AV 21 Rising Star Championship - Amber Addison vs Karen Aoki-Justice

The long years she had spent fighting on the street were clearly bearing fruit. And although Karen was ready to admit that many things had changed since she often fought on the street, this experience remained with her forever. This experience helped her come to AFW and take the first two matches against the Black Crow. Even in those days, her style was based for the most part only on strikes. But after she found herself again, she began to develop.

Without forgetting about the basis of her skills, she began to acquire new skills. The Hawk Moth paid attention to pure pro-wrestling, and also developed kicking skills thanks to Charlotte. She was good even during her debut, but now she was on a completely different level than she was in her first days here. And it was visible even to those who were not too well versed in fighting skills.

Using both her experience and her skills, Karen tried to take every opportunity she saw. That's what brought them to this point. The advantage was on her side and although she was impressed by her opponent's ability to orient quickly, the Japanese girl was not going to slow down. Her legs wrapped around Amber's leg and she started trying to stretch the muscles and damage the American girl's knee joint.

Amber started screaming because of the pain. There was nothing surprising in this, Karen knew perfectly well that despite the simplicity, this submission hold was very painful. She was a realist and she knew that it would not be enough to force the American girl to give up. But even in this case, every second plays a hand to the Hawk Moth, because the longer she keeps Amber in this hold, the more strength she takes away from her. And even if Amber stays in the match, it will be much more difficult for her to use her injured leg.

But Amber pulled herself together quickly enough. This state of affairs clearly did not suit her and she began to act. And instead of trying to break the hold with brute force, she chose another option. The American girl began to crawl to the nearest ropes. Karen's eyes narrowed slightly. Amber made the right decision in this situation, but this was no reason to simplify her task.

Karen put almost all the strength available to her in her arms in order to increase the pressure down on the lower part of her opponent's leg. And at the same time, she strained her legs, increasing the pressure upward on the upper part of the captured leg. While she had the opportunity, she was going to do everything necessary to take as much strength from Amber as possible. Yet her opponent kept crawling, and then...

"Rope break!" said the referee, pointing out that the American girl grabbed the bottom rope.

Almost instantly, the Hawk Moth relaxed her arms and legs, freeing Amber's leg. She had no desire to break the rules and keep the hold closed. She pulled up her legs and got up on one knee. The Japanese girl looked at her rival. Now was a very controversial moment for her.

She could grab Amber's legs again and pull her away from the ropes, returning her to the center of the ring in order to continue the offensive. It wouldn't be a violation of the rules. And no one could blame her for that. But at the same time, Karen knew that the audience would definitely not be happy with such behavior. And so she had a choice. The Hawk Moth took a deep breath and then got to her feet.

She took a few steps back, returning to the center of the ring alone. No, she couldn't do that. What kind of Rising Star will she be if she gets a victory thanks to the gaps in the rules? Another champion-bastard that viewers have seen over the past years? No. She's above that. Therefore, Karen was determined to give her opponent all the necessary time to get to her feet and start a new round as it should be.

The main thing in such a situation is to remain calm. There is no match where everything goes like clockwork from start to finish. And in order for Karen to lose her self-confidence as a little girl, something much more serious was needed. This was far from her first fall, and therefore she knew one simple truth. She just need to get up and continue the match. Because that's what real fighters do.

Although there was no point in denying it, the Hawk Moth had certain problems with that at the moment. The fall was far from the most pleasant. Due to the fact that it was too sudden an attack, she hit her face too hard and now, in addition to the burning pain, she felt dizzy. Although lying down and doing nothing would be a bad decision anyway.

So Karen started to get up. First she got up on all fours, while trying to breathe as deeply as possible. And then she got up on one knee. It was at this moment that her head began to come back to normal and it was at this moment that she heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

The Japanese girl raised her head just at the moment when her opponent made a jump. It seems that Karen hit her head even harder than she thought, because this was the only explanation for the fact that she did not notice how Amber gained speed due to the rebound from the ropes. Karen had no doubt what kind of movement it would be, so her hands began to rise up in order to create a barrier in front of her chest. But it was too late.

"Ggaaahhhh!!" she screamed.

Amber's feet slammed into the Japanese girl's chest and for a moment she thought her lungs had exploded. She was thrown back, ending up next to the ropes. Falling on her back, she clutched her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, while her face was distorted with pain.

"Shit..." sounded in the Japanese girl's head.

Even if you do not take into account the pain, the position of the Hawk Moth has not become as steely as before. After such a hard blow, her lungs really felt like they were compressed. She tried to take a deep breath, because it would at least allow her to ease the pain a little. However, she didn't have that opportunity right now and had to take short breaths, but in this situation it wasn't what she needed.

If she had the opportunity, she would gladly take a deep breath. However, after Amber's legs crashed into her chest, Karen was barely able to take even a short breath without risking a new discharge of pain at the same time. Usually she didn't think much about her appearance, but at such moments, the fact that she had big breasts she found not the most useful. If it were flat as a plank, then surely it would be less painful.

The Hawk Moth tried to do her best to force herself to move. But the problem was that a person needs oxygen for active movements, and now this element was in short supply for Karen. Therefore, the Japanese girl's movements were slow, too slow. And by the time Amber reached her, she hadn't even had time to get up on all fours.

However, Karen got some help. Although, of course, it was possible to look at it from several points of view. In any case, the American girl grabbed her by the arm and forced her to her feet. The other side of the coin was shown at the moment when Amber forcefully pulled her to the side and sent her to the far ropes. Having received such a charge of speed, Karen realized that her business was bad.

She was forced to turn around and fall back on the ropes, thereby bouncing off them. The Hawk Moth began to move in the opposite direction, gaining even more speed at the same time. And her rival was already there. No, she wasn't just there, Amber was rapidly approaching Karen, taking her own momentum of speed. In less than a second, the American girl pushed off from the mat, lifting her body into the air in a horizontal position. Karen knew what was going to happen and she had doubts that she could do anything about it.

Doubts. That word. That word reminded her of something. Karen has always been a stubborn person. She could listen to anyone's opinion, but in the end she always did everything the way she saw fit. But still, there were three people in her life whose words she listened to. Victoria, who has become a much more close person for her than her real mother. Margarita, who was a ray of goodness in her life. And Charlotte, whose instructions helped her to become better both as a person and as a fighter. The martial arts master's words sounded in her head.

"Do you know why there is no place for doubts in the ring?" Karen remembered these words as if she had heard them yesterday. "Because anyone can doubt a fighter. Audience. The opponent. The coach. The manager. Anyone. But this is not the end. The end comes when a fighter begins to doubt themselves. When a fighter begins to doubt instead of clenching their will into a fist and showing everything they are capable of. That's when the end comes. So remember, Karen..."

"No doubts!" barely audible flew from the lips of the Hawk Moth.

Sending the pain in her chest to hell, the Japanese girl took a deep breath. It seemed to her that her lungs would burst because of this, but the pain is nothing. Only a real fighter is ready to do what is necessary for the right to call themselves the best. Karen was a fighter and today she was determined to prove it. Her blood was filled with oxygen. The Hawk Moth's eyes flashed. She firmly placed her left foot on the mat in order to suppress her high-speed impulse and stop.

Amber's body crashed into Karen's. At that moment, there was silence in the hall. Practically no one understood what had just happened. The upper part of the Japanese girl's body leaned back. There was a grimace of pain on her face. Her legs began to tremble like an aspen leaf. Karen even bared her teeth because of the pain and tension that filled her body. But she stayed on her feet. And only a few moments later, the audience was able to understand that her right arm was between the legs of the American girl, and her left arm was wrapped around Amber's back. Karen's muscles were strained to such an extent that they could see the swollen veins, because after the collision she held all the weight of her opponent. Drops of sweat rolled down the Hawk Moth's face.

Without any hesitation, she was going to take a step forward and throw her opponent's legs to the side. She was moving forward, developing and working on herself for the sake of this day. And unlike Astrid and Charlotte, whose hearts were chained after losing their title shots, she was going to meet tomorrow with her head held high and the belt on her waist. Emotions overwhelmed her at that moment.

"SHANNAREEEEEEEEE!!!!!" she shouted, not holding back her emotions and paying tribute to her master.

And the audience recognized this battle cry, because it was Charlotte's trademark cry, except for one letter. Yes, the student quite often adopts not only the experience, but also the habits of their master. Karen and Margarita were no exception, they both started using Charlotte's battle cry, slightly changing it.

Karen turned sharply in the opposite direction in order to give her opponent's body an impulse, as well as in order to find her left arm across Amber's chest. The Hawk Moth tensed her entire body, and then she rushed forward and down. She was going to use everything she had to steer Amber's body straight into the mat and strengthen that fall with her own weight. Right now, Karen was determined to smash Amber into the mat with a swinging side slam!

For those who have closely followed Karen's career, this match could recall some moments from her past. Especially the match with Aphrodite. For the Hawk Moth, that match was the first PPV and at that time she fought for the right to call herself the Horsewoman of Apocalypse. The difference was that unlike Aphrodite, Amber didn't use dirty tricks. But the fact remained. At that time, Karen also had to show more than her maximum several times in order to earn a victory.

Now that match seemed like something very far away. Another proof that she has become different. Before she, Astrid and Charlotte went to America to take part in the Avalanche, they met in a bar. A wonderful meeting where each of them was able to express everything that lay on their hearts. The Japanese girl tried not to look back at the past in order to live the current day. But when she heard the words of support from Astrid and Charlotte, Karen realized that she had really changed, she had become the best both as a fighter and as a person.

She never had a habit of holding back during a match. Karen's life has never been easy and it was life that taught her that in most cases there is always one choice. It's either you or them. Therefore, in each match, the Hawk Moth tried to work at the maximum of her capabilities. But not this time. This time she was ready for something else. This time she was ready to go beyond any limits of her abilities. That was what was visible in her eyes at the moment when she resisted after Amber crashed into her.

Karen rightly considered herself a universal fighter. As in terms of style, because she owned several martial arts, in addition to pro wrestling. And in terms of physical development. She developed her body evenly, not devoting more time to something than the rest. She wasn't as fast as Lily. She wasn't as strong as Astrid. She wasn't as endurance as Charlotte. But in most cases, she lost to her opponent only in one or two characteristics. And from her point of view, it was a very small price to beat the opponent in all other aspects.

The ring shuddered, and the arena was filled with noise at the moment when the Hawk Moth smashed Amber into the mat. Being focused on the match, she sometimes forgot where they were. She had never seen so many people in her life as today. Of course, they weren't just here for her and Amber. But at such moments, when the audience was shouting and applauding, a shiver involuntarily ran down Karen's back. She has seen too little love in her life, but she has always felt the love and support of the audience. This was another reason why she was determined to give more than a hundred percent in this match.

Karen could have sworn she heard all the air leave her opponent's lungs. It was a tough and very painful movement, which became even more effective due to the difference in their weight. Taking a deep breath, Karen removed her hand from Amber's chest and rose to one knee. There were drops of sweat on the Hawk Moth's face, the match was going very fast. At such moments, many would prefer to spend a few moments to take a respite. But the Japanese girl thought otherwise. She was sure that as long as the advantage was in her hands, she should use it.

"To the end..." she muttered.

Grabbing Amber's hand, the Hawk Moth was about to get to her feet. And then she was going to lift her opponent. No, this time there was no need to force Amber to get to her feet, for Karen it would be enough for the American girl's head to be at the level of her hips. For what? Well...

The Hawk Moth was determined to place Amber's head between her already sweaty thighs. Karen was going to lean forward, her voluminous breasts would have pressed against her opponent's back. She wanted to wrap her arms around Amber's waist. And then Karen was going to straighten up to her full height, at the same time lifting the American girl over the mat, turning her over and sitting Amber on her shoulders.

It seemed that what was going to happen next was quite obvious. But Karen wasn't going to be predictable. Therefore, she was going to not only send Amber's body down, but also turn to the side. For what? In order to face the ropes. Yes, exactly. The Hawk Moth was determined to send Amber's back to the top rope in order for the American girl to bounce off of it. And only after that, Karen would have turned 180 degrees. A bounce off the top rope would create momentum. Karen was determined to use it and strengthen it her more. She intended to spread her legs to the sides and pull Amber's body down as sharply as possible in order to send her to the mat with a slingshot sitout powerbomb!