AV 15 Iron Woman Match: Natasha Han Vs. Valley Doll

”Don’tkickdon’tkickdon’tkick-”

”3…!”

There was a hair-raising moment where Valley could’ve sworn she felt a spasm brewing in Natasha’s body, but not - she didn’t kick out. The referee made the final count, and for the third time in a row, Valley pinned Natasha.

”Yes!” Valley threw up her hands in victory, almost looking like she’d won the whole shebang. It didn’t last, though. The pain in her chest got the better of her, and she had to bring both arms down to rub it. ”Okay...okay.”

Valley stood up with a weak smile for the fans, and then she walked over to her corner for a the much-needed rest period. If you could even call what she did ‘walking’. It was more like a slow, tepid, stumbling motion, really. Valley was starting to regret not just going for something simpler while Natasha was down. Should’ve taken her out with the figure-four leglock, a move that wouldn’t destroy her own body in the process.

Valley 'walked' away, and the referee turned her attention to Natasha, kneeling by her and asking her if she was okay.

Of course she was okay. Truthfully, Natasha could have kicked out. It would have been damn close, but she could have done it. She was pretty sure she could have, anyway.

The problem was, was that kicking out would have only made her situation worse. She needed the precious rest period that was between falls. Valley was getting a chance to rest too, but Natasha needed it more. She needed it bad.

She waved off the referee and slowly sat up, climbing to her feet and staggering to her own corner. She leaned back against it, panting heavily and loudly, trying to focus and control her breathing. She only had thirty seconds to recover, and she needed to make the most of every one of them.

As she leaned there, she raised her gaze, staring across the ring towards Valley. She couldn't help but smile, just a little bit, as she looked over the Slamazon's body. She looked like she was hurting too. Not nearly as much as the Russian, but...still enough to be noticeable, and still enough for Natasha to feel like she was making some progress.

Valley might have gotten the first fall, but there was no way that Natasha was letting her get another.

Okay, Valley had gotten the first fall. It was like pulling teeth from an agitated lioness, but she’d done it. Now the question remained: what now?

Valley leaned up against the turnbuckle and stared at Natasha, experiencing some of the longest seconds of her life. She wondered what was going through the thick, Russian, military-grade skull of hers. She had to be thinking of ways to even the score, but how? Would she come fast? Hard?Submission holds? Strikes had worked pretty well in the first round, maybe she’d turn it into a slugfest.

Only one way to find out.

The bell rang and the referee gave them the signal to re-engage. Valley came out of her corner a lot slower than before, more cautious as she neared with her arms up in a standard boxing stance. ”Third time in a row-” She started to taunt, but a sharp pain in her side cut her off. She grinded her teeth down, ignored it, and went on.

”Third time in a row I’ve beaten you, Han.” Valley brought back as much of her smile as she could fathom. ”Good thing you made it an Iron Woman match. That could’ve been it. Right there…”

Natasha stepped in towards Valley. She ignored her words, blocked them out of her mind. She was focused now, perhaps more focused than she had ever been before. She was behind a count now, and as she glanced at the clock...


...she knew she needed to turn things around, for good this time. No more letting Valley control the match. No more letting the Slamazon run over her.

Her face was a stone as she lifted her own arms in front of her, showing no expression other then pure determination. Valley's wincing in pain didn't escape her notice, and when she recognized the Slamazon's boxing stance, she decided to play along. If that's what Valley wanted to do, then that's what they'd do.

Wasting no more time, the Russian suddenly exploded, screaming furiously as she lunged towards her rival. Her fists began to fly, Natasha opening up with a trio of quick blows: two shots towards Valley's face, and then one lower towards her stomach. She had done well there twice already, so she decided to try to strike at her gut once more. After all, third time was the charm, right?

Suddenly, Valley felt like she could relate to a death row inmate. Being trapped, unable to move, no way to escape - that fit her description pretty well at the moment. Natasha was her executioner, getting ready to pull the switch, and there wasn’t much she could do but watch as it came down.  Natasha was on the attack, now. Fast and furious.

”No-” The first punch found its mark, crashing hard against Valley’s face with an audible CRACK that the first row could even hear. It left the Slamazon dazed and stumbling, but not out just yet.

The second punch was blocked, as Valley instinctively raised her arms to protect her battered face. It didn’t do too much good - she still felt more of the impact than she’d like - but it kept her from getting knocked clean out, at least. If Valley wasn't so sure Natasha would never dream of cheating, she would've sworn the Russian had lead in her gloves.

But the third punch? That was what really did the trick. Since Valley was blocking high, she was completely open to the lower blow, and it connected clean in her stomach with enough impact to actually make her feet leave the floor. When they touched the canvas again, her legs couldn’t take it anymore, and she wound up falling down to her knees, coughing up a storm while she cradled her breadbasket.

When Valley went down, dropping to her knees in front of her, Natasha went wild, letting out another shout. She didn't usually see herself as much of a striker, preferring her submissions and throws to wear down her opponents, but in this case, when she had a clear strength advantage over Valley? And her blows were being so utterly effective?

Then yes. Sign her up as a striker.

The moment Valley dropped, Natasha reached out, grabbing the blonde by her thick hair. She quickly jerked the Slamazon towards herself, bringing one of her knees straight towards Valley's face, at full speed and at full power.

Valley had never thought of Natasha as much of a striker, but then again, it really shouldn’t have surprised her all that much. Today was likely to be a day of many, many surprises from her Russian friend. Speaking of…

She’d just started to straighten up when Natasha helped her along, grabbing Valley’s blonde mane, yanking it, and pulling along the rest of her body with it. Valley hissed and reached up, starting to pry at the steely fingers, but she wasn’t given much chance to get loose. The knee in her face ensured that.

It connected, solid and square, dropping Valley flat on her back and leaving her staring up at the ceiling with glassy eyes. The referee dropped to her knees nearby, keeping a close eye on them both just to make sure the Slamazon wasn’t on her way to dreamland - she wasn’t. Not yet. But too many more blows like that, and she would be. No question or doubt.

Valley went down, and Natasha stepped towards her, towering over the fallen Slamazon. Desperation. That was the word that kept running through Natasha mind as she looked down at Valley. Everything about her place in this match was due to desperation. The desperate need to break her losing streak. The desperate desire to prove that she belonged here.

The desperate longing to finally, finally defeat her greatest foe.

She was behind a pin. She was desperate to catch back up now, but she forced herself to stop for a moment, to take a quick breath to calm herself down. Pacing, she thought to herself. She had to pace herself. She couldn't allow her own self to wear herself down like she had done in the last fight with Valley. She had to take things a bit slowly, force the match down to her own pace. She could do that, easy.

She took a few short, quick steps around towards Valley's head, leaning down to grab her with both hands, her fingertips digging lightly into the blonde's scalp as she pulled her up, forcing the Slamazon to sit up. Then, then jerked her head backwards, quickly moving one arm forward, trying to slide it around Valley's exposed neck so that she could force the other woman into a dragon sleeper hold.

Valley needed to rest. Valley needed to breathe. More than anything, Valley needed to get away from the relentless Russian who was hammering her into the canvas. None of that was happening presently, it seemed, because Natasha was a singularly focused woman, dedicated to dismantling the Slamazon is the most effective and efficient way possible.

It was amazing how quickly things had changed. This was a different Natasha Han than the panicked one Valley had been fighting and dominating a moment ago. When this one strode over to her head, there was purpose in her strides. When she forced her up and seized her skull, there was determination in her grip. And when she pulled Valley’s head back and locked in the dragon sleeper, it was with the strength and conviction of a woman who didn't just believe she could win this, but knew it.

Valley, for her part, was on much less solid ground at the moment. It was a little hard not to be when Natasha was bending her back, making her fight for every breath she took, threatening to knock her clean out and claim a fall. She fought the Wrestle Angel all the way, squirming and wiggling and trying to pull herself loose, a desperate struggle to keep her lungs filled and hopefully escape, if she was lucky. She wasn't too hopeful on that last notion.

Natasha's arm squeezed tight at Valley's neck, a vise wrapped around the woman, tight and unrelenting. She pulled upwards, putting as much effort as she could into wrenching the Slamazon's neck, into twisting her spine upwards. She wasn't letting go. Not now, and not until Valley had tapped out or passed out.

"Give...up..." she hissed, trying to tighten her hold further as the American squirmed against her. She stared down at Valley, grunting as she tried to keep her under control. She squeezed harder, the Russian impatiently trying to drain away Valley's energy. "I will not let up...!"