Akino Sanada vs Armando ‘Army’ Rodriguez - This Is Awkward

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Victory by pinfall, submission, or knockout.

”No, no, no, goddamn it, fucking NO.”

Army had a bad habit when it came to wrestling matches. These days, he didn’t pay too much attention to who he was being put up against, even though the website tended to list the matchups, even the ones that were on short notice. Part of it was that he just didn’t care too much - he had matches too often to really study his opponents, and most of the time his strength was enough to get him through whatever got thrown his way. Part of it was that he kind of liked the surprise. Being a wrestler was kind of fun like that, always getting these weird and unique challenges, never knowing what would come his way next.

But there were good surprises and there were bad surprises, and the one that he got when he came in for today’s episode was definitely on the latter. His opponent for the night was Akino Sanada.

His sister’s ex.

The one who’d split up from her in a bad breakup.

Actually, scratch that - the other one who’d split up from her in a bad breakup.

The one who dressed up in a skimpy maid outfit.

The one who Carmen had fucked all over their apartment.

Yeah. Awkward.

This was someone’s idea of a joke, he knew that much, and as he stretched in the gorilla position and waited for the commericals to end, he couldn’t help but wonder who. There was that booker who got mad at him that one time he ate the last donut in catering, could be that guy. Maybe one of the execs, looking to play the audience up for laughs? This match was near the middle of the program, he knew they liked to lighten up the crowd a bit during that time to keep it going.

He guessed it didn’t matter. Carmen wasn’t here, probably didn’t know anymore about this than he did,. The important thing, he kept reminding himself, was that he was going up against a submission expert with a better record than his. Maybe they could keep this professional. Maybe their connected history wouldn’t coming into it. Maybe he wouldn’t remember how his workout bench still had a funny scent thanks to Whatever-The-Hell Akino and Carmen got up to that one time.

...ugh. Right.

With the deepest sigh he’d ever made in his life, Army came out through the curtain and made his way down to the ring, adjusting the tape around his fists as he neared the ring and his music boomed overhead. Mentally, he was ready. He slid in under the ropes, bounced his way over to the far corner and started shadowboxing. Physically, he was ready. Mentally...

"Hrm..."

Akino had kind of come a long way from where her self-imposed road to redemption started. From sleepless nights, wallowing in a cavernous pit of depression whilst sulking alone in her apartment and binging on Netflix shows like a reclusive hermit...to getting herself back into fighting shape and settling several scores until she found herself standing in the hallway of the same Tension arena she swore herself never to step back into. Bad memories permeated from around every corner in this place, like she was a bullied teenager returning as an adult to the high school where she was endlessly ridiculed. A reaction she felt fairly appropriate considering that the final match she had in this arena consisted of her being stripped down to her unmentionables after being drenched in soda after being assaulted by ravenous ringside fans. A fitting final straw that had her swear off this place for good.

But she couldn't deny that the real reason she left was of a more...personal nature. And that reason was staring right back at her from the poster she had been eyeing ever since leaving her locker room in her frilly maid wrestling attire. All of the Tension greats were adorning the hallway leading to the gorilla position...including the former 24/7 champion standing atop the middle rope while raising her title belt up high above her head. Random passerbys walked behind Akino in perplexity at the one-eyed maid honing in on this one particular poster, fists clenched as if it were helping to bottle in her swirling emotions. The final destination on this aforementioned road to redemption had Carmen there waiting for her...whether it was in a match...or one of the most intense sit-down conversations ever...Akino knew she wasn't going to feel fulfilled again until she met her.

...she just didn't know what her reaction was going to be when she saw Carmen again. But she knew it was fast approaching considering that she had somehow been matched against her brother of all people...

Akino huffed through her nostrils and proceeded onward once she heard her theme music kick in. Waltzing with a purpose down the ramp while clad in her frilly blue maid outfit, complete with matching boots and gloves and white stockings that all made her simultaneously alluring to the eye...and uncomfortably menacing once those eyes traveled upward to notice the determined and darkened glower on her bewitchingly beautiful face. There was precisely zero pandering to the fans who were seemingly excited to have her back in Tension as she rolled in under the ropes and approached the middle of the ring to converse with Army.

"Armando."

Akino blurted out tersely in a seeming attempt to keep this conversation professional and civil, than crossing her arms and tapping her index finger on her arm. She promised herself she wasn't going to bring up Carmen...She promised herself she wasn't going to bring up Carmen...

"...So...how is she?...Still the obstinate, stubborn, pig-headed woman I remember?"

It was actually kind of amazing how quickly things got into uncomfortable territory.

First, there was the temperature drop. Since he always wrestled topless, Army was more aware of the arena’s temperature than most, and he was swore it dropped a few degrees the moment his opponent came out. It wasn’t hard to see why, either. While he didn’t get to know Akino too well when she and Carmen were a thing, the woman seemed happy enough. She smiled. She laughed. There was some warmth between her and his sister. He knew she was a demon between the ropes, but outside seemed cooler and calmer.

That was not in the woman who came down to the ring, the one who acted as if nobody else in the arena existed. There were things on her mind. Questions he’d have to answer.

”Fucking hell.” He huffed and shrugged as he came out of the corner, scruffing up his hair with one hand. ”Let’s get this over with, then.”

He threw her a quick wave at the mention of his name and rubbed his shoulders, getting nice and loose. Stretching, getting ready for the match - a ritual that stopped when she asked her question. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it just as quick, fighting the urge to run to Carmen’s defense. It wasn’t like those weren’t words he’d use to deserve Carmen at times, though the way Akino said them…

”Carmen is...” He let that sentence trail off, figuring it was best to not say what he was thinking of saying. He shrugged and brought up his fists, sliding into his boxing stance, deciding to kick this off classic. ”Look, you know the whole reason they set this up is ‘cause they want us to pop off, right? Any chance we can keep it in neutral?”

...Akino was never quite that adept at keeping her promises. Especially in this instance, when it was nigh impossible for her to conjure up any other opening conversation topic. Not with the elephant in the ring that was Army's sister. She was at the forefront of Akino's mind despite being seconds away from tussling with someone who could knock her lights out if underestimated. Though despite her frostbite-laden glare and spiteful embellishment to her tone of voice, a part of her was earnestly curious at how Carmen was holding up these days. Akino secretly kept abreast of Carmen's Tension career ever since her own departure from the league, including how she lost both her precious 24/7 title and her hair not much sooner after breaking up with her.

A fair bit of cosmic karma in Akino's eye....but one she thought might have hit Carmen kind of hard, knowing how prideful she was...

But than Army just clamped up without giving her so much as a teaser. Akino bitterly pouting from getting lead on before he backpedaled on her. What was it with these Rodriguez's and getting on her last nerve?...Regardless, Akino willingly complied by tugging down on and readjusting her gloves like she was a seasoned surgeon getting ready to approach the operating table with a a near-sadistic grin tugging at the corners of Akino’s lips.

"I don't see much of a chance of that happening. Not when you remind so much of her, and when I have oodles of repressed frustration to work out against her..." Akino eerily remarked as the ringing of the bell signaled for this shindig to kick off proper. She crouched low while spreading her legs in an open palmed grappling stance...for now attempting to keep light on her feet from knowing full well the consequences of being on the wrong side on one of those trademark Rodriquez punches.

”’Oodles’. Right.”

Oy. She just had to make it weird, what with the way she responded and the sound of her voice and the specific way she said ‘oodles’. Ugh. Army cringed up at the response he got from her, then let out a long sigh immediately after. Should've guessed that it wouldn’t be that easy. He lived with Carmen. Loved her, sure, but nobody knew better than him how the woman could get under your skin. There was just no way this was going to end happy, but he was already in the deep end of it. Might as well swim and keep his head above water.

….why couldn’t his sister date nice, normal girls? Granted, his own love life wasn’t perfect, but at least the girls he dated didn’t enact blood feuds when he broke up with them. Shit.

He shrugged as the bell rang and brought up his fists, taking a moment to give this situation some serious thought. She was a smart wrestler, he knew that much about her, a serious submission artist despite her kink outfit. On top of that, she was good enough to pose a serious threat to Carmen, who was, well...a better boxer than he was, much as he hated to admit it. So. How to do this?

She’d be expecting punches. So maybe not give her punches?

Army inched in, closer and closer, until he was right in his prime punching range. He licked his lips, then jerked back, looking for all the world like he was about to throw a right hook, nice and wide - but, instead, he lifted his foot out and shot it out towards her chest, hoping to kick her hard into the ropes, taking her off guard at close range.


It certainly wasn't Army's fault that the grappling Latino reminded Akino so much of her former flame. The siblings both having that blunt way of speaking that was both honest and ensured that they got always got to the matter at hand...plus they both had the same nose. And these similarities were more than enough to already have Akino itching to get her limb-contorting hands on Armando and pretend that every squeal of pain he elicited was coming from the woman who broke her heart. As well as handed her a few bruised ribs...a swollen eye....some black and blue bruises...and a mild concussion that sidelined her for months. She couldn't promise that all of this wasn't going to happen to Army...but she could promise that at least one of them will.

Regardless, the bell rang soon after Akino had adjusted her gloves, and her menacing glower became one of concentration, and not intimidation. Army's punches aren't as powerful Carmen's, (or at least that's what Carmen kept telling her during their late night pillow talks), but Akino would rather not discover the validity of that first hand. So she kept her one-good eye fixated on his fists as she shuffled forward, leading to the guard she brought up with her arms being in the vicinity of his right hook...and not the stiff kick right into her voluptuous chest. "Oooph!!" The one-eyed maiden gasped out as the foot plowed into her for a stumbling backpedal into the waiting ropes behind her, which she slumped against with an arm over her breasts and the other clinging onto the top rope.

And that was the result of experience. It was sort of a mixed blessing, coming into wrestling as a boxer, but Army’d learned to make to a net positive over the years. People were so accustomed to him punching that they often seemed to forget that he could use his other two limbs well enough, that they weren’t exactly stapled to the floor or anything. That was the trap Akino fell into, and it meant he was starting things off on the right foot.

Just had to keep it that way. The idea of ending this match early and not having to deal with all the mental trauma very, very much appealed to him.

Akino was up against the ropes, and though the match had just started, he was seeing all kinds of possibilities for a quick upset. Go hard or go home, that sort of that.

She’d only just hit the ropes when he came charging forward, full blast, maximum speed, closing the distance with powerful stride. With his arm spread out, he tried to crash into her, hoping to send her careening over the ropes with his best lariat.

Akino didn't know what it was with these Rodriquez' siblings and being duplicitous backstabbers. What Armando led her to believe was going to be an honorable exchange of jabs and strikes ended up just being a swift boot to her bust that had the cycloptic maid backpedaling into the ropes with a wincing scowl. She was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that maybe treachery and betrayal in the wrestling ring simply comes naturally in the Rodriguez household...

...Akino's brief but bitter musings led to her peering upward a millisecond too late to react to the rampaging boxer rushing straight towards her. Her eye going stark wide before his brawny bicep connected cleanly with the lariat that sent the bitter maid flipping over the top rope and into a tumbling tuck and roll that ended with her hitting her back against the barricade before slumping down to her rump. “Nggh...” Akino grunted through gritted teeth as she palmed the barricade behind her, already starting to stubbornly and very slowly motion upward despite the dizziness and throbbing pain in her chest.

And connected. A solid hit, too. Army’s blow sent Akino careering over the ropes, not that it was all that hard of a thing to do. The mighty maid couldn't have weighed much over 120 pounds soaking wet, and his best blows could send her flying. Kind of funny, really - Carmen typically preferred the bigger women, the ones around her own build. He sometimes wonder what about Akino broke that mold. Maybe she was more pleasant outside of the ring, or maybe she was just that good in the-

Whoa. Mind wandered too far there.

While Army didn’t care much for the crowd booing, it was a welcome sight this time around, as it helped him focus on the task at hand: taking Akino down. Fast.

He dropped down on his back and rolled under the ring, joining her on the outside, right as she was starting to get her bearings back. ”For the record, I’m sorry about all this.” He shrugged as he closed the distance. ”Probably doesn’t mean a damn thing to you, but…”

He reached and grabbed her by the shoulder, helping Akino back up on two feet - of course, he only did that so he could turn around a moment later and hurl into the side of the ring, but that was sort of the point. He wanted to wear her out fast, but not too fast. Hurt her just enough to make this a simple thing.

To think. At the beginning of this match, Akino briefly speculated as to whether "Armando" here was going to pull any of his punches given that he was being put in the precarious position of squaring off with his sister's ex. Any blood shed, busted up lips, or black-eye on Akino's part might have meant for exceptionally awkward backstage conversing with his sister...well, that was if Carmen even gave a shit about her anymore in the first place. The jury was still out on that one. But what was most definitely not up for debate was that Army was taking this match as seriously as he would any other. Akino's shortness of breath and aching chest was proof enough of that one.

"Bite me, ARMANDO..." Akino grumbled out from hearing his half-assed apology, her mind taking that statement a myriad of ways. None of which making Akino feel any better about all of this. She didn't need Army's friggin help getting back on her feet...but that was just her stubborn pride internally talking. She took it all the same, the irate maid probably feeling weightless in his muscled arms and scrunching her face in irritation from being battered around the ring by the striking Rodriquez brother. No time was allowed for her to gather herself once vertical again since she was soon after sent dashing towards the ring apron...only to end up thinking on her feet and jumping off those feet to instead go rolling in under the bottom rope, eventually propping herself up on one knee. Still rattled from his blows, but with some nimble agility on her part was able to turn Army's maneuver into more time and breathing room for her.