Megumi Mutoh vs. Maria Tempesta - Sucker for Pain

Grunting as her opponent did some sexy dance over her while she was trying to get herself back up, Megumi would try to muster her strength to regain her bearing to focus back into the match. But then, Maria grabbed her by her hair, eliciting a yelp from the former Wrestle Angel before she was pulled up. Then, she was held by her arm before she was whipped towards the ropes.

Megumi knew that Maria had something planned for her as she was sent towards the ropes before rebounding back towards her opponent. Needing herself to act fast, she would focus on what Maria was trying to do to her, and she saw her trying to deliver a spinning kick at her head.

As if acting on instinct, Megumi would duck under the spinning kick, avoiding the kick before skidding to a halt behind Maria. Then, she would aim a kick right into the back of Maria's knee, hoping to make her lose her balance, bringing her down into the mat knee first.

Maria was still grinning as she "helped" Megumi upright, yanking the Japanese girl unsteadily to her feet. "Sorry, but the fans didn't come to see you on your knees all day...although I'm sure a lot of them are enjoying seeing you that way," she taunted, before whipping her hair-tied opponent across the ring. As Megumi came bouncing back, Megumi sprang forward, snapping a kick to knock her opponent's lights out...

...only for Megumi to show some agility of her own as she ducked. "Que?!!" she gasped, just before Megumi's boot slammed against her knee. This time, the blow unbalanced her, knocking her onto her own knees. Huffing, she tried to get up, not wanting to give her Japanese opponent the chance to recover...

Megumi managed to bring Maria down onto her knees after targeting the back of her knee with a kick. Seeing that Maria was trying to get back up, Megumi would then try to follow up her attack with another kick, this time targeting the back of her head. Considering that Maria was about to get up from her knees, she wouldn't have to aim high as she would try to deliver a spinning kick right at the side of her head, hoping to send the Mexican wrestler sprawled on the mat.

If her attempt to land the kick was successful, Megumi would try to regain her footing as quickly as possible so that she could carry out her next attack. She planned to perform a standing moonsault onto Maria, showing off her athletic ability by spinning in the air before landing chest first right onto her opponent, in which she planned to continue with a cover attempt!

Maria was already turning to face Megumi when her Japanese opponent came right at her like a blazing red whirlwind, snapping a kick into Maria's masked face. Stars exploded across her vision, and she toppled onto her back, blinking as she stared up at the lights. Wait...had that just happened? Had her Japanese opponent just nailed her with a boot to the head? Also, why was her vision so blurry all of a sudden...

She shook her head, furiously trying to force her eyes open...just as Megumi came down hard on her with a moonsault. The Latina gasped from the impact, her legs kicking up before floppping to the mat again. She was breathing hard, just as she heard the countdown start.

"One..."

Growling a curse in Spanish, Maria twisted sharply to the side, getting a shoulder up, though it was fair to say that she was now hurting quite a bit.

Maria managed to get her shoulder up after one, which meant the match would still be going. Megumi would get herself up on her knees before getting back up on her feet, preparing herself to deal more damage on her opponent. She couldn't help but smile confidently, thinking that the likeliest outcome of this match was for her to win this, defeating Maria with her sheer skills.

"How about that? Not disappointed in me anymore, chica?" Megumi grinned, trying her best to imitate Maria. She did spend a few years at Mexico, which allowed her to pick something up there, but her skill in the language was mediocre at best.

Putting that aside, once she was on her feet, Megumi would bend down, grabbing Maria up to get her back up on her feet as well. Upon having her back on her feet, Megumi would smash her forearm right into the side of Maria's face, hoping to deal some damage on the luchadora.

Maria grimaced as she managed to kick out, her head still throbbing dully after being kicked like that. Though she hated admitting it, especially to herself, Megumi was a much better wrestler than she had anticipated-- she now recalled that the old Wrestle Angels league she had been a part of had been something of a big deal.

But that did not mean that Megumi was better than her.

Gritting her teeth at Megumi's taunt, Maria gasped as Megumi's forearm sent her staggering to the side, clutching her head. On the other hand, she wasn't exactly off to a good start...

Megumi was enjoying the fact that she was having a good start against Maria. After hitting the side of her face with her forearm, she looked at the luchadora staggering to the side, reeling from the blow. Thinking that Maria had left herself wide open, the Combat Genius would jump into action, closing in to her as she would grab onto Maria's arm, looking to send her running towards the nearest turnbuckle with an Irish whip.

And right after that, Megumi planned to go after her, launching herself towards Maria who would end up at the turnbuckle before jumping up, aiming both her feet right at her body with a dropkick! The crowd would cheer for the former Wrestle Angel, who was well-known for her fast-paced moves and deadly strikes, and she was looking forward to pummel her opponent senseless in order to gain victory!

Maria's head was ringing after that blow to her head, and her face was flushed red to almost match her mask. So far, she wasn't faring too well against this red-ribboned warrior, and that really pissed her off. She grimaced as she felt Megumi grab at her arm, before turning and whipping her towards the turnbuckle.

Just as she was about to slam into the turnbuckle, however, Maria snatched at the ropes, catching herself on them before she could collide. Hearing Megumi running up behind her, Maria snickered, and, showing some almost gymnastic grace, kicked her legs up and lifted her lower body off the mat as she held onto the ropes. If she managed that, then Megumi's kick would narrowly miss her, with Megumi colliding with the turnbuckle...just before gravity kicked in and Maria brought both boots slamming down hard on her foe!

After sending Maria running towards the corner with an Irish whip, Megumi would follow suit, looking to deliver a dropkick at her opponent. But, much to her surprise, Maria managed to stop herself from hitting the turnbuckle before she lifted herself up. As Megumi had already launched herself for the dropkick, the former Wrestle Angel ended up hitting the turnbuckle instead.

And to make it worse for her, Maria then brought her feet down right onto Megumi's body as soon as she was pulled down onto the mat via gravity. This caused Megumi to take the whole weight of her opponent onto her body, causing her to squeal out in pain.

"Guaghhh!!"

This would leave Megumi momentarily stunned, which would allow Maria to take advantage of her, putting her in deep trouble.

The crowd burst into uproar as Megumi fell for Maria's trap, not only colliding hard with the turnbuckle but then taking the full force of Maria's brutal stomp! Many of Megumi's fans immediately burst into booing at the Cuban devil girl, who simply turned and smiled fiendishly at the audience, teasingly sliding her tongue against the corner her her mouth before turning down to her hurting opponent, as though noticing her there for the first time.

"Now what are you doing down there? We have a match, remember?" she teased, yanking Megumi up by her ribboned hair. Shifting her grip to Megumi's arm before the ref could protest, Maria made as though to whip Megumi towards the ropes...only to hold on to Megumi's arm, spinning her opponent around in a circle instead. The moment she did that, Maria would lunge forward, trying to nail Megumi with a close-ranged clothesline in a variant of her Tempesta Lariat!