AJ Shay vs. Spider Kikuchi - Arachnophobia

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, or KO.

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Nervous.

If Ryoko had to pick a single feeling going through her head right now, had to come up with only one word to encapsulate what she was feeling, ‘nervous’ would almost certainly fit the bill. It was a weird feeling to have, as she sat at the front row of a Friction show, waiting for the next match to begin. By all rights, she should’ve been happy enough. She’d scored a front row seat, one of the best seats in the house, so she’d get to watch the action up close instead of viewing it on her dingy phone or even dingier TV.  That wasn’t what had her stressed out.

It wasn’t the fact that the next match had AJ in it, either. The American had, in short time, became her best/only friend. She had this boundless, infinite well of optimism that helped Ryoko along more than she could tell her. Just seeing her go made her want to be better at wrestling, so she could be at her absolute best when the two of them met in the ring one day - for real, totally serious - and she finally revealed her true identity. Whenever that day came.

No, what had her stressed out wasn’t AJ, but the woman who AJ was fighting. The one making her way down to the ring right now, with an arrogant sway in her hip.

Spider Kikuchi. It had to be her.

Ryoko had never wrestled Spider. She didn’t want to. Nobody wanted to, really, because she was, to put it in the most charitable way, a lying, scheming, cheating, evil bitch. Mean, vicious, petty, and cruel, she’d picked up a reputation as a someone to be avoided in the league, a vile woman who took joy from bending her younger, less experienced opponents into unnatural shapes, breaking them down to pieces. Which made her wonder why they chose AJ as her next opponent.

Spider was wondering similar things, but unlike Ryoko, she didn’t see this as a bad thing in the slightest. She came strolling down to the ring in her fineries, swishing to the music as the crowd showered her with their hatred. She had a smile on, despite it all. Why shouldn’t she? She intended to have a good time today. The best time.

She kept her confidence up every step of the way, as she slid into the ring and promptly made it over to her corner. Instead of leaning up against the turnbuckle, she hopped up and laid across it like a hammock, her long, white, lustrous hair hanging off the other side. Not a single care in the world. In fact, the most serious question on her mind was which body part of AJ's she'd be focusing on today. Arms? Legs? Work the spine a bit? It had been a while since she'd gotten a knockout, so maybe chokes were in order...

When she had found out who she was up against, her initial reaction had been mixed. She had heard her opponents name mentioned in the back but couldn't quite recall the context but she remembered it wasn't good. Her suspicions were confirmed when she texted Ryoko about her upcoming match to pick her best friend’s brain for additional info.

It was hard to decipher tone over texting, but had got the impression by what she had gotten back that this Spider lady was someone to take pretty seriously. She knew that both her and Ryoko tended to overreact about things, but in this particular instance was different. Her friend had evoked the sacred “real talk” tag to her warnings about this woman she was facing which made her a bit more concerned.  She had time to prepare though, so what is what she was going to do.

She spoke to Suzumi on the side about Spider, surprised to find the veteran was familiar with the woman as well. She even mentioned that the woman had been a Wrestle Angel while they were both part of the promotion. That was great news. Obtaining permission to make use of Suzumi’s extensive match library of tapes, she would have access to every match Spider had ever wrestled for the brand at her fingertips to dissect. Alexa set to work to research her opponent...

And found nothing. She had spent hours combing through tapes and match cards looking for any evidence that Spider had even been a part of the promotion. She even texted Suzumi to make sure that she was certain. There was nothing here. It was like the woman’s time with the league was lost to history. It had been a frustrating day to make the trip all the way out here to have come up empty. She couldn't even get advice from Suzumi herself since the woman was out for the day. After tidying back up, she texted her friend to let her know she had finished using her library, opting to not tell her it hadn't helped. She was just thankful the woman let her come and go as she pleased so readily.

Retiring back to her cramped apartment, she put her nose to the grindstone trying to find out more about Spider through the internet. After getting past misspelling her name and a plethora of gross hairy spider photos that were so weird she had to click on them, she managed to find a few matches uploaded to YouTube. Posted by a self proclaimed super fan of her opponent, the quality was poor, taken from a cell phone, and highlighted three of the woman's matches in a promotion called Ring Dream.

She lay on her bed, watching the artifacted videos quietly. Most of them were rather long, not because the bouts her hard fought though. Spider had a commanding early lead, one that never left her. The bulk of the match was the woman throwing her opponent around and locking them into submission holds. She seemed to just be playing with them at the end, even dragging them to the outside where their attempts to tap went unanswered.

By the time she had finished, she was sitting up against the back of the pull out couch, nibbling her fingernails down to nubs.  Ryoko hadn't been joking. Three decisive submission victories. Painful ones, even to watch. She wasn't even sure if her friend knew the full extent of what this woman seemed to be capable of.

But just imagine if she could beat her.

She hadn't won a match yet, but since her two bouts against The Black Fang and Suzumi, she had improved quite a bit. With some coaching advice from Ryoko in all her wrestling junkie glory, and some actual training with the Wrestle Angel on her off time she had direction these days. Spider would be there for her regardless of how ready she was. She wasn’t going to let this woman make her into a victim like those other women in the videos.

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Theme:

Alexa pushed her way past the curtains onto the stage, walking towards the edge of the stage to stand at the top of the ramp. She had taken to bouncing a bit to the music recently, but not tonight. Her eyes were fixated on the ring, specifically on her opponent who was lounging in the corner. Tonight she was getting a far bigger more positive reaction that she was use to. No doubt it had something to do with who she was up against.

As the music picked up to the chorus, she threw up an arm, pumping it to the two syllable breakdown of the word "action" within the lyrics as per usual. She made her way down the ramp slowly, trying to keep herself psyched up to the coming match. She was slightly distracted though, looking out into the crowd for something… she knew Ryoko was here somewhere, just not sure where in the audience.

She broke into a light jog about halfway down the ramp, taking a lap around the ring until she caught a familiar voice. She had to stop and backpedal a few steps to find Ryoko, front row. What a great seat! She turned to her friend, grinning wide at the girl. “Glad you could make it! Be sure to lend me your energy. All of you, alright?” She waved her finger at the assorted people around Ryoko before holding out a hand for a high five with her friend. “Ice cream after the show? Think about it.” She didn't wait for an answer, giving a two finger salute before turning to slide into the ring.

Popping up to stand in the ring, she circled the far end as she eyed Spider, eyeing her from afar. She tapped out the toes of her boots on the mat, making sure her new kick pads we're secured nice and tight. A few light stretches with throwing her arms inwards then out to her side. “So…” Alexa shook out her arms a bit. “Why spiders?”

Tempting as it was, Ryoko didn’t join her voice to the chorus of boos. While she appreciated the crowd’s enthusiasm, she didn’t see much point to it with a woman like Spider Kikuchi. The platinum blond seemed to revel in the hate, feeding off every jeer, and she only seemed to smile wider by the moment. Ryoko didn’t know Spider, but she knew the type, and knew that feeding hate rarely got you anywhere.

Besides, there were much better ways to spend her precious energy, like cheering for her friend the moment she heard the music start up. ”Woooooooo!”

Her enthusiasm was a little obnoxious, a fact she picked up when she stood too fast and elbowed the poor man beside her, purely on accident. Couldn’t be helped, and after a quick apology, she was back to cheering as hard as ever, and she wasn’t the only one.

AJ was relatively new in Friction, but people could recognize talent when they saw it. There was a lot of love coming her way, especially she was up to slay the hated Spider, and Ryoko made sure that her section had a fresh batch when she arrived, along with an eager high-five. ”Do your best and it’s on me!”

She sent her off with a returned salute as AJ slid her way into the ring. On the outside, she was happy and free and all smiles. On the inside, however, she put her focus where it belonged - completely on Spider Kikuchi, who was just now descending from her Venus pose on the turnbuckle. AJ’s opponent still had the same, slim smile she’d worn when she first came out, and it hadn’t wavered a bit as this little fly came down the ramp and crawled into her web.

She strolled towards AJ, swaying with every step, until they were only a few feet apart, and she only stopped when the question was thrown her way.

”Why?” She blinked, pouted, tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. ”Because I like spiders.” ‘Like’ was too strong a word, strictly speaking. It would be more accurate to say she just thought they made for nice motif to keep people from confusing her with Freia Kagami. Less dramatic, though. “Any other silly questions?”

“Really? That’s it?” She seemed a bit surprised there was no deeper meaning behind the name. True, the woman may have had one and just hadn't wanted to share, but her reasoning struck Alexa as odd. “If that is how we do stuff around here, you can call me Burrito Shay I guess.” She cracked one of her goofy smiles, for a brief moment forgetting she was in the ring with a killer. Had she given it much thought, it wasn't the wisest move to potentially rile the woman looking to break her into pieces small enough to cram in an overhead compartment.

Alexa’s natural awkward nature rendered her more or less immune to the initial creep factor associated with Spider’s stalking her way. She seemed ready and willing to get things started, bouncing up and down as if she had just chugged energy drinks before coming out here.

Standing this close to her, she was surprised that Spider wasn't bigger. Taller, heavier, just overall more intimidating. She certainly had an air of danger about her, and a look to match, but they looked to be about the same size. She blow out a soft breath, deciding to start things off on the right foot. The bell hadn't rung yet, so they were still in the clear.

“Let's have a good match, okay?” She reached out, offering Spider her hand for a quick handshake before the match started off proper. She could save the intensity for after the bell, right now she wanted to be a good competitor and show the veteran in the ring the proper respect.

Spider hated this woman immediately.

Granted, there was little chance of her liking AJ in the first place. She didn’t like her theme, didn’t like her look, didn’t like her hair, didn’t like the fact that she was, once again, being put up against some young upstart when she really should’ve been involved in the title scene. All of these things and more ensured that she found the little fly in front of her to be more than worthy of the pain she was about to receive.

But then she had to go and say that stupid thing about the burritos. ”Burrito...” Her eyes narrowed to slits, before she let it with a deep sigh. In a moment she’d have a proper way to vent. The bell would ring, she’d have her chance, and-

”Hm?”

When she opened her eyes, she saw a strange sight: AJ extending her hand for a shake. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen someone try to do that with her, but it had been a good, long while since it happened. Word spread fast, and even if it didn’t, it wasn’t like she put much effort into hiding her intentions.

The crowd couldn’t believe it, and Ryoko was among them. She’d warned her what sort of person Spider was. They’d done the research. She had to know what would happen next.

To no one’s surprise - except, maybe AJ - Spider reached forward, grabbed her by the wrist instead of the hand, and yanked her forward. At the same time, she twisted about, raised her arm, and attempted to hit the aspiring wrestler in the face with an elbow.

Alexa wasn't dumb, .ost of the time anyway. While she may have thrown caution to the wind to give Spider the benefit of the doubt just based on random heresay or the matches she watched, there was one thing that kept her focused on what might happen. Ryoko. Her best friends concerns and words of wisdom we're something that held more value than just about anything else when it came to wrestling… heck, even some of her life advice.

As Spider’s fingers coiled around her wrist, her faint smile had already begun to fade. With the yank, she didn't jolt towards Spider suddenly, she was already stepping in. The bell sounded, cutting through the sudden silence of a crowd poised to see what was about to happen. Spider’s elbow came shooting in, a hard stiff shot that would surely have knocked the rookie on her ass had it caught her flew high, because Alexa was ducking down to dash underneath.

She hooked around hard, stomping her boots she pivoted sharply, using the woman's grip on her still to snap herself around and pull in close. She pulled free, throwing out her arms to clamp them around Spider’s midsection, fingers attempting to interlock as she tightened her grip almost instantaneous to squeeze the veteran. With a small hop of her legs to square up, she lurched back with a mighty cry, attempting to throw Spider back in a snap German suplex. If she landed the move, she would try to arch her back, bridging the move into a pin attempt.

”1…!”

Spider was on her back, her shoulders were being to floor, her legs were folded up over her head, and the referee was nearby, starting up a count. How did this happen, exactly?

She wasn’t entirely sure. Things had started off promising enough, with her throwing an elbow at AJ’s face that should, by all rights, have connected nice and clean. This wasn’t some expert wrestler she was up against her, but a soft newbie. Cannon fodder. A little something to pad out her ranking and go into her highlight reel.

That assessment was put in doubt, however, when AJ managed to duck under her attack, whipped around, lifted her up, and...well, this was how it ended up. Not the most flattering position, nor the ideal way to start a match.

”2…!”

The referee’s hand had only touched the match for a second time when Spider thrusted her hips up and kicked out, stopping the count and saving herself from what would’ve been a career-ending defeat. She rolled to the ropes on instinct and started to pull her way up with their aid, trying to rise as swift as she could.

She hugged Spider so hard. Harder than her stuffed bunny rabbit when she was a little child. Harder than her mother. Harder than her father, even after he directed her to squeeze with all she had. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute after ducking under Spider’s elbow and locking the woman in. Snapping backwards she brought her opponent to the mat hard to the surprise of everyone, including herself.

Muscle memory had taken over when she bridged the move, getting up on the tip toes of her boots. She was holding her breath without even realizing it. The first count started her, not expecting this to actually be happening. She had just hammered a veteran out of the gate. How did she do that?! Would she ever be able to do it again? She needed desperately to see the replay… to hear what Ryoko had to say. The second count fell. For the briefest of moments she thought this may have been it. Victory in one move in the first ten seconds of a match… this would turn her career around. This would make her famous... maybe!

Spider dashed those dreams rather quickly, bucking herself free to topple both women over. As her opponent fled to the ropes, Alexa was hurrying to her feet huffing loudly, finally breathing again. She was already fired up, blood pumping, amped beyond belief. This was an opportunity and she wasn't about to let it slip away.

She charged across the ring towards Spider as a frenzied pace, circling up behind the rising veteran. Her arms shot out to grasp at Spiders shoulders as she tried to wrap their legs entwined. She would jerk them back hard, trying to yank them off to the side away from the ropes with a Russian legsweep. If she managed to floor the veteran, she would kick up her free leg, trying to get it up and behind her opponents head while also reaching out to grab for her arm to lock in an impromptu octopus hold follow-up. The hold however, was one she hadn't had much practice with on an actual person. It showed in her form.

The audience cheered and Ryoko cheered hardest of all. So hard, in fact, that she started to reach down for the custom-made sign she’d brought along for this occasion, but she held back on that at the last second, thought better of it. Best not too get too crazy with the cheering so early on and blow her wad. Save the good stuff for the latter half, when Shay might need it more.

Spider, for her part, had a much more critical thought in mind, as she tried to parse together what had just occurred. That natural answer was that AJ Shay - a rookie, an upstart, a joke - had just gotten the better of her and nearly served up the single most embarrassing defeat of her career.

But that wasn’t right. Spider had simply made a mistake, let her guard down, been too slow, and now that she was making her way up to her feet, she would have no trouble at all-

”What-”

That ‘what’ came when Spider tried to lock onto AJ’s position, only to find she was no longer where she expected her to be. Her unspoken question was answered a second later, when she felt an uncomforting arm on her shoulder and leg wrapping around her own, taking her the mat with a Russian Legsweep.

She opened her mouth to shout a threat AJ’s way, only for it to be interrupted by a cry of pain and surprise, as her arm was seized and a leg went over her head.

An octopus hold. The little urchin was trying to put her into an octopus hold.

Getting put into one of her own favored moves would’ve been an insukt by itself, but suffering throug this inferior version was more than even Spider was prepared to bear. It was hastily made, and she was able to jerk her head to the side and slip free of the leg, saving herself a world of pain. Deciding a reset was in order, she made a move for the rope, reaching out to grab the bottom one and force a reset.

Simple and effective, the Russian legsweep was an often times overlooked move that paired naturally with a real many ground holds. This close to the ropes, she had opted to use one she wasn't terribly familiar with in hopes she could drag some mileage out of the restrictive nature of it all. It was hard to keep track of all the components of the octopus hold, at least for her anyway. That much would likely be apparent for someone like Spider.

She had hardly gotten the woman wrapped up when her leg cam loose. She wasn't sure if it was her own mess up or Spider slipping her head free. Either way, the hold was breaking down without all the pieces in place. She made another attempt to hook her leg up and over again, but wound up just waving it in the air as Spider was wise to her now and able to turn her head away. She huffed softly as the referee called for the rope break.

Untangling herself from Spider, she scooted away on her backside, rising to her feet again. A good start for her, the best one she had ever had really. She couldn't afford to let up, but she wasn’t about to attack the woman right out from a rope break. That was fine. She was fresh, she was ready, she could wait. She lowered herself slightly, arms raised as she watched Spider.

The moment the woman was back up on her feet, Alexa would try to initiate in a collar and elbow tie up. She would need to get the veteran away from the ropes before attempting much of anything else. “Making you work for your paycheck tonight!”