grabbing her hair and hauling her up to her feet. The stinging pain in her scalp made that clear, and she groggily started to rise up, forced to stand at his command and go where her wanted to. "Get off my hair, get off..." She grumbled through gritted teeth.

Before Clyde could do whatever he planned to do, though, Carmen decided to rip a page from Belle B. Barker's book of dirty tricks - she reached up, grabbed the cowboy by his shimmering golden hairs, yanked his head down enough for the bottom of his jaw to meet the top of her head, and the dropped down straight on her butt, hitting him with a sitout jawbreaker.

Time's like this, Carmen really missed having her father in the corner. Standing hurt. Breathing hurt. Everything she did seemed to hurt in its own, unique way, and she knew she'd have to keep doing it if she wanted to win. If there were ever a time she could use some fatherly support, it was now. Clyde was stunned, but she had a couple of seconds at best before he came to his senses and went right back to work.

There was a door behind him, halfway opened, and she could see a small workout room on the other side - treadmills, some weight machines, scattered free weights. It wasn't much, but there might've been something in there that could help, so that was where she was going. She just had to make sure Clyde came along with her. So...

She slammed her fist into the floor, pysched up, then rose to her feet her and came at Clyde with a furious burst straight out of American football, tackling him in the gut and bringing him to the weight room in the most violent, explosive manner possible.

Carmen might've been in a world of pain, she would probably be out of action for at least a couple of weeks before she could think of standing up to another title defense, but at least, now that she was in the weight room, she had some upbeat synth music to fight to. Somehow, that alone made the situation a bit more tolerable.

She rolled off of him for a moment, recoiling from the impact and getting her bearings, but she immediately rolled back a second later and climbed on top of him. He seemed stunned, so if there were ever a time to go for a pin, this might be it.

Carmen wrapped an arm around his leg, pulled it up, then placeD her arm on his chest and pushed her shoulders to the floor. The referee slid in and went straight to the count. "1...!"

The moment Clyde kicked out, Carmen grunted and went right back on the attack. No waiting, no arguing with the referee, no frustrated groans as she tried to figure out what to do next. Clyde's back was turned to her as he laid on his side. She knew exactly how to proceed.

She grabbed Clyde's hair from behind and lifted him up, forcing him to sit up just for the moment she needed. From there, she tried to wrap her arm around his throat from behind with one arm, grab the wrist on her other arm, press back on his head and lock in a tight rear naked choke, squeezing down hard enough to cut off the blood flow. Not a glamorous way to end things, but this wasn't a glamorous sort of match.

As submission specialist Carmen was not, but she didn't really have to be in order to lock in an effective rear naked choke. It was the sort of hold that suited her style - barebones and brutally effective. She'd worked on it just for this match, and that training paid off.

But Clyde wasn't going quietly. No small surprise. His elbows normally wouldn't have been all that effective, but on a body that had been totally wracked by vicious combat, each blow to her ribs felt like a hammer against her bones, and after three good hits she had to let him go, just so she could tend to her wounds. But not without a parting gift.

She released the choke and pushed him away, then threw a good, hard right cross into the small of his back as they separated, wanting to make the most out of a superior position.