SS22 Hardcore 24/7 Championship - Astrid Arvidsson (c) vs. Panther Risako

It was definitely a lesson she have to learn. Astrid really preferred to use brute force wherever possible. But her opponent was agile and technical, which allowed her to escape from the pressure of the Golden Dragon created by pure physical strength. It seems that physical strength alone will clearly not be enough to force this purple-haired woman to stay down.

Risako did not pursue the blonde, although Astrid expected that she would have to defend herself immediately after she was on her feet. It was hard to tell how smooth Risako was going to keep the pace of this match, but right now the Golden Dragon wasn't going to complain about it.

As soon as she got to her feet and looked at her rival, Risako threw her a sharp phrase. Because of these words, lightning seemed to run through the lavender eyes and at the same moment Astrid clenched her fists. She didn't like that kind of thing.

"Dare to tease me?" she asked rhetorically.

And immediately after that, she rushed forward, this time approaching Risako much more rapidly than last time. The Golden Dragon raised her fists to the level of her chin, but at the same time she constantly shifted them slightly in order to make it harder for the Queen of Queens to understand which hand would be the first to attack.

If the Japanese woman thought that after just one successful time, when she managed to throw Astrid on the mat, she got the right to feel on top, then the Golden Dragon was going to show her why she was wrong. Having shifted sharply to the right, the blonde intended to shift just as sharply to the left in order to defocus Risako's attention.

At the last step, the Golden Dragon intended to make a sharp rush forward. Not only to shorten the distance as quickly as possible, but also to give her punch an extra boost. She was going to throw her left hand forward in an attempt to hit Risako's chin with the fastest punch possible, namely a left jab. However, this punch almost always served only as the beginning of the combination. And this time was no exception.

With this jab, Astrid wanted to either stun Risako or force her to shift the defense, either option suited the Golden Dragon. Why? Because in any case, she was going to continue the attack with a much more powerful punch, namely a right cross into the left cheek of the Queen of Queens. Yes, the classic one-two combination, but who said that the classic is bad?

Much better. As soon as Astrid clenched her fists and took an active step forward, she felt much better. A smooth pace isn't always a bad thing, but she had other preferences. Moving to boxing, she immediately felt like a fish in water. For her, it was much more pleasant than slowly circling around the ring.

In a sense, it even lifted her spirits a little, so she rushed to her rival with the intention of crushing her. Boxing was Astrid's strongest base and few could match her in pure boxing. Perhaps only that strange brunette from their team, but even Charlotte, who was a master of many martial arts, was far from Astrid's level in boxing.

However, the Queen of Queens was able to surprise the Norwegian woman. Despite Astrid's efforts, her opponent was able to react to the first punch in time and dodge it. Without a doubt, it was a smart decision, because if she tried to block it, then she would certainly have problems. The purple-haired woman's skills deserved respect. But the Golden Dragon wasn't used to retreating so easily. Therefore, despite the setback, she only took another step forward and threw another fist to Risako's head.

This time it was a success. Not partial, but the real one. Risako didn't have time to do anything with the second punch in a row, which led to the fact that the fist of the descendant of the great Vikings crashed right into her cheek. The force of this cross was enough to make Risako's head jerk to the side, and she herself backed away.

Astrid's eyes flashed once again. Why? Because as a result of her punch Risako ended up in the corner of the ring. This opened up an opportunity for Astrid, which she loved so much. To corner her opponent and beat them until they can no longer stand. That's exactly what Astrid was going to do.

The Golden Dragon took a step and threw her left fist forward again. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that Risako's head was probably ringing after a powerful punch. A few more such hard punches and the Japanese woman is unlikely to be able to do anything in the next few minutes.

But instead of Risako's head, Astrid's fist found only emptiness. The Queen of Queens dived down and forward. She not only evaded the punch of the Golden Dragon, but launched a counteroffensive, ramming the blonde's bare stomach with her shoulder. Even the steel abs could not protect Astrid, as a result of which her legs relaxed, and she leaned forward.

"Ghhh..." Astrid groaned in a strangled voice as the pain spread across her stomach.

Risako wanted to create some space in order to get out of the corner she was in. This became clear the moment she started pushing Astrid back. Due to the sudden pain, the Golden Dragon took first one step back, and then another one.

"No!" she said harshly.

Taking a deep breath and gritting her teeth, Astrid moved both legs back in order to find a foothold and thereby stop the onslaught of her rival. The match has definitely moved into a more active phase than after the bell rang. And now was not the time to show weakness. In order to prevent her opponent from gaining a confident pace, the Golden Dragon intended to join her palms together and raise them up. For what? Only to then abruptly drop them down in an attempt to test the backbone of the Queen of Queens for strength with a double axe handle strike!

The fact that Astrid couldn't keep her rival in the corner wasn't a catastrophe for the blonde. However, there was nothing joyful about it either. The only thing left for her to do was not to let the Japanese woman pick up the pace. And for this, the Golden Dragon chose one of the most powerful strikes in her arsenal.

She rarely got the chance to use a double axe handle strike. This attack was unimaginably powerful, but in order to use it, you need to find the right circumstances. Risako was about as fast as Charlotte, but now Astrid was sure that she would not find better circumstances. The descendant of the great Vikings dropped her joined palms directly onto the spine of the purple-haired woman.

It seemed that it worked, because Risako immediately dropped to all fours. Using a double axe handle strike, a fighter always takes risks, because in most situations it is a rather slow and predictable blow. But if successful, the result justified any risks, because the power of this blow guaranteed the weakened state of the opponent. But, apparently, this does not always work.

The second Risako was on all fours, she immediately grabbed Astrid's ankles. Acting as if she had not received any damage at all, she yanked the Golden Dragon's legs and thereby forced the blonde to fall on her back, because it was impossible to maintain balance in such a situation.

"Ghhh..." Astrid groaned softly.

It wasn't the heaviest fall in the world, but it hurt. The Golden Dragon tried to push off from the mat with her hands in order to take a sitting position. But here, too, her rival beat her to it. The Queen of Queens had already risen to her feet and was preparing to continue the offensive.

At the moment when the Japanese woman jumped on the spot and threw both legs forward, it became clear that all Astrid's efforts were in vain. Risako's boots slammed into the Golden Dragon's face, knocking her over on her back again. Bells started ringing in the blonde's head, and she tasted blood in her mouth. Involuntarily covering her face with her hands, she began to swing from side to side, unable to calm the pain. She has never had to deal with an opponent who almost literally ignores any of her attacks. And she's going to have to figure something out about it. But obviously not now, because now the Golden Dragon was busy trying to pull herself together, although it was very problematic to do this because of the pain and dizziness.

There was nothing to hide, Astrid really wasn't ready for such a turn of events. Hoping to weaken Risako, she herself found herself in a weakened state. She would have liked to think about why the blow to the spine had no effect on the purple-haired woman, but now the Golden Dragon had other concerns.

The burning pain on her face and the noise in her head did not allow her to concentrate. Of course, she was a big girl and worse things happened to her, especially after she won the right to own the hardcore belt. However, there are things that are not so easy to handle. For example, two boots that cut into your face without hindrance.

She understood that she shouldn't just lie on the mat waiting for her opponent's further actions. But, unfortunately, due to dizziness, she lost track of time. Because of this, Astrid did not understand that Risako did not waste time at all.

The Japanese woman, having tasted the sweetness of the advantage, hastened to use it. Using the ropes as a springboard, she soared into the air, and then sent her knee into the defenseless chest of the Golden Dragon. At the moment when Risako landed, the blonde's body involuntarily folded in half.

"Kha! Kha!!" her cough was filled with pain.

Astrid's legs and upper body collapsed onto the mat again, and she turned on her right side. She wrapped her arms around her damaged chest, trying to soothe the pain. Despite the fact that she had an outstanding breast size, this did not soften the blow in any way, even perhaps on the contrary. The Golden Dragon could barely restrain the gusts of coughing. Because of the fall of her rival it was very difficult for her to breathe, not to mention the fact that the amount of pain in her body had increased many times.

Astrid assumed that in this match she would have no easier than in the match with Galina. Despite the fact that she was used to the harshest conditions, even for her, the amount of blood in the match with the Russian woman seemed something beyond the normality. That red-haired woman made her work to the limit of her abilities literally from the very beginning and every minute of the match seemed like an eternity. The blonde expected about the same from this match.

But the difference was that unlike Risako, Galina was not made of stone. It became a real problem for Astrid that the purple-haired woman responded to each of her attacks with two other attacks, literally not giving her a single chance to gain an advantage. The Norwegian woman involuntarily recalled the first match of her friend, Nerissa. During her debut, Nerissa got a few minutes of fame, and then just turned into a punching bag because her attacks seemed to stop working.

However, the Golden Dragon didn't have much time to think right now. After a series of attacks by her rival, she tried to gather her strength in order to at least regain her breath. Although, of course, it was not so easy to do it. Despite the fact that her body consisted mainly of muscles, the last attack of the Queen of Queens deprived her of the ability to breathe, which became a very big problem, because without oxygen the body weakens almost instantly.

And Risako seemed to understand it too. Almost immediately after her last attack, she reminded Astrid that they had agreed to fight at the limit of their abilities in this match, and then lay down on the Norwegian woman's damaged chest. There was no doubt about what she was up to, as right after that, she hooked the Golden Dragon's leg. The referee fell down next to them and slapped the mat.

"ONE!"

Yes, Risako was right, it was indeed an important reminder. And that's why the descendant of the great Vikings wanted to return her courtesy. Right after the first clap, Astrid clenched her teeth and jerked violently to the side in order to break the pin and, if possible, throw her opponent aside. Yes, she also remembered their agreement perfectly, so she considered it her duty to remind that even if her attacks had too little effect on the Queen of Queens, the Japanese woman should still not expect an easy victory.