The Wrights vs. The Rodriguezes - Family Tensions

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Match Type: Tag Team
Victory Conditions:Victory by pinfall, submission, or KO

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This was a new thing.

AFW was known for many things, most of which weren’t fit for consumption on network television. One thing that would pass muster, however, was its tendency towards something wholesome: family.

The Takeuchis. The Akamatsus. The Rogers. The Knights. Friction and Tension in particular were well known for their wrestling families, brothers and sisters who came together to fight. It was one of the things you didn’t see nearly enough in other promotions, and it seemed like upper management had finally keyed into it. In honor of Thanksgiving - an American holiday, but fitting since they had a largely American audience - the next few weeks would have ‘family matches’, bouts with siblings fighting it out.

Good times. And guess who was first up?

Carmen and Army were already on their way to the ring, waving to the crowd as they came down the ramp to their shared theme. It had been a good while since either of them had been in the ring for a match, much less going together, and she was eager for the chance to compete once again. Army felt about the same way, though he might’ve picked someone else for the refresher course.

”So,” Carmen took a moment’s pause to give a fan a fist bump, before looking back to her brother. ”You watch a lot of Friction. What do you know about this ‘Jessica’?”

Army pursed her lips and gave her a quick glare, knowing damn well what Carmen was implying there, but he decided to let it go. For now. ”Big, mean, nice tits. Your type, you’ll like her.”

”Uh-huh.” She gave him an incredulous grin as she made her way up the steps and he rolled into the ring under the bottom rope, always trying to step ahead ”Are you a fan?”

Army bounced to his feet and hopped his way over to the center of the ring, doing a little shadow boxing to stay warm as their music died down. She simply sauntered over to their corner and did a few leg stretches, staying nice and limber. ”Maybe.” He gave an innocent shrug, one that might’ve fooled a woman who hadn’t known him long enough to have changed his diapers. “Won’t complain if things get a little hot, I’ll say that much.”

James was sitting on a chair, regretting many things. He regretted that he had come to Japan. He regretted that he had agreed to take up this match. And now, he regretted asking the question. It was a simple question, really, and Jessica of all people should have appreciated it. But no. As soon as the words passed his lips, his sister's entire demeanor had entirely changed, entirely for the worse.

"You know that if you get fucked, you fucking lose, right?! You cannot possibly be that stupid where you are thinking about this right now. You massive fucking idiot, why don't you just go back to jobbing back in Iowa? You just want to get fucked. God." Jessica threw her hands up in exasperation. "I am here busting my ass, and you are going to just sit there and ask if she is fucking hot. Goddamn. God-damn." She enunciated quite a bit, showing him just how fed up with his bullshit she was.

James looked up. "It was just a question. Sheesh. You don't need to-" The aerial ace was not able to finish his apologia, in large part because Jessica made a noise that was halfway between the screech of an eagle and the roar of a lion. The harsh sound rang out across the dressing room, and Jessica left no space for a nuanced discussion. Already, she was storming out of the door.

James did his best to keep up with her. She was looking good in her red wrestling outfit, and James did not look so bad himself. His basketball shorts swished as he walked, and he gave her a glance. He had explained himself just as much as he had wanted to. If Jessica was mad, that was her problem. It wasn't as if she wasn't angry about something 90% of the time anyways.

They approached the staging area, and Jessica peaked around the curtain. She had actually done her research. The Violent Violet knew these two wrestlers about as well as anyone could from the film. Tonight was going to be a titanic struggle. Even more so if James was not bringing his A-game.

"You better not fuck this up. Don't get hit. Use your fast bullshit, whatever. Just don't get hit." She spat.

"You watched all of that tape, and your advice is don't get hit?" James mocked.

"Fuck off." Before they could really get into their argument, their entrance music blared out over the loudspeakers, and the Wrights made their way down to the ramp. The crowd booed Jessica and looked at James askance. The duo climbed up into the ring, and walked as close to the middle as they dared.

James was scratching the back of his head, and Jessica folded her arms below her chest. "You know if you buy two graves at the same time, you get a discount? Is that what y'all did?"

She is going to piss them off. Then tag me in. Then I am going to get hit, James thought.

Here they came.

Carmen stood beside Army, watching as the Wrights made their way to the ring. They didn’t look too far apart in age as far as she could tell, but Jessica was clearly the dominant one here. Leading ahead, bold and strong, while James looked like he had an invisible collar strung around his neck. She had the body match that sort of confidence, too - while she and Carmen were around the same height, the difference in width stood out. Jessica’s muscle was bulkier, built for raw power, while her own was designed for speed and agility. Neither of them skipped the gym, but they’d gotten different results.

Also, Army wasn’t lying about the tits. Damn.

Just going off the look in her eye, Jessica was the type to instigate things, and that suspicion was confirmed when the woman came up to her face and threw a little threat their way. One Army was quick to pick up on.

”Thanks for the tip, but don’t worry.” He came up behind Carmen, facing the Wrights beside Carmen ”If anyone’s going in the ground, it’s-”

Carmen simply raised a hand and Army immediately took the cue. She’d already gotten tired of the banter from both sides - a little taunting during the match was fine, could even be a great strategy, but before it was just irritating. ”Which one of you two are going first?” Carmen looked between the violent violet and the purple punk, then back to Jessica. Hard stare.

Jessica put her hand on her hip, cocked her head, and leaned back. "Well, gee. Ain't that just impolite?" Jessica looked at her brother, and smiled. James recognized the game that was being played, and smiled back. "Sure is." Jessica looked back at the duo. "We were just out here chatting, bantering, having ourselves a grand ole time when little miss death glare decided that she would spoil the fun. What is the fucking deal, chica? Are you too fucking stupid to understand what I am saying? Got a case of the no hablos? Don't you know it is polite to respond when someone speaks with you?"

James started making his way towards the corner, careful not to turn his back on the duo in front of them. Jessica, leaned back up, and brought her head straight. "Especially when that person is a superior." Her purple eyes were glowering with the hatred and narcissism that she was known for. "And if your idiotic self has not figured it out yet, I will be going first. And last." She turned and spat on the mat. "Shit is only going to take five fucking minutes."

Jessica crouched into her wrestling stance, and braced herself. This woman looked strong. Maybe not as strong as Jessica, but she was no waif. On her tiny laptop screen, she saw her throw punches that nearly broke the sound barrier. When she told James not to get hit, she meant it. Even if he was slightly too dumb to recognize what she meant.

Then she looked over at the guy. He was no slouch either. Jessica had seen him work quite a few times, and he wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Jessica just thought she was better.

On one hand, Carmen could respect the confidence. Jessica was young, but she was obviously talented. You didn’t get a body like that from being lazy. You didn’t frequent the title scene by being lazy. The woman before he was one of the top picks for future champions on many lists, and she doubted that status wasn’t earned. She wished some of her own students had this level of intensity.

On the other hand, she was kind of a bitch, and Carmen knew when she being goaded.

But she wasn’t the only one that could play a game.

Carmen took a step forward, and for a second it looked like she would kick this off. Instead, she pointed between them two of them and nodded, a small smile on her face. Calm. Ready. ”You and me. Later.”

At that, she took a step back, gave Army a pat on the shoulder, and moved to the the ropes, slipping out between them. Army just shrugged and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he got ready to face off against one of the biggest, baddest bitches Friction had ever produced.

He had a smile on his face. If it wasn’t already obvious.

”Five minutes, huh?” He brought his guard up, tight fisted and muscles primed. ”Start the count.”

Jessica looked at Army, then at Carmen, then back to Army again. For most of her life, she had been wrestling women. She had no issue with fighting men, of course, but her default was wrestling women. When it came to pass that she would be fighting Army first, it came to her as a surprise, although she did not show it. Carmen had figured into her plans quite heavily, but if she did not want to taste the fire first, that was fine with Jessica.

That was more than fine with Jessica. She hunkered down, just like Army. "I recognize your type. Screw five minutes. I doubt that you could last two." Jessica's sneer was contemptuous, and when her eyes traveled below Army's waistline she hoped Army's focus would follow. Her purple eyes radiated back up, and were not filled with the intent to create psychological mischief.

No, they were burning. The bell went off, and Jessica surged forward. She liked starting her matches off with a big bang, and she was going for the fireworks as soon as possible now. Right before she collided with Army, she stopped on her right foot and swung a massive kick in with her left.

She was aiming right for Army's rib cage. That ought to slow some of those future punches and kicks down, she thought.

Army was used to fighting women. Of course he was. He’d been doing it with varying levels of success for, what, four years now? Hardly a new novelty.

But Jessica was a bit of a different beast. Most of the girls - women, whatever - he took on were much smaller and used their agility to mess him up, doing the whole ‘Diva vs. Goliath’ thing. This woman was big, more used to playing the role he played himself. Bruiser meets Bruiserita. Neat change of pace.

As was this attitude. ”You sound like my ex-girlfriend.” He smirked and brushed off her remark. Wrestling for Tension had given him thick skin, if nothing else. ”Let’s see if you can fight as good.”

It turned out that she kind of did fight like Army’s ex - at least, she shared the same in-your-face approach to fight. The bell rang and Jessica moved in like they were magnetized, erasing the gap in a heartbeat and lashing out with a fierce kick, moving surprisingly fast. The kick came in, and it was almost pure-luck that he managed to get his arm down to block it. Even so, it still sent enough force through him to make him wince and staggered, along with a good rattling of the rib cage.

But was it enough to make him back off all the way? Not exactly?

Instead, he came back at her just as hard with a heavy, hard right hook, aiming to clock her upside the face with the powerful blow. He always thought Jessica looked plenty tough on Friction, and now he had the chance to put it to the full test.

Jessica kept moving forward. Some of it could be blamed on momentum, but most of it was just who Jessica was. The Violent Violet had not even planted her foot yet when she leaned in, trying to cover as much distance as she could. Her kick hit something, even if it was not that tender ribcage that Jessica had so wanted to nail. She quickly deduced that the boy had gotten his arm down to block the kick, judging by how he was staggering and the way he was holding his arm.

Leaning forward, ready to attack attack attack, Jessica was levelling her next assault when lightning struck. She had been so focused on offense that it had not even occurred to her that Army could hit back. A punch slammed into her jaw with the force and speed of a cannonball, causing Jessica to teeter off to the side. Only by the grace of the wrestling gods and some agile footwork did she stay on her feet.

Jessica looked back at Army, hand on her jaw and eyes blurry. The blow had knocked some sense into her. Only a few moments ago, she was warning James not to get hit. Now, she had broken that rule, and had paid a very steep price for her stupidity.

Gnashing her teeth, Jessica brought her hands up again. She creeped forward, looking for a chink in the armor. The Violent Violet was not going to make a foolhardy mistake such as that again.

The audience was mostly leaning forward, intently and intensely watching this match unfold. It wasn’t a small thing, really - this was Jessica’s first dip into the Tension pool, and they were curious to see how she would fare. But none of them were more curious than Carmen.

It wouldn’t have been wrong to say that she was using Army as a test subject, wanting him suss out Jessica’s strategy, but that was part of the game when it came to tag team matches. What she saw so far was decent enough - she was no kickboxer, but the woman could produce good power with those thick limbs of hers. Surprisingly fast. But Carmen was most interested in her defense. The big question: could she take a punch?

The answer was a resounding ‘yes’.

Carmen kept her composure, but the furrowed brow on Army’s forehead gave enough away for both of them. Army’s right hook was one of his best punches. He’d put experienced, seasoned boxer on the floor with it. Carmen had tasted it herself more than a few times, and while she couldn’t say she had reacted to it quite as bad as Jessica did, she also couldn’t say she’d taken the full brunt of the blow before. By all rights, the purple princess shouldn’t have been standing. And yet, she was. Damn.

Army did his best to blow it off and raised his guard up again as Jessica did the same, closing in along with her. ”You all right? Got your head rocked a bit, looked like.” He raised his arms and opened his hands as they closed in, silently challenging her to a test of strength.

Jessica's chest was rising up and down. She was breathing hard, focusing. Army never disappeared from her sight. This was not the wild and wide-eyed look of a prey animal, desperate to escape the horrifying finality of a grisly end. No, it was the narrowed, eyes-forward look of a predator. She knew that she was an apex predator, but judging from how fucking familiar this idiot was acting, she was going to have to knock some sense into him.

"You fucking tell me." The man was clearly going for a contest of strength. If he wanted that, he could get it. Jessica was one of the strongest women at AFW, especially for her weight. Army had no idea what he was asking for. Jessica rose to the challenge, and began pushing with all of her might. The Violent Violet wanted to push this dude back into the corner, and bend him in two.

James was not concerned at all. He had seen his sister do things like this before. After the age of 16 or so, he had never seen her lose one. He scanned the crowd, looking for cute girls. The outcome of this one was all but a sure thing.

Jessica's face was turning red with exertion. She did not think that she was being taken seriously, and the Violent Violet simply would not abide that.