Fiona's heart skipped a beat when she thought Tanya found the strength to get her shoulder up, but it wasn't in time. It was [i]over.[/i] The bell ringing and the crowd erupting and her music playing gave her a surge of energy that she [i]really[/i] could've used in the middle of the match, but at this point all it was good for was getting out of the table wreckage and shakily back to her feet.

She let the referee take her wrist and declare her the winner, keeping a hand permanently braced against her lower back, the pain still easily visible across her face. Even so, she couldn't keep from smiling, nearly overwhelmed by a blend of strong emotions. Elation, at the love from the crowd. Relief, simply that it was over and all the pain and effort had paid off. She was almost in tears, the realization hitting her that she'd just won the biggest match of her career, and it would soon lead to an even bigger opportunity in the tournament's next round.

There was plenty of disbelief, too. Fiona knew she had a chance to beat Tanya going in, but she never expected to beat her like [i]this.[/i] Her confidence dipped when Tanya turned the momentum hard against her, pushing her off of her strategy and towards an extreme brawl that didn't seem to favor her. And yet, despite all the talk about Tanya's toughness and how Fiona couldn't slug it out with her, the match came down to which woman could pick herself up off the mat and go for a pin.

And Fiona proved the tougher of the two, the one who wanted it more.

She didn't trust herself to be able to climb the turnbuckles, so she staggered to the ropes on each side of the ring, waving to her fans and enjoying the moment. In a tournament where most expected her to be defeated in the first round, Fiona was now one hurdle away from a title match. It was a massive hurdle, to be sure, but no matter how it went, Fiona delivered a star-making performance tonight. She showed she could handle extreme rules battles, and that she had a lot more toughness than people gave her credit for.

It remained to be seen if she could fight on the level of NMW's top tier of wrestlers, but after tonight, the fans were going to want to see her given more chances to try.

"And once again," Dan Rich said, settling back into his chair, "we'll step away for a few messages from our sponsors while this ring gets cleaned up. But don't go anywhere! We've got a couple more matches of destruction and drama coming your way before this memorable night is through!"