Josh & Jesse Rogers vs Carmen & Army Rodriguez

Match Type: Standard Tag Team
Win Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, KO, Countout or DQ

Josh was ready to go. The largest and youngest of the three Rogers siblings was doing some final pre-match stretches backstage, and was excited to be taking on one of the most well known sibling duos in the whole league tonight! But Jesse was a bit of a different story. The older Rogers sister leaned back against the wall, tugging at the fingerless gloves on her hands, even though they were already adjusted exactly as she liked them.

“How long’s it been now?” she suddenly asked her brother, though she kept her focus straight ahead. Perplexed, Josh just glanced back at her with a quizzical expression.

“Hm? What’s the hurry? They’ll cue us out any moment now,” he replied, but Jesse just rolled her eyes.

“I mean, how long’s it been since we left home? Half a year now?”

“Sure, I guess. Give or take.” He shrugged. “What ‘bout it?”

Finally Jesse turned to meet Josh’s gaze, and he could see clear as day she wasn’t happy. Well, she rarely was. But this was intense, bordering on anger. In fact, he was willing to bet Jesse was pissed off about something, and was fighting hard to keep that contained. Well, he didn’t have to wait long to find out what it was all about.

“The entire reason we came here in the first place was to earn extra money to help support New Frontier. And in nearly half a year we’re only just now about to have our third match! Total! The only thing keepin’ our contributions from bein’ more than a bit of gas money is the extra shit Julia chips in. How does that not bother ya?!”

Josh couldn’t say he didn’t know this conversation was coming. He just hated that Jesse decided to spring it on him right before a match. “We’ve just had a slow start, that’s all. Things’ll pick up,” he answered. Jesse opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when she heard their music start to play. “Look, we’ll talk ‘bout it more later. Right now let’s just focus on the match, alright?” Josh said, and was relieved when Jesse simply conceded with a heavy sigh.

“Fine. Let’s do this,” she said before stepping out onto the stage, followed seconds later by Josh. The scowling kickboxer didn’t pay one ounce of attention to the cheering crowd. And while Josh wasn’t half the showman Julia was, he die smile, flex and wave to a few fans along the way. Jesse rolled under the bottom rope to enter the ring the moment she reached to it, then hopped up to her feet. Josh climbed up onto the apron, then swung a leg over the top rope, followed by the other, then went to stand by his sister.

“Let me deal with Carmen,” Jesse said. “Otherwise you’ll just fawn over her damn accent ‘til she knocks ‘yer ass out cold.” Josh only chuckled in response. Though inwardly he knew there was probably some validity to his sister’s concern.

Army was ready to go. The largest man in the Rodriguez clan was doing some shadow boxing in the back, throwing out left and right with fervid fury. Carmen always told him that was a waste of energy before the match, that he should reserve it for the ring, but he never could help himself. He was all nerves before a good match, and the one that they were about to go into promised to be very damn good.

”How long has it been?” Carmen, for her part, was staring straight ahead as she did the wraps on her fist, making sure they fit nice and snug.

”Don’t know.” Army shrugged, as their opponent’s music played just outside. ”Like, a few seconds since they started up, won’t be long until-”

Army knew she was rolling her eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. ”No.” Carmen ran a hand over her bald head, a habit she’d been picking up more and more. It was like she kept forgetting there was nothing there. ”Since my last match. Our last match.”

”Uh, fuck.” Army paused in mid-hook and stopped to think. ”Like...a couple weeks. Why?”

Carmen finally turned to face him, and he could tell that his sister was less than pleased - the hard face, the slight grimace, the flicker of fire in her eyes. A constant thing, lately. She’d lost her title, two girlfriends, and her hair in 2016. Not the best year.

”We came here to make money for the gym, right? To set up in Japan, get out name established. We’ve done that, fine, but now it feels like they’re pimping us out. At what point did we became the Tension mascots?”

”The point where you knocked the fuck out of Clyde and started walking around with a belt.” Army was, as always brutal with the honesty. To her, anyway. Carmen would’ve loved to start up a little argument with him, but the music started when she opened her mouth. As if on cue. ”Look,” Army reached over and pulled the curtain back, opening the way for her. ”We fight them first, then each other later. ¿Acuerdo?”

”Acuerdo.” The two stepped out a moment later, Carmen leading with Army close behind. The reaction was mixed throughout the building. Some fans were fans of Army’s style and bravado, while others thought he was a guy who got off on bullying women. Some thought well of Carmen, remembering her 24/7 run, but what she did to Natsu was still fresh on their minds.

If Carmen noticed it, she didn’t show it. Army, on the other hand, slapped hands with those who would and flipped off those who wouldn’t. She made her way into the ring, rolling in under the bottom rope and popping up quick to her feet. Army, for his part, leaped over the top rope and came down hard near the center of the ring, his red trunks flapping about. He was the picture of a hot-blooded Rodriguez man, with his chest bared and open and his feet bouncing.

Carmen stood next to him, more reserved, as she looked at the Rogers across from them. The woman was smaller than her, but her brother looked to make up for the difference, with at least three inches on Army. And they both had the bodies of fighters. On top of that, there wasn’t much AFW footage of them, so there wasn’t too much to go on. Alicia had beaten Jesse decisively, but Carmen knew better than to judge her just on that. Half a year could change so many things, and she wasn't invincible. Soledad had proven that.

”Leave Jesse to me.” Carmen spoke, just loud enough for Army to hear over the din. ”Otherwise, you’ll be too busy looking at her butt to see her kicks coming.”

Army chuckled and folded his arms, giving her a sidelong glance. ”As if you can talk. I’ve had one girlfriend in two years. You probably couldn’t count all of yours on one hand.”

Carmen huffed and gave him a quick glare, but not much more than that, since, well, he wasn’t wrong. Instead, she turned to Jesse and Josh, speaking louder now. ”Okay, you two,” She stepped forward and looked down at Jesse, making sure to get close enough that the difference between them would be at its most stark. A little intimidation never hurt. "Who goes first?”

Pre-match butterflies were a norm, even for the seemingly fearless Jesse Rogers. Tonight they seemed to have been absent, and she almost thought she’d be able to enjoy a rare instance of competing without having to deal with them. But that changed as soon as the music hit and the Rodriguez duo started coming down to the ring. It wasn’t fear. But she could feel in the atmosphere the difference in star power, the reason the Rogers duo were the clear underdogs on paper. But to her credit, she did nothing to show her nerves, though Josh still managed to see through her and slapped a hand onto her shoulder.

“We’ve got this,” he said reassuringly, and she nodded in response.

Once their opponents had joined them in the ring, Josh couldn’t help but look Carmen over first. She had a nice, fit body. The bald head took him back a bit for a second. He knew it had happened, but he hadn’t actually seen what she looked like without her hair. He knew better than to say anything, but it was like he was looking at a completely different person… And then he moved on to Army. In a lot of ways he almost looked like a slightly shorter, darker-haired version of Josh. But whether his slight size advantage would mean anything or not remained to be seen.

Both blondes looked toward Carmen as she marched forward. She only said a few words, but it was enough to confirm to Josh that Jesse had probably been right. Jesse, on the other hand, was thinking about something different entirely. As Carmen stood there, looking down on her, some things she already knew started to mean a lot more. She was staring down a former olympian, a former champion. And she’d insisted on being the one to take her on.

But Jesse had never been one to back down from a challenge, especially one she’d already said she’d take on. She turned to Josh and put her hands against his torso to gently push him back. Taking the hint, he moved as guided and stepped over the ropes to stand on the apron in their corner, while Jesse marched back up to Carmen and stood toe to toe with her, glaring up into the taller woman’s eyes. Anyone who wanted to tote the differences in size, experience and accomplishments between them could kiss her ass. She came here for a fight, and she wasn’t going to be intimidated.

Carmen decided she liked Jesse.

Among most women, her pedigree went a long way. She wasn’t just a female boxer, she was the female boxer - world class, elite, a cut above, at her peak. That wasn’t bragging, it was simple fact. She proved that with the WIBA, she’d proved that at the Olympics, and she was doing a fairly good job of proving that in Tension. Minor hiccups aside.

Carmen wouldn’t lie - she didn’t expect Jesse to just tuck tail and run away as she approached, but she didn’t think she’d have the nerve to face her straight on, either. Wrong on both counts. She was smaller and younger, though not by as much as she’d seemed to Carmen a second ago. If she was intimidated in the least, it wasn’t showing. That show of guts earned her a round of applause from the crowd, always willing to root for an underdog. From Carmen, it earned her a smirk. A brief, but clear one. Carmen liked this woman, but that wouldn't stop her from grinding her into the dust.

Army, on the other hand, thought Jesse was hot. That was pretty much the extent of his concern, as far as Jesse went. Sure, she looked tough, but Tension was full to bursting with ‘tough women’. He’d even be beaten by some of them. Didn’t mean she could hang with Carmen.

Most of his thoughts were on Josh. Not that he was worried about the dude, he was just looking forward to getting his beast on. It had been way too long since he’d had a good brawl, and he looked big enough to bring it.

”You two lovebirds have fun.” He gave them a quick salute and made his over to their side of the ring, idly hopping on the apron to keep his blood going.

Carmen didn’t move, didn’t say anything, didn’t even acknowledge that Army was there. At the moment, the only person in her world was Jesse Rogers. She kept that gaze as the bell rang, and she immediately took a step back and fell into her classic boxing stance. Feet shoulder width apart, right arm cocked back and ready, left arm extended...but that was the extent of it. She didn’t move into her rhythm, kept her feet still.

Instead, she extended her fist out all the way, offering a sign of respect to her opponent with the fist bump. Even though they hadn’t thrown a punch yet, Jesse had earned that much, in her eyes.

Jesse could hear the crowd, see the reaction in Carmen’s expression, and hear Army’s comment, but none of it mattered to the blonde… Well, normally that would be true, but it wasn’t quite the case now. Making a name for themselves among the AFW fanbase was their ultimate goal in this match. If she could earn - and keep - the crowd’s respect tonight, that would be huge. And to earn the same from Carmen would man every bit as much, if not more.

Still, she tried not to think about those things too much. Her hands balled up into tight fists, and her eyes remained firmly locked onto Carmen’s. Jesse knew some bumps and bruises were going to be inevitable in this one. But no matter what happened, she was going to push through, overcome the odds, and head back to Tokyo tonight with the biggest win of her career. That’s the sort of attitude Julia would have about it, anyway. And up until recently it had served her pretty well.

When the bell rang Jesse dropped back into her stance just as Carmen did. Unlike her foe, Jesse bounced lightly on her taped up feet, keeping them right about at shoulder length, and put both fists up, her left only slightly further out than the right. Ordinarily that might be seen as a flaw. But Jesse knew she was within Carmen’s reach, and in the event the Puerto Rican legend opted to swing right away, the blonde wanted more than a single arm available for defense.

Fortunately that didn’t seem to be something she’d need to worry about. Rather than attack, Carmen extended a fist. Nodding to acknowledge the notion of good sportsmanship, Jesse tapped her own fist against the boxer’s then quickly shifted back a step. Once out of Carmen’s range she reached her left fist out a little further, and angled her body a little more to the side so her kicks would be ready to fire off with plenty of power. She doubted a lot of AFW’s wrestlers would be able to tell that immediately. But Carmen had a cousin who fought a very similar style to this. Probably did it a lot better too. So with the element of surprise likely off the table, Felina’s strategy became pretty simple: Caution, caution, and more caution, then hit any opening that appeared as hard as she possibly could.

Wanting to commit to that plan before Carmen could throw any early monkey wrenches into it, Jesse began to circle the boxer, carefully trying to judge her foe’s range and stay out of it. And just in case Carmen started feeling impatient and wanted to try to close the distance, Jesse threw a swift low kick out toward the area of the woman’s thigh. Wouldn’t do any more than sting for a bit if it hit, but either way it would serve as a warning, letting Carmen know any advance made by her would not be welcomed freely.

Now, this was interesting. Carmen could tell that Jesse was a smart sort of lady from the beginning, but even still, she’d expected her opponent to be more aggressive, bring the fight to her. It was probably what Felina would do, and it wouldn’t even be the worst idea on paper. Carmen was a boxer, used to using her fists. The obvious thing for a kickboxer to do would be to keep her at a distance with the flashing kicks.

But no, there were more difference between Jesse and Felina than their hair and skin color. This one was more methodical, more thoughtful. As Carmen moved around the ring and stayed light on her toes, she could see those baby blue eyes analyzing her. Thinking. All the while, Carmen was doing similar things. The two fighter circled the ring like sharks in the water, drawing perfectly circles with their feet. Carmen’s steps were swift and precise, working her way in, /moving closer with every step, getting in…

It happened fast. A blur of motion and she had to rely on her reflexes to do the rest, as Jesse’s leg shot out low and hard. She hopped back just in time to avoid the hit to her knee, missing it by inches. But she didn’t retreat any further than that. She had to test a few things, first.

The split-second her feet touched the ground from the dodge, she did a quick step-in, rapidly closing the distance. Carmen threw out a quick jab towards her face and another immediately after, before stepping back and trying to get out of kicking range before she could be hit with anything major.

Probing. Gauging. Waiting.

Jesse had always been the most realistic thinker of the Rogers siblings, to the point it often came across as pessimism. She was brave and fearless, but she also tended to adjust her style according to the strengths and weaknesses of her opponent, if she knew them. But as Josh watched his sister dance ever so cautiously with Carmen, he wondered how much of that was because of her respect for the boxer’s renowned skill, and how much of it was just an attempt to avoid the same sort of beatdown Alicia Wells had given her months ago.

Probably more of the former than the latter. But he knew that loss had been a humbling experience Jesse would likely never forget. He just hoped that memory would serve as something to grow from rather than an obstacle.

The giant’s thoughts were momentarily derailed when he saw Carmen lunge forward and throw out her jab. Her aim was true, and it looked like the fist was going to smack right into Jesse’s face. But, leaning back, she managed to bring a hand up at the last possible instant. Carmen’s punch hit the palm while Jesse jumped backward. She felt her back hit the ropes, and immediately darted out to the side to distance herself from Carmen again.

“That’s it! Just keep moving!” Josh called out in support, more for reassurance than praise. Jesse needed to know being on the defensive against Carmen didn’t necessarily mean she was fucked. Just had to keep being smart.

The blonde kickboxer took a big, quick breath and started lightly bouncing on her feet again. She resumed circling the Puerto Rican, gradually inching toward her. But this time she didn’t wait long. Only a few seconds passed. Then unless Carmen struck first, Jesse would jolt in to try to deliver a quick uppercut to her foe’s gut before jumping back again.

On paper, Carmen’s advantage was clear, but in theory, Jesse had more of an advantage than she might have realized. There were people who thought that, because Carmen was a boxer, that she was somehow incapable of kicking, as if learning how to box made it impossible to lift your legs. They were wrong. She could kick. She could kick better than most, probably. Working with Felina had mixed in some good kicks to her style, as had wrestling training in general.

But she wasn’t a kickboxer. Not really. Not anymore than a guy who trains with the heavy bag at a gym is really a boxer. If she'd ever tried to compete in kickboxing officially, she'd be crushed without years of practice. She couldn’t match Jesse kick for kick, and she suspected that would be a problem.

That changed, though, when Jesse came in for an uppercut.

It was a good uppercut. A great one. It took Carmen by surprise, she hadn’t expected the blonde bomber to close the distance so quick. Even if she had, it might still have landed. Nice, quick, crisp, it hit her clean on the gut, crashing into her hardened abs. Not enough for serious damage, but she grunted and bent forward.

But that wasn’t all she did. With that punch, Jesse had stepped into Carmen’s ideal range, was working in her comfort zone. There was no way she got to let the blonde just jump out of it that easy.

Jesse hopped back and Carmen hopped after her, keeping the distance, forcing an infight. She threw a left jab, but this one had no power, nothing more than a tap. She hadn’t fully extended it before she jerked her body to the side and went low with her real punch: a solid right hook, aimed at Jesse’s side, trying to drill her ribs.

Fearless and bold as Jesse tended to look, she wasn’t the risk taker in the family. That was and always had been Julia. And even she wouldn’t have thought to do something as wild as lunge into Carmen’s striking range to throw a punch of her own. Even as Jesse threw that uppercut, she wasn’t sure if it was a stupid mistake or a brilliant surprise.

For a moment it seemed to be the latter. The punch hit home, right on the target, and even Josh blinked in surprise at the fact that Jesse managed to land the first real punch of the fight. However, it’s not who lands the first punch that matters. It’s who lands the best punch. And though she was wise to try to bail the fuck out as quick as possible, it wasn’t quick enough. Jesse’s arms moved up too slowly to prevent the jab, though fortunately that was barely more than a tap against her face. But while her arms were up high and her head turned slightly to the wrong side, that left the ribs wide open.

“GUAH!!” Jesse gasped out when Carmen’s fist hammered into her with authority. The blonde backpedaled and danced away from the former 24/7 Champion as quickly as she could, one arm resting against the severely aching spot on her ribs. Nothing was broken, so far as she could tell. But the shot had winded her, and that spot was going to be tender for the rest of the match, and probably for the next couple of days at least.

“Tag me!” Josh called out from his corner while outstretching a hand. But Jesse, without even glancing his way, shook her head. “Not yet!” she growled back in response, keeping a focused glare on Carmen. Taking a deep breath, she’d try to get ready to engage once again. To do anything, sooner or later she’d have to move within that deady range of her foe again. But maybe she could catch her off guard with a change of tactics.

Instead of going for either a kick or a punch, Jesse lunged low and attempted to plow shoulder first into Carmen’s legs while wrapping her arms around them. If she could tackle the Puerto Rican to the mat, maybe, just maybe she could even those odds just a bit more.

Josh wasn’t the only brother in the ring cheering on Jesse, though Army was wise enough to keep his support internal. He didn’t want her to beat Carmen, not exactly, but he had to respect her drive. She was serious. Focused. If the differences between her and his sister mattered to her, she was doing a good job of hiding that concern. He was rooting for her, in the same way he’d root for Rocky against Apollo Creed. Had to love an underdog.

That being said, while the romantic in him had her back, the realist realized this was no fairy tale. Judging from the way things were going in the ring, Carmen was on her way to proving that.

There. Carmen kept her face calm and unreadable as she landed the hook, but it was a different story inside. Her body had tasted impact now. Blood was flowing, the hunger was taking over. Jesse was backing up, trying to make some more space now, but she wasn’t going to allow it. She matched every step, closed in, readied for another combination-

”Huh?” Carmen blurted out a quick, confused syllable, as Jesse suddenly changed tactics and brought the fight to her, going low and targeting her legs. It was all too easy to get lost in the striking, forget that this was a wrestling match, and this was how Carmen paid the price for it. Jesse’s gambit paid off, and the two of them wound up toppling to the floor, with the blonde fighter on top, clutching her legs.

It was a smart move, but after the initial shock from the landing, Carmen recovered her wits and sat up, still confident about her chances. Mat wrestling wasn’t her speciality, but she was willing to bet it wasn’t Jesse’s either, and being on top wasn’t the same thing as being in control. Aside from that, if Jesse’s arms were around her legs, they wouldn’t be guarding anything.

With that in mind, Carmen swung out with both fists, aiming twin hooks at each side of Jesse’s face. Off her feet, they wouldn't' be her best punches, but she could get enough force behind them to rattle her opponent's brain, maybe make her back off.