Kyo Akamatsu vs Daisuke Kamiya

While waiting on Lina to set something set up for the tag champions, Daisuke had the bright idea to attempt to put the 24/7 back in the 24/7 title. Her attempt did not succeed as she had Sion distract the current champion while the champ had a verbal exchange with someone else, however it appeared Dave wasn't bothered by her sneaky interruption as she tried to pin him from behind while Sion spoke, no harm, no foul. After that things were quite for a little bit, which Sion and Dai didn't mind, but they knew that with their position they shouldn't be so for too long. Daisuke soon later got word that Lina got something set up for her. While it was only a singles match, it was something. As much as her and Sion working together was an important thing to have happen, this was just as welcomed. Even though she still had the belt around her waist she knew she had much needed work to do to improve on her last official match. She and Sion defended the tag titles successfully, however Lina felt that Daisuke could have done better, and this looked like a good opportunity for her to do better.

Lita caught up with the group at the arena, but neither of them felt the need for their to be a crowd at ringside this time around, so Lita and Sion would remain backstage for the time being. Lina, however, would still accompany Daisuke to the ring. She didn't have to, but felt obligated to do as the group's manager. There have been times Lina's presence would make the different from a mental point of view. Daisuke had the goods to mix it up with anyone, but sometimes her pride would get in the way. As she made her way to the ring to her Stargazers theme, she felt to be in a good state of mind. The fact of her having to take on a guy wasn't an issue, after all when she won the belts with Sion not only did they face two guys, but a ladder was added to the mix. Admittingly, Kyo wasn't someone she's paid much attention to lately, however looking at the tale of tape before leaving the locker room area she felt confident that she could take this guy. Together she and Lina waited in the right for the opposition to join them.

They didn't have to wait long.

"Kanjite Knight" from the Shin Mazinger Z soundtrack began to play as Kyo strode into the ring, to an eruption of applause from his fanbase (including numerous fangirls). Kyo hadn't been seen in the ring since his devastating loss to Testament a few weeks ago, and his absence had caused a lot of speculation that he had suffered some truly grievous injuries at the hands of the silver-haired giantess. But, to the relief of his fans, Kyo looked as fit and as healthy as ever, his expression its usual stoic, focused self as he strode down the ring.

Spoiler:

What the audience didn't know was just what he had gone through in the aftermath of that match. He had spent a few days in the hospital, and a week after that recovering, physically and mentally. His body had healed well enough, but the beating Testament had inflicted on him carried a psychological toll. He had at first tried to avoid going back to the ring, making excuses at every opportunity. It wasn't until his sister Makie confronted him about it, told him she understood he was scared, but that he couldn't throw his career away just because of one beating, that he finally snapped out of it. It had taken a lot of effort, but, overcoming his nerves, he had accepted this matchup and come out here today.

He was still curious about the masked man who had saved him in that bout, though. No one knew his identity or where he had come from, and Kyo couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen to save him.

As Kyo neared the ring, he got a good look at his opponent-- a tall and fit woman, with the light skin of a westerner and long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a simple blue spandex vest and matching hotpants, along with identical boots. She looked like a tough, serious competitor, and, if Kyo was honest, she wasn't unattractive either-- but from what he had researched of her before this match, he also knew she was married. She was Daisuke Kamiya and, like the Hart family, Roddy Piper, LuFisto, Candace LeRae and so many others, she was a proud Canadian export.

Sliding into the ring, Kyo hopped on his feet before approaching Dai with a warm smile. "Miss Kamiya? A pleasure. I've heard so much about you," he said, bowing in a polite, and sportsmanlike, gesture.

If there was something people from her country were known for, it was that wrestler is something that is to be taken seriously, just like they would for hockey. While not all here are like that, she knew there were some people who's 'smutty style' had no business being in a wrestling ring, that wasn't her. The one who trained her brought her up with how wrestling has been for the longest time, and how, minus a certain few, give the sport the proper respect it deserves. She didn't think Kyo was 'one of those types,' which if he was Lina would have attempted to keep her clear from him. He did have a noticeable attractiveness to him, though now was not the time to have thoughts like that.

As Lina was giving her a final talk, Ryo had something to stay. This annoyed her as she usually took it as a way of the opposition trying to throw whoever she is while that day off, even if there are not hostile intentions, that and this wasn't a common thing to happen before matches back home. Daisuke whisped to Lina "It's alright, I doubt he'll pull a Ryan" making reference to a previous opponent who had a habit of unintentionally talking one's ears off. "Thanks" she responds in a calm tone, giving a slight bow as well before turning her attention back to Lina and backing up towards one of the corners.

"Since you mentioned 'em, if you can beat that chatter box Ryan then you can take this guy. He may look tough but look at that belt around your waist, you may have your faults, but that's nothing you can't handle, you're a champion after all, show 'em why you are one." Lina finishes her little pre-fight pep talk with a grin before turning back towards Kyo. She moves a little closer to him and scans him over. Looking like she's giving it some thought she simply tells him "Not bad, not bad at all" before exiting the ring. After Lina steps to the outside, Daisuke takes off the belt and hands it to her.

The crowd was excited now as the two competitors sized each other up. Both were good natured faces, both fought a serious minded, gimmick free style of wrestling, and the two even seemed evenly matched in stats and physical fitness (not to mention both were quite attractive) Lina's banter momentarily diverted Kyo's attention though-- at the redheaded woman's mention of Ryan, Kyo smiled a little. Dai and Sion's match against the UK Elite (a group he had been wanting to take on for some time now) had been one of the matches he'd watched before coming here, just so he could get a sense of who he was up against.

Daisuke didn't disappoint: resilient, resourceful, skilled...she wore that belt for good reason. She was going to test Kyo sorely in the ring, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

As Lina looked him over and complimented his physique, Kyo found himself blushing a little. "Um..." He would push his mind back to the match, though, as the ref girl bade him return to his corner, watching with tense excitement as Dai did the same.

DING DING DING!

The bell rang, and Kyo darted out of his corner. Locking eyes with Dai, he smiled a little as he raised his arms, motioning for a lockup.

Seeing Kyo darting out of the corner Dai looked like she might have to move quickly to avoid a race start gun like start, which Lina scouted quite a number of people here like doing that, so it was something she made sure her crew knew of. Though noticing he stopped and what he was doing she moved closer, though at a slower speed. While Lina couldn't do anything about it from where she was, she kept an eye on Kyo, wonder if he was trying to bate her into something. Nothing seemed off and when Dai got in range she would throw her arms out to lockup as well.

Dai seemed tentative at first, but eventually seemed to figure that Kyo's motion for a lockup was legitimate, and quickly accepted. The two wrestlers pushed and twisted against each other, Kyo gritting his teeth as they struggled, getting a sense early on of just how strong Dai was. Hopefully, he was giving Dai a similar impression.

Spinning to the side, Kyo moved behind Dai, twisting one of her arms behind her back and waiting to see how she reacted...

While the match was only a few seconds old, Lina was starting to get a rough idea what Kyo is about. All she had to go on so far was his entrance, looks, and how he took the lockup with Daisuke. Of course going into things and after giving Dai the little pre-match pep talk she was confident that Dai could do this, she had a feeling this guy wouldn't make things easy for the gals. He had sort of a Sion-like vibe when she saw Kyo transition into a twist of the arm.

As far as Daisuke was concerned, she didn't have the time to analyze things detail for detail on the spot, though whatever Lina was observing, she felt. While what seemed like a standard way of going about things early on, Dai knew if she wasn't cautious it could pop something. She looked to keep her feet moving, to see where he might go with it, though she attempted to kick him in the shin to get him to let go. While it didn't sound completely bad to be on the defensive early on, she didn't want to give the impression she was just going to let stuff happen.

Kyo was able to take control early on in this match, flipping behind Dai to bend her arm painfully behind her back. As far as Kyo was concerned, this was just some initial chain wrestling, to test and see exactly what his opponent was made of. He heard Dai wince, and as she moved forward, he moved on behind her, trying to keep her arm wrenched behind her back in a chickenwing. She retaliated quickly by shooting a leg back, instead of elbowing as he had expected-- a short gasp escaped Kyo's lips as Dai's boot slammed against his shin, causing his grip to weaken.

Shaking the pain off as best he could, Kyo responded by pulling Dai's arm, spinning her around briefly to face him, before dropping back, aiming to flip Dai overhead in an arm drag. If he managed that, then he would try to roll over while she was down and press a knee down onto her side, keeping a hold of her arm as he tried to transition to an armbar.

From where she stood, Lina lookoed impressed with the form that Kyo showed so far. Noting looked off with the arm drag and his knee placement to her, which Dai found herself taken down and held there. With that being said however, she wasn't too concerned with where Dai was at the moment. She Kyo was on top of things for now, but from what she could things were looking pretty textbook, so she had a feeling Dai wouldn't be where she was for very long if Dai was paying attention to things. Lina did note Dai's attempt to get out of it, though Kyo was quick to regain control of the situation as she saw.

Daisuke shook her head when asked by the refere if she wanted to give. She wasn't in that much trouble at this point, though she knew it would get worse if she just layed there and took it. She looked to move her arm that was on the canvas and slide it back to bridge herself up. Iuf she managed to do that she would latch on to Kyo's ankle and attempt to pull his foot out from under him.

Whereas Kyo had merely been keeping Dai under control before, now he was winching tightly on her arm, putting plenty of pressure on the trapped limb as he twisted at it. If he could make it harder for Dai to mount a serious offence early in the match, all the better. Dai, however, was made of stern stuff, resisting even as he locked in the armbar.

He felt her twist underneath him, angling over onto her back and bridging upward, briefly showing off her flexibility. A second later, Kyo's boot was yanked. He gasped as he fell backwards, unbalanced, losing his grip on Dai as he dropped onto his butt.