Avalanche 2023: Friction World Title Match: Rebecca Tomko (C) vs Lucia Lynch

Lucia let out a soft, strained groan as fingers clamped around her throat. Her hands tried to raise up to do something about it, prying at the hand choking her, but she couldn't even manage to lift her arms past a few inches before they dropped back to the mat. Her body hung limply as she was dragged up by Rebecca's raw strength alone and hoisted high into the air. When she came crashing down to the mat the impact shook the ring. Her lifeless limbs flopped with the heavy landing before falling to leave her sprawled beneath Rebecca's monstrous silhouette looming over her. There was no doubt that the Lone Wolf wasn't getting back up after that.

With a guttural roar of effort the amazon planted Lucia back down to the canvas with authority even if it hurt her arm to do it. Rebecca was left clutching the arm the Lone Wolf had just tried to tear off and still limping around the ring slightly but it was a damn sight better than the champion's situation right now "Count it." She ordered the official as she gingerly dropped down to the mat on top of Lucia in a way that let her good arm hook her opponent's leg for what she hoped was a match ending pinfall. If this didn't do the job then... well she'd have to think of something while the adrenaline was still blocking a good chunk of the pain.

Her leg came up, dead weight left to dangle in the crook of Rebecca's elbow as it was held up against the whims of gravity. The movie star was silent, the sound of shallow breaths masked under the ambience of the arena even with onlookers watching in mostly grim silence. The referee dropped to their knees at the call to action, clapping their hand to the mat with supreme authority which sounded so much louder now than most times with the stillness of the moment.

“One!”

Those who hoped for a sudden kickout or remarkable comeback should have known better. They had seen the destruction the champion had handed down. There was no coming back from this.

“Two!”

A faint grunt, the slightest hint of motion. Pathetic, weak, not even enough to discomfort Rebecca as she held Lucia to the mat. She had nothing more to give.

"THREE!" Came the final count as Rebecca let loose a breath the amazon didn't even know she was holding. She'd won the war with the new movie star and hopefully learned a valuable lesson about not treating the extras like shit if she didn't want a pissed off wolf trying to kick the brains out of her head and her leg out of her leg, but fuck it: reflections on how her actions had made this fight harder than she was expecting could be done later. She won, she could get her title belt that the official diligently handed her and she could go celebrate somewhere where she could sit down for once.

Once on the outside with gold slung over her shoulder it was time to pick up the other most important thing lying at ringside "Did we win..?" Adrian groaned out as she was helped back up to her feet, the brunette still staggering around in a barely conscious daze.

"Yeah... yeah we did." Rebecca sighed as she started to hobble towards the back, no time for full celebrations and post-match gloating. The two after everything had gotten what they wanted even if it was at a bigger cost than anyone was expecting from the surprise challenge. They both had the sinking feeling that they hadn't seen the last of either of the stars of Full Moon Rising, but tonight they were the dictionary definition of 'you should see the other guys'.

As Lucia's consciousness ebbed away, the world around her seemed to fade into a fog of pain and weariness. The echoes of the crowd's cheers and the referee's count melded into a distant hum, barely registering in her clouded mind. Every breath felt like a struggle, her body weighed down by the accumulated toll of the grueling match.

Laid out across the canvas, Lucia could barely muster the strength to lift her head. Her limbs felt heavy, as if encased in lead. She tried to focus, to piece together what had transpired, but her thoughts were muddled and disjointed, slipping through her grasp like sand through fingers.

Dimly, she was aware of the referee's final count, a hollow echo in the recesses of her mind. One... two... three... the numbers seemed to blur together, lost in the haze of exhaustion that enveloped her. She knew she had lost, but the full weight of the defeat had yet to fully sink in.

The medical team made their way to the ring en mass, most going to tend to the bloodied contender while some split off to hover around Rebecca and Adrian as they departed, peppering the champion with inquiries and requests to have her leg checked out before leaving tonight. At the ring, a few had been dispatched to check on Bethany at ringside while the others worked to fit Lucia onto a stretcher. The girl had taken some hard hits and the blood was less than assuring. They didn’t want her moving at all.

“Beth… is she okay?” Lucia muttered softly as she was lifted onto the stretcher and a member of the medical staff began to strap her down.

“We’ll know for sure in a bit. We think she’ll be fine.”

“Ah… alright…” Lucia breathed out as she was carted away to be examined.