Friction in MSG: Rebecca Tomko Vs. River Styx

It took a couple of tries, but Styx was able to stand up after a moment. Sort of, anyway - she was only able to pull it off by the turning around and leaning against the turnbuckle. She realized that the corner was about the worst place to be in New York City at the moment, but she didn't have much choice. It was either that, or Rebecca would flatten her to the point where even she couldn't get back up again.

The respite was short-lived, however. Styx had just started to lean back and catch her breath when Rebecca was on her again, wrapping her bear claw around her neck and squeezing tight - exactly the sort of basic, brutal, ruthless choke that Styx loved to use on her own opponents.

Styx immediately went into fight mode, struggling hard against the hold, pushing back and throwing wild punches at Rebecca's damaged shoulder, but the height difference was working against her and she just couldn't quite reach.

The referee had been nervously surveying the scene from a safe distance ever since the opening bell, but as the amazon throttled the life out of River Styx, she found it safe to try again to get in to call the match. It was basic, brutal and under normal conditions illegal, but in a street fight just choking someone in the corner technically counted as a submission so she had to be in there to call the match if River tapped or passed out in the amazon's grip. Gritting her teeth as she squeezed, Rebecca grunted at River's flailings, trying her best to just lead with her good arm and let her reach do the work, she had to get in somewhat close if she wanted to really put River out.

”Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep!”

Styx snarled as the crowd gave their advice, and judging from the way the referee moved, she was thinking about the same thing. Rebecca’s grip was like iron, and it just kept getting tighter and tighter, a relentless pressure with zero give. Styx was starting to see spots, feeling light-headed, and she'd done this move enough herself to know her face was changing colors. She was only a short while away from getting choked out like a bitch in the middle of Madison Square Garden.

Fuck that. Fuck the fans. Fuck Rebecca.

As she leaned forward, Styx reached out and tried to yank her hair, getting as much as she could hold and viciously twisting it. At the same time, she put her other hand to good use by digging her nails into the arm that was choking her and dragging them all the way down, savagely clawing at the flesh. If she hadn’t made her message clear before, it was now: she intended to win this fight, and she’d rip Rebecca to shreds if that was what it took. There was nothing she wouldn't do to come out on top. Nothing.

Just a few more seconds and this would all be over, River would be passed out in the middle of Madison Square Garden, the ICW/ICWA Tri-State TV title would be back where it belonged and this whole River Styx business would be over and done with, no coming back after this. Hopefully. Well if River did want more of this after Rebecca was through with her, it was her funeral.

But unfortunately River had other ideas, her claws digging in to her hair and arm, drawing blood with nails raking down as Rebecca was forced to abandon her hold on the bald brawler's throat as she tried to flail her way out of being clawed.

Styx breeathed a long, deep breathe of fresh air the moment Rebecca let go of the hold, filling her lungs as soon as possible. That had been close. Way, way too close. She'd had some rough moments in fights before, but never that bad, and damn sure never from some who could only use one arm.

But now she was free, she was mobile, and she was of a mind to give Rebecca back all the pain she'd been dishing out, with a some more added on top.

She kept her hold on the giantess' hair and grabbed it with her other hand as well, holding it tight and secure. From there, Styx pulled Rebecca's head down while jerking her own forward, slamming her forehead right into the middle of the bitch's face with a swift and strong headbutt.

Rebecca had barely managed to get her arm free and it was already stinging as the cool air blew against the bloody tracks before River launched the second stage of her dastardly escape plan, her own forehead, straight up at the amazon. "UGH!" She grunted, bad memories of her match with Akashi flooding back, or at least what she could remember of it as she staggered backwards, stumbling and falling over the same trash can that tripped River up not to long ago. "...Can someone just get rid of that thing?" She groaned on the mat, trying to sit up while she still had the chance.

Styx reeled from her own headbutt, as the sound of two incredibly thick skull colliding rang all through her ears, like two coconuts. She fell back against the ropes, wide-eyed and stunned, but at least she was standing.  The same could not be said of Rebecca. She shoke her head, cleared the cobwebs, then came stomping out of the corner as fast as she could - this was a golden opportunity, and she was seizing it.

Styx leaped high over the trashcan, tucking her legs in to her chest, then shot them downwards with a crushing double stomp on Rebecca’s chest. Or her face. Or her stomach. Or her pelvis. Styx didn’t really know which part of Rebecca she’d land on and she didn’t much care, so long as she broke it.

Rebecca kicked the trash can to one side as she tried to clear an area for her to get up before her view of the lights was blocked by a big shadow. "HNNNG!!!" Rebecca choked out as River's big combat boots were driven down just below her chest, crushing the amazon's ribs into what felt like a fine dust. No groaning retorts, or even a semblance of resistance were left coming from the amazon, just pain.

The move was sloppy, dangerous, and the sort of thing that would've ended the career of the average wrestler - in other words, it was distinctly Styx's style. She wished she could've taken the time really revel and bask in Rebecca's pain, but she recognized an opportunity when she saw one. As much as she wanted to pulverize the giantess and torture Adrian on the other side of the world, she wasn't about to pass up what looked like a surefire pin.

She dropped down with her knee onto Rebecca's chest, planting it square in the middle while she pushed her shoulders to the mat. The referee was stunned for a moment by the sharp turnaround, but she got to her knees soon enough for the count.

"1...!"

Rebecca gave out an extra cough as River dropped her knee on the amazon, it wasn't the most stable of positions but it did the job of keeping the amazon's shoulders to the mat for at least the count of one, and the damage had been done to get the Referee to call out "Two!" For the first time in the match.

It looked like that was going to be all for the battle of the titans, but the ebony giantess managed to lurch to one side, getting her shoulder off the mat and ending the count, a decision she might live to regret.