Panther Risako vs Suzumi Ishikawa

Match Type: Standard
Winning Conditions: Pinfall, Submission or Knockout

The locker room was quiet, save for the echoed vibrations of the packed arena outside. Risako paid the sound no heed as she sat on the bench, staring at the floor as she'd been doing for the last ten minutes. If she was honest with herself, she didn't want to listen to the crowd. She didn't want to go out there, and show her face in the ring again. Not after last time.

Her hands balled into fists as she remembered her last bout. She remembered the hot anger running through her veins, the righteous fury she felt, and the familiar face that had triggered it all. The familiar face that had spurred two contending, passionate emotions in Risako-- a sombre regret, and a bitter, vengeful rage.

I should have won, she thought to herself again. She wasn't a sore loser, not by a long shot, but the fact was, she shouldn't have let herself lose-- not when so much was at stake. After practically wrecking the Wrestle Angels league, Chris had gone on to terrorize its former members-- girls whom Risako had always been there for like a doting older sister. Risako should have put a stop to Chris then and there, defeated her in an honest match, and finally gotten even with her after carrying her anger at her for so long.

But she had failed.

Without warning, she turned and punched the nearby locker. Pain shot up her knuckles, and she retracted her arm, noting the deep dent she had left in the locker. Wincing, she shook her hand before burying her face in it. She couldn't go out there, not like this. Emotionally, she felt like a mess, torn between humiliated shame one minute and frustration the next.

She took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself, even as she heard her theme music begin to play outside. She belonged in the ring, she knew. There, and there alone, would she find any certainty, and there she would be able to forget her feelings for a while. Standing up, she headed out of the locker room and out into the arena.



Risako managed to hide her unease well, adopting her usual calm, controlled expression and she sauntered gracefully down the ramp. Walking up to the corner post and elegantly sliding up around it almost like a poledancer, Risako stood up in the ring and nonchalantly brushed her hair back. Her every movement exuded a confidence and attitude that hid how she was really feeling at the moment, and she watched silently for her opponent to arrive, whoever she was...

Panther Risako didn't have to wait long before her opponent came out, and it likely wasn't who she was expecting!  Suzumi Ishikawa, former Wrestle Angel, came bounding out to a loud chorus of cheers from the crowd!

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Suzumi blew kisses to the crowd, and she struck a few flirty poses as she made her way down the entry ramp.  Suzumi climbed up into the ring and smiled at Risako as she entered.  Suzumi held her arms out as she took in one last round of cheers from the crowd before looking over at Riskao.  "Heya!  Since our old days I totally always wanted to have a match with ya!"  Suzumi said with a wink, holding her hand out.  "Like, having it happen in Friction is a bit unexpected but we will totally tear it up!  You are still the woman to beat ya know?"  Suzumi added cheerfully as she was genuinely happy to see Panther Risako.  

To Suzumi, a victory today would show everyone that she was back and her injury that forced her out of Wrestle Angels was in fact a thing of the past.  Chris Morgan, and her old best friend Mikoto Kusanagi could take that and choke on it for all Suzumi cared.

When the music blared, Risako tensed, waiting to see who it was. She was anticipating one of the AFW's new and unfamiliar faces, some stranger whom she could fight without any reservation or worry. Just another notch at the belt of the Queen of Queens, no more, no less.

Instead, Risako was shocked to see a familiar face come bounding down the ramp.

Suzumi was her usual cheery self, all brightness and smiles as made her way towards the ring. She seemed just as aloof and upbeat as she was when Risako had last seen her at the beach, and it was then that Risako realized that she hadn't seen Suzumi in the ring since her accident all of those years ago.

Her fist involuntarily tightened as her heart raced. No...I can't face Suzumi. Not after I failed to beat Chris after I promised her and Mikoto that I would...

As Suzumi rolled into the ring, however, Risako did her best to hide her unease as Suzumi spoke up, although she couldn't help but blush as Suzumi praised her. "You're seling yourself sort, Suzu-chan!" she said with a smile, accepting Suzumi's hand and drawing her in close for a light hug. "Look at you! It's been forever since I last saw you in the ring! I take it you've healed up since then?" Stepping back, she folded her arms, inspecting Suzumi like a stern older sister. "Ah, you're selling yourself short, Suzu-chan, you were pretty good yourself! It's a shame we never got to face each other, but as you said, we have a chance to fix that now." She smirked a little. "Just don't be too disappointed if I mop the floor with you, okay? I have a reputation to maintain."

Does she even know about my match with Chris, or how I lost? Risako fearfully wondered. She wondered why Suzumi wasn't mentioning it at all, although a part of Risako still hoped that she didn't.

Suzumi was blissfully ignorant of Risako facing Chris. She had been doing her own training, having issues with Mikoto and spending time with Blaise to get away from everything. "I won't be... even though I don't see this being one sided." She added with a confident smile, very happy that Panther Risako seemed pleased to see her.

The bell rang and Suzumi circled Panther Risako, gauging her as she held her arms up. She knew Panther was stronger than she was, but Suzumi was confident in her technical skills. She would do her best to use her slightly smaller size for leverage, combined with footwork to outmaneuver her opponent. Suzumi moved in and tried to grapple with Panther, doing all she could not to get pushed around immediately!

If Suzumi could maneuver herself, she wanted to try to driver her shoulder against Panther's abdomen, and kick the match off with a fireman carry toss! Nothing great or overly painful, but a nice confidence booster for the tsunami!

Suzumi still seemed her bright and cheerful self, Risako noted. She considered that maybe she should follow her example, and try to forget about Chris and enjoy this match. As much as she wanted to, though, the thought still nagged at her. Did Suzumi know about her loss? Did she think any less of her? Was she just trying to be kind by not mentioning it?

The bell rang, snapping Risako back to reality. Forcing herself to put her thoughts to the side, Risako circled the smiling Suzumi, watching as the other girl motioned for a lockup. Suzumi's smile proved infectious, as Risako grinned back, before darting in to lock up with the other girl. "NNgh..." The two of them pushed, twisted against each other as they grappled in the centre. "You've been working out, huh Suzumi-chan?" she whispered between clenched teeth.

And then, all of a sudden, Suzumi pushed a shoulder against her chest. Risako blinked at that moment, before instinct kicked in. She was lifted backwards in the fireman's carry toss, but as Suzumi moved to throw her, Risako grabbed a hold of Suzumi's arm, hoping to flip the other girl over her the moment she hit the mat!

Suzumi grinned as her plan seems to be working... until it fell apart! "Ha! Got... whoa!" Suzumi shouted as Risako grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the mat! The fast throw combined with the unexpected reversal left Suzumi stunned on the mat, rubbing her back as she rolled to her side!

"Ngh... like, not cool...." Suzumi muttered as she rubbed away some of the pain in her lower back, slowly working her way to her feet. Caught off guard and momentarily stunned was far from ideal in any match... especially when her opponent was Panther Risako! Suzumi knew she had to do a better job of staying on her toes after that, unfortunately she also knew Panther Risako wasn't one to let opportunities pass her by...

Risako took a deep breath after she executed the move, countering Suzumi's throw and sending her sprawling to the mat. This was making her feel a little better, though she didn't feel the thrill that she usually felt when in a match. It wasn't Suzumi's fault, though, and Risako knew that she was obligated to give the girl a good match. She'd simply give the Tsunami a good run in the ring, and hopefully, maybe, that might take her mind off of Chris.

"Nice try, Suzumi-chan," Risako said with a grin, before grabbing at Suzumi's arm and yanking her to her feet. With an elegant twirl, Risako would whip Suzumi across the ring before running up to intercept her-- aiming to arch back to duck under the rebounding Suzumi and spin around, hoping to nail her with a spin kick.

Suzumi felt her arm in the grip of Risako, and as she went flying across the ring, she bounced off the ropes with one thing in mind: Clothesline! As Suzumi ran back she watched in horror as Risako ducked right under and before Suzumi could react, she felt a strong hard kick to the back of her head!

Suzumi went flying forward, hitting the mat hard as she grabbed her head with her hands. "Arrrgh!" She kicked the mat as she rolled onto her side, her head throbbing. This was really quite far from the start she envisioned for herself against her old friend. She grit her teeth and tried to make it back up to her feet, her head still swimming.

"W-we got this..." Suzumi said quietly to herself, trying to boost her own confidence that she could turn this around!

There was a thud of impact that ran up Risako's boot, and a second later, Suzumi toppled to her front, dazed from the blow to her head. Risako didn't stop to question that maybe she was being a bit rough in what Suzumi might have considered a friendly match. If she didn't want to get roughed up, she shouldn't have taken on the Queen of Queens, she thought to herself.

As Suzumi staggered up, Risako burst into a run past her, rebounding off the ropes, aiming to come back and launch herself feet-first at the other girl in the hopes of executing a wheelbarrow bulldog to slam her face-first into the mat!

As Suzumi got up she saw Panther Risako running into the ropes and rebounding. Not good! Suzumi braced herself and felt Risako grab onto her head. A bulldog. Suzumi hated those... anything that had the potential to mess up her pretty face was no good in her book.

As Panther Risako grabbed on and kept going forward, Suzumi did her best to plant her feet and place her hands on Panther Risako's back, shoving her forward to add to her momentum! Suzumi's head wouldn't hold and if all worked out Panther would fly forward landing butt-first on the mat in a sitting position!