2nd Veteran's Division Amateur Elimination Tournament Final Elimination Round!
“Barbara vs. Ms. Liberty”
With Felizia leaving the arena arm in arm with her niece Peaches as they celebrated Felizia’s victory and the official start of her professional wrestling career, the elimination of Cocoa resonated with the remaining wrestlers, most of whom were still in shock. To make matters worse, Coca was unable to leave the ring under her own power and had to be dragged to ringside, lowered onto a stretcher and wheeled away, her right leg injured so badly that she could not put any weight on it. The sight of the most powerful Veteran’s Division wrestler being taken from the ring for the last time, on a stretcher, was an extremely troubling image, for all but Bertha, who seemed to enjoy the sight. But before any of the remaining wrestlers had the opportunity to further contemplate the outcome of the first match, the announcer called the next two wrestlers up into the ring.
”We have already lost one of our Veteran’s Division wrestlers with Cocoa’s elimination and taking her place on the roster, we are happy to welcome Felizia to the Veteran’s Division. So now it’s time for a second match. Can I please have Ms. Liberty and Barbara in the ring now.” ”
All eyes were on Ms. Liberty as she painstakingly pushed herself up from her chair. Having sat through the duration of the first match, her aching body had grown stiff, a fact visible in the way she slowly and tediously rose. Barbara watched her sympathetically, clearly uncomfortable about the predicament she was faced with. Not only was it uncomfortable for her to have to face her friend as an opponent, especially with so much riding on the outcome, but she had to face her in a noticeably weakened condition. Barbara was confident she could defeat the veteran, having beaten her once before, but was greatly distressed by the circumstances of this match and how unfair it seemed to be.
Ms. Liberty was clearly not in a position to step back into the ring after the beating she had taken at the hands of Bertha just a short while ago. But if she did not wrestle, she would be forced to forfeit the match and her career would be over. So the thought of forfeiting never entered her mind, regardless of her condition. Throughout the course of her wrestling career she had always proven to be resilient, often overcoming adversity and hardship to battle on. But this time particular match would be her most challenging to date, and she knew it. So against the doctor’s advice, Ms. Liberty made her way back into the ring.
Stretching in her corner, Barbara watched Ms. Liberty shuffle across the ring, noticing how tentative her movements were, each step seemingly painful. She contemplated the thought of approaching the ref to postpone the match, but Barbara so desperately wanted to restart her professional wrestling career, that she opted not to do so. But as she stared into Ms. Liberty’s eyes, seeing her pain, she decided that would do her best to end the match as quickly and painlessly as possible for her friend.
Ms. Liberty had others ideas however. Yes, she not near full strength, but she was determined to “suck it up”, and use her experience to get her through the match. Similar to Barbara’s strategy, Ms. Liberty was hoping to gain a quick advantage and secure a fast pin, allowing her to avoid elimination and wrestle another day. And at 5’6” tall and weighing 175 pounds, Ms. Liberty was 2 inches taller and had a 65 pound weight advantage over her petite friend.
The two friends made eye contact, each exchanging a friendly glance before finally the bell rang and the match was on. Barbara moved spryly out of her corner, circling to her right as Ms. Liberty trudged forward, her arms out in front of her, ready for an attack. They circled each other, Ms. Liberty situated in the center of the ring as Barbara pranced around her. The younger, petite wrestler then gradually moved in, preparing to lock arms with the veteran, though Ms. Liberty was able to grab hold of her wrist and twist her arm out to the side.
Hunched forward, Barbara was surprised to find herself in this position, Ms. Liberty moving more quickly then she had imagined she could. To make matters worse, Ms. Liberty then gave a full twist on Barbara’s outstretched arm, whirling beneath it before stepping over it, the smaller woman’s limb now stuffed between her legs. With Ms. Liberty’s butt now pressing against Barbara’s side, she began to wrench upward on her opponent’s trapped arm, her elbow lodged in Ms. Liberty’s groin as her arm bent painfully. The pressure on Barbara’s elbow was tremendous as she grunted in her high-pitched voice, trying to reach around with her free arm to grab hold of Ms. Liberty’s waist, though her attempts proved futile.
Satisfied to weaken Barbara’s arm for a period, Ms. Liberty kept the pressure on for a few more moments, but then finally stepped over Barbara’s arm again, grabbing her with both hands before flipping her to the canvas. Barbara landed flat on her back, and Ms. Liberty quickly dove down on top of her, pinning her shoulders to the mat. The crowd jumped to their feet as the ref moved in, slapping the canvas once as Barbara thrust her hips upward to propel Ms. Liberty off of her. But her first attempt was unsuccessful as Ms. Liberty remained on top of her, the ref slapping the mat a second time. Desperate, Barbara tried again, this time her hips able to generate enough thrust to roll Ms. Liberty off of her just before the ref slapped the mat for the final time.
Barely avoiding elimination, Barbara rolled over once and quickly got to her feet, realizing that this may not be as easy as she thought it would be. With Ms. Liberty slowly getting to her knees, Barbara rushed over and attacked, but the veteran greeted her with a stiff forearm to her midsection, knocking Barbara back a couple of steps. Ms. Liberty slow got to one knee, but Barbara recovered to again rush at her, this time more cautiously as she grabbed the veteran by her wrist and armpit, pulling her the rest of the way up before tossing her into the corner.
With her back striking the turnbuckles, all of the pain seemed to return in an instant to the hobbled veteran as her body twitched and her face contorted in pain. Barbara wasted no time however, running toward and hopping up so that her feet landed on top of Ms. Liberty’s thighs. She then reached for her head to flip her out of the corner, but Ms. Liberty ducked beneath Barbara’s arms while driving her shoulders forward to ram them against Barbara’s gut, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward.
Dropping quickly, Barbara landed hard on her back, her head snapping backward and striking the mat hard as well. Pushing out of the corner, Ms. Liberty trudged up next to Barbara, kneeling on one knee alongside her before grabbing her thigh and rolling it in toward her body. Still flat on her back, again Barbara was in a pinned position as Ms. Liberty tried to roll her up for the count out. The ref dove in and slapped the mat once, Barbara trying to escape, though she found no way to do so. The ref slapped the mat again before finally, in an act of desperation, Barbara reached for the bottom rope and barely grabbed hold of it, halting the count as the ref’s hand began to move toward the mat for the third time.
The crowd began to jeer Barbara, disappointed in her performance in the very early part of the match. The ref instructed Ms. Liberty to release Barbara’s leg, and she complied, allowing the petite wrestler to roll over and quickly get to her feet, clearly frustrated. Ms. Liberty also got up, but as she straightened up, Barbara rushed her, driving her shoulder into Ms. Liberty's chest and forcing her back into the corner. Barbara then backed up and rammed her knee into the veteran's gut, doubling Ms. Liberty in half as she groaned in pain, the blow hurting her more than it should have. Barbara then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the corner, running alongside her before powering Ms. Liberty across the ring until her back smacked against the opposite corner.
A sharp pain shot down Ms. Liberty's already aching spine as her face contorted in pain, the collision between her ailing back and the turnbuckles greatly affecting her. Barbara again rushed in, slamming another knee into the older brunette's stomach, drawing a loud, anguished howl from her friend.
"UUUNNHHHH!" moaned the depleted veteran as she slumped from the corner, Barbara once again seizing her by the arm and pulling her off of the ropes.
She then pulled her over to the side ropes, secured her grip on the arm and then ran alongside Ms. Liberty once more, this time hauling her forward and sending her bouncing off of the ropes on the other side of the ring. Ms. Liberty's back dipped into the ropes, drawing another pained grunt from the veteran before she was shot off of them, returning toward Barbara who was waiting for her. Dipping downward, Barbara straightened up once Ms. Liberty fell across her back, flipping the larger brunette through the air before she slammed against the mat, her battered back again taking the brunt of the punishment.
"OOOOHHHHHH!" howled Ms. Liberty as she bounced on the canvas, her body contorting in pain.
Falling flat on her back, she looked to be in agony as Barbara scurried over and dropped down across her shoulders, pinning them to the canvas. The crowd reacted, expecting the pinfall, but surprisingly, the resilient veteran managed to lift her left shoulder after a one count, the ref stopping as Barbara tried to reposition her weight to secure the pin. The ref again began to count, reaching two before Ms. Liberty mustered the strength to thrust her hips upward, rolling Barbara off of her in the process.
The crowd now began to cheer, Barbara quickly getting to her feet as Ms. Liberty rolled onto her side, though unable to go any further. Clearly depleted, she was then vigorously pulled to her feet, Barbara grabbing her by the arm with both hands to rip her upward. With the two now standing and facing each other in the center of the ring, Barbara could see the pain in her opponent’s face. Her sympathy for Ms. Liberty’s plight caused her to hesitate before continuing, though she clearly wanted badly to win the match and resume her pro wrestling career. But that moment of hesitation allowed her veteran opponent to grab hold of Barbara’s arm and attempt to whip her into the corner. Barbara was slowly pulled forward, but Ms. Liberty’s diluted condition allowed her younger counterpart to overpower her and reverse the attempt, quickly hurling her toward the corner with surprising force.
Surprised by the quick and powerful reversal, Ms. Liberty stumbled clumsily across the ring, forced to race forward at a speed faster than her wobbly legs could carry her. As she staggered to within a few steps of the corner, she tripped over her own feet and fell forward, her face smacking against the top turnbuckle with tremendous force. The loud THUMP caused by the veteran’s face striking the padded cushion caused many of the fans in the first row to gasp as Ms. Liberty collapsed into the corner, her right arm hooking over the top rope as she fell, her face devoid of expression.
Not anticipating Ms. Liberty’s flop, Barbara had already begun to charge up behind her and could not prevent herself from delivering a knee; intended for Ms. Liberty’s gut; squarely into the middle of Ms. Liberty’s already damaged back.
”AAAAWWWW ...... OOOOOOHHHHH ....... ooohhhhhhhhhh!” squealed the debilitated veteran, her voice trailing off as her body slumped to the canvas and landed in a heap at Barbara’s feet.
Ms. Liberty’s body then began to convulse on the mat, flailing around in pain as her muted moaning continued. She rolled onto her side, reaching for her aching body as she continued to groan softly. Barbara meanwhile looked down at her empathetically, feeling a hint of guilt at having inflicted so much suffering on her friend, even if it wasn’t completely intentional. She allowed Ms. Liberty a few moments to compose herself, but then knelt down, pressing her hands onto the veteran’s shoulders to pin them to the canvas. The ref rushed over and began to count, the crowd jumping up in anticipation. The ref reached a count of two before, astonishingly, Ms. Liberty ungracefully dropped her leg over the bottom rope, once again stopping the count.
Clearly frustrated that the veteran refused to surrender, Barbara stood up, walked down to her legs, grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her to the center of the ring. Pulled on her back, Ms. Liberty’s arms dragged above her head as Barbara dropped her in the middle of the ring, far away from the ropes. She then walked over and stood above Ms. Liberty’s head, staring down at her inert body. Barbara then knelt down on Ms. Liberty’s armpits, pinning her shoulders to the canvas in the process, before reaching forward to grab her by the calves and roll her legs in toward her body, folding her in half. Trapped in a matchbook pin, Ms. Liberty was finally helpless to prevent the ref from slapping the mat three times, counting her out and ending her veteran’s division wrestling career.
As the bell rang loudly, Barbara pushed herself up, freeing Ms. Liberty’s legs as they unfurled and flopped listlessly to the canvas. Remaining flat on her back, Ms. Liberty stared blankly up at the ceiling, her eyes filling with water as the realization of the outcome and it’s consequences began to set in. Her body was wracked with pain as a wave of sadness filled her head, the physical and emotional toll of the evening now coming to the surface as she began to cry while still flat on her back. Her pro wrestling career had just come to an end with Bertha fulfilling her objective to do so. And perhaps most humiliating was the fact that the final defeat was at the hands of a friend, the woman whom Ms. Liberty had taught how to wrestle in the first place.
Barbara meanwhile stood up, a hint of a smile on her face, though that smile was hindered by a distinct sadness. Delighted at having earned the right to compete as a pro wrestler yet again, Barbara was nonetheless saddened by the way in which she was forced to do so. Reaching down, she offered her hand to Ms. Liberty, but the veteran shook it off as tears rolled down the sides of her cheeks. The ref then raised Barbara’s arm overhead to proclaim her the winner.
“The winner of our second match …. And earning a permanent spot on the Veteran’s Division roster …… BARBARA!”
A huge ovation rose up as Barbara smiled more widely. But the announcer then continued, wiping the smile from Barbara’s face.
“Ms. Liberty has been defeated and is eliminated from the Veteran’s Division!”
The words had an onerous tone as the Amateur Elimination Tournament had now claimed it’s most prominent victim. Ms. Liberty was the Veteran’s Division first ever champion who also won back the title a second time after losing it, but this defeat would be her last match. Laying flat on her back and unable to move, the sight of the clearly defeated former champion in such a bad state left Barbara choked up as well. With the guilt beginning to set in, Barbara knelt down next to her and again offered her hand, pulling Ms. Liberty up into a seated position as the two exchanged a hug. clearly in pain, Ms. Liberty grunted in pain as Barbara embraced her.
”I’m so sorry.” Barbara whispered to her as Ms. Liberty continued to sob softly.
Offering to help her friend up to her feet, Barbara’s offer was again declined as Ms. Liberty remained seated upright, tears rolling down her face as she stared out into the cheering crowd.
”Next up will be Bertha and Summer, so we’ll be back right back for that final match of the evening!”
