Pyrena Alexandria Nikos vs Isa Hjalmarsdottir - Greek vs Norse

Rules: Standard
Winning Conditions:Win by Pinfall, Submission or Knockout. Escaping the cage will not count as a win.

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A match in the octagon?

Admittedly, it was something that took Pyrena herself by surprise. Although this is a league that pretty much all sorts of things could happen. There have been steel cage matches, sauna matches, bedroom matches and probably others that she may not have known at the time. Fighting in the octagon seemed to be a thing that was a rarity than anything else in AFW. Perhaps because of this rarity, this could excite the fans even more.

And for the Red Amazonian, this would be rather comfortable for her. Aside from wrestling, she had been doing some martial arts growing up too. And in the octagon, MMA fighters need to be skilled on on the ground as well as standing up. So this at least has her fired up and ready to do battle. Pyrena could only hope that her opponent was skilled and tough enough to make this setting a perfect fit.

The orchestral trumpets blast through the speakers, the crowd getting pumped as they know who it is already, Pyrena coming out from the curtain and on top of the ramp. Her signature red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet, and her eyes are like emeralds. Standing tall and proud, the brown chunky heels adding 3" to her already tall 5'11. One thing that she noticed was not only the octagon, but some banners and decorations that they have placed. She recognized the Greek alphabet in one of the banners but the other side had something different entirely. Norse? Was her opponent going to be someone with a Norse background? Her mind scrambles as to who this person could be. The most sure bet was the Friction World Champion....

If that was the case then the Red Amazonian was lucky that she dressed up for the occasion! Her attire looking similar to a Roman warrior, the corset, the black miniskirt and the red drapery that reaches down to her knees. A bronze circlet headpiece could be seen above her ear and under her bangs. She also sports a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. The crowd cheering and watch in awe as the Amazonian slams her gold spear and shield together before raising the spear in her right hand and makes her way down the ring, basking the glory and the crowd cheering on. It's as if she was entering the Colosseum itself. Only that it was smaller than the original one....

No matter, Pyrena was going to make the most of it, pumping up the crowd as she gets to the steel cage. Dropping her spear and shield to one side, the ref opening the door to let her in. This was the first time that she has stepped inside the cage for a professional fight, but she felt right at home as she walked to the side with her Greek banner. Pacing back and forth, pumped as ever, the Red Amazonian would just have to wait for her opponent to come to see if her predictions were correct.

"Aghh... No... Oh, Julie! I'm not sure about this!"
"Oh come on, Isa! You'll look fabolous!!!"
"But...I'm not a Viking! I don't know how to be one!"
"Stop it! You're from Iceland! That's Viking territory! You'll totally be a perfect viking girl, trust me!"
"But... But..."
"Come on, they didn't make that outfit for you for no reason! They know you'll look great in it!"
"Ahh, fine... Whatever..."

Yes, Isa had some doubts. She wasn't one to usually dress up for occasions, at least in such an imaginative way as AFW liked their wrestlers to do. So far the blonde's outfits in the AFW arena had been rather bland, reserved and decent, and clearly the management was having enough of that. This time she had been equipped blue outfit with subtle vikingish hints on it.

It wasn't as if the ouftit was all too revealing or anything like that, but it certainly required some special effort. Taking on a role. Confidence to play that role. And it wasn't as if Isa would have been genuinely worried that she couldn't do just that. It was just out of her comfort zone. And Julie knew that very well. That's why the Irish gingerhead had been sure to be the one sending the Angel of Ice on her way towards the ring tonight.

"Oooh, Isa, look at her! Look at her outfit! That's so awesome! You have to wear yours too!"

No, it wasn't as if Isa could have actually changed her outfit any more. But Julie wanted to cast faith in her blonde friend. Firstly, it would be so much more fun to see Isa actually enjoying her time in the ring. And secondly, contrary to the usual setting, her opponent tonight was apparently not on the smaller side...

Isa wasn't oblivious to that fact either. But from backstage it was still a bit too hard to judge it all properly. Her opponent's features, the setting of the ring... It was unusual for sure, but to see how it all exactly was, Isa had to go find out about it herself...

"Come on, take these, it's your turn!"

Taking reluctantly hold of the sword and shield Julie was giving her, Isa knew it was time to go.

"OK, OK, thanks Julie! See you later!"

Some General idea of Isa's outfit:

The doubts were promptly left behind though, as the tunes of Mountain Sound started playing on the arena, and Isa made her appearance to the crowds. All the hesitation was seemingly gone, and only thing the crowds could see was a determined blonde with a confident and gentle face, dressed up somewhat as a viking and walking down the ramp towards the...

...Octagon? Wow, that was indeed unusual. And as Isa got even closer to it, all the fancy decorations were becoming clearer to her. Along with the fact that there were no ropes at all tonight, only walls of the cage, and that fact caused some subtle turmoil inside the blonde's head.

Isa hadn't ever entered one before. Probably not even without actual intentions of fighting in one. The unexpected detail was testing her confidence... But then again, why should she worry about it? She had done some training with Alicia Wells, who probably knew those cages well enough. She should just remind herself of her lessons, and she'd be alright, right?

No ropes also meant no Isa's typical greeting manouvre. So instead, the blonde walked a round around the octagon, greeting politely her audience with the shield, sword and a cute face.

But then, it was time to leave the equipment outside, and step into the octagon. First thing Isa did was to walk straight up to her opponent, offering her hand for a shake.

"Hello, I'm Isa. Looks like they've got us set up some fancy theme tonight!"

Based on the first impression Isa was just getting of her opponent, the blonde had absolutely every reason to stay in as friendly terms with her as possible...

Pyrena knew that something like this would come up in her time in AFW. Themed matches were a bit more of a rarity for the Greek, mostly just going as herself. It wouldn’t be difficult for Pyrena to get into character, she already had the get up on point and looked like a Greek warrior. Though she is more into the fighting side of things than anything else. Promos and all that weren’t exactly her specialty. With how much going into this setting and the octagon ring, she could only assume that her opponent was more of a crowd pleaser and someone who likes dressing up too.

So many people come to mind now. Who could it be? Who?

Well she would not have to wait any longer as her opponent came out. And when that person came out, it confirmed at least some of her predictions.

She is a blonde.

She looks European.

She is tall. Bit more than the average height.

She dresses like a Viking.

Is she Cecilia? No she is not.

Not that she had hyped herself up on the idea of facing her but Pyrena was surprised still. A good kind of surprise though. Isa looked confident and determined, mixed with a rather cute face. But still, ready for battle. She looked to be strong too. So far so good. The Greek wondered if she could handle herself in the octagon. This isn’t the normal wrestling ring after all.

As Isa entered, the Red Amazonian watched carefully on her opponent. Picking up for some little nuances. From the looks of it, she wasn’t coming in with an injury like her last opponent. Last thing Pyrena wanted was a fight with an opponent handicapped from something she did in the gym…

But Isa didn’t seem to be the case. Polite too as she walked up and the Viking offered her hand for a shake. A sign of respect. One thing Pyrena has in spades, no matter what the foe.

“They have indeed.” She gave a cool smile as she shook her hand. Firm. Pyrena wasn’t the kind of person to do noodle handshakes. Standing tall and heroic somewhat as she sized the Icelandic woman up. “No hard feelings, but I gotta win for my fellow Greeks.” She didn’t think of herself being too patriotic but Pyrena had pride for her country. No doubt Isa felt the same.

Isa didn't have any expectations for the hand shake. But even if she had had, those expectations would have most probably been exceeded. Pyrena's grip was tight, strong, and definitely suitable for a warrior, which was something she was obviously trying to represent. And quite honestly, now that Isa was able to take a good and thorough look at her, she was succeeding quite fabolously with it as well. Isa felt honestly like meeting an actual warrior...

"Yeah, it's quite exciting, having this kind of set-up is the first time for me." the blonde replied Pyrena's initial statement in a polite, matter-of-fact tone. Truth was, this was a situation of many firsts for Isa. Besides the fact that the fight was going to be held in an octagon, and the fact that she was dressed up as a Viking, there was another first for her that triggered some unease inside the blonde.

Pyrena was actually bigger than her.

She was taller, not much, but still enough for the difference to be clear. She was probably also heavier than her, based on the enviable figure of her body. And it was the first time Isa could remember having that kind of situation. She had gotten used to the situation where she was the one who had the size, and often the strength advantage too, but now she was faced with a warrior who possessed both of those usual advantages.

And now she had to take on the role of a viking against her. Great.

Pyrena's second sentence managed to surprise the blonde, as for a nationality-themed match, this was again a first for her. "Oh.. Well, that is....very understandable indeed. Be sure that... Um... I'll be doing the same!" Isa began, while realizing in the process the dire need of hiding the hints of hesitation in her tone. Luckily, she was a quick thinker.

"You should remember, that Vikings have possessed far greater territories than the Greeks ever have, so I doubt your chances with that are high!"

Honestly, Isa had absolutely no idea whether that statement held any truth in it, but it served the purpose of sounding confident and threatening at the same time, which was something that she knew was crucial at this stage before the match.

"Good luck!" the blonde wished, before turning around heading towards her....oh, yeah, there was no corner. Luckily, she soon noticed the spot that clearly had some old Norse text written on it instead of the Greek one she had seen on the opposite side, and settled beneath it to form her plans.

And it was obvious to her that those plans would have to be great.

There haven’t been any instances so far that Pyrena was the one smaller than her opponent. Due to her Amazonian height, she was the biggest. The only cases that came close would be Diana who is roughly the same height as the Greek and the German Juggernaut Cicilia trailing at a close second. Though in these two examples, they weren't official matches, even though they felt like tough bouts. Size isn’t always something that Pyrena mainly takes advantage, she already is different to the other powerhouses that share her body type.

Still, she is taking her opponent seriously. The Icelandic woman certainly doesn’t slack in terms of fitness. And there are hints of strength in that body of hers. In any case, the Greek will take her as another warrior ready to do battle. If only Isa actually carries herself more like it.

Smart to notice the small hints of hesitation in her voice, though luckily for the blonde, not so bloodthirsty to really take advantage to instill fear and bully her about it. Still, Pyrena would show no quarter towards the viking. “A shame that the Norse gods aren’t immortal to see it for long.” A little dig of the Norse God’s non-immortality than the Greek ones.

While they could debate on which is better, that isn’t what they came for. The Icelandic woman kind enough to wish her good luck which made Pyrena smile. “Likewise.” Turning on her heels and walking to her side, the one with the Greek alphabet that she knows very well. Standing on the opposite side, she did a few light warm ups, keeping herself limber before the match would begin. Awaiting for the bell to ring and for them to engage in battle. She couldn’t help to be excited. Maybe because of a theme like this that brought fun to this match. Though the Greek native is clearly looking forward to seeing what this viking could do.

So. The plan. Clothesline her to the ground and squeeze her hard? Nope, unlikely to work. Whip her to the corner, crush her there and pull her to the ground? Nope, that neither. The Greek girl had size advantage, and Isa was having some serious questions on how to overcome it. And other questions too... Like, for example, how strong was she? How experienced was she? How was it like to wrestle in a cage? What did those Greek letters actually say? And was it actually so that Greek Gods were immortal, but Norse Gods not???

Isa's mind was sternly stuck pondering the last question, as the bell rang.

So no, she still had no plan.

Prompted by the bell, Isa started moving. She also became unsettlingly aware of the absence of a plan. And as she still had many questions, it was probably a good idea to try to find some answers.

In exactly which way she should do that was anyone's guess though. Isa's own choice was to find out first about her opponent's strength. It was common for her to begin her matches with a traditional test-of-strength, and it was also now one of the first things crossing her mind.

Approaching Pyrena, Isa tried to appear again as confident as possible. "So, you want to show me exactly how strong are you Greek warriors then?" the blonde challenged her opponent in as polite tone as possible, while raising her hands up for an invitation to a lock-up.

She wasn't so sure if something so trivial like a Greek V Norse themed fight was enough to get her excited for battle or just looking at the woman in front of her, but all the same, her heart thumped like the drums waiting for battle. She wasn't cocky coming into things, rather that there's something that the Icelandic woman was good at.

As to what it is excatly remains to be seen..

The bell soon ring and Pyrena walked up, cautious, just in case the woman had any tricks up her sleeve. Soon as she saw the hands rising up from Isa, the redhead cocked her eyebrow up. A test of strength, was it? Well she wouldn't say no to a traditional lock up, even Pyrena herself had questions regarding to her strength.

"Gladly." She said simply, as she laced her fingers with Isa's, slowly, carefully, not letting her emerald gaze leave the blonde woman. "I haven't had a good chance to show it since coming here." Which is somewhat true. She prefers to punch things. Or kick. Or slam. Dominating through sheer strength was a rarity considering the types of opponents she had faced in the ring. And a chance she was gonna eagerly indulge in.

Soon as they lock, Pyrena suddenly bursted with her own power, attempting to push Isa back, with the explosive start, she probably might backpedal a step...or two. Hopefully nothing more than that. She hasn't had a good battle in ages!

The traditional test-of-strength in the form of a traditional lock-up may have seemed like a very daring move on Isa's behalf, considering how Pyrena seemed to have some size advantage over the blonde. But on the other hand, it seemed very fitting too... The setup looked a lot like a warrior against a viking, and a strength contest was surely a suitable way to begin a battle under such circumstances.

Besides, Isa was desperately longing for information on how strong the Greek woman actually was.

Pyrena seemed to be just as eager to lock-up with her too. Which was potentially a bad sign, but Isa tried to stay positive... She could not know the truth before she found out about it! But the Greek woman's note of not having the chance to show her strength really got the blonde somewhat confused... Why hadn't she had the chance to do so? This wasn't her first match, no? Didn't one usually try to display one's strength in matches?

...And that confusion was just enough for Isa to miss Pyrena's explosive start. As the two locked up, the blonde was buried in her thoughts, with the result that the Norse had to immediately take a few steps back under the Greek warrior's pressure.

However, Isa was gradually able to regain some footing, and kick her own leg strength in. Pyrena's early advance had been largely due to the blonde's rather weak upper strength, in addition to the element of surprise, and now that her legs were in the game the blonde manage to halt the movement.

And halt it for a considerable time...

It was a long, seemingly consuming battle of a warrior and a viking, as the two contestants tried to push each other backwards as hard as they could. It also became obvious to Isa that Pyrena was actually really strong, and despite the blonde's best efforts, it seemed that the redhead wasn't going to inch. If anything, Isa's endurance was quickly depleting by now, and if her opponent kept on the same pressure, there was a big risk that the blonde would soon find herself back against the octagon wall...

What a fitting way it was to start things off like this. Probably not so when you're in an octagon, but Pyrena's blood was pumping once she locked up with her Icelandic opponent. Even more so when she started to really push into Isa. An explosive showing, Pyrena drove Isa back, admittedly her heart was almost disappointed with the way she seemed to be easily pushed her back. Though as Isa began to get her grip and push back now, she went back to excited.

"Well, you're a strong one, aren't you? The redhead soon feeling the strength of the 'Viking' as her legs kept her in the game. And for a considerable lengthy amount of time. Now she could really gauge her strength. At least, her upper body strength. When she meant of showcasing her true strength, Pyrena meant in a way she could go full throttle. The only time she could have would have been the time in her debut where her opponent, who while wasn't as tall as Pyrena, was certainly heavy. Then there was her spar with Cicilia. Basically, these were few and far in between and with the way Isa looked, the redhead was pumped to indulge more with the blonde.

Unluckily for Isa, Pyrena wasn't really going to let up now as the battle started to heat up. The Greek kept it up, though only for a few moments. Pyrena wasn't just a fighter who just relied on strength. She does have smarts too. Pyrena would indeed let go of the lockup, though Isa wouldn't get much of a reprieve as Pyrena dove down, her arms moving to catch Isa's legs before soon showing another explosion of strength as she attempted to lift the blonde up, turning around before looking to slam her down with a running powerslam.

At least that move was commonplace in an octagon...

Isa had gotten Pyrena's early advance in the lock-up halted, but regaining any of that ground seemed to be impossible. No matter how hard the blonde tried, no matter how much she used her formidable leg strength, the Greek warrior's own strength was obviously matching the blonde's own... And that was causing a lot of unease inside the normally oh-so-cool viking.

However, the blonde did appreciate Pyrena's compliments. "Same...goes for...you too.... It's a...shame if you...haven't... been able... show it!" Isa replied between panting that the prolonged straining was already causing. If Pyrena wanted to remain polite with her, she would do the same...especially as making such a big and strong opponent angry did not sound like an attractive prospect to the beautiful rookie!

Isa could feel her legs gradually losing their footing, and further retreat was imminent... However, the Greek amazon suddenly changed the rules of the game. She completely let go of the lock-up, leaving her blonde opponent confused over what was happening...but only for a second, before the Angel of Ice felt her body being effortlessly scooped up!

Horror struck the blonde's face as she realized that coming down was not going to happen in a pleasant way at all. And that realization was as accurate as ever, as Pyrena's magnificent running powerslam left the blonde rookie's body spreadeagle on the mat in the dead center of the octagon...

There seemed to be no longer a question over whether the warrior or the viking was the stronger combatant in the octagon tonight. Isa might have been strong, but by now it was obvious that her strength level was clearly inferior to that of Pyrena's... And for Isa, who was used to facing only smaller and weaker opponents, it meant that this match was a big trip to the unknown.