[RedEnforcer]

Rey Mysterio not withstanding, eye injuries are pretty scary. Thing is, it’s not the eye itself that hurts. You can’t feel pain in your eyeball because of the lack of nerves. That’s why things like cataract surgeries are outpatient affairs. It’s the gouging of the area around your eyes that hurts. You have lots of blood vessels close to the ski too that can screw up your vision.
So instead of politely refusing my invitation to some of the best waffles in the world, I get fingers in and around my eyes. Thankfully X didn’t have sharp nails or I would have been bleeding.
The rest of the next few minutes was a figurative and literal blur while my eyesight returned. I fought her off as best I could, but as long as she played hit and run, she had an edge.
It was when she went for broke that I could get my hands on her. She wanted to hit the mat so hard, I just clamped down on her with my best Claudio impersonation and in honor of where we were, reset and spun around, DRIVING her back hard into the mat with a AA spinebuster.
As she lay there and my head cleared, I registered the bit of slang I heard her say.
“Fuck me” I muttered. Cute ref must’ve heard me because she looked at me in a bit of shock for a moment.
“No, sorry. Interjection not invitation.”
I used the tip of my boot to “nudge” X over onto her belly.
“Time’s up on your rally, Lady X.”
And I dropped down quickly, driving my knee into her lower back. She was going to feel this. I was thinking why would she come after me as I reached down for her mask and helped her to her feet, keeping her bent over and lifting her up and over my head for one of those fancy new suplexes into the turnbuckles.
She looked kinda silly in all her purpleness squished in the corner. Shame to leave her like that. Grabbing the mask again, I pulled her up. I’m in the zone now. The Enforcer taking over. Looking to punish this woman for trying to take my eye out. I’m pretty slow to anger, but when it hits, I run hot.
This time I pull her all the way up on her feet as she shuffles woozily. My right arm slips between her legs as my left goes to her shoulder and I haul this silly git up into the air and turn. Through hazy sight I see Rowan and grin. I pop Lady X up into the air, going to a Gorilla press position and then I bring her down, bending my right leg at the knee and flexing my thigh as I slam the masked woman back first over my leg with a bit of an evil grin.
I shove her off of my leg and onto the mat, right there in the middle of the ring. I go and whisper in her ear again.
“Here’s something my buddy Darren showed me.”
I move to her feet and take her near foot and put it between my thighs, forcing it to bend as I lean forward. Then I lay on her back and extend my arms out snaring her face right near her nose and grip tightly and start ratcheting my arms back. The STF. A nasty hold taught to me by an evil man designed to put on some serious pain.
“Tick tock, Lady X” I say as I secure the hold and grind back.

[Lady X]

Things did not get better after the spinebuster. I got rolled over onto my front, then had a knee dropped in the middle of my back, got dragged back up and buckle bombed, had my back dropped onto a knee, possibly for symmetry's sake. Next I assume a buckle would be dropped on me? Wait, that makes no sense. Fuck. Where am I?

I'm on a wrestling mat.

And I hurt.

Sensibility came rushing back to me, which really didn't improve matters as far as pain went. It had been a while since I'd been in trouble like this. Well, it had been a while period. But also since that.

I breathe in deeply, trying to focus myself, when Red whispers in my ear again. I reach for his head once more but I'm too slow this time. Didn't think I'd catch him with the same trick twice. I felt my leg pulled forward, then wrapped painfully around his leg behind me. I scowled witheringly at someone in the front row (was that Sadie Davis? No it couldn't be. Front row tickets were way out of her price range. Maybe she robbed a bloke,) Darren would've padlocked one of my legs around the other.

Because of this, my left leg was still free, so when he set himself, putting his crossface grip right on the bridge of my nose (fuck that hurt), I dug the toe of my left boot into the mat, trying to push us forward.

And trying.

And trying.

Dammit, the big bastard was too heavy to move. Was he really that pissed over the eye poke?

"Tick tock, Lady X," he said behind me. Oh. Not about the eyepoke.

Well that wasn't really a surprise, was it?

Not relevant right now. How else to get free? I reached behind me, trying to get some leverage (or possibly tempt him to release the crossface and go for the limb) but he didn't move and there wasn't anything I had any leverage over this way.

I put both hands on his, pushing up on them, trying to slip free of the crossface. Ironically if they were on sweaty skin I might be able to slip free but this bloody mask gave him too much friction, and I couldn't move it.

The mask.......

Did I dare? She'd kill me.....Fuck it. I'm not built to quit.

My hands went behind my head, reaching for the ties of the mask and giving them a solid tug...

[RedEnforcer]

I have to admit, when I get angry I’m a petty bastard. I switch on full aggression and super snark. If X is who I think it is, then even this hold I’m enjoying will piss her off. I intentionally invoked the name of one of the UK’s most famous wrestlers, then put on the shitty John Cena version of the hold by leaving her a free leg.
Thing is, with enough strength and determination, even shitty holds can hurt.
And it’s ironic to me that the item supposed to protect X from my wrath is actually helping me inflict more of it. Her mask is helping anchor my arms across her face.
This lets me grind...and pull...and crank...get to feel those vertebrae in her back click clack as I slowly bend her upper body back towards me and make her arch.
I’m sure she makes a lovely sight for those in front of her, being stretched out like this.
She really doesn’t have a chance to...wait..what..
You gotta be kidding me.. she’s..she’s unlacing her mask?
Is she trying to ease the pain or...
I chuckle...she’s really so hellbent on not submitting that she’s willing to unmask?
Now it is a real race. If I just pull and strain more. More than intended, burning through some stamina but fuck it. Yank..pull..tug
I hear myself growling as my biceps and triceps pop while I pull back harder.
If I can just make it hurt so much she can’t move her arms...
Come on..come on...tap dammit, tap!
And as I’m putting all into snapping X like a Slim Jim, I suddenly fly back off of her..her mask still between my clasped wrists.
I roll to my feet.
This I just have to see.
The ref is yelling about the mask. In Mexico I could be DQ’d. Except I didn’t take it off of her. She did it herself.
And we both watch as X gets to all fours and moves to the ropes away from me. Still hurting but still in the mask. Her hair has fallen over, still shrouding her face.
I give her a moment. I would just charge in, but this is a big moment for the fans. The people watching. The drama builds. And above all, I’m a showman. I love giving the people what they want.
So I let X get to her feet. But I stay close. So I can grab her and continue when the big reveal is done.
The ref sees her face first, does a gasp, with a bit of a blush. Dammit, why do the cute ones have to...
And then I see her face and find myself moving closer on instinct.
“Fuck me, you actually took the mask off”
I happen to say out loud..
And just as I’m about to talk to the wrestler formerly known as Lady X, she laces out a swift punch to my solar plexus that drops me to my knees and has me looking down at the mask in my hands and wheezing like a four pack a day smoker.
Fuck. I hate being right.

[Callista]

As Red goes flying off of me, I kick my feet free (should've put the hold on right!) and crawl away to the ropes.

In the before-times, I'd have taken a more mercenary attitude to a match. Obviously I never LIKED to lose, especially by quitting, but when a hold got locked in and my limit started getting pressed, I had to calculate costs vs benefits and decide whether it was better to live to fight another day.

But that was just it, now. I might not HAVE another day. I wasn't even supposed to have this day. I stole it, like a thief in the night. Literally wore a mask to do it. And there might well be blow-back from this. Maybe not immediately, but she googles me now and again. It'd likely come up sooner or later. "Callista Quinn unmasked in shock return". Well, it might happen, but there was no way I was going to allow that to precede "and lost".

Gritting my teeth, I get to my feet, realizing my hair is still covering my face. I almost never wore it this long when I was wrestling. I recognize Red is milking this for all it's worth. I am too, if for a slightly different reason. When the moment is right, (and I know exactly when that is, I might not be as concerned about putting on a show but I know how to do it,) I brush my hair aside, letting the ref see me, then my opponent, then the portion of the crowd in front of me. I look first to the left, then to the right to make sure as many of them as possible see.

Red closes in on me, still holding "Lady X"'s mask, then says, "Fuck me, you actually took the mask off." My lips thinned. You had this tendency of stating the obvious at times that led me to underestimate you in FTW. It was still annoying, and I express my annoyance by directing a quick straight punch into your solar plexus, which drops you down onto your knees. I reach for your head with both hands, getting my right arm under your chin and meeting both hands behind your head, pulling you into a cravat and forcing you back up onto your feet.

I crank on that neck for as hard as I can, knowing you'll be forcing me to release this shortly. You don't disappoint, getting both hands on my back and launching me forward. I go with it, pumping my legs and pounding my boots onto the boards, turning and taking the ropes on my back before launching back to you. You're telegraphing another big lariat, which I run faster towards, getting low and getting my hands up to catch that arm, not to try to block it but to kick my legs out, pivoting around that arm and flipping backwards, letting go of it as I begin to come back round right-side up and getting my right arm around your head, letting my boots hit the mat as I pulled your head forward to try to cinch in that guillotine.

[RedEnforcer]

Well I’ve removed Lady X’s advantage but that leaves me facing Callisto Freaking Quinn. My boss in Countdown from FTW. We never had the warmest relationship, but never thought she’d go for taking me out. And especially not wearing a provocative tube top. Wow.
Uhh..focus.
Like a red rose, this English Rose has thorns below her beauty. And she’s got me baffled.
Cravat to whip to reversal.
I’m moving like a rookie.
Until she slaps that guillotine on me and I yell “ENOUGH!”
She tries...something...and I give her a hard no and grab those bottoms she’s wearing by the waistline and haul her up in the air just enough so I can power her into the corner.
I hear the satisfying WHAM of her body into the buckles as I follow her in.
I take a moment and reach out for the middle rope on either side of her.
“If you wanted a match”
Pulling myself forward, driving my shoulder into those strong abs of hers, feeling her bend a bit back.
“All you had to do”
And I pull again, bashing the same spot on her belly, hearing that whoosh of air past her lips as I strike.
“Is ask.”
And one last thrust, hard muscled shoulder hitting that stomach of hers and feeling her melt into the corner. I reach for her hand and press into her, readying a whip to the opposite side.
“Explaining myself to you would require...hufff...you to have the attention span...huff...longer than the trashy blondes you like so much.”
I almost laughed at that and hoped Sadie didn’t hear.
“Oh, so, you never answered. Waffle House later?” I say with a grin before stepping back and sending her flying to the other corner.
Soon as she hits, I just can’t stop myself. I’m in Charlotte in the main event.
I do the Sting Howl.
And then I rush her, launching up in the air for a Stinger Splash.

[Callista]

Look, I've been accused (not wholly unfairly) of snobbery a time or two, but I get it. I do. The appeal of the greasy, comforting food of your childhood makes perfect sense. Waffle House to Red was like the chip shops of Manchester I grew up with were to me. The food wasn't fantastic but it filled something inside you that wasn't your stomach, for a little while at least. But to me it was just a diner offering low-priced coronaries.

Unfortunately for Red while I was not an avid consumer of foreign diner culture, foreign WRESTLING was something I had always been mad for. So when I get whipped into the corner and hear that howl, I know exactly what's coming. And when Red commits, leaping into the air, I push off in a quick half-step before dropping into a football slide, grabbing Red's legs passing by and dropping him face-first into the turnbuckle's corner pad. "Only thing getting smothered and covered tonight is you, mate."

Behind me, Red hits hard, but with his arms out he's able to steady himself and keep his feet. I push up to my feet, get a two step run-up, and jump up into the air, grabbing Red's head as I sail over the ropes and dropping his neck across the thinly-padded cable as I drop down to the floor below, landing a tad unsteadily on the floor but managing to keep MY feet, taking a couple steps towards the guard rail separating the punters from the ring area.

Confirming that yes, that IS Sadie in the front row, I get a bit of a cheeky grin on my face and reach over the rail, giving her hair a quick tousle before quickly darting back away from any potential response, rolling back into the ring under the bottom rope. Red is still getting back to his feet, so I quickly throw my arm around his head, slapping a headlock on and trying to wrench the neck back and forth before he has a chance to get comfortable. Comfortable or not, however, he's not worn down nearly enough, as his hands go around my waist and lift me up and over his shoulder, my back crashing down painfully in the middle of the ring.

[RedEnforcer]

I knew the yell was a bit much but I couldn’t help it. And so I ate the turnbuckles. Then she jams my neck into the top rope..which is really a stiff cable.
And I’m staggered. If Calli followed up right away I’d be toast. But she takes a moment to mess with..a fan..who is yelling like Sadie...
That gives me precious time to gather myself. So when she gets the headlock, I’m able to grab her around the waist and lift her into a back suplex.  We both hit hard. And I’m coughing as I roll up onto my ass. Time for some answers..
I get behind Calli and lift her up, my legs around her waist, over her hips, thighs snapping against her ribs, quads flexing, and lock my ankles in front of her. Arm around her head in a chin lock to pull her close. So we can talk.

“Calli, why would you take this match against me and not warn me?”

"Oh Red....I don't mean to be cruel," now, anyway, "but this was never about you."

“Then what the fuck is it about Calli? Help me understand.  I was told this was pretty much a bounty match. This Lady X was gonna take me out”
"Yeah that's what your promoter thought I was about. Didn't affect me so I didn't correct him"

“Fine then. Let’s finish this dance? You and me. For the first time. Let’s see who wins.”

And with one more quick squeeze of my thighs, I release the scissors and scramble to my feet.
Reaching down to get a handful of her hair as I slowly drag her up to her feet. Ready to start the endgame of this chess match. Now that the distracting pieces have been cleared from the board.
Let’s see where it goes from here.

[Callista]

“Fine then. Let’s finish this dance? You and me. For the first time. Let’s see who wins," I'm told as I'm pulled upward off the mat.

"Yeah," I say, knocking his hand away from me with a rising block from my left hand as soon as I've got my feet steady under me, "that's the bloody POINT!" as I turn my entire body into an uppercut, slamming my right bicep into his chin, knocking his head backwards.

Red takes a half-step backwards, then half-glares, half-grimaces at me from behind his mask. Glaring right back, I tap my chin twice with my index finger before brushing my fingers along my chin in his direction. Red knows what I'm on about. He takes that half-step forwards again, swinging his right arm forward and clobbering the side of my face with his forearm, knocking ME a half step back (possibly a touch more than half). Oof. I felt that. Still, not giving up after one round of this. I step forward again, again connecting the inside of my forearm with his jaw and rocking his head backwards. Again, the half-step back, and again, the grimace. Also again, the return forearm shiver.

The calculus of this exchange was a touch unusual. I couldn't hit as hard as Red, but my strikes were targeting his neck, whereas my back was getting largely left alone. We exchanged another uppercut and forearm and I felt I could only keep this going for so long. His grimace didn't fade this time, so it might be the same for him. Either way, it looked it was time to take this up a notch. The crowd was getting manic for this exchange. I let out a bit of a growl (I debated a wild yell but it was too far outside my experience. It might alert Red I had something planned with this. He probably already knew, but best not to call intention,) grabbed the back of his head and threw three forearm uppercuts (European uppercuts, as they were appropriately called in these parts) in a row, sending him staggering back a bit, visibly wincing even behind the mask and touching his neck with his hand.

He came forward and fired off his return salvo. Two forearm shots, and one that "missed" a bit, basically catching me in the chin with a right hook. He added extra fervour to that last one, and I was left fighting off dizziness and stepping backwards. Rolling with it, I backed into the ropes, then shot off of them, letting out a shout as I ran as hard into him with the forearm uppercut as I could. He covered a pained groan with a growl and likewise fell backwards, moving to bounce back off the ropes and then come back at me, swinging his forearm as hard as he could.

Only I declined to see whether I could take that shot or not, instead dropping down onto my back and letting his momentum carry him completely past me, grabbing for his legs and tripping him up before rolling backwards, standing with my right boot in between his legs, just above the knee. I took his right leg, wrapped it around mine, tucked the toe of that boot behind his left ankle, then pulled his left foot back, wrapping the toe around my right leg, locking his in place before leaning backwards, reaching for his chin and trying to hold a bridge as I did.

[RedEnforcer]

I don't often get challenged to wail on someone in a match. Definitely not on this side of the Pacific. I'm not the biggest guy around, but I've been in my share of stiff fights. And so has Calli. And I guess I got her ire up enough for her to want to really test out how tough she is.  Makes sense that someone who's a contemporary for the Death Ray would want to do some strong strikes. Fine then.
The only problem is she has done a number on my neck so far and all these blows just add to it.
Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, but it only goes so far and lasts so long.
And I got so wrapped up in the point/counterpoint of it all that I missed a big move and she made me pay.

The Muta Lock is a lovely thing. You can snap it on quickly and it relies more on your flexibility than strength.  Basically you're trapping a leg of your opponent and arching back and grasping their head or chin. It turns you into a rubber band of sorts. And when your opponent tries to stretch his leg or move his head, the tension in your body makes the hold much more painful.  And Calli is very flexible.
I was just dazed enough that I couldn't figure out what was going on before she snapped the lock on.
With the damage she did to my neck previously, this was a nasty hold. I could feel burning in my neck.
Muscles cramping.
Vertebrae feeling like they're being pulled free.
I started seeing those purplish flashes you see when pain hits you like a hammer. 
I could tap....
But no..I didn't want to lose like this. She was going to have to keep me down for three. And I was determined not to..
FUUUUCCCKKKK..
She cranked...
It made my calf spasm..
Jerked...pulled back harder on my neck...
"Red, you can't take much more. Tap"
Did..she...did she say that...or the ref? I'm...not sure...
So I did the only thing that could get me out of this..I leaned up on one elbow and reached out with the hand nearest her face.
And I returned the favor from earlier before, raking at her eyes to get her off me. 
I could hear her howl as she let go. My head dropped down and I willed myself to push forwards to the ropes because I didn't know how long that would keep her down.
My body aching, sweat pouring off my hot flesh as I strained my arms to haul myself up to my feet.
I made it and Calli was yelling at the ref who was trying to see if there was permanent damage.  I hobbled my way over to her and started laying in some boots to her back. To keep her down and add more pain to where I previously targeted. Soften her up.
I know I couldn't last long with my neck as jacked up as she made it. So once I felt like I could use my leg right I reached down and pulled her up to her feet. Slamming her head between my thighs as I leaned over, wrapping my strong arms around her waist. And lifting...getting her high up on my shoulders..  Getting ready for the spin...and my Hugo Bomb spinning powerbomb finisher...
Just as I was getting ready to drop her...

[Callista]

The Muta Lock has several important elements and a couple of weaknesses. It ties up both of your opponent's legs, and bends their whole body which diminishes the impact of one of its weaknesses: that your opponents arms are both free. Even for a bigger, stronger opponent like Red, it's hard to drag the both of us to the ropes with ones arms without getting the rest of his upper body working for him.

But the other key weakness is that it requires a solid bridge from me to be effective. Being tall and flexible, this is usually not a problem, but with all the impacts my back has taken in this match, I only feel moderately less pain giving the hold than Red is feeling taking it. I can feel it's a test of endurance between us. I grit my teeth and steel myself that I'll outlast this bast-"DAMMIT!" I shout as curled fingers rake across my face, one of them getting a poke in my right eye and forcing me to let go of his chin. I grabbed at my face and rolled to the side, freeing my leg from Red's and trying to get a quick rest of my back in.

The ref came over to check on me and I gave her an earful. Some might say I had this receipt coming for earlier but I was not inclined to take a larger view just at the moment. While this happened, a heavy boot stomped down on my back, and a bit of red mist descended. This was actually welcome, as the adrenaline dimmed the pain. If any of my wrestling skillset qualifies as a hidden talent, it's the ability to control my temper under these circumstances (never did have that when I was young. It was fighting for a living that taught me how to do so,) and after a couple more stomps, Red pulled me up into power bomb position.

There's two basic ways to counter a power bomb: Get heavy and resist the initial lift, or go with the rotation, adding to the momentum of it. At under ten stone, the former wasn't an option, so when Red lifted me upwards I threw my weight forward, putting my hands on his shoulders and vaulting over his head, clamping my legs around his head from behind and whipping myself downward, looking to pull him completely back off of his feet.

[RedEnforcer]

I had to watch back what happened next. They say you can't teach and old dog new tricks, but apparently when a person is desperate enough, they'll try anything.
I don't know if she was going tor a sunset flip or a Code Red or something.  The minute her surprisingly strong legs locked around my head I knew I was in trouble. She flipped about and I felt myself being pulled off my feet. But I didn't rotate enough to make it onto my back. Instead, intentionally or not, Callista Fucking Quinn nailed me with a Canadian Destroyer.  Something happened in my neck and the pain and impact just shut me down.
I could feel Calli making the cover, hooking my leg properly of course...
And the dull thuds into the mat of the count...
"1...."
"2...."
In the back of my brain, the wrestler in me screams to get a shoulder up. But that message never makes it past my neck.  I don't know if I even twitched.
"3!!!"
Was that a sigh of relief I heard from the ref? From Calli? I didn't know. All I knew is I had lost...and I was hurting badly...

[Callista]

I've never done a Canadian Destroyer in my life. I'd probably never do another. In my career in the squared circle I've innovated a move or two, but the large majority of them were things I'd seen others do. The point of spending all that time watching wrestling is to have all those cards in your deck when you need them. Red is down and it looks like he's staying there but there's no gain in waiting to see if that's the case. I crawl onto him, hooking his far leg, and score the pinfall.

I let out a deep breath that really rather is a sigh of relief now that you mention it. I stagger to my feet and let the ref raise one of my hands. I raise the other as well, as much falling back into the corner pad as I hear the symphonic metal piece that was the entrance theme of "Lady X" and what was certain to be her sole appearance. The ref and the trainer are both checking on Red, and I push myself to somewhat unsteadily walk up the aisle and back through the curtain.

I'm quickly beset by colleagues, younger wrestlers who were taught to stick around a show to the end, asking about the match, about the mask, about FTW. Eventually I cut the crowd size down some by going into the locker room, which still commits me to holding court with a cadre of younger women while naked, (this life tends to do quite a bit to beat the shyness out of you.) After answering every question they asked, and delaying a few others with some long stories, some of which were at least interesting, (and having to quietly admit to the cute ref that I'm in a committed relationship and flirting was a delaying tactic, not that under other circumstances it might not have been sincere!) and offers to chip in and pay for a dinner, (probably at Waffle House, though tbh a greasy fry-up didn't sound the worst thing in the world at the moment) I declined by saying I had to drive six hours back to DC tonight. They were wrestlers, so they all understood that.

It was less understandable to ME, if I'm perfectly honest. The whole point in keeping all this quiet, indeed this whole "Lady X" shtick in the first place, was to keep my name out of it. That was gone. "Callista Quinn surprise return" would be out there. Even if I COULD play it off as being an internet fiction, (and someone in the crowd would almost certainly have had a cellphone and a steady enough hand to get a decent picture,) I didn't want to be that person with her. There was no reason, even if I didn't want to eat with wrestlers tonight, I could've have checked into a Marriott in the area and gotten delivery from somewhere that has salads and grilled chicken.

I didn't NEED to live the life of an itinerant wrestler anymore. I'd spent years putting money away. Was it out of some desire for this to be a pilgrimage to my past? Why? I knew where I'd come from. It was that thought, as I was starting the rental car's engine, that brought the answer to me. I knew where I'd come from. And I needed to remind myself just where that was. I was past this. I needed to leave other parts of it in the past as well. Like the Machiavellian streak. It didn't serve my purposes anymore. Constructing an entire visit-slash-vacation under false pretenses to wrestle again? I needed to not be that person anymore. That was why I'd drive another six hours, stopping at convenience stores every hour or so to get a new frozen bag of peas or whatever to act as an ice pack to put on my aching back. To bring that lesson home.

A sense of great calm overcame me as I pulled onto the motorway. This all made sense again. And I knew why I had to confess my mistake, deal with the ramifications, and stick to my word in the future. Which settled all of that.

...

"Hope Red's okay..."

[RedEnforcer]

And that’s a wrap on this tale. I do hope you enjoyed the story Callista and I told here. It has some backstory foundation in the old FTW federation we did stories for around here a few years back.

First I’d like to thank you, the person reading this for taking your time to check out this fight. I do hope it entertained you.

Secondly, I’d like to thank Callista for approaching me with this idea and being an amazing writing partner. She’s super talented and a blast to work with.

I like playing in this crazy made up world of pro wrestling and maybe if others like it, I’ll step between the ropes again.

Have a great day out there wherever “there” is. Be Safe and Be kind to each other.

-RE

[Rowan Chance]

This was a lot of fun to read. Thank you both! <3