Ashley Knight vs. Makoto Aihara - The Hard Road

More cursing. Of course.

At Ashley’s suggestion, Makoto clamped down on the hold even tighter, fully throwing herself behind the effort to choke her foe clean out. It wasn’t her typical style, but this wasn’t her typical opponent. Given all the junk she’d spoken since the match started and the lewd tricks she’d played, it would be quite fitting to just leave her laying.

Ashley was surprisingly skilled for such a bruiser, though - or, maybe the desperation just allowed her to power through. Either way, her tactic worked, and the two of them rolled over, once more putting Makoto’s back to the mat.

”1…!” The referee called out, but Makoto managed to get a shoulder up before that became a problem. It didn’t free her, though, and that was the whole problem - she was in a poor position. She could continue to engage Ashley like this, but given how their last exchange had went, she felt a reset was in order.

Eager to get free, she reached out and tried to grasp the ropes nearby, looking to force a break.

The Canadian girl grit her teeth as Makoto managed to bring her shoulders off the mat, her opponent was tenacious as she was sexy. Ashely growled in frustration as Makoto's hand closed around the rope. The ref yelled to break and Ashley reluctantly had to let go of her opponent. She wanted to make Makoto pay for almost choking her like that and now the ref was telling her to get off of her once she found her upper hand again. She swore under her breath and let go of Makoto and shoved her before getting to her feet- That's when it happened.

The crowd cried out in shock as Ashley would try to stomp on Makoto's head while she was down! The ref gave Ashley a disgusted look and met Ashely's eye.

"Huh? You got a problem with me bitch?" She said getting uncomfortably close to the female ref and began engaging in an angry conversation with her.

It had been a long while, but Makoto recalled being annoyed by the rope break rule when she first entered professional wrestling. It was certainly not something that factored into her judo training, and early on, it cost her a match here and there, losing holds that would've otherwise secured the win. Over time, however, as she came to respect the sport more and more, she saw the utility of it, and it saved her more than a few times.

This would be one of them.

Grabbing the rope earned Makoto her freedom, but Ashley made sure the relief was short. Before the Judo Babe could even hope to sit up, a big red boot connected with the side of her head, hammering into the mat and leaving her dazed on the floor.

When her senses returned, she expected another kick to be coming. It didn’t, though not because of any mercy on Ashley’s part, as if the cranky Canadian cared for such things. No, she stopped because she was busy arguing with the referee. And not paying any attention to Makoto…

Seeing her opportunity, the Rumble Rose rolled to one foot and moved in behind Ashley, coming in low. She snaked one arm through Ashley’s leg, fell to her back and pulled the larger woman over as she fell, trying to drop her flat on her back and stack her with a basic but effective schoolboy. A longshot, sure, but worth a try.

As her opponent got behind her, Ashely was beyong oblivious to Makoto's actions. She was far too busy yelling at the ref, the blonde was far too hot tempered to cool down.

"No... you listen to me honey! I asked if you had a problem, huh?" Ashely raised her arms in a challenging posture. "Well do you?!"

It was in the instant, she wanted to know what Makoto was doing that she was pulled backward. She looked up in shock as the Japanese girl stacked her legs against her own body and had her shoulders pinned to the mat. The ref as much as she wanted to could not start the count as Ashley had instinctively reached for the ropes. The Canadian's white knuckles squeezing the bottom rope in a death grip.

"RAHHH!" Ashley would scream and tried to break free with brute force, driving her hips up in order to throw her foe off of her.

Subterfuge wasn’t something that came naturally to Makoto, and there was a part of her that hated herself for even trying the schoolboy. It felt like something that Candy Cane would do - sneaky, cheap, mischievous. Not something you’d expect from an Olympian. But, if there was one thing she’d learned with the Roses, and in this match as well, it was that there wrestling revolved around taking opportunities when she saw them. She saw the chance, she went for it.

And failed, wouldn’t that be her luck. Doubly so, because Ashley wasn’t just about to get the ropes, but managed to buck Makoto off a moment later, sending the Judo Babe rolling away.

She was sorely tempted to rush back in, but no, Ashley was at the ropes. Safe. Sanctuary. Makoto cursed as she popped to her feet and resumed her fighting stance. That had been her best chance, right there, and she just hoped she’d get another one even half as good.

Ashley broke free and both wrestlers rolled away from each other, she took a sigh of relief. Makoto had once again turned the tables on her, it was infuriating. Ashley knew she was stronger, she had so much control but Makoto always seemed to be able to turn the tide. In fact, if she was a little less vigilante, Makoto could have easily ended the match. As pained as she was to admit it, Makoto was an opponent she could not underestimate. She had to be careful despite knowing she was stronger. This was the first time in any fight, she had to admit that strength wasn't everything in wrestling.

"You... are really getting on my nerves." Ashley said under her breath between breaths.

Relying on pure strength to force her way out of holds was starting to wear down on her. She saw her opponent shift into a fighting stance before mirroring her. The Canadian powerhouse stepped forward eager to finish this fight quickly but wary of her opponent's counter attacks. Ashley would try to send a front kick to her opponent's solar plexus and maybe even get her to take a few steps backward.

Ashley looked like she was getting run ragged, but being honest, Makoto couldn’t claim to be feeling any better. The Canadian’s power put her in a dangerous spot - she could counter her moves, put her in submission holds, throw her around, but she couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t getting her anywhere. Ashley was too tough to be pinned by much of anything Makoto could do, and too stubborn to submit.

Not that Makoto wouldn’t try. She never gave up, that wasn’t her Judo way. But she recognized the challenges all the same.

”Good.” That was the only reply Ashley got from her, and the only one she Makoto felt was really needed.

Sure enough, Ashely came in for the attack. Makoto was ready...sort of. She couldn’t dodge the blow, didn’t have the stamina for such a quick move, and the tip of the villainess’ heel shot hard into her gut, hitting the tender spot in the middle and driving her back a few steps while she gagged.

But Makoto didn’t go alone. She tried to clamp down Ashley’s ankle, grabbing it with both her hands, pulling the blonde along with her. The Judo Babe would give it a hard twist from there, attempting to make Ashley’s body follow along with it and dump her flat on the floor.

"Tsk." Ashley clicked her tongue to Makoto's response. As if Makoto's level-headedness wasn't irritating enough, Ashley found the Judo girl's composure to be down right maddening. She wanted to break this girl scout so bad, she wanted to force feed her the taste of shameful defeat.

The Canadian powerhouse managed to land a solid kick to Makoto's stomach but the victory was short lived. After making Makoto gasp for air, the Judo fighter braved through it and caught her ankle. Makoto clutching her ankle made Ashley uneasy, she knew this was going to end poorly for her now. Awkwardly, the Canadian hopped on one foot before her opponent suddenly twisted. Not being stupid, Ashley didn't resist not wanting to damage her ankle. She swiftly found herself dumped onto her back, hitting it with a solid thud. She felt the sting of the mat crawl up her spine, Ashley cursed under her breath and tried to sit up.

While the crowd was behind her and she was doing a good job so far, Makoto couldn’t share in the enthusiasm. She put Ashley down, sure, but it was just a simple counter. She hadn’t done anything more than giving the Canadian a shove. She could do that all day, and it wouldn’t be enough. Not when powerful kicks like that one were getting thrown around.

Makoto needed something bigger. Bolder. Stronger. Riskier. That wasn’t her usual way, but this was the AFW now, and she wouldn’t make it far if she wasn’t willing to adjust when need be.

Ashley started to sit up, and she knew right away what to do. She stepped over the blonde’s waist and reached down, trying to wrap her arm around Ashley’s neck. From there, Makoto would sit down on her lap and attempt to encircle the bigger woman’s iron abs with her legs, looking to drag her opponent into the lethal guillotine choke - Mae Hadaka Jime.

Ashley looked but was too slow to stop the Japanese Judoka to step over her. In a flash, Makoto slid her arm across her throat and locked in a guillotine choke! The blonde's eyes went wide with panic as the raven haired beauty put was about to put her in another deadly submission. She bit down hard on her teeth as she felt Makoto's forearm dig into her throat. She struggled for air as she was being strangled. It was hard to move with the Asian hottie sitting on her lap, securing her legs. Trapped in this seated position, Ashley tugged down on Makoto's arm tryong to mitigate the effects of the choke. However, in truth, it felt like she was only delaying the inevitable.

"Ghhh!" The blonde's face turned red as the probability of her defeat increased with every second.

".... f-fuck..." The Canadian managed to curse finding herself suddenly at the Judoka's mercy.