Shoopuf

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona knew she couldn't make any more mistakes, so when Raven was able to muscle out of her DDT and get her hands on her, she knew it was over. The spinebuster probably would've been enough, but only an iconic finisher would do for Raven, a statement made. This wasn't even about Fiona anymore, not really. She was just the one unlucky enough to be used in a demonstration meant for Elina.

She was already mostly limp across Raven's back before absorbing her Taken To Hell finisher for the first time, the massive stunner leaving her sprawled out on the mat in a spread eagle, face up and eyes closed, not moving at all except for her exhausted breathing. Raven stood tall over her thoroughly defeated opponent, looking significantly stronger than Elina at ringside despite the match leaving her battered and bleeding. All the adoration of the crowd was on the Queen of the Goths right now, who was set to move on to the title match despite being ganged up on in this triple threat.

"And it's just a formality from here," Dan Rich commentated, barely audible over the crowd's cheering. "Raven can join Elina ringside at her leisure, Fiona Chevalier is not getting up after being Taken To Hell."

"She came into the match with the right strategy," Brent chimed in, "but when it came down to it, Elina made the necessary moves to escape. I still think Fiona should've turned on her when she had the chance. Not that it would've mattered, she is not in the same league as Raven Veyn. Not yet, anyway."

Rhonda nodded her agreement. "She'll come back stronger, I'm sure, but it may take her a while to recover from this one. Always tough when you pour your heart into something and then come away with nothing."

She doesn't belong here! She doesn't belong here! The words echoed in Fiona's mind, the mat shaking slightly as Raven left her behind to start climbing the fence. Despite telling herself before the match that she'd already achieved a great result just by being here when so many other women fell short, the words still cut deep. She came up with the right plan, she managed to work together with a rival throughout the match, two-on-one the whole time, and what was the result? She was destroyed, her limbs feeling heavy as lead, proving she literally wasn't half the wrestler Raven was. The whole NMW fanbase watched as Raven climbed to the top of the cage, and Fiona didn't even stir. Maybe she was tough enough for the likes of Tanya Redd, but Raven shattered her tonight.

Her rollercoaster ride of a Rubicon Gauntlet delivered some incredible highs and boosts to her young career, but it was ending with a brutal reminder of how far she still needed to go if she wanted to be a real contender for the women's title belt.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Raven didn't seem overly concerned with Fiona while she watched Elina, letting her crawl away and then slowly get to her feet in a corner. Fiona watched Elina become the first escapee of the match, and tried not to think of how close she'd come to joining her, only to be torn down to the ground. If she'd been a little stronger, she could've held on with both hands, if she'd thought a little quicker she could've kicked Raven's hand away. But that was the difference between her and a veteran of these kinds of matches like Elina.

Now she was stuck here, forced to keep fighting Raven. Fiona was on her last legs, and it was written all over her body language, her posture, her face. Raven, meanwhile, still stood tall, though she'd taken quite a few shots to the head throughout the match. If Fiona had any chance to pull off the upset, she had to make use of that.

Raven turned to face her as she stepped out of the corner, eyeing her up and down, no doubt trying to calculate what would be the best move to go for to finish her off. Fiona charged first, Raven reacting with a heavy hook of a punch, which Fiona was able to duck under. She planted her foot and stopped, turning and throwing a high, straight kick that connected with the side of Raven's head as she turned around.

"Oh, and Fiona lands a sharp kick!" Dan Rich commented. Even the commentary team sounded like they were wearing down at this point.

Raven didn't fall from the kick, merely recoiling backwards and staggering away a step. Not nearly good enough, Fiona thought, trying to dig deep for more energy as she took off for the ropes behind her. Bouncing back, Raven went for another swing on her, trying to clothesline her. Rather than duck under again, Fiona grabbed hold of the arm and went for a float-over move, spinning over the back of Raven and landing on the other side.

She got the position for a DDT locked in, then jumped into the air, trying to generate as much momentum as she possibly could to slam Raven's head down onto the mat. She knew she'd need to nearly knock Raven unconscious if she wanted to buy herself enough time to climb the cage again.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona managed to stay out of Elina's way, crawling to a corner of the ring where she rolled over on her back, breathing hard and trying to recover. She'd seen plenty of Raven's opponents tap out to that bearhug submission, and now she knew exactly why. The attrition of multiple weeks of this grueling tournament were adding up, making every hit more painful, every mistake more punishing, and every continued exertion more and more tiring. The next minute or two will decide this, one way or another. Don't think I can keep going much longer than that.

Elina managed to find some real success against Raven, planting her facedown on the mat, but it looked like it cost her most of the energy she had left, too, leaving all three women downed and exhausted. Rather than cause the crowd to quiet down, the lull in the action only spurred them on, as it was clear to everyone that if any of them could stand and climb, they had a golden opportunity to escape. Raven was sprawled out motionless. It was possibly now or never for Fiona.

Grimacing, she reached up for the ropes and pulled, getting severely shaky legs beneath her. She sagged into the corner for support. Not ideal, but I'm up. Elina was up, too, lacking the support of the ropes, but she staggered over towards Fiona, the two of them soon clutching the same southern side of the steel cage beyond the ropes.

"Looks like the cooperation is continuing between these two." Rhonda anxiously shifted her weight side to side, a nervous air permeating the entire arena. "Are they up for the climb, though?"

"Raven's not far behind them!" Brent called out, pointing at the now stirring form of Raven Veyn on the mat.

That got Fiona and Elina moving more urgently, using the ropes for a relatively easy beginning to their ascent of the cage. Fiona was thankful for her gloves; she was covered in a sheen of sweat that wouldn't have helped her grip at all. After the ropes came the difficult climb to the top of the cage, her arms and legs screaming with the effort, the crowd willing her on alongside Elina. Their hands reached the bars atop the cage at nearly the same moment. Just have to get myself up and over, and then—

A strong hand closed around her right ankle, forcing Fiona to look down. Raven was like a horror movie villain beneath her, refusing to stay down despite all the hits, refusing to let her escape. She had Elina by the ankle too, the effort of keeping them both in place difficult even for her at this stage.

"This isn't going to end well!" Dan Rich shouted, stating the obvious. "Will Fiona and Elina be able to hang on?"

One of Fiona's hands slipped, and she spun around until her back was to the cage, her heart racing, nothing but panic in her mind. Elina thought quickly, kicking at Raven's hand with her free foot, targeting her fingers, and two good shots was enough to free her. Immediately Elina pulled her legs up, getting her upper body up and over the top of the cage.

"Elina's got this!" Brent declared. "She's out of Raven's reach!"

Fiona wasn't so lucky, and all it took was Raven putting both hands around her ankle and one hard pull. The steel bar slipped out of her grip, sending Fiona falling down until her lower back hit the top rope. The back of her head collided with the cage, and then the rope rebounded her forward to slam face down on the mat, to the dismay of her fans. Damn it, no...

"And Fiona is down!" Dan Rich announced. "It's looking like one half of this unlikely alliance is home free, while the other finds herself still trapped with Raven Veyn."

Rhonda had her hands on her head. "Unless Fiona has any miracles left in her, this might not take long."

It sure felt like her magical tournament run was about to come to an end. Fiona rolled over onto her back, arms laying limp at her sides, all the energy she'd worked up for the escape attempt having gone to waste, leaving her running on fumes. Elina sat atop the cage now, out of Raven's reach. All she had to do was drop down the other side.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Another risky move didn't pay off for Fiona. She didn't let Raven intimidate her, she didn't fight scared, but while that made for a better show for the crowd, it was entirely at Fiona's expense at this point in the match. Again Raven was quicker than Fiona anticipated, and before Fiona knew what was happening she found herself caught in the trap, quickly being crushed by a bearhug submission hold.

Raven had her lifted off the ground from the height advantage, the tips of Fiona's white boots unable to brush the mat, so she wrapped her legs around Raven instead to try to take some pressure off. It was little help. She couldn't cry out due to the instant shortness of breath she suffered, unable to get much air in her lungs as the hold compressed her body. She did have her arms free, enough to start throwing elbows at the side of Raven's head, but it remained to be seen if she could break free before it was too late.

Raven twisted, sending an agonizing jolt through Fiona's body and halting her elbow strikes. There was no tapping out, but if she let this go on much longer, it was going to destroy any stamina she had left, and give the other two wrestlers all the time in the world to leave her behind in the cage.

She managed to collect her focus again and hit hard at Raven's head, three solid strikes that she could feel were disrupting Raven's balance. Elina was stirring too, starting to get back to her feet.

"Think Raven's gotta let go," Brent advised, "Elina's about to reenter this contest!"

That was exactly what she did, releasing the bearhug and shoving hard against Fiona's chest to push her away. Fiona fell to the mat on her back, rolling away towards the ropes where she ended up face down, finally free to take some precious breaths. The aching all through her torso was extreme, the damage from the bearhug something she'd need days to recover from, not the few brief moments she had. Damn it, I'm a wreck... if Elina goes down again, no way I can keep Raven from escaping...

Raven stumbled a little from the blows to the head Fiona gave her, but still looked ready and able to take on her old CSW rival again.

What Are You Listening To?

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

In a one-on-one match, such an awful swing in momentum probably would've put Fiona down for the count. It was the first time she'd fully whiffed her top rope aerial finisher in a match, delivering a massive blow to her core when she crashed to the mat. Raven was proving impossible to keep stunned, up on her feet in no time and hauling Fiona around to punish her further for her mistake. The sidewalk slam smashed most of the resistance out of her, leaving her weakly grasping at Raven's arm as she was bent backwards on her feet.

The world spun in Fiona's vision as Raven smoothly lifted her up and over backwards, gravity pulling and whooshing her back down for a brutal crash face down on the mat. She was motionless on the mat from the inverted suplex as Raven got up again, only vaguely aware that Elina had tried to intervene. Fiona gasped for breath, trying to get her elbows beneath her, knowing she'd need to recover quickly if Elina couldn't put a stop to Raven's momentum.

The shaking of the mat soon after was Fiona's answer to that question, and she turned her head to see Elina flat on her back with her arms limp, Raven shoving her off and rising again. Damn it... she's actually going to beat us two-on-one. The crowd was loving the dominant display from Raven, no doubt wanting to see her show that kind of fire in a title match next week. If I'm tough enough to hang with the best of NMW, now's the time to show it.

"Looks like Raven's making the first attempt to escape the cage," Rhonda pointed out, as Raven went to the ropes on the stage side of the ring.

"It's going to be up to Fiona to stop her!" Dan Rich announced, seeing Fiona get to her knees while Elina was still completely stunned.

"I'd just let her go if I were Fiona," said Brent. "Raven's getting out of that cage one way or another. If Fiona wants a spot in that title match, it's Elina she should be focused on. She's defenseless right now."

But Fiona did not think like Brent did. She'd made a plan with Elina before the match, and she wasn't going to betray it as soon as things got difficult. Struggling to her feet, she looked up to see Raven on the top rope, grasping the cage. She was only a few seconds away from going beyond Fiona's reach. Staggering over, Fiona stepped onto the lower rope and grabbed Raven by the boot before she could reach the top of the cage. She stayed to the side, wary of Raven trying to kick down on her.

Part of Fiona expected Raven to shake Fiona off like little more than a nuisance, but maybe she was more tired than she looked, as when Fiona planted her foot against the cage and pulled back with all her weight, one of Raven's hands came free from the cage, and then the other, sending both of them tumbling back down to the mat.

Brent shook his head. "Got a feeling she'll regret that choice..."

Getting to her feet at the same time Raven did, Fiona knew she needed to hit something big right away. She was still too battered to go toe-to-toe with Raven for long, but if she could take her down for even a few moments, it could buy Elina time to recover and resume their two-on-one approach.

Charging forward, Fiona jumped into the air at Raven and went for her signature Supergirl punch, aiming the strongest strike she could muster right for the Goth Queen's cheekbone.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona fell from nearly six feet up when Raven was cut down at the knee, slamming down hard to the mat on her back again. Guess there wasn't a gentler way to intervene there, she thought to herself, rolling away and staying down for a moment, ending up near the ropes and steel cage just outside. She nursed the ache in her back, glad to let Elina take the reins and deliver some real damage to Raven.

It was a lot more satisfying to watch Elina Zamora work up close when Fiona wasn't the target of her flashy moves. A pair of huge knee strikes to the head landed cleanly, no doubt getting some real dizziness into Raven for the first time. Getting to her knees, Fiona watched Elina ascend the corner turnbuckles, wondering for a second if she was trying to make a break for it. No, it was too soon. They needed to get Raven totally out of it before they could risk climbing the cage. A fall from that height would be devastating.

It was her signature moonsault that Elina went for, but she took too long, as Raven recovered just before Elina went soaring through the air, leaving her only the mat to painfully belly flop down onto with a huge impact.

"Optimistic from Elina there," Dan Rich called out, "and she pays the price. But here comes Fiona, refusing to give Raven so much as a breather!"

Raven was finding opportunities to hit both of them, but so long as they kept this up, she would wear down eventually, Fiona could feel it. As Elina rolled away, clutching her midsection, Fiona charged at Raven, getting in a running knee strike to her head while she was halfway up. Raven bent backwards on her knees, not even falling to the mat, but it gave Fiona the chance to seize one of her hands, Raven's right in Fiona's left. Winding up, Fiona delivered a stinging slap to her upper chest, then guided her over to the corner. Fiona nimbly ascended, intending to turn and jump back in for an arm drag.

It was poorly judged, and while she was on the top rope, a strong tug from Raven on their linked hands was enough to disrupt Fiona's balance entirely. She fell hard right back onto Raven's shoulders, secured in another fireman's carry. Oh come on, not again! Her elbows and struggling were ineffective again, leaving her trapped for the ride as Raven quickly spun around.

Elina had just gotten to her feet as Raven swung Fiona around into her, her legs both colliding with Elina's head and knocking her back, the Sonoran Rose clanging against the steel cage before she went down.

"Oh wow!" Rhonda exclaimed, unable to keep from laughing a little. "Raven's power on display right there, using one of her opponents to bludgeon the other."

Shit, shit, Fiona panicked. Raven carried her to the center of the ring, swinging and releasing her, but whatever she was planning, Fiona managed to adjust and escape at the last second, landing on her feet right in front of the intimidating Goth Queen. Wide-eyed, Fiona saw a big swing coming just in time to duck under it and run for the ropes behind Raven. Jumping on the middle rope and springboarding back towards Raven, Fiona snared her around the neck, swinging her weight around and bringing her down for a stylish tornado DDT, spiking her head against the mat.

"What a sequence by Fiona that was!" Dan Rich shouted over the eruption of the crowd.

"Yeah Dan," Rhonda agreed, "it doesn't seem like she's letting the star power of Raven and Elina faze her much, that was a beautiful recovery after being caught in a very awkward position."

The crowd was loving the contrasting styles of the three women in the ring, the high intensity striking and graceful acrobatics of Elina and Fiona respectively making for an even fight against the raw power of Raven Veyn. Raven was down on the mat, face up after that DDT, leaving Fiona with a moment of control to make an even bigger impact on the match. Getting up and pointing to the corner, she generated some cheers of encouragement from the fans, then swiftly made her ascent.

It was a tighter fit than usual with the steel cage behind her, delaying her setup slightly, but Fiona soon found herself standing on the top rope, aiming down at Raven. She then launched herself into the air, slowly backflipping as she looked to come down right on top of Raven. She hadn't yet attempted her signature Shooting Star finisher in NMW yet, and she knew this would be one hell of a match to land it for the first time...

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona couldn't find a place to intervene before Elina was taken down by a leg drag, leaving her to deal with Raven alone for the next exchange. After ducking beneath the right hook aimed at her head, Fiona kept going for the ropes, not wanting to go for any kind of hold with the small window her dodge gave her. She knew she needed plenty of speed to generate enough force to bring Raven down, so she sprinted back after bouncing off the ropes and jumped into the air to attempt a crossbody slam.

Raven saw it coming in time to brace herself, and it felt like jumping sideways into a tree trunk. Fiona's momentum was stopped cold as Raven caught her out of the air, one arm between her legs, the other beneath her head. Fiona had a brief moment to panic and struggle in vain before her opponent hurled her over her head as she fell backwards.

"Fallaway slam!" Dan Rich shouted, as Fiona crashed hard to the mat on her back, log rolling over once and ending face up.

"This triple threat has been a two-on-one match so far," Rhonda pointed out, impressed, "and I'd say it's been pretty evenly matched."

"Raven's got Fiona in her sights now..." said Brent, watching Raven rise back to her feet and stalk over to the downed Fiona.

Caught defenseless with a hand pressed to her lower back after that slam, Fiona wasn't able to avoid Raven's boot this time, a vicious stomp thudding into her midsection. She curled in on herself with a groaning cough, trying to roll away, but Raven caught the arm that went to cover her stomach, pulling her up with frightening ease across her shoulders in a fireman's carry.

Fiona kicked and tried to elbow at Raven's head, hoping to disrupt her and escape before she could deliver whatever devastating slam she had lined up.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Getting squished into the mat was hardly pleasant, but with the followup damage prevented by Elina, it really just served as a wakeup call, getting Fiona's heart rate and breathing elevated and fully welcoming her to the fight.

She rolled to the side, trying to escape the chaos of the two rivals fighting above her before either of them stepped on her. Looking left from her back, she was alarmed at how fast Raven got right back to her feet after being taken to the canvas for the first time by Elina. She was across the ring and on Elina in no time, sending her running end to end, catching her on the rebound, lifting her up to hip level, and then dropping down on her hard for a sidewalk slam.

"Now we're getting going!" Brent shouted in approval.

Fiona had to repay the favor from Elina, and keep Raven from unloading on her while she was down. Scrambling to her feet, she charged Raven from behind, thinking to go for a strike to the back of the head. Raven saw it coming, scooping Fiona up for what was about to be a second sidewalk slam right down onto Elina. Thinking fast, Fiona flipped her lower body up, locking her legs around Raven's head and twisting around, executing a clean tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown that threw Raven forward into a roll, leaving her in the corner.

"Flashy athleticism from Fiona!" Rhonda couldn't hide her surprise. "That caught Raven off guard."

Back on her feet in a flash, Fiona ran after Raven and jumped at her, slamming both knees into her chest for a running meteora in the corner. Expecting Elina would have a followup of her own ready to go, Fiona rolled backwards and cleared the way for her impromptu ally to charge in next.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

It was reassuring, at least, that Elina didn't target Fiona while she was sitting in her blind spot beside her. Fiona wasn't making any attempt to guard against her, and it seemed to confirm that she was willing to work together. Just like Elina predicted, however, Raven expected that strategy, and so far appeared to be enjoying the challenge.

Not hesitating long enough to have any second thoughts, Fiona led the charge again, going for a dropkick to Raven's chest. Raven deflected Fiona's boots to the side with her hands, avoiding any contact and letting Fiona drop to the mat on her rear. Her height advantage looked ten times as severe when Fiona was flat on her back with her opponent towering over her. Raven stepped forward for a stomp targeted at Fiona's midsection. Eyes wide, Fiona rolled sideways towards the corner, narrowly avoiding the hit.

Elina tried to take advantage of the opening, aiming to seize Raven by the arm and twist it, but again Raven escaped the attempt, shoving Elina back to the center of the ring. Raven tried to follow up with a high straight kick, forcing Elina to lean back, her reflexes and agility on display as she turned the dodge into a backwards cartwheel that got impressed cheers from her fans.

"Some fast exchanges here," Dan Rich commented, "but no hits landed just yet."

"They're taking these early moments to get a feel for each other," Rhonda pointed out. "Raven's showing a lot of confidence, but I think she knows she has to be careful here. One overextension, and Elina and Fiona could be unloading the hits on her."

Fiona came up to her feet, not liking the feeling of being this close to the corner. All week long she'd had it drilled into her head how quickly the match could become a disaster if she let Raven trap her in a corner. That said, she had a brief moment with Raven's back turned to her after her kick attempt towards Elina, and she decided to go for it.

Rushing forward, Fiona jumped into the air, trying to lock her legs around Raven's midsection from behind and secure a rear choke around her neck with both arms.