Fiona had kicked out of Elina's first two pin attempts, but there was absolutely no doubt about the third. The swift combo of a facebuster right into a facebreaker left Fiona motionless on her back on the mat save for her exhausted breathing, her eyes closed. Elina didn't need to hook a leg, simply crawling over the top of Fiona and pressing her shoulders down against the mat with her hands. A swift three count later, and Fiona had suffered her first defeat in NMW by pinfall.

Elina shoved Fiona's face to the side, getting a weak groan out of her that was entirely drowned out by the crowd. She'd given it everything to stay in that match as long as she did, but despite all the back and forth and reversals, Elina still seemed to be in decent condition, while Fiona was barely moving. In the end, it felt like a pretty decisive defeat.

"Here is your winner!" the ring announcer shouted. [i]"Elina Zamoooraaa!"[/i]

Fiona's head was spinning as Elina basked in the adoration of her fans. She rolled onto her side and tried to hide from the lights. It had been months since she'd been forced to endure her opponent's music blaring down on her after getting beaten in a match, but it never got any easier. Especially not when the opponent was someone like Elina Zamora, who spent a good part of the match taunting and belittling her.

[i]If she hadn't wasted opportunities disrespecting me, she could've pinned me in half the time,[/i] Fiona thought, trying and failing to keep the negative thoughts from creeping in. She'd put on a great show, a great match to start the night, but anyone paying attention had seen that Fiona Chevalier wasn't yet on the level where she could seriously compete for a title.

"Stay with us, folks," Dan Rich commented to the TV audience, "we've got more fierce battles like that one coming your way right after these messages."

The celebrations went on well into the commercial break, The Sonoran Rose's debut a wild success, while Fiona couldn't seem to shake off the dizziness, and needed assistance from staff to get from ringside to backstage. Plenty of Elina's fans mirrored her attitude on her way there, taking the opportunity to jeer and mock and laugh at Fiona.

There were nights like her debut, where she felt on top of the world, unstoppable and on the verge of stardom. And then there were nights like tonight, where she felt like she had an eternity still to go.