Flips and Kicks- Cobra vs Dmitri!

*Looking to make a lasting impression on the AFW circuit, Cobra was eager to accept any and every fight that came his way- Fortuitously for him, he wouldn't need to look for too long; someone by the name of Dmitri Markov Voronov, but in an effort to preserve time, he would refer to him simply as Dmitri. Having brushed up on his impending opponent, he noticed a common theme throughout his matches- A myriad of sensational kicks, some of them the viper himself hasn't even witnessed until today. It went without saying that Cobra would need to isolate him somehow, preventing his body from becoming a casualty of the fleet-footed fighter's feet!*

"Sssssure, he can wiggle hissss legs around, but I've got an entire body at my dissssopsal!" *Regaining his confidence, Cobra tugged up his trunks and tossed on his vest while triumphantly waltzing through the threshold of the locker room, having already envisioned how he was going to procure his victory tonight.* "He won't even ssssee the lasssst hit coming~" *With a malevolently chipper demeanor about him, Cobra sneered at the throngs of people he passed by before finally reaching the curtain, tossing it sideways and proceeding into the limelight!*

*With one, brisk motion he threw his hands backwards while shooting his forked tongue through the slit in his lips, reminding the captivated audience of his unique presence! Almost on command, the vast majority of spectators in attendance followed suit, and before long Cobra had amassed a miniature army of snake sycophants.*

Spoiler:

*Meandering down the rampway and rolling underneath the bottom rope, he spontaneously sprang to his feet, bouncing on the platforms of his soles before reaching his designated corner.* "I'm curioussss to sssssee what Dmitri hasss to offer~" *Casually relaxing against the metallic pole, Cobra anxiously awaited his competition's entrance.*

”So...my opponent is a man?”

”Yes. So far as I know, anyway.”

”And this isn’t some kind of trick? He’s not, like, out there with a hidden woman or something?”

”I mean, I don’t think he’s hiding one in those pants of his, no.”

Dmitri looked up on the screen from the gorilla position, watching as his opponent made his way down to the ring, with a match coordinator standing at his side. He’d known the name of his opponent for tonight’s episode of Tension a day ago: Cobra. He’d just naturally assumed that he’d be up against a woman, because, well...this was Tension. It was all about mixed matches. Women sometimes faced other women on the brand, that happened a few times, but guys taking on guys was exceedingly rare. Didn’t fit in the usual demographics, wasn’t a big ratings attraction.

So this was a little surprising. And suspicious. Experience had taught him to be wary of stuff like this, but all the same, he came out when it was his time. He slipped through the curtains and came down to the ramp with a casual stroll, bouncing a little to go along with his theme music. He looked on at Cobra as he neared the ring, his head askew, not quite sure what to make of the man.

He had been in the AFW for about five years now, give or take a month or two, and in that time he’d seen quite a few characters. He could safely say he hadn’t seen anyone like this man before - wild, animated, with a clear theme going on. The crowd seemed to like him enough, too, and Dmitri had to admit he was a little jealous. He’d never had the flair for this kind of dramatic look.

Dmitri hopped up the steps, slipped in through the ropes, and made his way towards the center of the ring as the referee got in position. He stayed loose, bounced from foot to foot. ”So, uh...hi? Nice to meet you.” He gave Cobra a look over. ”I like your outfit.”

*He pushed his shoulders forward and backward in an alternating fashion, and as his theme eventually died down Dmitri made his presence known- He appeared to be rather spry, light as a feather with a clear expression of intensity plastered across his face. Without much delay, he ascended up the nearby staircase and slipped into the ring, tossing a casual compliment Cobra's way.*

"Oh?" *Throughout his extensive indie career, he'd never received many positive remarks from his competition, so this was definitely a nice change of pace. Curling his lips upward, the sanguine serpent approached the middle of the ring while quietly analyzing his attire.* "The pleasure'ssssss all mine. I musssst admit, the uniformity of your outfit really worksssss for you."

*With an aura of amicableness having been established, Cobra gestured for Dmitri to join him on center stage, eager to test his mettle through physical combat.* "I hear you're quite the proficient kicker~" *rolling his left arm sideways, he began to nonchalantly stretch in anticipation of how Dmitri would respond.*

Spoiler:

The outfit, the hair, the style, the whole snake thing with his words…

Dmitri could safely say he’d never encountered a wrestler like Cobra. Time would tell whether or not that was a good thing.

So far, though, things seemed good. Strange as his opponent looked, a part of him had to respect the theatrics of it all, with this many really delving deep into the role. It was easy to see how the crowd bought into it, too, playing up an aspect of the business you didn’t see too often in this ring. It made Dmitri wished he’d stuck with his whole ‘fighting accountant’ routine back when he was starting out, years ago. He’d ditched it quick enough when people didn’t seem interested, but maybe he should’ve put more energy into it.

”You heard right.” Dmitri began to bounce a bit more, feeling his energy kick in. This was typically the part of the match where his opponent tried to the sexual mindgames on him, but since that wasn’t happening tonight, it was like his brain didn’t know what to do. All thanks to natural, straight-up competitions. ”I guess I’ll show you.”

The referee moved away from the, called for the bell, and Dmitri moved in right away, deciding to go for a more aggressive route than usual. He took one step forward, then two, then closed the rest of the distance with a dash, moving in with hurried steps. He got in range and brought his legs up for a demonstration of the kicks Cobra had heard about, coming at his stomach with a roundhouse, slicing through the air in a quick arc.

*Bouncing his feet from side to side to generate a vestige of momentum, Cobra was rather intrigued by the prospect of trading kicks with someone on Dmitri's level. As soon as the bell rang with an audible* "Clang clang clang!" *Cobra elevated his guard while vigilantly monitoring his adversary's footwork. However, it would come as an instantaneous shock when the discombobulating kick Dmitri launched sent him staggering backwards, only catching himself against the center of the ropes to prevent him from tumbling out of the arena entirely!*

"Gghhssss!" *He hissed aloud, forced to endure the anguish he had sustained from the surprisingly powerful blow. However, while momentarily down, he certainly wasn't out- Utilizing his advantageous position, Cobra propelled himself forward while simultaneously elevating his legs, extending them forward to try and connect with an exploding drop kick to try and send Dmitri flying backwards and into the steel column behind him!*

Spoiler:

His first kick landed well, solid contact, and judging from the look on Cobra’s face, it was effective.

Was it wrong for Dmitri to be confident over just that? Yes. Was he going to stop feeling that way? No.

He brought his leg back from the impact, satisfied with the results as his opponent reeled. Cobra looked like he was put together well, had a great body to work with, could probably outmuscle him if things came down to straight power...but that wasn’t about to happen. He moved in fast, reeled back for an attack, brought his leg up…

...and found himself on the receiving end of a drop kick.

Cobra’s feet slammed into his chest, hitting with enough impact to knock Dmitri clean off his feet. He hit the mat and went into a roll, popping up with one knee on the floor nearby, but that attack had rocked him quite a bit. On the defense now, he rose and backed away, raising his hands as he tried to shake it off.

*Refusing to squander the momentum he had generated, Cobra hastily approached Dmitri with the lightning fast quickness of his moniker's namesake, returning to his feet while trying to force Dmitri to hold perfectly still- The cogs in his mind were beginning to whir, coaxing him into lifting the discombobulated male onto the highest turnbuckle.*

*Fully aware that the lasting impression his feet made against the vulnerable midsection of his foe wouldn't last forever, Cobra decided to immediately follow up with a barrage of forearm smashes to his face, drilling each shot with a sonorous* "THOK!" *That emanated across the arena!*

"Now, jusssst hold ssstill and I promisssse thisss will all be over sssoon~" *His soothing cadence starkly contrasted what he was about to execute- Attempting to swing his body backwards while simultaneously throwing the excess cargo along with him, Cobra shifted his taut figure backwards with one, fluid motion to try and execute an impromptu hurricarana off the zenith peak!*

Spoiler:

Cobra didn’t waste time, Dmitri could tell that right away, not even a minute into this match. He hadn’t even been on the floor long before his opponent was on him, pushing him up, moving him in the corner and working him over with a barrage of battering forearms before he could fully recover.

One, two, three hit home, rocking him back and softening him up, making him easy prey for what came next. He was lifted up, brought on the turnbuckle, made to sit and then…

It was a swift, exacting kind of move. Cobra jumped up, wrapped his legs around Dmitri’s head, and sent him flying with the hurricanrana. He came down for a hard crash in the center of the ring, rolled once, then came to a rest on his back, staring up at the lights while his world continued to spin. It wasn’t the end of the world, but even so, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had his world so rocked at an early stage.

Impressed? Yeah.

*His plan went off without a single hitch, causing the enthralled audience to vigorously applaud the outstanding spectacle they had just witnessed! The standing ovation Cobra had received was more than enough to spur him on into transitioning into the second portion of his diabolically ingenious assault!*

"Hmhm, if you think that hurtssss, jusssst wait until I put the next part into motion!" *Slithering up the turnbuckles near the adjacent corner, the taut python balanced the platforms of his feet against the highest point once again, only this time he decided to fly solo- It was obvious that Trent was on the cusp of tearing through the skies!*

"Ssssayonara!" *With a fond farewell to his semi-worthy foe, the aerodynamic reptile catapulted himself backwards, his body flipping across the air on a collision course for a massive moonsault attempt!*

Spoiler:

”Yessssss.”

Okay, that was a bit much, and Dmitri couldn’t hold back a quick laugh, having a bit too much fun with this. He tried to keep things professional in the ring, not wanting things to get too personal or silly, but something about Cobra had a way of bringing it out of him. It was just impossible to be the straight man around a guy like that.

He was able to bring his focus back, though, and just in time - he suspected his opponent was going to be coming at him, but didn’t know what method he’d use. He found out soon enough as the man launched himself forward, and he had to bring his arms up to block the attack. Even with them taking the brunt of the damage, it was still enough force to send him staggering back to the barricade.

Dmitri hit it hard and stumbled forward right after, falling to his knees nearby. It wasn’t as bad as it might’ve looked, with all the commotion he made at the impact, but it was a far cry from pleasant, and left his spine aching.