SS 16 Polar Bear Coffin Match: Julia Rogers Vs. Death Bunny

Preceded by: SS 16 Commencement Address featuring Siena McCloud and Kooshiko
Followed by: SS 16 Handicap Smother Match: Natalia the Dream Vs. The Adorable Cuties

Julia Rogers


Vs.

Death Bunny

Match Type: Polar Bear Coffin Match
Winning Condition: The wrestler who puts her opponent in the Polar Bear Coffin will be declared the winner.
Special Conditions: No Holds Barred, No Disqualifications.

Just like the polar bear, these fierce warriors will have to survive the harsh environment that is the coffin match.

Akashi had come from her dressing room and was walking down the arena towards the entrance ramp. One of the bigger moments of her life, The big Sumo was eager to kick Death Bunny's ass, though she knew she was a bit worried about the second match against Brittany. Despite her bravado, she knew Death Bunny might take a lot out of her and no doubt Brittany would do whatever it took to win.

She took a deep breath and tried to keep calm. Turning a corner, she accidentally bumped into someone and as she was about to apologize, she looked up.

"Gomen na-huh? Heh." Akashi smirked as she looked over the woman. "Don't worry we'll meet soon en-"

Akashi was cut off when the fists came. She was blasted in the face and sent reeling. Soon her assailant was on her.  Akashi tried to fight back but she could feel that the fists were wrapped in steel. A few sharp punches left her dazed and then she felt something small prod against her belly before she was jolted with a surge of electricity.

Akashi dropped to her knees, groaning and covering her bloody face with one hand as she looked up, trying to figure out what was going on. Akashi saw the woman turn and walk a few steps before a soft thunk of metal hitting concrete shifted her vision to the chair that was being dragged towards her.

"W-Wait..." She managed and tried her best to roll to her hands and knees. "This can't be... hah... how you want this-"

*crack*

That was all Akashi managed to say before the chair swung down and cracked against her head, dropping her into unconsciousness.

With the commencement address still fresh in everyone's minds, matters would become decidedly more somber with the complete darkening of the entire Alaskan stadium save for the occasional flickering wisps of lights from flashing cell phone cameras. After several seconds of pitch black darkness to dampen the previously jubilant atmosphere, the disturbing and eerie vocals of O'Death began echoing throughout the arena. The deathly and macabre chanting making the already chilly Alaskan arena even moreso, followed soon after with knee-level fog engulfing the overtly extended ramp. The customized ramp, reserved exclusively for PPV's, stretched far down from the curtained entrance towards the ring with the Summer Splash insignia hanging high above it all.

From opposing sides of the expansive ramp, twin lines of marching monks carrying blazing torches would begin grimly marching forward with their heads tilted downward. Each one dressed in tattered, ghastly robes and dangling chains around their necks, their torches blazing brightly and the sole source of tangible lighting throughout their gloomy pacing amidst the murky fog at their feet. The stadium having died down to a somber silence aside from occasional high pitched whistling and mumbling murmurs from the populous stadium.

Spoiler:

Once both marching lines of shambling monks had reached the ring and were standing across from one another, the bunny girl herself would nonchalantly stride out from behind the curtains. Her tattered trenchcoat billowing slightly as she made her way through the dreary fog below her. Stepping forward with methodically delayed steps to her imposing entrance, she stalked forward under the blazing lights until she finally came to ringside and walked past the polar bear suit propped on a sacrificial podium. Her entrance into the middle of the ring and removal of her wide-brimmed hat would signal the lighting up of the arena, fading out of her theme and exiting of the monks.

With the theatricality behind her, D.B. would hand her tattered trenchcoat and trademark hat to a ringside official, revealing her navy blue hot pants jeans and white top, all before plopping herself down into a lotus seated position. Tenting her fingers in front of her face as she fixated her deadened gaze at the entrance ramp, D.B. was certainly aware of the quite literal gargantuan challenge she had signed herself up for. And every fiber of her being was aching for this opportunity, the one that had compelled her to sign up for the Coalition in the first place. A year of biding her time and festering bitterness towards Akashi had built up to this...very...moment. Now there was no Dojo...no Coalition...no background noise to muddle the point. Just the two of them...

Meticulously plotting her gameplan for the thousandth time in her head, D.B. remained still and unmoving while the audience started cheering in anticpation for the rotund sumo's eventual entrance...

Moments after Death Bunny had entered the ring, brief silence had followed to build anticipation for the arrival of the famous sumo warrior herself, Akashi Tanikaze. When the first few notes of very familiar theme music began to play, it was practically drowned out by the thunderous roar of the crowd, which burst right to its feet! The match between arguably two of AFW’s best had been built up for quite a while now, and alone was sure to be an amazing way to open Summer Splash. But this match was also going to determine who went on to challenge for the World Championship later on tonight. It doesn’t get much bigger than this was going to be!

But after nearly a minute of Akashi’s music passed, still no one had appeared on stage, and the song faded out. A unanimous look of confusion overtook the crowd. Where was Akashi? Did she have some sort of special entrance planned? The crowd by now had stopped cheering and started muttering questions amongst themselves, when once again Akashi’s music came on. They looked at the stage again, but this time the crowd volume was significantly weaker as most chose to save their cheers until the sumo arrived in the flesh. A wise move, because once again there was no sign of Akashi. The disgruntled muttering resumed, but while confusion spread through the crowd, the backstage area was in total panic.

********************************************************************

“AKASHI TANIKAZE! AKASHI TANIKAZE! PLEASE REPORT TO THE STAGE FOR YOUR MATCH!”

Stagehands were in a mad scramble all over the place, calling out in search of Akashi. But none had any luck in finding her. Amidst the chaos, Julia Rogers jogged up to the nearest stagehand. Dressed in a white blouse, jeans and her cowgirl boots, the Higurashi dojo’s resident luchadora was not booked for a match tonight, somewhat to her dismay, but she’d made the trip to Alaska to support those of her dojo sisters who were going to be competing. She hadn’t planned on doing anything other than hang around backstage and check out the matches. But once all the shouting started, she was more than a little curious about the situation.

“Hey,” she called out, “what’s goin’ on?”
“Can’t you tell? It’s time for Akashi’s match and she’s not here!” the irritable stagehand snapped. “You’re her friend, right? Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, a little while ago, but I thought she was on her way here...”
“Well, she’s not here! And if we don’t get someone out there now then Akashi will have no choice but to forfeit the match!”
“No-no-no, don’t do that!” Julia protested, trying to think of where Akashi could be while also trying to figure out a way to fix this problem if she couldn’t be found. Not an easy task, especially under pressure. “Just... Just hold on a sec! I’ll be right back!” she said before taking off in a dead spring toward the locker room.

********************************************************************

Back in the arena, the mutters in the crowd had changed into a mix of booing and chants of “A-KA-SHI! A-KA-SHI!” But each passing second only made it more apparent that Akashi wasn’t going to show up.

Finally music began to fill the arena, but it certainly wasn’t Akashi’s. The theme of none other than Julia Rogers began to play, and the masked cowgirl burst through the curtain! She had on her jeans and boots, but her blouse had been thrown off to the side in the locker room, revealing only a black sports bra in its place, and she’d put her mask on before sprinting out to the stage. She was sweating a bit from the sudden dash, and started breathing heavy as soon as she stopped on stage, though she smiled brightly and posed with a finger pointed skyward as if all were right with the world.

Despite her reassuring expression, the crowd didn’t magically start cheering. If anything they were even more confused as they watched Julia quickly walk down the ramp and grab a microphone before entering the ring. The blonde took a moment to catch her breath while looking across the ring at Death Bunny, then raised the mic to her lips and spoke.

“I know I ain’t who y’all were expectin’ to see out here tonight. Frankly, I hadn’t planned on comin’ out here tonight either. But... Akashi’s not here.” Immediately the crowd began to boo in outrage at the announcement, and Julia nodded in understanding before continuing. “I know, I know! I’m not sure where she is or what’s goin’ on, but I know she was lookin’ forward to givin’ y’all a match to remember! I know how much she wanted to become the new number one contender! And I damn sure know she wouldn’t want a match she worked hard to prepare for to end without a fight! And Death Bunny...” she took a few steps closer to the bunny girl. “If you think you’re coastin’ yer’ way to a number one contendership, you’ve got another thing comin’.”

Julia gestured a hand toward the entranceway. “Akashi ain’t here, but I am. And I say these people paid to see fight, and they deserve to get it!” That finally got a few people cheering. These people clearly had been excited to see Akashi take on Death Bunny, and were more than a little disappointed that wouldn’t be happening. But having Julia take on the bunny girl in her place was better than no match happening at all. “You want a shot at the title? Ya gotta go through me first.” Julia concluded, then lobbed the mic to the space of mat right in front of Death Bunny so she could give her answer.

Just as Julia finished, a very familiar theme began to play and the crowd instantly began to boo. Out from the backstage area stepped Lukretia Von Creuzfeldt, the Friction General Manager. She raised the microphone to her red lips, a smile on her face as she looked over the crowd. "Guten Abend, Ladies und Gentlemen." Lukretia purred into the microphone.

"It seems as zough zere is a change of schedule to tonight's opening bout. How, unfortunate zat Ms. Tanikaze could not show." Lukretia tilted her head at the booing. "Honestly, ve have scoured ze arena. Ve do not know vhere she is! It is quite disheartening to have misplaced one of our biggest stars. I assure you zhat ve are doing everyzhing ve can to locate her but, alas, ze show must go on. Thankfully ze fraulein Rodgers has stepped up und volunteered." Lukretia clapped her hands.

She looked at Death Bunny. "You must be thrilled to still have an opponent, ja?" She paused. "However, I am afraid Zhat I have some unpleasant news. Since ze participants have changed, ze match must be as vell. I am terribly afraid zat ze fraulein is not going to get a chance at ze title simply because she was ze first to arrive on ze scene. So, ze match vill continue as planned, but I am afraid ze only zhing at stake is personal pride. I hope zat is enough for you frauleins." She then looked at the audience. "Now, please, enjoy ze show!"

Lukretia quickly turned and slipped back into the backstage area.

Several seconds of extended silence from backstage would turn into several tension fueled minutes of anxious murmuring as the renowned sumo's entrance theme played on and off with still no sign of the rotund Dojo headmaster. Both the audience's good will and D.B.'s patience were being equally tested from Akashi's prolonged absence, the scowling bunny girl narrowing her eyes as she remained in her seated position for both of the false entrances. The notion that this was all just some grandstanding spectacle before the eventual reveal was becoming less and less likely, especially once the crowd's boos and chanting became the defining sound in the cacophonous stadium...at least until Julia's theme would blast through the speakers to a decidedly mixed reaction.

"..."

The piercing glare she was reserving for Akashi was now honed in on the chipper luchadora bounding down the ramp. D.B. knew where this was going before she even stepped into the ring. The deathly bunny unfolding her legs before extending them out and crossing them, now slouching back against the ropes with her arms crossed across her chest. For whatever bullshit reason, one of the marquee matches of the night was now officially annulled. Her suspicions proven accurate once the General Manager herself would make her own grand entrance and officially confirm that Akashi was a no-show. And that whoever won this match still wasn't taking one single, solitary step towards Brittany or the world title.

At this point, D.B. had more than enough evidence to prove that this was all some sort of cosmic joke. That the higher powers at be simply did not want this match to happen. Somewhere deep inside her subconscious, D.B. almost anticipated that the universe would royally screw her over once more. The bunny girl eyed the microphone thrown at her feet for several seconds of dead silence before hauling herself back to her feet while grasping the mic. She approached Julia at a leisure pace until they were eye to eye with less than two feet separating them.

"Sorry...I guess you don't get to stroll into contendership this time, Rogers. Yeah, I know you...The half-a-champion...The perpetual replacement...This isn't your first time filling in like this, is it cowgirl? A year later, and you're still weaseling yourself into situations that are out...of...your...league.  It's almost like you don't belong here in the first place, and you've got no other way to make it to this stage of the game..." D.B.'s soulless stare was transfixed on the cowgirl standing as she continued her retort. "...Or maybe I'm wrong. Still, you're not doing your Dojo any favors with this. You're house...was built on a weak foundation...and it's been slowly crumbling down around you for some time now. You're just too naive to see it..." D.B. would turn to her side as if she were beginning to turn her back to Julia. "Oh, and-..." Before D.B. would finish her final observation the grim bunny girl would rear back and wail the luchadora upside her masked head with the microphone, a high pitched screeching reverberating throughout the speakers upon contact!!

Julia turned her attention to Lukretia as the Friction General Manager took the stage. She was glad to hear the match was being made official - that made her feel a bit less like was invading somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. And as much as Julia would’ve loved a chance to fight her way into contendership for the world title, she was neither surprised nor disappointed to hear that stipulation was being removed. Julia might’ve had a good first year, but what had she done yet to warrant an opportunity to become the world champion? Nothing, if she were being honest with herself. Whether tonight proved to be a step in that direction remained to be seen, but at the moment what Julia really cared about was defending the pride of the Higurashi dojo.

Then it was Death Bunny’s turn to speak at last, and Julia listened with disdain as her foe talked down to her. The cowgirl did appreciate the girl had actually acknowledged there was a possibility she might be wrong - something many wouldn’t have been mature enough to do. But still, Julia was ready to offer a retort warning Death Bunny to not underestimate her or insult the dojo. But before another word could leave her lips, the microphone instead was smashed right up against her masked skull!

“Agh!” Julia cried out as the cheap shot knocked her back. The blonde fell to her side with one hand resting over her head and the other trying to prop herself up. Seeing the action had begun, the ref rang the bell to officially start the match! Definitely not the start Julia would’ve hoped for, though it was far too late for anything to be done about that now...

"...I almost forgot to say that I accept." D.B. gravely uttered into the battered remains of the barely functioning microphone before pitching it over her shoulder and out of the ring. Despite the slim kudos she offered the masked luchadora, Julia's irritatingly up beat demeanor couldn't have helped but push all of the wrong buttons for D.B. Julia's chipper pandering to the Alaskan audience around them instead of addressing D.B. directly made her want to wail into her perky face before Lukretia would even make the last second replacement official.

D.B. followed up on her walloping strike by stomping up to the downed luchadora while she was still nursing the bruise on her cheek, the bunny girl bending down to hoist Julia back up to her feet in one deft, hair-tugging motion via those curly locks of hers. It was a testament to the amount of raw strength the bunny brawler had at her disposal that she could even pull that off, but when Julia was vertical once more the bunny girl would intertwine her fingers behind the luchadoras head to keep her slightly hunched over herself.

Clenching her teeth as she extended one of her muscled legs behind her, D.B. would begin rocketing several gut-churning knee strikes into Julia's slim abdomen. D.B. ceaselessly pelted Julia's stomach with the grip on her head keeping the cowgirl bent over and incapable of repelling backward. At least before D.B. would rear one of her arms far behind her before attempting a European uppercut by hooking her bicep square into the luchadora's jaw.

Getting sucker punched right in the face with a microphone was a horrible way for her to start this impromptu bout, and it seemed Death Bunny was fully intent on milking the opportunity she’d made for herself. “Guh!” the cowgirl grunted as a boot stomped down on her, and barely a second later her foe was already grabbing onto her golden locks to drag her back to her feet.

“Ngh! Let go!” Julia growled, grabbing at D.B’s wrists in a feeble attempt to pry the girl’s arms away from her. But it was all for naught, and a chain of vicious knee strikes began to hammer into the luchadora’s stomach! Each strike forced a pained grunt from the blonde and lifted her off her feet, while systematically blasting the wind right from her sails.

Still D.B.’s assault wasn’t finished, however. And a bicep suddenly blasted up right into Julia’s jaw! “UGH!” she cried out as the hit whipped her head back and knocked the cowgirl flat on her back!

With the rotund sumo chickening out on her and turning AWOL, plus now the prospect of at least walking away from this debacle with a title shot now up in smoke, D.B. had more than enough anguish to sort out. The bunny girl unleashing a modicum of that animosity in the form of a wound up European uppercut that leveled the substituting luchadora back down to the canvas to a resounding smack across the arena.

"Best get used to staring up at those lights, half-a-champ..." D.B. uttered down towards the dazed cowgirl. Having knocked Julia back down after having just brought her back up to her feet was an almost comical sight to the bunny girl, Julia clearly not accustomed to dealing with someone who specialized in straight up brawling.

Since rattling her with strikes was apparently working wonders. D.B. opted to continue that trend in her own special way. Namely by waiting patiently for the cowgirl to start to raise back up again, only for the bunny girl to sprint off in the opposite direction. After bouncing off the adjacent ropes. D.B. would come hurtling back Julia to attempt a stiff big boot to her masked face.