Black & White Catfight - Jaguar Negra vs Gato Blanco

Jaguar's heart felt like it was about ready to beat through his chest and spill out onto the mat with the way he was pushing himself. His muscles ached and screamed in protest as he lifted his masked opponent up higher and higher, clearing his feet from the ropes. But before he could reach the full apex of the lift and rock back, Blanco retaliated with a hard strike to his exposed ribs.

Jaguar coughed hoarsely and doubled over, covering his chest for any follow-up strikes while he sucked air back into his system. Blanco bounced back just as soon as his feet touched down, leaping over Jaguar and grabbing his arm mid-flight. As Blanco flipped and sailed overhead, Jaguar was thrown with slingshot-like force as the arm drag sent him tumbling across the mat wildly.

Jaguar lay most still on his chest, arms and legs flattened against the mat. His eyes were shut in pain and exhaustion, but he was still conscious for the time being. His fingers curled into fists as his upper back slowly lifted up, but his strength was failing him, leading him to slump back down to his chest.

"Todavía no" Jaguar spoke softly to himself as he slowly shook the cobwebs from his head.

Boots planted on the turnbuckle, Blanco took just a second to shake his head. He had been riding high on a wave of adrenaline. It had carried him from one end of the ring to the next, and was the only thing allowing his aching, exhausted body to keep moving. The young Jaguar had taken him to his limits, which was exhilirating, but there was only so far one could go. Reaching upward, the lucahdor rolled his shoulders, stretched his back, and used that lingering adrenaline rush to send himself sailing through the air.

The voices of the crowd reached a fever pitch. Both of these men had given everything they had to the match, to the exhibition of lucha libre, and now the crowd was raising their voices in appreciation. At ringside, the disheveled and half-disrobed Holly was cheering herself horse. Many in the crowd had gotten to their feet, caught up in the display. Those that had never seen a lucha libre styled match before, wouldn't forget this first one.

Feeling free of gravity for a moment, Blanco twisted and turned in the air. The maneuver, the Cat's Eye, was his signature move. A diving elbow strike that had never failed him, when it connected. Launching upward, the white-masked veteran pulled his knees in, as he flipped off the turnbuckle. He could feel his spine and ribs screaming at him with the effort of it all. Gritting his teeth, Blanco pushed through, turned at the shoulder and twisted his body into the corkscrew, just as he had begun descending from the apex of the leap. Righting his body, Blanco extended his legs, raised his arm high, and brought his elbow down hard on the upper back and lower neck of the Jaguar. Coming down hard with all his weight and the added momentum of the spinning dive, Gato Blanco drove the elbow hard into the Jaguar's shoulders, his body coming down hard on the back of the head to drive him hard, into the canvas. The impact rocked both men's bodies, aching and tired, bouncing them off the canvas to a thunderous applause from the surrounding fans.

Settling back down from the rebound, Blanco turned, put his hands on the rocked Jaguar's body, and turned his shoulders down to the mat. Reaching down, Blanco hooked the Jaguar's opposite leg, and pressed his back hard into the black-masked young man's chest. The ref came down beside them, and immediately began the count.

"ONE!"

Boots pressed hard against the mat, Blanco committed everything he had into the bridge. The crowd waited with baited breath. At ringside, Holly's chest swelled as she took a deep breath and held it, unable to bear the tension. Sweat was running heavy down Blanco's heaving shoulders, dripping from beneath his mask.

"TWO!"

Jaguar's body rocked with the force of Blanco's impact, his full weight focused into the elbow driven into the upper back. His head and legs flopped back and he didn't even have the stamina to roll himself away from the imagined crater. To say that Jaguar was now in agony would be an understatement, that single move seemed to have re-ignited all this match's injuries and re-awoken each and every one of them.

Jaguar groaned in protest when Blanco flipped him onto his back. His head was spinning, he could barely see straight, it was easier to just keep his eyes closed. The one sense that didn't seem to have dulled was pressure and pain, and having Blanco clamber atop him definitely had his body protest on all accounts.

ONE!

The count begun before Jaguar was even ready to mount his defenses. His right leg twitched reflexively in Blanco's grip, thanks to training and experience, but reflex alone was not sufficient enough at this late stage of the match. Both wrestlers had fought too long and too hard for anything less than pure endurance to be effective.

TWO!

Jaguar's breathing was erratic, the last reserves of his endogenous adrenaline fought the build-up of lactic acid and exhaustion. His limbs were numb but he could still flex his fingers and toes, the match was still salvageable! But there was only one count left, one chance to save the match! He just needed a short rest, a brief respite, and he could finish Blanco! Jaguar gritted his teeth and made that one last endeavor by giving it his all, throwing his left shoulder up! The crowd cheered, Blanco released his leg and he began to roll aw--

THREE!

Jaguar snapped back from imagination to reality as the referee slapped the mat for the third and final time. His shoulder had twitched much like his leg had, even shook and struggled for a moment, but he wasn't able to make a clean break in enough time. He had lost....

DING! DING! DING! DING!

The match was officially over with the sound of the bell, and newfound fans of lucha libre jumped from their seats in amazement. Tension had seen hard fought and hard won matches before, that was nothing new, but the spectacle put on by two luchadores together was like a breath of fresh air. There was nothing quite like it in the wrestling world, and these two men had brought it to life in front of them.

"AND WE HAVE YOUR WINNER, GATO BLANCOOOOO!"

Each count the ref gave drew a shout from the crowd. With each beat, Blanco's head rocked forward, the anticipation of the three count building. The white-masked veteran's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. It had been so long since he had a match had gone back and forth like this. Blanco never could have expected that in coming to Japan, he could get a taste of true lucha libre.

The arena erupted as the ref gave the final count, sealing Jaguar's fate and proclaiming Gato Blanco the victor. Releasing the leg, the veteran rolled up to a seated position. Casting a look about the arena, Blanco couldn't believe the reaction out of the fans. Between the two of them, the luchadors had brought so many of these fans to their feet, for the kind of match that the AFW usually didn't offer. There were competitive matches in AFW, to be sure. High flyers, even other luchadors and lochadoras. What these two men had created, though, was the kind of atmosphere that Gato Blanco hadn't seen since the last time he'd competed in Arena Mexico, quite some time ago.

When the ref approached him, Blanco got up to a shaky base, and let his hand be raised high into the air. The opening horns of his theme started to play on the loudspeakers, but the sounds of the fans nearly drowned them out entirely. From ringside, Holly come rushing up the steps, into the ring, and threw herself at the victorious luchador. Nearly enough to take him off his feet, she jumped into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist, and the two spun in the middle of the ring. With success coming to her rarely, since the couple had joined the AFW roster, she was basking in the glow of his victory, as hard-fought as it had been.

After putting her back down on the mat and helping her to adjust her dress, Blanco turned around. He shook his head. The celebratory atmosphere of the arena, and the rush of having come out the victor in such a tight, well-fought contest as this, helped him to forget a good deal of the pain and strain his body had been put through. The one thing he couldn't forget, though, was the man who had given him such a contest. A large part of the culture of lucha libre, is the culture of respect that comes with it. Respect that the black-masked young man had done an excellent job of earning, tonight. Slowly, Blanco approached the Jaguar, and offered him a hand in getting up. Behind him, Holly led the audience in a round of applause for both men, as Blanco reached out his hand, and offered the Jaguar his absolute, unqualified respect.

Jaguar remained panting on the mat while Blanco rose to his feet to celebrate. He’d fought so hard, only for his efforts and spirit to be crushed in the end. It was hard not to feel bitter after coming so close, but he took some solace in the fact that it was at least to a real luchador. A hand covered his face as he groaned lightly, at least he had a bit of rest now.

The crowd was still roaring and cheering as loud as ever when the lovely Holly all but flew up to the ring to congratulate him and join the victorious euphoria. In a fashion true to his heritage, Blanco proved to be the honorable man Jaguar had pegged him for by extending the metaphorical olive branch in respect. Not one to spit on such a genuine gesture, Jaguar accepted the hand and rose to his feet shakily. Seeing the overjoyed expression on Holly and Blanco’s faces, it was hard now to feel any ill-will towards either of them.

With a grin, Jaguar took a turn to accept his defeat graciously and rose Blanco’s arm again in the arm, pointing to him and nodding his head along to the cheers. He was the real deal for sure, the AFW suits had made a smart move when they snagged him. "Gotta say, that was one hell of a performance man, congrats."

While he still had the chance, there was also more one thing that he felt compelled to do before they left the ring. Facing up to Holly, he extended a hand and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. ”Wanted to apologize for mauling you out there, didn’t look before I leaped...” he said with a nervous smile. It had been an accident but she had still taken an unexpected and hard hit.

Gato Blanco smiled wide, as the Jaguar accepted his offered hand. A lesser man might have gone the low road, there, but it was clear that Jaguar Negra had character. As the cheers continued, he offered a clap of respect and appreciation to his opponent. "Thank you, Jaguar. You put on a hell of a match," Gato said. "It was my honor to face you in the ring, tonight! I look forward to seeing where you go, from here! I knew Japan was going to bring me new challenges, but the chance to fight in such a spectacular contest of lucha libre? Again, it was my honor!" Blanco stood the trio of them in the center of the ring, while paying his respects to his opponent.

Holly smiled at the Jaguar's apology. She accepted the offered hand, and grinned sheepishly. "I appreciate that, but it miiiight have just been a wee bit my own fault, for getting myself in there!" the British girl said, with a mildly embarrassed laugh. "But, hey, if I'm going to learn to hold my own in the ring, I need to be able to take the toughest hits I can, right? And that was pretty tough ..." The smile she offered was sincere, but the wince in her eyes betrayed that her body was still suffering, from the earlier collission.

"I think we could all use a rest," Blanco said, after a moment. "Figure we're going to go back home, throw some ice in a bath, and start having our mail sent there. Again, though, Jaguar, thank you! Can't wait to see where your career goes, man, you're a hell of a fighter! If you ever need anything, or just want a some folks to have a drink with, look us up." With that, the veteran luchador gave a firm pat across the back of the Jaguar, smiled, and made his way to the edge of the ring.

With clear pain, Blanco lifted himself once more onto the turnbuckle, and raised his arms in appreciation for the fans, once more. Behind him, Holly adjusted her hair and dress, before clapping along. Then, the two of them stepped between the ropes, and went up the ramp. Clasping hands with fans, stopping for pictures, Blanco's face showed his gratitude for such a tightly contested fight. Though Blanco was the victor, the Jaguar had proved a hell of a challenge. For his first singles match in AFW, and for his first exhibition of lucha in Japan, Blanco couldn't have asked for a better opponent. With a final wave at the edge of the ramp, arm in arm, Blanco and Holly made their exit, a much-needed rest in their very near future.

Winner: Gato Blanco, via pinfall.