AV 22 Entropy Championship - Panther Risako vs Hellfire

Risako's elbow smacked hard into Manabe's pink haired head, sending the lighter wrestler sprawling onto her back, in the process avoiding that figure four that Manabe had planned. A part of Risako had been more than a little curious as to how well Manabe would have been able to execute that figure four on a larger opponent like herself, and how much skill she would have been able to put into its execution. No doubt, Manabe would have plenty of chances to demonstrate her skill later in the match; for now, though, Risako had no interest in letting her diminutive opponent get the better of her.

While Manabe was on her back, Risako crawled forwards and tried to grab for the devil girl's boots. If she did so, she would stand up and try to slide one of her long limbs wound one of Manabe's. "So, is this what you were trying to do earlier, Manabe-chan?" she would purr, before dropping down, trying to trap Manabe in a figure four of her own! The match was early yet, of course, and Risako knew she wouldn't wring a submission out of Manabe this earlier, but still, it would be nice to Manabe's attempted hold with one of her own.

What was with everyone and her face today? Succubus was going to chalk it up to jealousy. Not everyone could be blessed with such supernatural adorability.

Although she’d trade all of that for a more robust body right now. Even a simple elbow strike was enough to leave her reeling on the canvas for a moment. The crowd had popped at the sound of Panther’s sudden reversal, but it all came to her as white noise. She blinked the hazy stage lights away only to find herself looking up at her opponent’s beautiful face. Succubus opened her mouth to say something back only to be cut off by a sudden, searing pain from her legs!

The Red Imp cried out as she propped herself up on her elbows. Her teeth gnashed together as she clawed at her scalp with one hand. She had been subjected to this sort of torment many times throughout her career. But, as expected, Panther’s figure-four locks were something different entirely. Succubus opted to bear with the hold a little bit longer. She was still fresh, she could endure. The second she felt the chance to slip free, she would go for it.

“Ahhh! R-release me, you witch!”

It didn't take much effort for Risako to entwine Manabe's legs around one of her own, interlocking them to maximize pressure around her knees and thighs. Leaning back on her butt, Risako rocked her body slightly, amplifying the effect of the hold, and watched with satisfaction as Manabe began to thrash about in pain on the mat. Risako leaned back on her palms, allowing herself to raise her lower body slightly off the mat just to torque the hold even further.

"A witch? You know, I always thought I'd look great as a witch for Halloween," Risako said, casually running a hand through her hair. "What do you think, Manabe-chan? You're the expert."

As much as Risako was trash talking Manabe, she also knew she had to be better than this. As such, Risako intentionally loosened her legs a little, giving Manabe a space to hopefully make her escape. It would, after all, be a horrible anticlimax to what should have been a great match if Manabe were to tap out early.

Having her leg split away from her knee? By someone hotter than her? And having to make small talk? While the entire world watched her in agony?

Yes, Succubus could officially say that she had become all too familiar with this situation for her liking. She’d done the same to others in the past, but she never quite liked having that particular card played against her. That serene smile on Panther’s beautiful face somehow made it even worse for Succubus to endure.

“Idontfreakinknowyoubigtitted-...Gah, posture while you can, Risako! Once I am free - agh! - you’ll be naught but ashes!” She said, clawing her nails into the canvas. Much easier said than done.

Just as the pressure seemed like it was about to reach its peak, the Imp felt her opponent’s leglock start to relax. Whether it was deliberate or not, Succubus did not care in the slightest. She quickly bridged her hips and forced her legs free from Panther’s vice grip. No sooner than after she got out of the hold would the petite wrestler fall onto her knees and scramble for the nearest set of ropes, using them to safely climb back up to two feet. Assuming Panther didn’t live up to her namesake by chasing after her.

Risako nearly giggled at Manabe's muffled swearing. Partly, because like everything Manabe did, it was freaking adorable, and partly because for a brief moment Manabe had dropped the mask and allowed her persona to slip a little. Of course, Risako had no intention of letting Manabe suffer in that hold forever, and so the moment she relaxed her grip, Manabe wasted no time in putting some distance between them, scrambling for the ropes to hoist herself back up.

Unperturbed, Risako confidently stood back up, brushing her hair back as she confidently dropped down into the gorilla position, eying Manabe. She could easily have gone after the lighter girl, and in all honesty she should have, but she also wanted to see what else the lighter girl could do without her tag partner. Plus, the crowd was obviously loving the banter between the two of them.

"Was that your best, Manabe-chan?" she taunted. "I thought you would have gotten better in the years since we last met!"

Succubus could count herself lucky this time that the Queen of Queens didn’t decide to run her down. She was confident in her ability to counter Panther even if the purple-haired veteran decided to attack her, but she couldn’t guarantee that it would have been effective.

That was half the problem when fighting someone like Panther Risako. The mind games - something that was usually the Imp’s domain, mind you - were putting her on the back foot. The gap in skill and power was troublesome enough. At this rate, her hopes of turning the proud queen into her plaything were already slipping away.

Succubus pulled herself back up to two feet as she looked back at her opponent, cheeks stinging red with a barely-hidden frustration. That’s when she felt a slap at the back of her head. “Ow!”

She turned around to find herself face-to-face with Mystic Kurihama. Her tag partner that she’d completely forgotten about over the past two minutes. “Focus, you imbecile,” The occultist instructed. “And do not play her game. Even a genius has her shortcomings. She belittles you for your size, your inferiority. Use that."

Succubus opened her mouth, then just as quickly shut it. For the first time in a week, she had nothing to say back to her partner. The psycho was right. Just standing around and being taunted wasn’t going to get her anywhere. If she wanted this title - if she wanted Panther - she was going to have to go off-script. Already her mischievous mind teemed with new ideas.

"Wait and see, Riasko-san..." Succubus leaned her full weight into the ropes, reeling back before using them to catapult herself forward. She ducked low as she closed the distance between them quickly with a few light strides. Her hands reached out as she lunged for Panther’s left leg…only for Succubus to suddenly leap off her front foot. The Imp leaped up like a missile, the top of her head shooting into the underside of Panther’s exposed jaw point-blank.

“Devil’s Crown!”

Risako watched impassively as a huddled conversation happened out of her earshot. Slapping her partner, Kurihara had leaned in close to whisper something to Manabe. Not knowing what those two were conspiring over, Risako had simply waited, putting her hands on her shoulders and remaining nonchalant as the two quietyl discussed strategy. It was over quickly: in an instant, Manabe was back on her feet, leaning her light frame against the ropes as she glared daggers at Risako.

And then Manabe exploded into motion...as did Risako. She saw Manabe going for her leg, and she responded by spinning to the side, ready to instead grab for Manabe's arm and whip her further into the ropes to wrong-foot her. Except, this time Manabe was one step ahead...quite literally in fact. Risako barely had time to respond before Manabe's boot shot upwards, thudding hard into her jaw.

"GNNGH!" Risako's head snapped back in a flowering explosion of violet hair, and she staggered back, momentarily dazed by Manabe's surprise blow...

Use your head. It wasn’t exactly what Mystic had in mind when she advised her partner, but she couldn’t argue with the results.

Succubus could owe her long string of victories in Wrestle Angels to her flagrant unpredictability. One could study her playbook for hours and get no closer to finding a coherent strategy than someone who’d spent five minutes in the ring alone with her. She lived freely by her whims and desires. That was what made her such an effective pro wrestler. And what she desired in this particular moment was a way to hurt Panther by any means necessary.

She could call this mission accomplished. The imp’s feet touched the ground and she found herself rewarded with the sight of her once-formidable opponent reeling. Succubus sneered a toothy smile, giving the top of her scalp a soothing rub. “How’s that for ‘better’, Ms. Queen?”

No time to waste. The imp rushed forward and got in close. Succubus leaped straight up and wrapped her dainty legs around Panther’s neck. Without missing a beat, she leaned back and threw her legs forward, using her momentum to send the Purple Queen headfirst into the canvas with her trademark frankensteiner.

Okay. That, Risako had to admit, was unexpected. Manabe had always been a tough, scrappy fighter, but even so, even Risako hadn't expected her to go for something like a a headbutt so early in the match. Steadying herself, Risako caught herself and retained her balance, even though her head was ringing still from that skull-on-skull impact. Either way, a shaky development in what had otherwise been a match that had been solidly going her way.

Opposite her, Manabe was sneering in victory, her words bringing a frown to Risako's face. "Hmm, you might actually have gotten better after all, Manabe-chan," she said. "This might be an interesting match after all!"

And then, suddenly, Manabe was running at her. An instant later, Risako was running up to meet her, quickly bringing a knee up to drive it into the devil girl's face. That was the plan, at least: unfortunately, this plan ended poorly, as a split second later Manabe leapt up and latched her legs around Risako.

And then, gravity was seemingly reversed, as Risako was flipped head over heels by the frankensteiner. Her entire body jolted as she hit the mat head-first, and then she slumped down onto her back, completely dazed by Manabe's attack!

It may have looked clean to the audience, given how loud the applause that showered Succubus became, but to the Imp it was razor thin. Panther may have had the technique and experience on her, but Succubus knew she couldn’t keep up with her in speed. One second either way would have spelt disaster. Only the Imp could take those odds and win.

The image of the petite redhead’s smug grin overtook the megatron in an arena of thousands. The power of her move captivated the crowd, but she wasn’t done yet.

Succubus crossed her legs and tightened the hold around Panther’s neck, locking in a reverse headscissor. It was somewhat loose, but she only needed to keep the Queen there for a moment. Not even that.

“Myst! Now!”

“Nice timing. You lout.” A shadow flew over Risako’s incapacitated body. The voice that came from above was that of Succubus’ taciturn partner, who had disappeared from her corner. Mystic had kept a close eye on her partner and moved swiftly on the opportunity that presented itself, leaping from her corner and high above them both. Her arm stuck out as she descended on the bound Panther, aiming an elbow dead center on her chest.