Brünhilde Larsson vs. Stone - Wagnerian

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

***
”They’ll boo us, anyway.”

”I know.”

”They expect us to do shit, anyway.”

”I know.”

”So, fuck it. They don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.”

”I know, I know, I know, and the answer is still…”

Stone and Mako had been having this argument for what couldn’t have been more than five minutes, but felt like five hours. Things had started out simple enough, really. The Valkyries had been inactive ever since they threw down with Blue Thunder Mask for control of their group. It was a war he won, defeating all three of them in succession, but it had taken a heavy toll on his body and put him out for a little bit, something that management was not too keen on. They’d been in the doghouse since, and they were finally allowed to stick their heads up, with Stone being slated to wrestle a newcomer.

All well and good. There was some new talent coming into Tension these days, and Stone liked the idea of helping them get into the groove, showing them what the place could be like. Makoto had a similar idea in mind, the main difference being that she wanted newcomers getting used to being under her boot heel.

Stone sighed as she finished sliding on her leather gloves, getting on the final piece of her ensemble as they waited for her music to begin. There was a time when this wouldn’t have even been an argument, when Makoto’s word would’ve been law with the Valkyries. But with Blue Thunder Mask in charge, they were on even footing. Equals. Partners. And while that went both ways and Makoto didn’t have to do anything she said, the truth was that the pint-sized punk was still aching from the hardcore match that had lost her leadership in the first place. Nowhere near 100%, or even 50%. If Stone wanted to make her stay in the back, physically, she could do it.

That was why Makoto was sitting there, arms crossed, pouting like the little girl she was often mistaken to be.

”You don’t have to like it, but that’s the way things are now.” Stone finished up with her gloves and took a step back to stretch, not wanting to inadvertently hit Makoto in the head, regardless of how much she might deserve it. ”I don’t need help to win my matches, and we need to start putting that era behind us. You know it’s what he’d want.”

Makoto just grumbled back in response, which was her usual way of speaking whenever the topic veered to Blue Thunder Mask too long for his liking. Stone knew she was a sore loser, but she had thought it would wear off after a while, that she’d get tired of sulking. Apparently not.

”If you want to stay here and sulk, fine.” She gave one last look to Makoto as her music hit and one of the stagehands came along to give her the go-ahead. ”Come out if you want, but I don’t want you getting involved. Get me?”

Makoto gave a half-hearted shrug and a nod as she looked away. It wasn’t the response Stone wanted, but she accepted it was the best she would get, and she didn’t have the time to pry for anything better. Out she came, by herself, one of the few times a Valkyrie made an appearance without backup at her side. The crowd didn’t seem to care all that much, though, giving her the usual dose of jeers, ones that seemed to grow louder with every step.

Stone paid it no mind as she came down the ramp on her bike, making the short drive with her engine revving. They hated her. They had good reason to. But if she had her way, this would be the match where they started hating her a little less. The next one would be the same, and the one after that, and so on, until…

Well, no sense speculating. For now, she was content to make her way to her corner as the music died down, waiting for her opponent to show.

This was it, the day had finally come.

After what seemed like ages of training, paperwork, and flying across the globe,  Brünhilde was finally making her debut for AFW. While the moments before a debut match usually struck many newcomers with butterflies in their stomach, she was feeling calm. Aside from the fact that she would be tossing another woman around and being punched in the face, today was just like any other day, and she treated it as such. She had already went through her daily ritual of pushups, pullups, and sit-ups, and she had just finished her cup of green tea. Today was going to be a good day, she just knew it.

In the arena, the sounds of Swedish Garage Rock band The Hellacopters began to echo through the stands, and she knew that was her cue. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, gave herself a quick slap on each cheek to hype herself up, then stepped through the curtain.

When she stepped to the top of the ramp, she took a moment to take in the size of the crowd. Even though the crowd reaction was relatively minimal, due to her newcomer status, she still felt a bit starstruck.  She had never been in front of this many people before,  performance or otherwise. She felt a little bit nervous, but at the same time, knowing that she potentially had the opportunity to prove herself to this many people and win them over lit a fire inside of her.

She got to the bottom of the ramp and climbed up onto the apron, taking a moment to size up her opponent before she stepped into the ring. Brunhilde usually wasn't at a disadvantage size-wise when she squared up with other women, but her opponent tonight had a few inches and pounds advantage on her. This wasn't going to be an issue, she just had to be a bit more mindful of her offense.

She climbed into the ring, then moved into her corner as she stared down her opponent opposite her. She hadn't quite yet mastered the art of pre-match banter, but she would have felt awkward not saying anything at all.

"That's a nice bike you've got there. How many times has it saved you from limping to the back after matches?" She asked, locking her hazel eyes with Stone's blues. Okay, maybe that sounded a lot tougher and more intimidating in her head.

‘Brünhilde’.

Stone had read that name on the fight card before she came out, giving it a quick glance while she and Makoto had their tiff. It was only now, when the music began to play and her opponent stepped out, that she really registered the name and who it belonged to. An actual European. German, maybe? Kind of surprising. Around 80% of the AFW roster was either from Japan or the States, and that concentration only got worse if you focused on Tension.

Stone didn’t let the surprise show on her face, however, and merely took off her jacket as her opponent came into the ring. She was young from the looks of it. Too old for a proper teenager, but ten years her junior, at the least. Nice hair, stronger build than most Tension women, and Stone loved that hair.

Brünhilde had a bit of a mouth on her, too, it seemed, throwing a taunt her way as soon as they were in earshot. Stone quirked an eyebrow at it, then let it go with a smirk and shrug. The newcomer was trying to go for some intimidation. It was kind of cute, really.

”Call me Stone.” She cracked her knuckles as the referee moved between them. “Nice to meet you, too.”

She stepped towards the center of the ring and raised her arms, moving into a grappling stance. The referee called for the bell, but Stone didn’t make a move right away, and instead kept a solid position, She was curious to see how her fresh-faced foe would kick things off.

Well, that could have gone better -- While it admittedly wasn't very good banter in the slightest, Stone's reaction, or lack thereof, certainly lived up to her namesake. Brun was at a bit of a loss.

She took a moment to think about her next action -- clearly wasn't going to intimidate her opponent, and she knew that in terms of experience, she was fighting an uphill battle. The only other thing that came to mind was that Stone's hair reminded her of a Final Fantasy character, but she wasn't about to resort to petty, personal attacks. That would not only be childish and rude, but it would also put her at a psychological disadvantage -- she couldn't afford to lose any more momentum by letting Stone know that she was that far deep into her head.  You know what? Dropping the banter would be completely fine for now.

"Nice to meet you, Stone." She murmured, loosening up her wrists and adjusting her fingerless gloves. "Best of luck."

She hesitated a bit, taking one last look up and down at the woman across from her. She was a bit older than her, but she was definitely attractive. Brünhilde was especially impressed with how well she took care of her body, and even though she previously thought about shit-talking her hair, she did think it was kind of cool.

When the bell finally rang, Brün took a cautious step toward her opponent, moving into a grappling stance of her own. Given her in-ring experience compared to Stone's, it was unlikely that she'd be able to catch her off guard, so she opted for a more patient, cautious approach. She took a side step, then locked eyes with Stone, her hazel eyes showing a stern, determined expression as she took another step toward her, reaching her arms out to offer up a collar and elbow tie up to get the match underway.

Stone let her smile creep up a couple of inches when Brünhilde took the high road and decided not to keep going with the taunts. That was a refreshing change of pace - even in her short wrestling career, she grown tired of smartmouths who loved the sound of their own voice, 1 and she’d had even less patience for that as a soldier.

No trash, no junk, no cheating. Just some straight, honest competition. This was what she’d come for. ”Right back at you, ‘Hilde. Let’s have a good match.” Stone nodded as they came towards each other, doing quick scans. Stone had the height advantage, and she intended to get some mileage out of that, but the gap wasn’t nearly wide enough for her to fully rely on it.

She was younger. She was determined. That could make up for a great many things.

Stone moved in as Brünhilde did the same, creating a nigh-perfect mirror of her opponent’s form, slowly working her way in. Her eyes never left her foe’s, stuck in a silent stare, but her mind was working overtime to get a handle on what she was up against. Those arms were up with a good posture to back them, beckoning Stone on, daring her to close in. As much as she wanted to let the fight come to her, it was an offer she couldn’t refuse. It would come to this eventually, why not press the matter?

Stone took a step back, looking like she would retreat for a second, before throwing her full body into the collar-and-elbow, coming at her with full weight behind her thrust. She rushed into Brünhilde, trying to force her all the way back to the ropes - not to get in any real attack, but to gauge just how much power she was dealing with, here.

Though she wasn't about to lose focus at the task at hand, Brunhilde couldn't help but smile and nod back at Stone in return. She admittedly hadn't done her homework prior to the match, so she knew next to nothing about Stone, her past, or the team she associated with. She did, however, get the feeling that she would be a worthy adversary, and that no matter the outcome, they would have a hard-fought match without any sort of shenanigans. This was comforting, in a way, and only raised her spirits -- she wouldn't have it any other way.

Brunhilde stayed vigilant as Stone began to close in on her, mentally preparing herself for the upcoming battle of strength. This wasn't her first time grappling with someone, of course, but things definitely seemed a lot different under the arena lights with Odin-only-knows how many people watching her every move. This wasn't wrestling around with her childhood friends anymore, this finally meant something. Even though there were about a thousand thoughts running through her mind right now, she managed to keep up her posture and expression -- unless her opponent was some sort of mind reader that moonlit as a professional wrestler to pay the bills, there was no way she would be able to tell the difference.

Okay, here she comes. You've got this...

She watched as Stone took another step, than another, but then, unexpectedly, she stopped. Huh?Brunhilde's eyes softened up a bit and her head tilted ever so slightly. Was she...backing off? Not sure what to do, Brun dropped her guard ever so slightly as she tried to analyze the situation.

Rookie mistake.

All of a sudden, the larger American lunged at her, putting her full force into the lockup.

"Förbannat!!" Brunhilde cursed under her breath, upset at herself for such a simple slip up. She threw what strength and weight she could into the lock-up, but it was too late. While she did put up a formidable effort trying to resist her, Stone was fully successful, and the Swede found herself pushed back-first into the ropes.

It all happened in the space of a few seconds. A quick burst of action, but one that told Stone a lot of things.

First, she hadn’t been trying to psyche ‘Hilde out with that move, but that was the exact reaction she got, and she couldn’t help but wonder what her opponent’s level of experience was. The AFW had an open door policy, and they let just about anyone in the door - hell, they hadn’t had a problem with the three untrained biker women joining up, so just about anyone could get in. She was in no place to judge.

Still. It was a bit worrying. She hadn’t lied when she said wanted a good match, and she was hoping Brünhilde could bring it. Minor slipups aside.

Into the corner they went, and the audience already started to boo, figuring she would start to wreck havoc on the younger wrestler and live up the Valkyrie name. There were a lot of things she could do like this, plenty of ways to exploit the situation, and when Stone got her into the corner, she might seize on a few of them.

Just not now. To the crowd’s minor surprise, Stone backed away with her hands up before the referee could even start to heckle her. She moved back to the center of the ring and beckoned Brünhilde, daring her to try it again. Her foe could’ve taken it however she wanted - mind games, trying to piss her, just being cocky. The truth was that Stone wanted to establish who was stronger here, and she wasn’t going to do it in that corner after a surprise push.

Reset button.

Brünhilde flinched as her back hit the turnbuckles, and against her better judgement, she closed her eyes and raised her arms in a defensive position to protect her face. She had already lost momentum, and was mentally preparing herself for whatever onslaught Stone would unleash upon her...

...however, that onslaught never came.

The Swede opened her eyes and lowered her guard, just in time to see Stone already backing up and returning to the centre of the ring. Well, that's just great. Not even two minutes into her debut match and she was already getting punked out. If this was how her career here was going to go, perhaps this whole thing wasn't for her. That being said, she had already thought endlessly about all of the different  ways this match could go in the days prior, and being made to look like a fool certainly wasn't one of them.

As Stone beckoned her to join her in the middle of the ring again, Brünhilde looked down for a moment, adjusted a stray lock of red hair that fell into her face, then looked back at Stone. Her hazel eyes had a new, competitive spark in them, and if anything, Stone could see that she was determined.

She gave a nod of respect to her opponent, then raised her arms in another grappling stance as she began to slowly make her way forward, keeping a cautious pace.

"I see you fight with honour." Brünhilde said, locking eyes with the biker as she continued to advance on her. "I respect that. Don't take it too personally when it comes back to bite you."

Once she was close enough to Stone, Brunhilde took one last second to stare into her opponent's eyes, then raised her arms to initiate another grapple. Once Stone began to raise hers as well, however, Brün made her move. In one swift motion, she ducked under Stone's arms and deked around her, attempting to grab her around the waist from behind. If she was able to successfully catch her older opponent off guard, she would attempt to lift her up just enough to knock off her balance, before slamming her down to the mat in a rear waistlock takedown.

It only occurred to Stone a moment later that her actions could’ve been seen as a bit condescending, that she wasn’t taking her opponent seriously enough. That wasn’t the case, she respected ‘Hilda as much as you could a woman you’d only known for two minutes.

But, judging from the smattering of boos she received from the crowd, it wasn’t too hard to put her charity in a negative light. Granted, they’d probably be doing the same thing if she’d just pressed the attack. A damned if she did, damned if she didn’t sort of situation.

She shook it off and focused on her foe, who looked to be summoning some real determination, stating her resolve with a look to match. Good fire on this one. Stone nodded and moved in once more, the same as she’d done a few moments earlier. ”We’ll see, won’t we?”

She came in to lock horns once again, but this time her opponent showed some surprising wrestling acumen and whipped behind her, securing a hold from behind. Stone barely had time to register what was going on before she was lifted up and dropped on her chest. A takedown? That was something you didn’t see everyday in the AFW, with most wrestling favoring the flashier moves over the barebones grappling. Interesting.

But it wasn’t anything she couldn’t work with. She pushed up and twisted around, trying to wrap her arm around Brunhilda’s skull and snag her with a headlock as she rose.

Growing up, Brünhilde's father was a very important figure in her life. He wasn't just a parent, he was a mentor in all facets of life. He taught her many important lessons, and she could attribute many things to him -- her work ethic, her personality, and her disposition to name a few. If he were here right now, he would be yelling at her from the corner to be cautious. Just take the fresh start, lock up with her again, and see where things go.

After feeling the satisfaction of being able to wrap her arms around her opponent's waist and slam her to the mat, she had never felt better about upsetting her father in her life.

Before Brünhilde could fully dwell on how well it felt, however, she felt Stone's arm wrap around her and snag her into a headlock. She somewhat expected this, but it was definitely good to know that Stone knew her way around a grapple. Unfortunately for her opponent, however, so did she.

Before her opponent could fully get the hold locked in, Brunhilde lifted her arms to block, shoving her forearm up into the blonde biker's face. She then rolled through, using her momentum to shift their positions, attempting to roll through and wrap her legs up around Stone's head to lock in a headscissor!