Teuila Matautia vs. Prayuth Sakda - Hammer and Tongs

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

”Te...Teui...Teuila. Mata...Ma...fuck me, and people say Thai is hard to speak. Damn.”

Once again, Pray found himself backstage at a Tension show, getting ready for another match on the brand and another chance to get his face out to the world. Dressed up in his black competition shorts, fists and feet tapped up, he looked like he was ready to go as he paced back and forth, getting ready to be called out...but he knew not to get too excited. His time on the brand had been rocky, putting it in a nice way, having not won a single match since he joined up. Not that he didn’t make good showings, but losing at all wasn’t the best look for his career, even if it was to women who could snap most men in half with their bare hands. People were starting to call his fighting chops into question, unflattering memes were starting to pop up, the whole deal.

It wasn’t anything a few interviews couldn’t fix, he knew that, but with his next movie, Red Castle 3, set to come out next year? He needed to build up some clout. And it was going to be at the expense.

”Teuila Matautia.” His manager, Charlene, came up behind him, her high heels clicking along the floor as she approached, and while he didn’t bother to look her way as she approached, Pray could hear the eyeroll in her voice. She’d been nagging him about this match for the past two weeks, and she wasn’t about to stop now, he guessed. ”You can’t pronounce her name right, so I’m guessing you didn’t even watch the packet I sent you.”

Pray took a step to the side and propped himself on the nearest wall, taking a moment to wiggle a finger in his ear and clean it out. ”A little. Some.” He shrugged as Maxine stood before him, hands on hips, glaring from behind her sunglasses. ”Okay, I watched, like, two matches. Don’t remember being all that impressed, doesn’t seem like too much.”

”Doesn’t seem like…” Maxine’s voice trailed off into a groan, before she straightened up and took a step his way. ”You do understand why I set you up for this, right?”

”Yeah, yeah, she has a little clout because of that robbery she fucked up. So she got a bunch of clicks on Youtube. Seven minutes of fame.” To be fair, it did make for a fun clip, like something out of one of his own movies. He was even considering doing a little homage to it in this script he was working on.

”The girl is part of wrestling royalty, Pray. She’s strong. Hella strong. And she’s not like the other woman you took on - social media’s buzzing hot for this.” She brought out her phone and started clicking through it, shaking her head as she checked out Twitter. ”You win, we get some good press going, right when we need it. You lose-”

”And it's the end of civilization as we know it, right. Look, Max-”

”You know I fucking hate when you call me that, and you keep doing it, and-”

Pray gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, making her cut herself off with a huff. ”I get it, I get it, you’re worried. Haven’t set the world on fire with this Tension thing so far. Believe me, Twitter reminds me that every time I log on.” As if on cue, he could feel his phone vibrate with another notice, but he ignored it for now. ”But that’s all past me. I’m sharp, I’m ready this time. Just watch - I’ll drop her like a bad habit. Have faith.”

After a wink, his theme song, and a few signed autographs later, Prayuth found himself back in the ring, tossing his robe over the ropes to the stage crew. He threw a few practice strikes, slicing the air with swift kicks, mixing in some combos, keeping his blow pumping as he waited for his opponent’s theme to start up. He hadn’t just been saying all that to keep Maxine off his back, he really had been upping his training over the past couple months, ever since that little incident with Rizu. He’d gotten stomped twice in Tension, once in private, and he wasn’t about to suffer #4. True, he hadn’t done too much homework on Te-whatever-her-name was, but he didn’t need to. He had every intention on ending this so quick it wouldn’t matter - knee to the face, done. Dead bang.

Tucked away in one of the small in house gym spaces at the arena, Teuila had arrived early to get in some warmups before her debut match. It wasn’t that she was nervous, she rarely ever was, it was just her routine to go into a match fired up. She hated the idea of being bogged down by a routine but it hadn’t failed her once so far, so it stuck. The problem she had was getting comfortable which ran the risk of complacency. What was worse was being interrupted would throw a wrench into everything… which is why she swore under her breath when her phone started buzzing.

Tamati and Loto were two of her brothers, twins only slightly older than her. They had already made a name for themselves in the states in a big league federation… one reason she had opted not to go there and be overshadowed. Both men were crowded around one phone with what looked like a continental breakfast buffet spread before them. Must have been early in the morning where they were, taking advantage of a complimentary hotel meal while it was offered.

“So the movie guy though, hoho, damn La-la, you already hit Hollywood girl. Yo we just watched that sequel like…” Loto took a spoonful of cereal, making a circular motion in the air with his spoon as he chewed, trying to recall.

“Week or two ago. That guy is boss, he does his own stunts and shit. Get us an autograph La-la.” Tamati gave a nod as he took a big bite out of an apple, talking with his mouth half full. They were all family here.

“I’m not asking for autographs.” Teuila huffed as she stared down at the choppy Facetime image of her siblings, grinning like a bunch of fools. It was infectious though, getting a small smirk out of her as she glanced to the side. She pulled up a leg, tucking it under herself as she hunched over the tiny screen with a single earbud in.

“Doing us dirty La-la. Not going to forget this come Christmas. You’re getting coal.” He brandished his spoon like a school teachers ruler, waving it at the phone.

“It's unprofessional. I’m here to wrestle, not fangirl.” After a roll of her eyes she looked back to her brothers. She could practically see the suggestive look they were giving her though it was clear they were holding their tongues. With a grumble she cut off their line of thought before they came to their own conclusions. “I like the movies too. Tight choreography, good action. I’m not letting that get in the way. He’s just another wrestler here in Tension.”

“He makes bank. Girl, he ain’t no normal wrestler. Dude does it for fun. He doesn’t need any of that funny Japan money.” Tamati gave his brother’s arm a light backhand as he laughed, taking another loud crunch from his apple. “He doesn’t have anything to gain from taking you out but he has a lot to lose if you beat him. People like that get desperate, do dumb things, illegal things. Watch yourself La-la.”

“I think I read bro is on a losing streak, maybe he needs a screenwriter to get him the big W. We’re going to be watching. Call us back after so we can congratulate you on being famous again.” Loto flashed her the peace sign with a wink.

“I’m not famous. I’ll call back, win or lose.” She gave the two a small smile, holding the phone back just far enough they could see her wave to them. With a tap of her thumb the screen went dark, leaving her alone again. She threw her head back, letting the cord of her earbuds pull it out, coiling the length of it around her phone. Her pre-match workout was pretty much dashed now, she had to go get on deck. Quietly she gathered up her things, hitting the locker room one last time before moving to gorilla.

Theme:

Teuila Matautia:

The walk down the ramp had started as all business, eyes locked on Prayuth from a distance. She heard people shouting her name, even caught a few signs with drawn depictions of her printed on poster board. It was hard to tell she had never wrestled in Tension yet, a fan following had already seemed to exist here for her. It furrowed her brow slightly, annoyed despite herself in the fact people were cheering for her before she had even proven herself here. She would get over it.

Tucking in, she rolled under the ropes and rose with a quick and easy motion from knee to standing upright. She eyed Prayuth up and down, a bit surprised at his height. She had expected him to be… bigger. He was taller than a lot of the people in the movies he beat up, though that was possibly by design. She wasn’t overly concerned with that though. From his body of work, she knew the guy could throw some mean kicks, and those were the danger of his reach, not his punches.

Teuila walked straight to the middle of the ring as if she owned the space, balled fists on her hips, waiting for the referee to administer the rules for the match. Another round of cheers came up from the crowd for her, apparently spurred on by her casual power pose in the face of the movie star. She shook her head, trying to shut it out and keep her mind on what mattered right now… beating Prayuth.

First thought: Her taste in music wasn’t that bad. Prayuth couldn’t understand a single word they were saying, but he liked everything about whoever this was playing. Nice, heavy-hitting, had a good punch to it. A lot of people thought he was into the more modern, poppy music they tended to pepper in his movies, but he’d never cared much for that sound. If - no, when Pray finally got the chance to direct his own flick, this would be the sort of music he’d lace the fight scenes with. Definitely going into his ‘Music To Kick Ass To’ playlist.

Second thought: Homegirl was popular. He’d expected her to be recognized, sure, but he hadn’t thought she would get that kind of reaction out of the gate with the Japanese audience, at least not when he was the first to come out. The women tended to get more love than the guys by default around here, sure, but this was clearly more than that, much more, and not a good sign for his own popularity. No pressure. No. Pressure.

Third thought: Why did they have to put him up against someone so tall? He wasn’t short, bigger than about 95% of the women on this roster, and they had to go and pick someone out of the 5%. Most of the mooks in his films were either his height or shorter by design, unless they were part of some big fight scene where the size difference was part of the narrative. Stuff like that wasn’t a secret, it was a common thing, but he didn’t want to draw attention to it, either.

Oh, well. Everyone was the same height on their back, more or less.

Pray hadn't stopped kicking around his shadow as she made her entrance, only ending it with a slick roundhouse as she came marching to the center of the ring. She was serious about this. Real, super serious. He was, too, but he wasn’t about to show it and ruin the image. People liked the cocky hero, wanted him sure of himself, so long as he could back it up.

Rolling his tongue about his mouth, he put his fists on his hips to mirror her pose and strolled to the center of the ring, moving in a lazy mirror of the way she had, an easy grin on his face.  He stopped a couple of feet away from her, tilting his head just enough to meet her eyes. ”Hey. Tequila, right?” He whistled and leaned back for a quick stretch. ”Just a head’s up, but I’ll be kicking you in the face a few times tonight.” He shrugged. ”Probably more than a few times. Like a lot. So when you wake up, no hard feelings. Okay? Okay.”

While she wasn't one for the pomp and circumstance of a grandiose entrance, there was something to be said about the simple act of paying attention when it came to who you were in the ring with. It was a courtesy thing, a show of respect, and something she found lacking as Prayuth spent the entire time throwing strikes at the air in a world of his own. It was a small thing but it came across as disrespectful which wasn't helped by the demon he approached once she had settled in the ring. Her expression had hardened to one of mild annoyance as he stood opposite her and started speaking.

That sense of roguish charm was soured almost immediately as he mispronounced her name. The casual tone he had said it really painting a picture of how little he had even attempted to know or remember what it actually was. He wasn't doing much to alleviate the stereotype of movie star arrogance the media often portrayed, boxing him into a type of person she knew long before ever really meeting him properly. She let out a small breathy with, correcting him without much in the way of resistance. "Teuila."

"Listen up, pretty boy. I get this whole hot shot thing is for the cameras, but it's going to get really old, really fast. I don't know what your other matches were like here in Tension, but you are about to be in for a rude awakening if you think I am going to let this sort of thing fly." Her voice was low, meant only for him and possibly the referee as the crowd continued to make plenty of noise in anticipation of the big clash. She didn't have much more to say to his trash talk, instead opting to step back and shake out her arms in preparation for the bell.

When the bell hit, she slid a boot across the mat forward in a half step, lowering her upper body and lifting her shoulders. A firm power stance made for grappling with arms raised to address threats that came her way, at least ones that might be aimed high. She made no aggressive moves, giving Prayuth the opportunity to ready himself first in a show of sportsmanship. Once he seemed good to go, she extended an arm forward and held it high, fingers stretched out in a silent offer to lock hands with a test of strength. While she was confident in her own odds, her diehard fans in the audience seemed even more sure of her odds as they erupted into cheers And shouted jeers towards Prayuth about how he was finished.

Prayuth kept up his lazy smile as Teuilia spoke, though his gaze didn’t stay in one place for too long. Honestly, he spent most of the time looking at her abs. No stranger to the gym himself, he always had to appreciate a good core, all the hard hours that went into getting that kind of definition. He was half-tempted to ask for a touch, but figured there wasn’t much point. He’d be putting that gut to the test, soon enough.

He looked back up when she finished talking, meeting her serious, hardened gaze with a wagging finger. ”So you think I’m pretty? Huh.” Pray tapped his chin and shrugged. ”You know, that’s a new one, but I will take it. You’re kinda pretty, too. Moana With Muscles, I dig it.”

Prayuth could be dense, but he wasn’t so out of it that he couldn’t see the effect he was having, and that was precisely the plan. He was under her skin. A little, maybe. Enough to make something shake?

She didn’t charge him out of the gate like he’d been hoping for. Instead, Teiula hung back, made a firm base, lowered into a classic grappling stance, the kind that Prayuth’s wrestling teacher would’ve told him to make note of. Good form, solid stance, exuding power. A silent change, a show of respect. He got it.

He was going to exploit it, but he got it.

Pray cocked his eyebrow, then dropped down and mirrored her pose. Same feet. Same arms. Even the same expression, as much as he wanted to bust out laughing doing so. He edged towards her, getting closer, moving just within reach. The second he was close enough to lock horns, he threw himself forward to meet her…

...only to lurch back at the last second, raise his leg up, and shoot his foot between her outstretched arms, a quick attempt to nail her in the face with the heel of his foot.

There was some truth to never wanting to meet your heroes. Not that Prayuth was hers personally, but he portrayed a guy that was easy to root for in his movies. Face to face with the real deal, he left a lot to be desired. Sure he looked similar to the guy on the big screen. She had no doubt he could fight as well given how intricate the choreography was as well. Everything else though, she was starting to have issues with. That perfect smile, of his seemed smug now, disingenuous. This eyes wandering over her body as she tried to speak to him weren't piercing, they were annoying. She tempered her mounting anger to keep her from doing something rash before the bell. This was a new league. She might not care about the fandom that followed her here, but her reputation meant something to her and she hoped to maintain it.

"Its a phrase." She murmured through grit teeth. "Anyone can look half decent buried under enough makeup." Teuila was having trouble appreciating the half compliments. She hadn't given two shits if he found her appealing or not, but hearing him now only half commit to saying something nice seemed to rile her further. Why was he getting under her skin so much? She couldn't place it. Maybe it was just his type. That cool indifference and air of superiority. It was fine. She would wipe that smile off his face soon enough and once she got her hands on him, he wouldn't have much in the way of snarky comments to share anymore. She gave a tight begrudged smile, biding her time until she could unleash her aggression on him in an appropriate way.

So she waited, fingers flexing in anticipation after the bell sounded. She had banked on his pride as a man he would meet her head on and test his strength with her. She was confident in her abilities, looking forward to crushing his fingers and cranking his wrists... maybe asking for him to say uncle to be let free. Nothing too serious, just enough to humble him before they got rolling. So when he moved forward she was eager to meet him, falling for the bait. Hook, line, and sinker.

She was caught reaching as he moved away, eyes widening at the realization of her mistake even before she saw him leg coming. To late to stop it now, all she could do was turn her head and... The crack of his heel was a sickening explosion catching her just under the chin. Her head snapped back with small speckled spray of saliva cast into the air. Her body lurched, threatening to fall. A firm step back, coming down hard as a stamp that shoot the ring. She found balance at an odd angle, head slowly lowering back to its natural angle to stare daggers into Prayuth with a faint twitch in her eye. The anger was apparent at the audacity of him to open up their match with an underhanded feint like that. Her fists balled into stones, no longer interested in locking horns.

Throwing strategy out the window Teuila pushed forward recklessly, leading with an open palm as her only defensive option while her right arm cranked itself back. Let him kick, let him run, let him throw all the stupid cultural references he wanted at her. She was gunning for him now, wanting to grab a hold of his face and let loose with a haymaker to twist his guts into knots.

Okay, so Pray kicked Teuila in the face. Good, solid hit. He could really feel the impact on that one, so he knew it had to have left her world rocked. He doubted it would be enough to clean her clock all the way, but he figured it would leave he dazed for a second or two. Enough for him to do a cocky pin, plant his foot on that chest. Probably wouldn’t get him the win, but he could get inside her head a bit and-

...oh, fuck, she was still standing.

Prayuth did a good job of hiding his surprise, save for a few fluttering blinks, his acting talents coming to the rescue. That she’d managed to take the hit and stay vertical was a real shock, though. He’d not just knocked men down with that sort of kick, he’d knocked some of them out, even raw. He could tell she was tough, but damn. This was going to take a while, wasn’t it?

But hey, good news? He was looking to piss her off, and oh god, did she looked pissed off. With a look fiery anger that he’d only ever seen on the face of a select few ex-girlfriends, Teuila came storming his way, giving up on the grappling and looking to knock his head off. She probably could have, too, if that punch of hers connected, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. This woman had some skill, he could guess that, but she wasn’t exactly a Floyd Mayweather.

He took a step back, then dipped low and surged forward at the last second, avoiding her grasping hand and slipping under her raging fist. ”We call that ‘telegraphing’.” He popped up behind and spun on his heel, quick to turn around and move back to position. Moving forward, he’d have something ready for her the second she turned around - namely, he swung his leg low, targeting the outside of her knee with a strong kick, trying to see if he could make her buckle. Cut a tree down by chopping the trunk.

Prayuth wasn’t alone in his surprise, though unlike the trained actor the crowd was far less concerned with covering their reactions. Among there were the hiss of cringes for the impacts, a rallying cheer for the woman who took the hit and still going, a few cries for Prayuth to “hit her again...harder!” as if it were some small task, and one rolling chant that was growing louder…

“Mau-Tau-Tia’s  gonna kill yooooou!”

While professional wrestling was a combat sport these days, it carried with it a good degree of spectacle and flare that had some forgotten just how brutal it could be. For all the innate humor in the chant, there was a wildness in Teuila’s eyes that spoke volumes to just how much of a reality she may have made to make good on what the people in the audience were calling for.

With a roar, her arm snapped out its full length, fingers snapping like the jaws of a predator, narrowing avoiding paling Prayuth’s face in her hand. Unrelenting, she continued forward, bring a wide sweeping fist around, looking to batter the martial artist playboy to the canvas with a clubbing lariat. A swing and a miss however, her body twisting to over correct for hacking into the air, leaving her open… her eyes however hadn’t left him all the same. She missed, but there was an inevitability written in her face. This wasn’t the first time she had been in a position like this and she had.’t been deterred then either.

"Keep talking, its only going to make hitting you better!" Whirling back around to face him, she was already cocking her arm up for another go when his kick blasted the side of her leg. The knee buckled from the sudden unexpected force hitting her off guard, making the large woman teeter awkwardly to one side as she struggled to keep her weight up off balanced.  Rather than stopping her assault though, she used the fresh blow to stumble towards Prayuth instead with no mind for self preservation to deliver a sudden European uppercut before it have out completely and dropped her to a knee.

Damn it, Pray wanted a chant, too. Teuila had a cool one going in the audience, too. Nice and badass, fit the scene well. He knew that kind of thing was organic, you couldn’t just make them chant on a whim, but maybe he could speak to his PR firm, have them start something up on Instagram and Twitter, get some word-of-mouth brewing…

Thoughts for later. Raging Hawaiin to deal with now.

As much as Pray wanted to be as cocky on the inside as he was on the outside, it was a little diffucult after she rattled off an attack like that. He was experienced enough to see the power behind that blow, as sloppy as it was. It wouldn’t have been the end of him if it connected, he could take some good blows, but...yeah, this hit-and-run strategy was a good one for him to stick to.

He started to move in for another go at, when she came at him sooner than expected, throwing a wild blow from below. Unorthodox, but faster than he would’ve expected, he barely had enough time to hit the breaks and backpeddle, letting the blow whiff by a few inches...but whiff it did, making her fall to her knees before him. And as much as he really wanted to make a joke about that, this was too good of an opening to fill with banter.

Pray had something far better for it, as it turned out. He’d been trying to incorporate some more wrestling moves into his repertoire, a ‘When in Rome’ kind of thing, and he saw the perfect opportunity to bust one out here. He took a big leap back, then closed the gap in another bound to build up momentum, planted his foot on her knee and swung his other leg around, looking to clock Teuila in the face with a wrestling classic - the Shining Wizard.