How to Slay a Dragon: Teuila Matutia vs Ryo Hiroshi

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Victory by pinfall, submission, or knockout.

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Perhaps it was never good to judge a book by its cover. She had been curt and downright dismissive the day her opponent had come into the gym and issued his challenge. Ryu Hiroshi, they called this guy The Dragon. She wasn’t certain if that was a name he had dreamed up for his billing or if he had earned it himself through his work in the ring. He was something of a big deal in an indie promotion in Japan she hadn’t read about until she had looked him up.

That didn’t change the gameplan here tonight though, it never did. It just lent a degree of caution to her approach knowing her opponent was a seasoned veteran of the ring. It was good though, knowing she was against an actual wrestler this time and not some movie star playing at being a wrestler. She hoped she’d pick up some new ideas from grappling it out with a traditional Japanese practitioner of the craft.

Theme:

Teuila Matautia:

For the second time, she made her way onto the stage and down the ramp. Always full business, not giving much to the crowd in the way of fanfare. She was beloved though, her reputation always seemed to create a buzz. Signs littered the arena, people called out her name, she could even spot a large banner being held up across several people naming them as members of her “official” fan club. She gave a small shake of her head at that, trying to ignore the various headshot photos of her on long sticks they were waving around.

Popping up onto the apron she rolled beneath the bottom rope and rose with an easy practiced motion from kneeling to standing upright. Making her way to the far corner she posted up, leaning her eight into the turnbuckles. She had done her stretches already in the back so she simply waited, arms folded, eyes closed, focusing on the calm before the storm she was about to rain down on this dragon.

This was it. His debut in AFW. The Dragon was no stranger to the wrestling ring having wrestled in many promotions in Japan, including one that directly rivaled AFW. He had moved over because the older wrestler was driven away by the crowd at his last promotion because they wanted him to throw in the towel, to retire as they felt his body was incapable of performing at the highest level. Ryu felt disrespected, hurt and part of him did want to hang his boots but not in the way that occurred at LAW.

Ryu Hiroshi:

This was his chance at redemption, or perhaps a new beginning. In his mind, things would either only go uphill or downhill after this match as there was not going to be anything in between. He closed his eyes in the gorilla position and once his theme cued, he would make his way out to the arena. The crowd here was quite anti receptive to him before a LAW wrestler. They jeered him, chanting for him to "Just Retire". However, his eyes were focused on the ring and nothing else.

The tall, imposing male made his way into the ring to find his opponent in the corner. They exchanged glares briefly before he grabbed the ropes and used them to do some stretches as he did some squats. Ryu would then walk up to the middle of the ring, glaring at his opponent who was just an inch shorter than him. However, she was in perfect shape. Her body was flawless, she was young and had a whole career in front of her- but that career wont be built upon slaying this Dragon.

He had to win this. He could not lose here.

When Ryu made his appearance, she pushed herself off the ropes to stand tall. A brow raised at the poor reception he received almost immediately. She scanned the crowd with a look of annoyance, muttering something under her breath about “Casual fans” before giving her head a disappointed shake. Regardless of if she was looking to put this guy in the dirt tonight, this was no way to treat someone who had put so much of their life into the sport. If anyone understood legacy, it was her.

Regardless of what the crowd thought of him, none of it seemed to phase Ryu. That was good. She made her way to the center of the ring, standing opposite the man in front of her. He was big, but size didn’t make you good, it just meant you hit the ground harder. She flexed her fingers, the wraps on her hands tightening.

“Apparently these people think you’re spent, old man. I hope you still got some fire under the hood after all that big talk in the gym.” Teuifa raised an arm, offering a closed fist in Ryu’s direction to bump fists in a small show of respect before the match in contrast to her trash talk. Whether he reciprocated or not, she would drop back into a low grappling stance, ready for the bell.

The crowd's reaction did put him off but he was professional about it. What he was more worried about was the reaction of his opponent when she would find out that many of the wrestling fans did not want him here. Would she play off on that same energy and try to get in his head? Or perhaps she would be different? Maybe she would be indifferent and focus on the match and nothing else.

As he made his way into the ring, his focused was on the woman before him and no one else. She was indeed a physical specimen, he expected there would be no hesitation from her side to put him through power moves, slams and submissions which was exactly his own game plan. The two would walk to the middle of the ring and she had some things to say.

"I guess we will find out." he said, nodding his head and bumping his fists with hers. He mimicked her stance, going low in a grappling stance as the bell rung. The Dragon would waist no time, immediately lunging in and going for a collar and elbow grapple.

Teuila surged forward with the bell and the titans within the ring locked horns, the ring shuddering under the force of their collision. Her grip was like steel, clamped Ryu's arm and the back of his neck, vying for control of the hold. She would stand her ground, trying to work the hold, and circle with the older opponent to attack at different heights or angles but he made for a strong adversary, one that at least for right now could seemingly match her strength as an equal.

Rather than push forward, she wrenched her body back, breaking her hand away from her collar to grasp both hands at his arm. She would pivot hard on her heel, attempting to use her power of momentum to send Ryu towards the far turnbuckles with an Irish whip. If she had managed to send him, she would follow after, trying to meet him at the corner by throwing a big boot high to catch him in the head once he stopped.

The match started off well with a show of respect as both of them would bump fists respectfully. Teuila seemed to understand that Ryu was a wrestling veteran and was happy to show him the respect he deserved for all his contributions for the business. Ryu also understood that Teuila was a young and hungry wrestler, who was eager to make a name for herself as one of the best. It was a good contrast between a upcoming talent and a wrestling veteran.

Still, he was out here to prove that he could still wrestle and was still one of the best. If Teuila wanted his spot, this was her chance to show the wrestling world that she had it what takes. The two did not last too long in the lock up as the Samoan woman would whip the Japanese male in the corner. His back hit the turnbuckle and he saw her rushing towards him.

Ryu would duck under that big boot and get behind her, looking to wrap his arms around her neck for a early sleeperhold submission.

Teuila was a freight train barreling down behind Ryu, her own steps thundering just as loudly as his. When her leg came up it carried all her weight and momentum behind it, enough to nearly take off the head of anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path. The sheer force would cause his short hair to brittle as it narrowly missed the mark and went wide. Her leg with nothing to strike kept going, the heel getting caught high on the top turnbuckle leaving her in an awkward position that prevented her from turning to follow her opponent's movements.

Strong arms came in around her and she acted quickly, reaching up to catch Ryu by the forearm, holding his attempt to cinch in the hold at bay. Her fingers dug in tightly, her grip remarkably strong as she tugged at her leg, unable to shake it down from how it was hung up with Ryu behind her not giving her space to move back. With no place to go but through, she let one of her hands slip away from holding back the sleeper hold and threw it backward, trying to slam Ryu’s side with hard elbow shots until he let her go.

Despite the Samoan wrestler managing to out-wit the Japanese veteran wrestler by whipping him into the corner turnbuckle as a transition out of the grapple battle, there was no way that Ryu was going to just lay there in the corner and allowed to be smacked in the face with a big boot especially this early in the match. So, he would duck under the onrushing boot of Teuila and then get behind his opponent.

Once there, he would wrap his strong arms around his opponent's neck and squeeze hard, dragging her away from the corner. He felt her grip his forearm, trying to pry it off her neck. Ryu gritted his teeth, looking to keep the hold locked in for as long as he could before a hard elbow strike hit him on the side. "Ughh!" he grunted in pain.

The strike was hard enough for him to let her go but he tried to quickly wrap his arm around her waist while grabbing one of her arm to place it behind his neck, looking to lift her up off her feet and drop her backwards in a simple backdrop slam.

Teuila was drawn back away from the corner in their struggle which had been an inadvertent boon to securing her freedom. Shaking her leg down from the turnbuckles she had been able to stabilize herself and mount an escape in the form of a stiff elbow shot backward. It connected hard with a dull meaty slap, catching all of Ryu and making him rethink his attempt at keeping her in a sleeper hold. When his arms shifted she tried to step away only to be yanked back and hoisted up into the air. Her legs flew skyward as she was flipped over onto the mat, hitting the canvas hard on her upper back.

The impact had been jarring, rattling her teeth in the process. Despite the pain, she kept her wits about her and kicked her legs out immediately when she hit the mat allowing her to buck her body out of Ryu’s clutches if he had intended to try and keep hold of her for a bridged pin or another chained power move. She flopped over onto her chest with a graceless landing with a groan. Her opening gambit had gone terribly, but she couldn't let him build momentum. Pushing off the mat she made a hurried attempt to rise back to her feet, keeping her eyes on her opponent as she did so.

So far the momentum was in the favour of Ryu who seemed to be faring quite well against his younger opponent. She was clearly eager to prove herself against the legendary veteran, even more so wanting her wrestling heritage to conquer such a name such as Ryu and put that accolade as part of her accomplishments. However, so far the Dragon had been disappointed and was easily managing to out-wrestle Teuila.

After avoiding the boot, he trapped her in a sleeper and dropped her on her back. He did not follow through with a pin, instead he rose back up to his feet and stalked her. Once she was half way back up to her feet, he quickly lunged in to wrap his arms around her neck, tucking her head under his armpit to trap her in a painful front facing headlock, squeezing her neck tightly while making sure she was bent forward.

"Submit" he demanded in a firm voice.