Don't Anger The Bear: Kyo Akamatsu vs Shin Utaka

One fall
Victory by verbal submission or tapout


VS


Lately, it just felt like Kyo's career had gotten that much harder.

Ever since he and Makie had won the tag team belt, Kyo felt he had had to fight harder to get solo matches. Makie, strangely, didn't have half as much of a hard time, especially since there were a number of notable Friction and Tension girls that the management seemed eager to pit him against. But Kyo...when he had been rising through the ranks, he had been able to get matches fairly regularly: now that he was a tag champion, all of a sudden, the management seemed reluctant to pit him against anything other than the toughest of opposition.

And what opposition it was. He was still feeling a little sore in places after that epic bout he had had against Valley Doll-- a bout that had ended in a hard-fought loss. It felt almost like he had more on the line now that he was a tag champ, and more of an expectation to live up to. And that was especially true after his loss to Valley Doll. Which was why, as Kyo readied himself for this match, he expected whoever he was going to fight was going to be a pretty tough opponent.

His theme song burst to life as he strode into the arena, much to the eruption of applause from his fans. He smiled at them, but did little more to acknowledge them as he strode down the ramp. It wasn't until he slid under the ropes, and climbed to the top of the turnbuckle, that, he finally gave them a respectful gesture: crossing his arms across his chest, he unfolded them, spreading them outward like wings outward in the direction of the crowd. The meaning of the gesture was here: I'm here because of you.

Dropping down from the turnbuckle, Kyo stepped into the centre of the ring, and waited to see who the management would be pitting him against this time...what challenger they thought would make for an exciting matchup against the tag team champ...

Shin was finishing lacing up her boots when she saw her the man who would soon be her opponent make his entrance on the locker-rooms television screen. Shin wasn’t expecting a high card wrestler like him so early in her career, but they won’t see her complaining. A win against him would definitely skyrocket her career to new heights, especially considering how she only debuted not too long ago.

Which only meant that Shin needed to make a splash here and now, so when she made her way to the gorilla position she ready’d herself for a tough match. With the all clear from the official, Shin heard her music come to life and she stepped past the curtain and into the arena. The Bear has entered the building and many cheered for her entrance as she brought her arms up and flexed for the crowd.

Making her way down the ramp, her size became more and more noticeable as she towered over the referee and her opponent. Especially when she climbed the steps and stepped into the ring properly. Looking across at her opponent, Shin gave a nod to be respectful but didn’t say anything else as she backed into her corner and waited for the match to start. Already it was looking to be a real David and She-Goliath matchup.

Kyo didn't have to wait long for his opponent to show up. Some unfamiliar theme music began to play, and his opponent came striding down the arena ramp: the announcers quickly declared her as "Shin Utaka, the Bear of Japan." One look at the woman who came striding towards the ring was enough to tell Kyo that her nickname wasn't an ironic one.

Shin Utaka was a tall, impressive woman, her limbs thickly corded with muscle, and had a figure that, while alluringly feminine, also proudly boasted well-defined abs under a black-and-green leotard that seemed to cling to her powerful figure. Her long black hair trailed elegantly behind her as she strode down the ramp, proudly flexing for her fans, putting those well defined muscles of hers on greater display, before she slid under the ropes and was in the ring. Up close, it was more painfully evident to Kyo that Shin was coming into this match with a strength advantage.

He tried not to show his apprehension, but anyone who had been following his track record would have noticed that he kept getting pitted against strong, amazonian opponents, and he didn't exactly have the best track record against them. He had been lucky to score a win against Kara Vela, and he had only battled Alaina Sanders to a stalemate until Makie had pinned her tag partner. And he didn't even want to remember the brutality that Rebecca Tomko and Testament had inflicted upon him. He his his apprehension as best he could: as powerful as Shin was, if he was to save any face at all then he would have to make her tap.

They locked eyes briefly, Kyo seeing the determined focus in her eyes as she quietly nodded to him. The musclebound beauty seemed to not want to bother with pleasantries or trash talk: in that, at least, the two had something in common.

As Kyo settled into his corner, the bell rang, and he sprang into action. Around them, the crowd were cheering, his fans chanting his name, although a lot of them seemed to want to see if this powerful newcomer could defeat the tag team champ. Darting forward, he locked eyes with Shin and raised his arms, motioning for a lockup: it may not have been wise to go for a lockup against a more powerful opponent, but Kyo wanted to show Shin that he wasn't intimidated by her. That, and he was confident that his skills could make up for his power disadvantage...

Shin had to admit, as far as first impressions went, Kyo was doing pretty good. Usually many of her opponents quickly begin to lose color in their faces when they gain sight of her and her outrageous size. But Kyo kept a calm and cool look about him the entire time, his face not betraying anything. Shin could only imagine how different that was on the inside, she’s seen some of his matches before she fully joined Afw. She knows the opponents he’s had outside of the tag circuit and she knows not all of them were good.

But that was then and this was now. And right now shin needed to focus as the bell finally rung. Stepping out of the corner she and her opponent slowly circled one another. Despite her size, shin bent down and widened her stance, her eyes locked onto Kyo’s as she waited for her opponents first move. Curious to see How he would start off the match.

And he didn’t disappoint as kyo would dash forward with his arms raised. Shin could only respond to the challenge in kind as their arms locked in a collar and elbow. A tie up that the bear would immediately try to dominate and push in her favor. Pushing against Kyo’s body, shin would try to slowly shove him backwards against the ropes before suddenly shifting her feet and whipping him behind her.

She would charge right after him with her arm raised and straightened out. So that when her opponent rebounded off the opposite side of the ring, he would run headfirst into the bears clothesline. One that would hopefully stun him long enough for her to take advantage of his state.

Unsurprisingly, Shin was all too eager to accept Kyo's lockup, no doubt confident that she would win this contest of pure muscle. All the same, Kyo didn't flinch as the two of them locked up, pushing and twisting aggressively against each other. Kyo gritted his teeth, his forehead briefly meeting Shin's as he felt himself being pushed back. He made as good of an effort as he could to resist her, making his retreat a slow, step by step backwards...but at the same time, he didn't expend too much of his strength. He wasn't locking up with Shin to dominate her, but to get a sense of exactly how strong she was, and to see what she would do once she gained the upper hand.

The moment Kyo's back touched the ropes, Shin suddenly shifted her weight, and practically threw him across the ring towards the ropes. Surprised, Kyo struggled to maintain his momentum, and saw Shin running right at him, arm raised for a clothesline...a clothesline that would flip him head over heels with its impact. If it landed.

He reacted quickly: spinning to the side, he grabbed at Shin's wrist, while trying to swipe her boots out from under her with a well-timed leg sweep, hoping to take her down with a well-timed judo toss. If he managed to flip the Bear over, then he would waste no time in running to the ropes, bouncing off of them, and coming back at Shin, leaping forwards to nail her with a drop kick to her back (if she was sitting) or a leg drop across her chest (if she was on her back)...

Of course, if he wasn't fast enough to counter her clothesline, then this would all be for nothing...

Shin dominated the collar and elbow tie up just as she thought she would. She was confident that her opponent wouldn’t have the strength to match and she was right. Funnily enough it seemed that Kyo thought the same thing as Shin felt that the man didn’t expend as much strength as he could’ve, most likely not wanting to expend too much energy.

The bear could understand that as she pressed him against the ropes. And when she did she pivoted and sent him running to the opposite end of the ring. Quickly chasing after him in hopes of slamming him with a clothesline. But her opponent was a craftier sort, so when they were just about to collide, her opponent would flip Shin head over heels in an impressive judo throw.

Shin acted on instinct and would try to use her momentum to roll back to her feet. If it worked she would see her opponent already on the return path from another rebound off of the ropes, from the way his feet were positioned, he was preparing to jump for what was most likely a dropkick. Not wanting him to get the chance, Shin would quickly charge forward and grab onto his leg with one hand and his chest with the other. With their combined momentum she would try to lift him into the air, her body spinning before finally slamming him down in a spinebuster!

It was a simple thing, using Shin's weight and momentum against her to flip her over onto her back. The Bear landed with a heavy crash that reverberated through the ring: not bothering to stop and inspect his handiwork, Kyo broke into a run to the ropes, rebounding back at Shin to strike at her while she was down.

Except Shin wasn't down: she was already back on her feet, turning to face Kyo even as he launched himself at her with a drop kick. With startling speed, Shin suddenly darted forwards, catching his outstretched leg under one arm and wrapping her other arm around his torso. For a brief moment, Kyo's eyes met hers as she spun him around...

...before slamming him down, back-first, into the mat with a well-executed spinebuster. Agony shot down Kyo's back, and he briefly arched his body off the mat before collapsing again. "D...dammit..." he gasped. He had underestimated Shin Utaka: she was clearly a lot faster and a lot more skilled than he had given her credit for. This was going to be a hard match to win...

Many thought that thanks to Shin’s size, she would mainly be a tank of a wrestler. One who would power through attacks while delivering her own for the victory. While some of that was true, it wasn’t her whole skill set. As her opponent would soon find out, shin’s ring ability shined more as a technician above all else. And now he was in the perfect position for her to show him.

Catching him in the air as he attempted to send a dropkick to her chest. Shin was able to instead pivot on the spot and send the man crashing down onto the canvas in what had to be an agonizing spinebuster. But shin wasn’t finished, for she would then try to roll her opponent onto his stomach as she positioned herself facing his legs.

If it worked then shin would bend down and grab hold of one leg with each arm. Tucking then underneath her armpits, shin would slowly pull back while dropping to sit on his back. Her Boston crab complete, the bear would pull back as far as she could, bending her opponent into a C shape. She knew that it was way too early to expect a submission at this time, but it would definitely be a draining hold nonetheless.

The match was barely a minute old, and already, Kyo's back was throbbing with pain. This was not a good sign, he thought with a grimace as he clutched his hurting back, trying to roll over and get back up to his feet. Shin now had an early advantage, and a wrestler as powerful as she could easily cause a lot of damage to him early in the match.

Even as he though this, Shin unceremoniously shoved him over onto his front, and grabbed for his legs. He gasped, knowing what was coming, and tried to twist and kick out to unbalance Shin and throw her off him...but her grip was too strong, as, more importantly, was her center of balance. She then did what Kyo knew to be the exact right move in this situation: she sat on his back, cranking his legs back painfully and, more importantly, centering her weight on him so that he could roll back and try to grab for her ankles.

Of course, as much as he appreciated its execution, it still meant he was crying out in pain now as his legs were being folded backwards.

He clenched his teeth, stifling his scream as his upper body and face were pressed against the mat. Knowing it was his only option, he dug his elbows into the mat and began to crawl, painfull and slowly, towards the ropes, trying to grab the bottom rope. It was early in the match, and already, Shin was executing some effective submission holds on him...

With her opponent stunned and recovering from her spinebuster, shin was able to easily grab onto his legs and turn him over onto his stomach. From there it was simple to tuck his legs underneath her arms and press her weight onto his back to complete the Boston crab, cranking back immediately on the hold.

He stifled his screams but shin could still hear his pain grunts and agonized groans. It was too early for him to give up though, Shin knew that completely. A man of his reputation wouldn’t give up in the first hold, more than likely he’s been in much worse. And soon enough the bear felt him do exactly what she expected to do.

Slowly but surely she felt Kyo crawl his way to the ropes. Shin herself did nothing more than crank more on the hold. Torquing his spine in unimaginable ways. But little did her opponent know that this was exactly what Shin wanted. For as Kyo crawled to the ropes, the more energy he expelled to do so.

So when he inevitably did make it to the ropes, Shin let go of his legs without much of a fuss. Instead she stood up and walked back to the center of the ring.