Fiona’s dropkick landed flush, sending Shin Choon-hee tumbling back onto the mat hard.

“And a dropkick from the middle rope by Fiona!” Dan Rich shouted. “I heard the impact from that over here!”

Shin rolled through the rough landing and forced herself back to her feet, ready to meet further attack. It took Fiona just a second longer to stand upright which gave Shin Choon-hee an opening to turn the tide again. Fighting past the persisting pain in her left arm and chest, Shin rushed her opponent, leaping into the air and clamping her thighs around Fiona’s neck. Shin then pitched her upper body backward - executing a textbook hurricanrana that catapulted Fiona into the center of the ring.

“A nice countering hurricanrana by Shin Choon-hee!” Brent added.

Shin popped up immediately and made another run for the east side ropes, rebounding off smoothly. Instead of attacking Shin strode over the downed Fiona and followed up by hitting the west side ropes, building speed.

“Shin Choon-hee winding up…” Dan Rich’s tone climbed.

Shin launched into a rolling senton off the second set of ropes, flipping through the air and crashing all her weight across Fiona’s chest and stomach.

“And a rolling senton!”

Shin sat upright and lay back across Fiona, hooking and raising Fiona’s left leg with her right arm while pressing her left palm down across Fiona’s face.

“Cover!” Rhonda called, the referee dropping down to make the count as the crowd stirred for the first real pin of the match.

Fiona landed on her back from the dropkick, and while it seemed worth it to deliver a big hit to Shin Choon-hee, she wasn't able to get up as quickly, her rival showing impressive toughness to charge back at her after being taken down. Fiona wasn't ready to defend, caught by Shin's hurricanrana and hurled into the middle of the ring, landing with a dizzying, disorienting slam on her back. Thought I'd be able to keep her down with that one...

Fiona was visibly starting to struggle, hands on her head again as she fought against the spinning overhead lights. She was downed long enough for Shin to wind up plenty of speed and power into a rolling senton, crashing down from above and slamming her weight right down into Fiona's stomach and chest. Her breath was driven right out of her, and Fiona tried to curl in on herself, only for Shin's weight to press back down and force her flat, an arm hooking and lifting her leg. Her face was pressed frustratingly into the mat while the referee slid down for the count.

"One! Tw-"

Fiona cried out with effort and kicked hard, getting a hand up and shoving Shin's humiliating face-press off. She couldn't get off the mat, though, gasping for breath and rolling onto her back again, pain all over her face.

"And a kick out before two," Dan Rich commented.

"Think we've got a ways to go in this one, guys," Rhonda pointed out, "but so far Shin has gotten the better of Fiona in these exchanges. Let's see if she can respond."

She wasn't wrong. Fiona felt like the momentum was steadily turning more against her. She wanted to fight a methodical match, keeping a lid on Shin's wild offense and wearing down that arm for a potential submission, and while that was still the end goal, she knew she needed to try some unexpected moves to catch Shin off guard. She wasn't going to outlast her rival going back and forth like this.

Shin was back on her feet over Fiona, reaching down and taking fistfuls of her hair again, pulling her painfully up onto shaky legs. She sent her running to the ropes, but Fiona was able to hook her arms over the top rope to stop herself from rebounding into a big boot. Shin charged her instead, going for another tackle, but yet again she was unsuccessful, as Fiona dodged with a roll that carried her forward and past Shin.

Turning as she came to her feet, Fiona stepped into a hard side kick, hitting Shin with a big boot of her own right to the gut. It doubled Shin over and forced her back, where she slipped under the top rope, tripped up by the middle. She tumbled onto the apron and crashed down to the hard floors right in front of the announcers table.

"Wow!" Dan Rich exclaimed, all three commentators rising to their feet. "What a kick from Fiona! Shin is down at ringside!"

Both wrestlers' partners came over to get a closer look, though neither could make any obvious interference. Choi Minji couldn't reach Shin to help her up before Fiona had climbed through the ropes and hopped down. She hadn't actually meant to kick Shin out of the ring, nor did she want to do any fighting out here. Reaching down, she grabbed Shin by the left arm and pulled her up, looking to hurl back beneath the bottom rope and into the legal area for the match.

The second she was back on her feet, Shin wrenched her arm free from Fiona. The sudden movement threw Fiona off balance, Shin instantly capitalizing. She seized Fiona by the sides of the head, stepped in close, and pounded her forehead straight into Fiona’s.

“Ooh,” Brent cringed from his seat. “Melon to melon - a headbutt by Shin, right to Fiona’s dome.”

“One!…” the official leaned over the ropes and began the ten count.

Shin maintained her hold on Fiona, moving her grip to Fiona’s shoulders and yanking her forward again. Shin thrust a high knee into Fiona’s midsection, the impact folding her in half.

“A knee to the gut by Shin Choon-hee…”

“Two!…”

The tag team champion raised her right arm high, then slammed her elbow down across the back of Fiona’s head, dropping her to her knees.

“And an elbow shot to Fiona’s skull!”

Kendra and Choi Minji held their positions at either corner, Kendra’s face showing obvious concern while Choi Minji’s was completely neutral, devoid of any emotion.

“Three!…”

“Come on Fiona, shake it off and take her!” Kendra shouted as she started clapping her hands fervently, trying to stir Fiona to action again. Shin Choon-hee reached down and grabbed the back of Fiona’s top, wresting her up into a stand. Shin stepped in close behind Fiona, both women facing the ring with their backs toward the announcement table.

“Four!”…

“And the referee’s count to four,” Dan said, “both women are right in front of us here at the table.”

“Five!…”

Shin wrapped both arms around Fiona’s midsection, securing her hands against Fiona’s stomach.

“Oh, no, get out of the way!” Brent shouted, seeing what was coming. He, Dan, and Rhonda all jumped up, their chairs turning over and headsets clattering to the floor as they scurried back towards the barrier behind the announcement table.

Fiona had wanted to get to Shin before her partner Choi Minji could help her somehow, or before Shin could play any ringside tricks, but she'd made a costly mistake in her haste, leaving herself vulnerable to a counterattack she didn't see coming. She thought the fall had shaken Shin more than it had, so she was thrown off balance easily when she escaped, pulled right into a headbutt.

She stumbled back, woozy again and blinking rapidly with an unfocused gaze. Shin's hold on her shoulders kept her close, and pulled her right back in for a vicious knee strike up into her midsection. She doubled over, clutching her belly with both hands, left wide open to another blow to the head, an elbow crashing down on the back of her skull. She dropped to her hands and knees, hearing muted shouts from Kendra as well as all the noise from the crowd. Fiona had a good amount of crowd support tonight, but the energy in the arena was shifting away from her as she continued letting Shin Choon-hee get the better of her. Many in the crowd were eager to see some ringside carnage, and it was looking like it was about to come at Fiona's expense.

Shin roughly hauled her up to a stand again, arms closing and locking around her midsection. Fiona knew what was coming, and knew she'd be finished if she didn't escape. The count was already at five, there was no way she'd get back in the ring by ten if she took a suplex onto the announcer table.

Shin squeezed and lifted her up, Fiona's boots coming off the ground for a second, but she kicked and struggled and managed to come back down. She didn't give Shin a second chance, throwing back an elbow strike and managing to catch her in the side of the head with a solid hit. When Shin's grip loosened, Fiona slipped free, grabbing Shin by the right arm and pulling her forward and around. Building speed pulling her in a half-circle, Fiona sent Shin running and then crashing into the announcer's table head and left shoulder first, shaking all the equipment with a bang.

"Seven!..." called the referee.

Fiona fell to a knee, holding her stomach and needing to plant her other hand on the floor to not fall over. Gotta get back in, before she gets up... With a grunt of effort, Fiona stood and rolled herself under the bottom rope, trying to fight off the dizziness before Shin could make it back in the ring. The head and body strikes were really starting to take their toll on her, but the fans all knew she wouldn't give up against Shin until she had no choice. That left arm of Shin's was probably her one path to a win now, she just had to find a way to lock in a good submission before it was too late.

“Eight!…”

“And Shin Choon-hee has let herself get stuck outside the ring with the count at eight!” Dan Rich shouted.

“She’s gotta shake off the pain and make a beeline for the apron!” Brent Christi barked, his arms rigid against his sides as he leaned forward in anticipation.

All three announcers were still standing behind their chairs, Rhonda having quickly snatched their headsets off the table while Fiona had been fighting off Shin. Shin Choon-hee wobbled up to a stand, clutching her left arm as she grimaced. The champion had heard the eight count and trotted over to the apron, desperation in her eyes.

“Hey, wait, what is Kendra Snipes doing?” Rhonda suddenly pointed toward the south side of the ring, her two male counterparts snapping their heads in that direction.

Kendra had climbed up onto the south end apron and shouted something at the official just as he was about to count to nine. Seeing Kendra, the referee stopped mid-count, his right index finger immediately extending out toward her in warning as he shouted, “Off the ring!”

“Oh, Kendra Snipes better get down,” Brent said, “she could get this match called…”

“What is she doing?” Rhonda blurted out, “She stopped the count which just helped Shin Choon-hee!”

Shin reached the apron and hauled herself up as boos rained down from the ringside crowd. Obscene gestures flew in Kendra’s direction while the referee warned her a second time. “Kendra, get off the ring now!”

At the second command Kendra complied, throwing her hands up in dramatic fashion as she hopped back down onto the floor. It was in these few split seconds that something happened that no one could have predicted. Kendra’s feet had just touched the padding as Shin Choon-hee started to duck down between the bottom and middle rope and re-enter the ring. The official, the commentators, and most of the fans that were close to the action were too busy watching Kendra to notice Choi Minji running down the eastern ringside - her tag team belt firmly in her grasp and raised high. With a mighty two-handed swing, Choi Minji slammed the hard metal of her title belt into the side of Shin Choon-hee’s right knee. A sharp cry burst from Shin’s mouth as her leg gave out and she tumbled down with a thud onto the floor. The crowd went completely berserk as Brent Christi bellowed out, “What in the hell!?”

“Oh, my God!” Dan Rich flattened his hat as both hands clamped to his head in disbelief.

“No way!” Rhonda gasped, covering her mouth. There was a brief lull in the stands, the initial reactions at what Choi Minji had done now passing.

“This… this is a total betrayal we just saw! Choi Minji just took out Shin Choon-hee with her championship belt and the official missed it!” Dan Rich exclaimed, his voice drowned out as the crowd was quickly fired back up.

The referee rushed back toward the center of the ring. Choi Minji had already retreated to her corner, standing motionless, her expression as cold and unreadable as could be. Shin was slumped against the apron, her face frozen in an expression that was a mix of outage and pure shock as she locked eyes with Choi Minji.

“No!” Brent exclaimed.

“Yes, Brent, yes!” Rhonda nodded as the official raised both hands high for the final count.

“Ten! Thats it!”

Fiona was on one knee while most of the chaos unfolded. In the moment, she didn't know if Kendra had worked something out with Choi Minji and was distracting for her, or if she thought Shin's partner was going to try to attack Fiona with the championship belt, but either way, it worked out massively in Fiona's favor. Fiona was dumbfounded as she watched Shin get taken out by her tag partner just before the count resumed, ending the match and rewarding Fiona with a stunning upset.

The bell rang, Fiona's music erupting from the speakers as the referee came over to help her to her feet, then took her right wrist and held it up.

"Here is your winner, by countout... Fiona Chevalier!"

Fiona, like almost everyone in the arena, was still in shock, holding her stomach and standing on unsteady legs, unable to take her eyes off of Shin Choon-hee and Choi Minji. The outcome of the match had still been in doubt before the betrayal, but Shin had held the advantage throughout, steadily wearing Fiona down and weathering the swings in momentum better. Now it was over, her run at NMW singles gold done before it could even get started, and Fiona was moving on, her first win over her bitter rival secured.

It wasn't how she wanted it to happen, but Fiona found she didn't feel all that sorry for Shin, and couldn't help but smile a little at the sound of her music and the hype of the fans. She stumbled back towards her corner, where Kendra had climbed back up and through the ropes, Defiant Dream sharing a victorious hug.

"What just happened?!" she asked her partner, turning back to watch the scene unfolding ringside. All eyes were on the Korean team now, to see what their next moves would be.

Kendra said nothing in response, her focus entirely on Shin Choon-hee and her treacherous former partner. Shin came to a slow stand, her hands visibly shaking at her sides as she stared down Choi Minji.

“And as Fiona Chevalier is declared the winner of the match Shin Choon-hee and Choi Minji are locked in a death stare right here in front of the announcement table.” Dan Rich looked between the two women, he and his two colleagues yet to sit back down.

“Choi Minji was Shin’s partner, what could have sparked what we just saw?” Brent asked.

“If I had to guess,” Rhonda spoke up, “maybe we have an instance of someone bitter that their old partner is moving on to greener pastures.”

“Look out!” Dan Rich shouted suddenly as Choi Minji rushed forward and drove her title belt right into Shin Choon-hee’s face. Shin was caught flatfooted and as a result knocked down on her back.
The crowd did not react favorably to this and a surge of booing and jeers rose up across the arena as a smiling Choi Minji then raised the two PWS titles high over Shin and then dropped them across her heaving torso.

“This is just humiliating.” Dan said, “Shin Choon-hee has lost the match and the chance at being the first NMW women’s champion at the hands of someone she trusted. Now here she lays on the floor draped in a pair of… meaningless belts.”

“Well,” Brent shrugged, “like Stone Cold himself said, ‘don’t trust anybody’.”

---

“So, I assume you want a full explanation.”

Fiona and Kendra stood backstage, not far from the dressing rooms. After Defiant Dream had made a celebratory departure from the arena Gordon had met them just beyond the stage entrance and said he wanted to talk to Fiona before she left for the hotel. The gleeful expression on Gordon’s round face suggested it would be a positive conversation, or so Fiona and Kendra hoped. Seeing as how they had a few minutes before Gordon caught up with them Fiona had time to chat with Kendra.

Fiona was thankful to have a few minutes to catch her breath and try to process what had just happened before speaking with Gordon. The crowd didn't seem to have processed it either as Defiant Dream made their way backstage, but the only thing they knew for certain was that Fiona was moving on into the second round of the Rubicon Gauntlet, while Shin Choon-hee's partnership with Choi Minji was most definitely over.

It wasn't exactly how Fiona wanted to win the match, of course. She wanted to prove she was the better wrestler than Shin, to show that she'd improved her skills since their last fight, and she really didn't do that. The contest had gone back and forth, but it didn't look like Fiona was going to pull off the upset, right up until she did, with Choi Minji's help. If the result said anything, it was that Shin's poor choice of partner, or perhaps the way she'd treated her, had come back to bite her. And that wasn't something anyone could blame Fiona for.

"That would be nice, yeah," Fiona agreed, leaning back against the wall and running her fingers through her hair, trying to cool down. "Did Choi Minji tell you she was going to turn on Shin?"

“Was is really that obvious?” Kendra asked with a low chuckle.

“Actually… don’t answer that,” she said quickly, “Me getting the attention of the ref at just the right time allowing Choi Minji to take out her partner… Like, no way it was a coincidence, right?”

Kendra scraped her shoes against the concrete floor, eyes downcast for a moment before she looked back up at Fiona.

“Minji DM’d me just before the show and said she wanted to talk with me backstage. Naturally, I was hesitant at first but she insisted it ‘wasn’t what I might think’. So, I took the risk and met her. And we had a long talk. The short of it is that Choi Minji wasn’t happy about Shin signing on with NMW and breaking up their tag team. So, she decided to sabotage Shin Choon-hee’s debut match and championship run as a parting middle finger to her now-former partner. She suggested that I distract the official at just the right time so she could make a move to ruin the match for Shin. And I agreed.”

Kendra paused, letting Fiona soak in what she had revealed then adding, “Before you yell at me I just want you to know that originally I hadn’t planned on interfering in your match. But I saw Minji’s offer as just… too good of an opportunity to pass up. And I mean… think about this; Choi Minji was going to betray Shin anyway. Why not play it to your advantage?”

Kendra stiffened up slighty as she finished, clearly expecting a tongue lashing from her partner.

Maybe to Kendra's surprise, Fiona didn't feel like yelling at her or scolding her. She wasn't a veteran in this business, but even a year and change of experience had taught her to expect the unexpected going into every match.

"If the whole thing had been your idea, maybe I'd be mad at you, but... you're right. Shin was going to get betrayed at some point in this tournament anyway, from what it sounds like. She made the choice to leave her partner in the dust, and now she paid the price for it." She let her head fall back to rest against the wall. "And honestly, if you'd told me about this before the match it would've been in my head the entire fight. Shin probably would've wiped the floor with me."

She actually smiled a little. "You know it really wasn't that obvious, at least not to me. Maybe I'm just a little slow with these tactics, but my first thought was that you were trying to protect me from Choi Minji coming after me with the belt. Didn't even think she'd go after her partner until it happened."

Then again, she did recently take several blows to the head. Maybe she could be forgiven for not catching on instantly.

“Well… even if it was not the way you planned, you are moving on in the tournament! I call this a win!” Kendra piped up. “Though your next W does need to be done ‘the right way’. I h-…”

“Fiona!” Gordon McKinney’s hoarse voice came from Fiona’s left, the hefty assistant producer approaching with a pleased expression. Kendra quietened down and took a step back as Gordon reached them.

“Congratulations on your, uh… victory.” Gordon smiled, awkwardly adjusting his glasses with one hand.

“Tonight does ‘count’, right?” Kendra blurted out, her cheeks flushing in immediate self-consciousness. Gordon looked at her at first with a confused expression, then realizing what she meant he chuckled and replied, “Oh, yes. I was actually on the phone with Miss Diana Deguara herself - admittedly concerned myself - but she sounded pleased by the outcome! I mean that crowd was stirred up! And the Miss Deguara and her fa-… eh, our GM, love when the crowd is animated. Your match against Shin Choon-hee will definitely be talked about after tonight and that’s good!”

Fiona wasn't surprised to hear that the Deguaras were pleased with the outcome. The ringside fighting had livened up the match, which otherwise looked to be steadily heading for the expected outcome, and then Choi Minji turned everything on its head, flipping a somewhat straight up rivalry match into a talking point that would probably last right up to Fiona's next match, as well as whenever she inevitably got back into the ring with Shin.

"That is good," she agreed. "And don't worry, I'll make sure to give the fans a great performance for the second round. No one will be saying I don't belong at the end of that show." She'd be one of six remaining contestants with a chance to become Women's Champion... it still hadn't sunk in yet.

She'd been so focused on trying to beat Shin, she hadn't even allowed herself to think about her place in the bracket. Her win tonight meant that she'd be up against the winner of the match between Abby Beatific and Tanya Redd. The Rubicon Gauntlet was proving to be a gauntlet of her worst rivals, and the next fight would an extreme rules match, a brutally grueling test.

"Speaking of, I know Abby and Tanya are fighting their first round match next week. Any chance I could be ringside for that?" She braced herself for resistance to the idea, knowing it was more initiative than she'd shown so far in NMW. But some time had passed since she'd fought Abby or Tanya, and she knew she'd need every chance to study either of them if she wanted a chance to beat them in an extreme rules match. What better way than in person, right outside the ring at their match?

"I've got NMWW history with both of them, after all, and I'm sure the commentary team would enjoy asking me a few questions. I promise I won't start anything or interfere." She couldn't speak to what Aubrey or Tanya's partner, if she had one, would do, but Fiona had to figure they'd have their hands full with each other. "Maybe you could bring it up with Miss Deguara, at least."

At first Gordon seemed taken aback by Fiona’s idea. Then momentarily thoughtful, his eyes darting about in their sockets. And then suspicious, his brow scrunching together.

“Okay… Fiona,” Gordon clasped his hands against his midsection, “you want me to ask Miss Deguara to let you be ringside for the match that will decide who you face in the next round? After winning your own match tonight thanks to outside interference?”

Gordon paused for a moment, holding unblinking eye contact with Fiona for clear emphasis. Kendra tucked her hands in her pockets and chewed on her bottom lip. In the short lull of the conversation the thump of what was undoubtedly someone’s entrance music could be heard through the walls. The next match would be starting soon.

“Listen, I need to go…” Gordon said looking over his shoulder, “I’ll… email you or something in a few days.”

When Gordon put it like that, Fiona suddenly wasn't so sure it was a good idea, but she couldn't exactly take back what she said, and a moment later Gordon's attention was pulled away by the next match beginning in the arena. She genuinely had no intention to interfere or do anything to cause trouble during the match, as it wasn't like there was an obvious better choice between Abby and Tanya, two of Fiona's biggest nemeses so far in her career. But she could understand why it might be something management would want to avoid.

"Maybe that was too much," she admitted to Kendra once Gordon was gone. "I just know I'm gonna need all the help I can get to have a chance against either of those two in an extreme rules match, and being ringside would be a good preview."

Either way, it was a good feeling knowing she'd be back in the ring in two weeks' time, back in front of the fans, still battling for NMW gold.

Fiona and Kendra sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the sofa in Fiona’s living room, eyes fixed on the television. With neither of them scheduled to compete that weekend the two had the luxury of some time off. Kendra had flown to New York City to spend it with her ring partner. A sunny day of sightseeing and a fancy dinner topped with watching No Mercy Wrestling from a comfortable spot. No fans, no paparazzi, no upper management, just two friends enjoying the end of the week together. Set in Reno, Nevada, tonight’s show was the second week of the NMW Rubicon Gauntlet, marking the latter half of the championship tournament’s first round.

The show had opened with Silas Dane taking on Jordan Paxton. Paxton wrestled well but the villainous Dane’s experience and more fluid technique secured him the pinfall victory. The second bout - and the first of the women’s matchups - was Elina Zamora against Ash Weathers. Another tightly contested match, but it was Elina Zamora who claimed the win after crushing Ash Weathers with a flashy springboard moonsault and getting the three count.

As Elina stood tall in the ring, celebrating over her fallen opponent, Kendra nudged Fiona and joked that it was a shame Fiona couldn’t have witnessed that in person. An awkward silence followed instead of laughter. Fiona’s request to be allowed ringside tonight had been denied via a rather sharply worded email from Diana Deguara, the head producer unconvinced that the request was not some attempt by Fiona to influence any outcomes tonight. After Choi Minji’s interference the week before, which had seen Shin Choon-hee eliminated from the tournament, there was a slight lingering suspicion of both Fiona and Kendra among both management and a portion of the fans. - Mostly those upset by Shin Choon-hee’s defeat.

“Sorry.” Kendra said with a nervous half-smile.

"No, it's okay."

It had been a little embarrassing for Fiona to get rejected by Diana Deguara, but as far as she knew, only Kendra, Gordon, and Diana were even aware that Fiona made the request at all. Granted, none of the three of them seemed like they would be particularly tight-lipped about it, and Fiona wasn't fond of anyone trying to spread the idea around that she was attempting to cheat and influence the outcome of other matches.

It wasn't like there was a clear choice that she'd rather face between Tanya and Abby. Tanya had defeated her twice already and was like trying to fight a brick wall, while Abby had an unmatched ability to get in her head and rattle her, which was probably the surest path to a painful loss in pro wrestling. Either way, Fiona was in for a brutal battle in one week's time.

"If anything, I should be thankful I didn't have to be in the same building as them for a night. Don't know what I was thinking, honestly." A lot could've gone wrong being ringside with Aubrey Beatific, who was sure to be there for her sister's match.

As for Ash and Elina, Fiona had been absorbed by the fight, though she found she wasn't really pulling for either of them. Elina's win wasn't surprising, and she remained one of the top contenders for the title, though Ash put up an impressive fight before taking her first loss in NMW. Fiona couldn't help but compare, and it sure seemed like Ash came closer to beating Elina than she had. Their inevitable first fight in NMW was going to be one hell of a challenge, with both trying to prove they were ahead in their mirroring careers.

"You up for some hard training this week?" she asked. "I'm gonna have to get used to all the chairs, tables, and kendo sticks on offer, or I'm gonna get destroyed." After the dubious way she advanced through the first round, it was important to Fiona that she had a great showing for round two. Her performance would either silence the doubters... or give them ammunition.

“I was gonna ask you that myself, actually,” Kendra replied, “just… let’s not do anything to get you injured.”

After a short commercial break - and a gold-colored “Rubicon Gauntlet” screen wipe - came the next matchup. The Hawaiian juggernaut Hilo Keli’i versus Carlo Deguara, the son of GM Antonio Deguara and Diana’s younger brother. Carlo had made his NMW debut with a lopsided win over Jason Caillet. Kendra had watched that match and she admitted to herself that even though Carlo seemed to be the epitome of a spoiled daddy’s boy he was a good wrestler. And handsome… Kendra thought, absently picking at the wrapper of a Snickers she had pulled from the pile of snacks on Fiona’s coffee table. Hilo Keli’i was a unit himself, tall and husky with the build of a linebacker and a mean-mug that could make a bulldog cower.

The bell rang and the third match of the night began. Carlo and Hilo locking up in the center of the ring, a few seconds later starting a chain of reversals and counter grapples.

“I wonder how much the nepotism is going to influence the brand.” Kendra blurted out, her eyes remaining on the screen as Carlo wiggled his way out of a headlock and tried to go for a full Nelson. Hilo shoved Carlo backward towards the ropes and seconds later Carlo was flattened by a pop-up Samoan drop that stirred the crowd.

Fiona found herself thinking about the same thing. "A lot, if I had to guess. Somehow I doubt Mr. Deguara would've invested in this whole thing if he didn't think his son could make it to the top." It was unfortunate, but Fiona wondered if she'd even have a career wrestling at all at this point if the Deguaras hadn't salvaged NMWW out of the wreckage of the old brand. Maybe she'd be slugging it out on the indie circuit somewhere, putting her body on the line in high school gyms and local bars for a few dozens audience members at a time. She liked to think she loved wrestling enough to do that, but she was thankful she didn't have to put that thought to the test.

She winced at the Samoan drop that Carlo took, though she was confident he'd find a way to get control of the match at some point. One way or another, it seemed inevitable that the boss's pretty boy son would be one of the last men standing for the belt.

"Makes me glad Diana's just in management," she added, kicking her feet up onto the edge of the coffee table. "Feels like the women's division is a little more open than the men's, since we don't have a Deguara getting in the ring with us."

Kendra nodded in agreement, not pressing the conversation further and turning her attention back to the TV. At first the momentum of the match swung like a pendulum, shifting back and forth between the two men. Hilo Keliʻi was surprisingly quick for someone his size and more than once early on Carlo was bowled over or caught in a tight grapple because he underestimated his opponent’s speed.

Weathering through his mistakes, Carlo adjusted. He quickly realized his best strategy was to stay just out of reach and rely on counter-offense rather than throwing himself headfirst at what Dan Rich had aptly called a “moving brick wall.” As fast as Hilo could be Carlo was still faster, and once he settled into a solid rhythm he began gaining ground.

Carlo chipped away at Hilo, circling just outside his reach, staying light on his feet and letting the bigger man come forward before answering with sharp kicks to the thigh and knee. The first few barely drew a reaction, but Carlo kept targeting the same spots on the legs until Hilo’s explosive bursts started to slow. Gradually the match shifted in Carlo’s favor, the GM’s son following up his kicks with a variety of punches and chops to Hilo’s head and torso. Hilo, however, devised a countermeasure of his own when he felt the tide turning.

Hilo forced the fight into close quarters. The moment Carlo stepped in too deep with a punch attempt the brutish grappler grabbed and dragged him down to the mat, immediately trying to finish the match with a Coquina Clutch. Carlo barely escaped the submission hold by slipping an arm inside Hilo’s grip and twisting free. Moments later, Hilo pulled him down again and reapplied the choke, but Carlo managed to reach the ropes to force a break. The third attempt nearly ended the match. After a hard sidewalk slam, Hilo again locked in the Coquina Clutch. Carlo’s face flushed deep red as the air was squeezed from his lungs. Somehow, through sheer stubborn will, Carlo wrenched himself loose. He rolled away gasping for breath as the arena erupted, the fans now all firmly behind the young Deguara.

Nepotism aside, Fiona couldn't deny Carlo was earning his place in the spotlight by putting on a great show, and the crowd was responding really well to him as he battled through a surprisingly close match with Hilo Keli'i. He seemed to gain a second wind from the crowd's support, a feeling Fiona knew well, and when Hilo pursued him to the ropes Carlo caught him off guard with a devastating springboard roundhouse to the head.

"Oh, wow," Fiona blurted out, impressed. "That was really clean." Especially considering Carlo had just escaped a punishing submission attempt, there was no way Hilo expected him to be able to pull that off as beautifully as he had.

Carlo went back to the ropes, springboarding again for a graceful moonsault to slam onto the downed Hilo and go for the cover. One, two, three, and Deguara was the winner by pinfall, to the delight of the fans. The Rubicon Gauntlet was continuing to deliver standout matches, and the next one promised to be no different.

After Carlo had ample opportunity to celebrate his win, the announcers and the graphics on screen introduced the fight coming up after the break: Abby Beatific taking on Tanya Redd.

"So. Who do you think I've got the better chance of beating?" Fiona asked. "Not that I'm going to root for either of them. Hopefully this match goes twenty minutes and they beat each other bloody by the end of it."