Imai Cosmo vs Laila Nazari

Laila almost smiled...almost...as she managed to snag Imai in an armbar. Her powerful legs coiled around Imai's arm, feet locking behind his shoulder as she leaned back, twisting on his lower arm for good measure. Caught between her grip on his wrist and the vice-like grip of her legs, she was now threatening to snap Imai's arm in half...unless he was a good boy and tapped out, that was.

Imai had other ideas, though, as he dragged the two of them towards the ropes. A second later, he managed to snag the bottom rope with one foot. Annoyed, Laila reluctantly let the Japanese boy go...though as she rose up, she stomped down on the shoulder of the arm she had been torturing. Grabbing him by his blonde head, she would try to yank him back to his feet again, wanting to whip him towards the ropes before he could recover...

Any thoughts of celebration Imai had at being able to get to the ropes as quickly as he could were cut short by the stomp to his shoulder. He let out a strangled yell of pain at the stomp, the pain keeping him from reacting to fight when she gripped him by his hair. As he was pulled to his feet his other hand moved to his shoulder, the ache still moving through him.

As she went for the Irish whip he found himself in more unfamiliar territory with a wrestling ring in the form of the ropes. He began to regret not taking up one of his fellow competitors in the underground circuit when the other offered to train him in pro wrestling. Still he knew to at least turn though the bounce back from the rope kept him unsteady and open for whatever his opponent had planned next.

Laila's entire body was tense as she whipped Imai towards the ropes. A lot of things could go wrong with a simple rebound from the ropes, she knew, and she had no wish to unwittingly give Imai the initiative back. She burst into a run as soon as Imai came rebounding back, her powerful legs propelling her forwards, arm raised as though for a clothesline...

...but at the last second, she would spin to the side, trying again to grab for Imai's arm. If she managed it, she would use her grip on the limb to use Imai's own momentum against him, flipping him head over heels onto his back. And if she managed that, then she would immediately drop down and snap her legs around his arm, trying to re-initiate the armbar submission and continue to punish that same limb.

Imai had to admit Laila was an opponent who probably could even make it pretty big in the underground organization he was once part of, though given how dangerous that place could be maybe that might not be a wise thing. Still he had little time to think more on that when he saw she was coming after him after the Irish Whip, seeming to be aiming to knock him right back to the mat with a clothesline, only for her to move at the last second.

Biting back a curse he moved to try and use his momentum to turn more towards her and, if successful in that endeavor, would aim to leap and wrap his legs around her waist, going for a body scissors. If he wasn't successful in this effort he would groan when he was tossed onto his back but had enough awareness even with the spinning in his head to realize she maintained a grip on his arm. He was confident that she was aiming to apply another armbar, it was common sense to keep targeting a limb to wear it down after all and so on instinct Imai began working to try and get his free arm to grip his caught hand, aiming to try and keep her from intensifying the hold. If this proved fruitful he would begin work to try and transition to a more favorable position.

Laila had planned on trapping Imai in yet another armbar. She was thinking several steps ahead now, and wanted limit Imai's ability to use that arm as much as possible. That was her plan: to take Imai apart piece by piece, to limit his ability to fight back effectively, and ultimately wear him down until he was tapping out his surrender. She didn't intend to defeat Imai, after all: she intended to destroy him.

Except, Imai had other ideas, as his legs suddenly snapped up the moment he came bouncing back. Surprised, Laila didn't even have time to dodge before Imai's legs locked around her midsection in mid-leap.

And then gravity kicked in, and the two of them toppled sideways, Imai's powerful legs now locked tightly around Laila's firm midsection. SHe gritted her teeth, feeling the crushing pressure around her abs, suddenly reminded again of just how strong Imai's legs were. Rolling up onto her knees, she dug her elbows down hard into her opponent's thighs, trying to force Imai to release the bodyscissor before the pain became too unbearable...

Imai grinned a bit as he managed to apply the bodyscissors, even if it meant falling to the mat, his toned legs maintaining their pressure the entire fall to their sides. As Laila quickly moved to her knees he kept up the pressure as much as he could even as she began to dig her elbows into his thighs. He winced at the pain he felt in his legs as the elbows dug in but grit his teeth, soon moving to an almost sitting up position and delivered several shots to the part of her abs he could still hit with his legs still wrapped around her.

Still he couldn't let his legs take too much damage and so he soon unleashed the hold. As he did he would move to roll back to try and get on his feet, hoping she would still be trying to recover from being squeezed like that and be unable to stop him. If he got back to his feet he would look down at her, moving a hand through his hair, "You're.... really damn tough. Even more than I already thought you were Nazari-san...." He spoke as he took breaths before pulling his bangs back, "Still, I don't intend to lose...." He continued before letting out a smile, one far more intense than his normal friendly look, "Because in the end I love to win!" With that he adapted a more serious look as he got into a low grapple stance, waiting for her to get back to her feet, his blue eyes practically gleaming with his determination and his love of fighting.

The crushing pain of Imai's bodyscissor was getting more and more intense with each passing minute. Gritting her teeth, Laila continued to grind her elbows into Imai's thighs in response, knowing that this was inflicting a lot of pain on his legs in return. Even as the two wrestlers ground away at each other, Imai leaned up, and sent a punch into Laila's abs, followed by another-- each blow leaving a faint bruise and causing a grunt of pain to escape from Laila's lips. Even so, she continued to grind at his thighs.

Until, finally, he released her.

Quietly sucking in air, Laila quickly rolled away from Imai up to her knees, one arm covering her hurting midsection. Breathing intensely, she saw Imai getting to his feet opposite her. She heard him declare his admiration for her, and at the same time announce his intention to win this battle. Although Laila hated to admit it, Imai was indeed a strong opponent, one who had been taking her seriously and giving her a good fight all this while. She didn't have to like him, but she still respected him for it.

With a wordless nod to her opponent, Laila stood up, mirrored Imai's grappling stance, circling him carefully...before rushing in, locking up collar and elbow with him in a classic tie-up as she pitted her strength against his.

Imai watched Laila as she moved to recover herself and her eyes caught his, the stare down between them focused and with an intensity the crowd seemed to feel as they were stuck between cheering loudly for the performance the two had put on thus far and being silent in respect as well. In her sharp gaze Imai could tell that the feeling of respect was mutual between them, it was something one could call the common thread between fighters, the respect of facing a worthy opponent. As she nodded and rose to her feet he nodded back, no more need for words, it was time to let their moves finish the conversation.

In an instant he met her rush with his own as they locked up in the middle of the ring sweat flying off both of their bodies as they impacted into the tie-up. Imai grit his teeth as his eyes looked into Laila's own and he moved against her, muscles straining as they worked to try and overpower his opponent. He would soon move to try and get a leg around to try and hook around the back of her own leg, aiming to try and upset her balance. If this succeeded he would then aim to try and break the tie-up before making a move behind her to wrap his arm around her neck and his legs to pin her arms to her sides, he was looking to apply one of his most well known holds, his Python Hold rear naked choke. If this attempt to disrupt the lock-up didn't pan out he would simply continue to try and overcome her muscled physique with his own.

The two of them collided in an avalance of muscle and showering sweat. Laila's teeth clenched as eyes stared into Imai's, her forehead pressed against his as the two of them pushed, twisted and buckled together in what could only be described as a classic Greco-Roman dance. She could feel Imai's warm breath on her skin, feel the warm perspiration on his skin...her own breath came in sharp hisses through her clenched teeth as she fought to avoid being overwhelmed, and fought to push her male opponent back.

And then, with alarming suddenness, the deadlock was broken, as Imai suddenly swing in behind her, his leg locking around hers. Laila instantly knew what Imai was doing, and instinctively, raised an arm up to her throat...just as Imai's arms closed around hit, prevented from locking in a choke by her interceding arm. At the same time, the two of them tumbled backwards as Imai's legs came up and locked around her waist, squeezing her hard from two directions.

Feeling herself going red faced, Laila breathed in tight gasps as she used her trapped hand to grab onto Imai's wrists, worrying away at his grip even as she twisted and squirmed in his grasp, the persipiration of the two powerful fighters letting her be a little slippery in his grip as she tried to turn herself around to face him...

If this first match was any indication Imai had made a good move by coming here in his time away from the Kengan Association, if Laila was a good indicator of the level of opponents he'd face. She proved herself once again by managing to keep him from fully cinching in the Python Clutch, managing to get an arm up before it could be pinned to her side by his legs. Of course it was a risk going for the move without having busted out his ace in the hole but he hadn't had the chance to go into that state yet regardless. Still his hold was having close to the desired effect, he was making it more difficult for her to get oxygen, gradually weakening her. Still he needed to keep working if he wanted to get the win in this match.

As he could feel her be able to struggle thanks to the sweat between them allowing her a little extra amount of ability to keep it hard for him to maintain his grip he knew he needed to switch things a bit. As she struggled, trying to turn to face him he would take a breath before focusing, aiming to move his arms away for a moment before taking the arm opposite of the one she managed to move up to prevent the choke and try to move it around her neck by itself. If he succeeded he would then lean back while transitioning his hold to a modified Dragon Sleeper and use his free hand to deliver a few more shots to her abs, trying to wear her down more. If not successful he would work to maintain his hold as best he could, hoping to draw out more of her energy in case she did break free.