Prayuth vs. Giulia La Rocca - Seeing Stars

Match Type: POW Match
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, submission or KO
Victory Stipulations: The loser will become the winner’s property for a 24 hour period.

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”For the record, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

For what had to be the thirtieth time today, Prayuth’s manager gave her opinion of his upcoming match. For the thirtieth time, he just rolled his eyes and ignored her. Rebecca - or was her name Rosie? Either way, she was new, someone his agent had set him up with to ease his slide into the wrestling world. Young, strawberry blonde with freckles, tight body. Apparently she’d been a wrestler herself a couple of years back before a knee injury took her out.

She was supposed to have a good nose for the business. But given the way she was fretting about his next match - while they stood in the guerilla position waiting for it to begin, no less - Prayuth was starting to have his doubts.

”You have got to take it easy.” Prayuth muttered as he finished up with the tape on his fists, getting them nice and covered. Had to protect his moneymakers. ”It’s just a match. There’s nothing much to it.”

Rebecca looked up at him, then down at her clipboard, then up again, with more of a worried face now. ”It’s a POW match.”

Prayuth brought his attention to the mirror and started working on his hair, trying to get some spikes going. ”I remember the stips. So what?”

”So,” She walked over so Prayuth had to see her in the edge of the mirror, just in his view. ”It’s sort of a big deal. They’ve been doing these matches for years now, and do you know how many times a man has won it?” Rebecca gave him a quick slap on his bareback with the clipboard, hard enough to make him jump. ”Zero. None. Ever. And this is how you want to debut in the main roster?”

Prayuth just sighed and spun about on his heel to face her, smiling all the way. ”Becks-”

”Please don’t call me that.”

”Becks, you’re looking at this the wrong way. Yeah, no guy has ever won the match before, but that’s because they’ve never had a guy who could. Most of the guys around her are weak, skinny nobodies who couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Literally.” He took a step back and threw out a quick low kick, slicing through the air with ease. [color:dc96=800000]”I’m not like that. At all. I’ll win the match, make history, and make some lucky girl’s day the same time.”

Her rising eyebrow didn’t exactly exude confidence, but before she could expand on the matter, his music began and one of the ring crew stuck  their head into the room, giving them the thumbs up.

”Showtime.” He gave Rebecca a wink and began to make his way out. ”Just wait and see. This is how the magic happens.”

Prayuth stepped out onto the entrance ramp to a nice round of applause, getting some solid love from the Japanese audience. His agent had done a great job hyping up his transition to the AFW, and he could see the results as he confidently strode towards the ring - throngs of eager fans, schoolgirls taking his pictures, some signs that he assumed said good things about him in Japanese.

It helped his confidence, not that he particularly needed a boost, and he promptly slid into the ring and popped to his feet in one smooth motion. Feeling the hype, Prayuth made his way to the center of the ring and began shadowboxing - knees, elbows, punches, kicks, all flying out in rapid succession, looking deadly and sharp and most of all eager. This was his big shot, his chance to make headlines on Sports pages across the world, and there was no way he’d waste the opportunity.

Just sort of sucked for the poor girl he was up against, Giulia.  He’d make it up to her after he won, maybe take her out some place nice to eat, dancing if she felt like it. Keep it classy.

"So they got me set up in a POW match? Fantastico!"

Giulia La Rocca was eagerly waiting for her second match at AFW. She was more than ready to get back into the ring again, full of confidence, prepared to give the crowds a thorough demonstration of what the small Italian girl could do. And the fact that it was going to be a POW match made her even more excited. Unfortunately she hadn't been able to compete in one for a long time, even though she found that kind of matches really fun. The added stipulation just made the matches even more thrilling with much more than just a win at stake.

And she couldn't deny that the aftermath was often very fun as well.

While Giulia wasn't worried about who she was going to be facing, she was definitely interested about it. And that was a perfect excuse to creep quietly towards the gorilla position in the shadows to get a little sneak peek of her opponent.

The Italian managed to get within an earshot of her opponent and his manager just in time for her to hear the, apparently, manager's expressions of worry.

Listening to their exchange of words really made Giulia smile. "No man had ever won?" Well, that was something Giulia couldn't really believe was true. But Becks was indeed making her a favor with trying to set doubts in her opponent's mind about his success in the upcoming match.

Not that her opponent - Prayuth, was it? - was really buying into all that. He seemed confident indeed. And from the small view Giulia was able to see, the guy looked very confident as well. Solid body that was probably very strong and his outfit telling of a combat sport background meant that the guy was probably skilled as well. But the best news were that he wasn't very big, meaning that he was a ripe target for Giulia's power moves.

And did she hear the word debut? That couldn't hurt Giulia either.

Soon enough the eager male entered the arena, leaving his manager behind. Now it was Giulia's time to step out of the shadows.

"So, Becks, do you believe in magic?" the Italian would suddenly enquire behind the blonde's back. Amused by her surprise, she then continued. "I don't think you do... But that's OK, neither do I. And all the magia I need is right here..." Tapping on her thighs as she made the last remark, Giulia could then watch Prayuth's entrance. "Huh, so many pictures... Is he famous or something?"

Rebecca sighed as she watched Prayuth prance off, strutting off down the ramp as if he were taking a leisurely stroll down the street. He wasn't as unique as he liked to think he was, she knew that much. Rebecca had seen dozens of wrestlers like him in her time - mostly women, sure, but it still applied. Cocksure combatants who gone down the ramp hungry for glory, only to come back up with a bowlful of humility.

It was a dance she'd seen before and would’ve loved to see again, only she was tied to Prayuth. His failure was her failure, his success was her success, and if he came out of this match with egg on his face, some of it would inevitably spill on her.

Almost as if on cue, a voice came from behind Rebecca and startled her, making her jump forward and nearly slip in her high heels, she spun about and found herself looking down, way down, to what she actually thought was a child for half a second. That notion was erased when she saw the legs, the muscles, the strikingly chiseled body, with an outfit that put it all on display.

Giulia La Rocca, she presumed.

”Oh, excuse me.” Rebecca coughed and straightened out, trying to regain some semblance of composure. Probably too late. ”Yes, he’s fairly famous, one of the top martial arts stars in the world right now.” She canted her head to the side. ”Heavenly Fist? The Guardian? Sound familiar? He had a small cameo in the last Star Wars, but it was easy to miss.”

Sure, Giulia was taking a slight risk. There was a good chance that "Becks" wouldn't be too happy about seeing her, and theoretically, she could have even attempted at dealing some damage on the Italian, just to help her protégé already before the actual match. But honestly, the girl didn't seem like anything Giulia couldn't handle, and the all-over risk appeared rather low.

And indeed, the manager seemed to be approving enough for them to exchange a few words.

What Giulia was hearing though was making her consider Prayuth one notch tougher as an opponent. A top martial arts star? The Italian had to admit that he did seem like the type. And indeed, those moves he was now showing off in the ring made it all very obvious.

Sure, Giulia was slightly uncomfortable that she hadn't heard of such a "star" before. She was usually the one to know about things. But movies had never been very close to her heart, so to her it was still quite understandable.

"Heavenly Fist? The Guardian?" Nah, those didn't really ring any bell. "A cameo in Star Wars?!?" Giulia's jaw now dropping a bit, she turned her eyes towards Becks. That just didn't sound coherent at all. Was she trying to make a fool out of Giulia?

"Right..." was a bland enough of an answer to set those questions aside. "Well, I'll take good care of your Skywalker, I promise!" the Italian said as she tapped Beck's back, and set her course towards the ring.

The tunes of her Saint Motel entrance theme made Giulia always feel good. And this time was no exception. Stepping along the ramp the Italian put on a good, warm smile as she was greeting the crowds. Jumping into the ring, she briefly glanced at Prayuth before climbing up each of the turnbuckles to allow the crowds to give her a nice, good welcome.

And letting the crowds be presented with her body and attire from different angles usually only increased her popularity. If her opponent actually was a movie star, she needed to bribe her own way to being the crowd's favorite.

Finally settling down, Giulia made her way to face Prayuth in the middle of the ring. The guy was, unsurprisingly, quite a bit taller than her, but even though he looked like quite strong, the martial artist was quite slim and Giulia guessed there could be a good chance she actually had some weight advantage here.

Offering her hand to Prayuth, the Italian introduced herself. "Buonasera, I'm Giulia La Rocca. And you are...?" she continued, making sure to seem completely oblivious to Prayuth's supposed fame.

”Well, he was a stormtrooper.” Rebecca felt the need to add that on after the awkward silence following her last words. Lots of stars had actually done little nameless cameos for the movie, some without any speaking rolls. Prayuth was proud of it, though, being a big fan of the series, and liked her to flaunt it when possible.

Giulia was gone before she had the chance to chat anymore, leaving Rebecca to worry in the shadows. It was never smart to judge someone on looks alone, but Prayuth’s opponent was surprisingly solid for a small woman, looking fit all over. If she had any fat on her body, it wasn't visible with the skintight affair she wore. Not that facing a strong opponent was a big deal by itself, really. They’d gone into this knowing there would be woman who could overpower Prayuth, and he was sure enough in his striking skills to rely on speed and superior reach. She just hoped he would have the wisdom to look past her height and realize what he was up against.

Then she remembered who she was talking about here, and had a long sigh.

Back in the ring, Prayuth was liking what he saw, as his opponent came down to the ring with her fulsome legs on display. He kept moving in the middle of the ring, throwing out rapid strikes, but all the while he kept his gaze on her body and the little smile she had going on, looking understandably pleased to be there. One more reason to take the win, here.

She took her sweet time getting to the ring, but Prayuth didn’t mind. She was eager to show off and he was eager to watch, loving the way she advertised herself. He had a smirk on his face when she finally came over, but it dropped down a bit with the few words she spoke.

Huh. She hadn’t heard of him.

Well, maybe it wasn’t too surprising. She sounded Italian, as near as he could tell, and his movies hadn’t really taken too well in the European markets. She was likely new to Japan, didn’t speak the language, hadn’t heard the talk. Not a big deal.

He shook it off and extended his hand, returning her shake. ”Prayuth. Prayuth Sakda.” Maybe the last name would help recognition, worth a try. And he had to throw in a little jab her way, just to be playful. ”So, uh...where’s the rest of you?”

For one who wanted to see it, there appeared to be a very brief moment of confusion on Prayuth's face after Giulia asked her question. And the Italian belonged to those who wanted to see it. But still, the supposed movie star shook it off fairly quickly, making Giulia assume that his fame maybe actually wasn't such of a big deal to him.

But still, even with the help of his surname, Giulia didn't really recognize him from anywhere. She might, just might had heard the name somewhere before, but that could have well been just her imagination now.

But maybe there still was a slight underlying tone of bitterness in Prayuth's next question? While it came off as more playful than anything else, Giulia was sensing a slight need of somehow mocking her in it.

While the Italian wasn't too sensitive about her short height, she wasn't exactly delighted about the question either. She'd heard it before, and with that Prayuth was now setting himself up as one more guy that she'd have to teach a lesson with her power.

Instead of replying Prayuth, Giulia turned her head towards the ref girl. "Are we on yet? Mr. Jackie Chan here is already begging for trouble..."

Just about as playful as Prayuth's question. And probably as little respected as well.

Seeing the ref girl shaking her head, Giulia then turned back to the Thai guy. "Well, I don't know which part of me it is that you're missing, but I'm sure you'll be getting familiar with each one of them tonight..." she finally replied him, sliding her finger along Prayuth's chest for the last few words.

And with that, the Italian turned around marching into her corner, taking off her glasses and waiting for the bell to ring.

As the two of them had their little pre-match meeting, Prayuth couldn’t deny that there was something...odd about about this woman. She was clearly in good shape for someone her size, though he wasn’t too worried with that. Yes, wrestling wasn’t kickboxing, but all the same, he was confident in his strikes and superior reach giving him the advantage in this match. He could already see how this would go in his head: he’d pepper her with the quick hits, whittle away at her while he danced around the ring, maybe let her get in a few things to make it interesting, then lower the boom on her and call it a night...as far as the public was concerned, anyway.

If Giulia - if that was how her name was pronounced, he was having trouble making sense of it - was thinking similar thoughts, she was doing a good job of hiding it. If anything, she was upbeat about the whole thing, like she didn’t have a care in the world, like she wasn’t up against a world-class kickboxer who could knock her head off her shoulders. That irked him. As did the little comment that came after.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been compared to Jackie Chan, though it was typically meant as a compliment - after all, being put alongside possibly the most successful martial arts star in history was hardly a bad thing for someone in his trade. All the same, he could tell it was meant to be a crack, and he might’ve been cross about it, if not for what she said next. And did.

He smirked as her finger ran down his chest, glad that they were on the same page with that, at the minimum. As much as Prayuth was looking forward to taking her home, he wasn’t down for doing anything she wouldn’t have wanted to do, had no desire of going in any direction she didn’t want to go. He was in the mood. She seemed to be, too. Everything was good.

”Looking forward to it.” He gave her a nod and moved back to his corner, bouncing all the way. Staying loose. Staying ready.

When the bell rang, Prayuth came out of the corner quick, swiftly moving to the center of the ring to take her head on. He didn’t strike, not right away, but he kept his feet moving and swayed left and right, seeing how she’d respond to a moving target.

Even if Giulia wanted to appear extremely confident, it was actually more due to wanting to give a certain appearance rather than actual over-confidence. She was taking a note on how Prayuth was constantly hopping about, making his moves, looking like a pro fighter. And apparently he was indeed somewhat famous, which meant he most probably held some skill as well. And while Giulia was confident about her chances in this match, she was sure that stupid mistakes could easily lead to Prayuth getting the upper hand if she wasn't careful.

Letting Prayuth find out about those thoughts? Not a chance.

It really didn't mean anything to Giulia what her famous opponent might or might not have achieved before. The fact was that the two were in the ring now, and Giulia was there to win. And she'd do whatever would be needed to achieve that.

Giulia might have come across as flirty by sliding her finger on the Thai fighter's chest, and frankly, that's what she wanted Prayuth to assume. For the Italian, the idea was really just to mark her territory. So, Prayuth was looking forward to the aftermatch? That was something that could be fun to make him regret...

Well, that was the plan anyway. She still had to find out about exactly how skilled Prayuth was.

As the bell rang, the Italian also got slowly out of her corner. Prayuth's strategy appeared to rely on movement. That was probably reasonable enough given his background, but it wasn't the best one for Giulia's plans. Maybe she could persuade him to give up on the constant movement?

"So, wanna show me how strong you are?" Giulia asked her foe with a deceivingly flirty tone, as she raised her hands up for an invitation to a test of strength. There was a fair chance Prayuth would be wise and stick with his own strategy, which might lead to Giulia getting hit. But then again, maybe he was too proud to turn down a challenge by a small girl.

For Giulia, it would be basically a win-win. Either she'd get the Thai guy to a vulnerable position, or then she'd get him look like a coward.

So. Thoughts.

Thinking wasn’t something Prayuth liked to do too much of during a match, preferring to work off his instincts and live by the second. It tended to work well most of the time, but wrestling was a new beast for him...somewhat, at least. There was a crowd, there was a story here, and he was playing a role, in a way. Just like in the movies, everything was about perception.

He was the incoming talent, the star trying to make his mark in a new field. The best way to do that would be to make his mark early, get people talking. The best was to do that would be by taking Giuilia down in convincing fashion. Sucked to be her, but he could always make it up to her later.

Those were the thoughts he had as he came out of the corner, as he started to move towards his range. He’d tag her quick, bring her down fast, make this as painless as possible. Not much of a ‘plan’, but a good general
guideline, and he was already lining up to come barreling towards her. Feet at the ready, fists clenched…

That all came to a screeching halt when she did something he didn’t quite expect, bringing her arms up for a traditional tie-up. He flinched at the sight of it, as he had to force his body to not follow the natural reaction - if someone had tried this in a normal fight, he probably would’ve kicked them in the face, regardless of her cute they were.

But this was different. Opening night, big debut, he had to accept her challenge or else risk the dangers of the Twitterverse. With his reputation in mind, he sighed and reached forward, locking fingers with Giulia.

”All right, bambolina.” He threw in a little Italian for flavor. At least, what he thought was Italian. The woman he’d learned it from had been quite drunk when she gave her impromptu lesson. ”Let’s see how you hang.”

With that, he began to lean forward and put as much pressure into the hold as he could, hoping to get his whole body into the action.

While Giulia's main asset in a wrestling ring was indeed her power, she had never overlooked the benefits of using her brain either. Even if it certainly was often a good idea to just go with the flow, do what felt like the natural thing to do at that point, it was still usually beneficial to have some kind of strategy in her mind.

Although that strategy so far didn't include anything other than a way of getting Prayuth to stop his movement, it still turned out to be effective. She didn't need a degree in psychology to guess how the Thai fighter would probably be responding to her challenge.

Giulia could sense slight frustration, as Prayuth agreed to accept her challenge. Clearly it wasn't the preferred way for him to go. And Giulia wouldn't mind at all making him regret his decision.

As soon as their fingers locked, the Thai decided to surprise Giulia with some Italian. Nice! Too bad that the girl could only interpret those choices of words as arrogance. Seriously, nobody who used the term bambolina on someone was expecting that person to be in a wrestling ring!

While Giulia would have been more than happy to demonstrate her power in the lock-up, she still decided to take the easy way out. Not that she wasn't confident in her skills - it was just that she wanted to get the edge over her foe as early on as possible. Taking it easy and letting Prayuth to demonstrate his martial arts skills was a bad idea.

With that in mind, only a couple of seconds after Prayuth's words, the Italian attempted to surprisingly deliver a hard knee to his midsection. Assuming that would make him break the hold, she hoped that it would also get the Thai to lower his head from the impact. While she could guess that Prayuth was used to receiving kicks, if the effects turned out to be what she had hoped for, Giulia would then attempt to take a step forward and take Prayuth in a side headlock!