Maria Tempesta vs. The Black Fang - Behind the Masks

The jawbreaker worked. Just like that the Black Fang could feel the momentum of the match shift in her favor, and she would be sure to seize it before it had the chance to slip away again. Maria had dominated so far, but now it was on her to return the favor.

The only downside to the move? She couldn’t see the look on Maria’s face when it hit. Shame, but that was what Youtube was for.

Now was the time to make the best of the situation. Rising to her feet as quickly as she could, she looked down at the fallen demon for a solitary second, before running off to the ropes without a second thought. She bounced off them, came running back towards Maria’s prone form, and leaped upward at the right moment, curling up into a ball so she could drop her full weight on the rebellious woman’s chest with a knee drop.

To say that Maria was pissed right now would have been an understatement. Her jaw was hurting like a bitch, her momentum in this match had been stolen, and she had just been nailed by what was, in her mind, a cheap shot. Keeping her jaw firmly clenched, she tried to push herself over onto her hands and knees, oblivious to what Maria was doing as she tried to get back up.

She had just been turning, in fact, when Fang came running at her...and unfortunately Maria, she didn't have time to roll away. The other girl's knees hammered into her chest, driving the air from her lungs and causing her legs to briefly shoot up before flopping uselessly to the mat again. Her body seemed to reflexively curl around the impact as she lay flat on the mat again, breathing hard after that last hit.

Direct hit! The knee drop was underused move in the Black Fang’s opinion. Not as flashy as most moves, true, but it was easy to execute, fast, and it did some hefty damage, as shown from the way Maria convulsed on impact.

But the Black Fang wasn’t done. Far from it. She still had a lot of gain to ground on her newly minted rival, and she’d be remiss if she wasn’t this window.

Her teacher had always taught her to double up whenever possible, and she took the advice to heart as she rolled forward, doing a quick somersault away from Maria and popping up to her feet. She only stayed there for a moment, however before she leaped forward, planted her feet on the middle rope, and sent her flying backwards after she bounced off, flipping through the air to come down on Maria with a picture-perfect lionsault.

"Guuhfff....fffeff..gnnaahhh..." were the only words coming out of Maria's mouth at this point as she struggled to control her breathing. Her legs were kicking weakly at the mat as she wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to regulate her breathing and get a solid flow of air back into her battered lungs. She had to turn this around, she knew. She was a bad spot, one that Black Fang would all to readily take advantage of.

She opened one eye...just in time to see Fang coming down at her in a perfect-looking lionsaut. She only had time to let out a gasped curse in Spanish before Fang collided bodily with her. Maria's entire body jerked before going still, a low groan escaping her lips as she lay in a battered heap under her masked foe.

This was the reason the Black Fang practiced so much, tried to keep her moveset so varied. True, it meant she wasn’t a master at anything in particular, but it also meant that she had a move ready for just about any occasion. Versatility was a great strength to have.

While she was no high-flyer, she could pull off the Lionsault well enough, and it paid off with an aching Tempesta beneath her. She doubted her foe would be taken out by such a move, but there was little harm in testing the waters, getting a gauge on her much work she had left to.

With her body already on top, the Black Fang reached over, pulled her leg, and pressed onto the demoness’ chest, going for a pinfall. The referee obliged, dropping for the count.

”1…!”

Maria's eyes were closed at this point, her right leg weakly rising and falling against the mat as she visibly tried and failed to get some movement going again. Instead, her leg was simply grabbed by Fang, as the masked Asian dropped down and wrapped Maria up for a simple, neat pinfall. The ref girl instantly began the countdown, the audience counting with her as they waited to see if this was the moment Fang won.

"TWO--"

At the last minute, Maria jerked underneath Fang, kicking out at the last minute and getting a shoulder up. She was breathing hard, and looking none the worse for wear, but it looked like Fang would have to do a lot more to edge a win over her.

The Black Fang was simultaneously relieved and annoyed that Maria managed to kick out in time. On one hand, she wanted to give the fans the match they’d paid to see. However, this was a tricky woman she was dealing with, here, and she realized that the more chances she gave Maria to turn things around, the higher the certainty became that she would do exactly that.

The second Maria jerked up, the Black Fang moved over her and seized her with a tight front facelock, getting a tight grip to anchor her with. With control secured, she started to push up to her feet, rising with the demoness’ head tucked tight under her arm.

"Mmmmph..." Maria was less than happy at the moment, her body still aching from the repeated slams Fang had given her. With a low groan, she rolled onto her side, trying to will her aching back to let her roll onto her front. Her mask and horns were hanging lopsidedly from her head, adding some humiliation to her agony.

Fang, though, was there to "help" her up, pulling her up and locking on a facelock. Maria gasped, pawing at Fang's encircling arms as her skull was squeezed. Swaying unsteadily on her feet, she gave a ragged growl and balled her fists together, sending two successive elbows into her foe's midsection.

Controlling anyone like this for any stretch of time was a challenge by itself, and the Black Fang wasn’t foolhardy enough to believe that she would be able to do so with Maria for too long. The woman wasn’t just ruthless, but skilled and feisty, and she was clearly more gifted with strikes than most of her wrestling brethren and sisters.

Her worries came to fruition when the demoness found enough resolve and nerve to strike back as she got her into position for another move. The Black Fang might have been able to tank one elbow, but the second one was proved too much - Maria could hit hard. Damn hard.

With a grunt, she pushed Maria away and stumbled towards the ropes, clutching her chest as she went.

The successive punches did their job, hammering Fang enough to force the other masked girl back. Now given a reprieve, Maria doubled over, out of breath and sore after those repeated hits from Black Fang. She had to admit, Fang had earned her respect: she was a talented high flyer in her own right, and she was giving Maria way more of a challenge than she was expecting. All the more reason, she decided, why she had to destroy this other girl, before Fang did the same.

Forcing her her sore body to move, Maria sprang at Fang while the other girl recoiled on the ropes. Dropping in low, she would try to backflip, aiming to scissor her legs around Maria's head, before rebounding off the ropes, using her legs to flip Fang over hard onto her back!