Encounters With Kat
*** Chapter 1 ***
Our first was not a “meeting” or an “introduction” – it was an encounter. Subsequent interactions also qualify as “encounters” and you’ll understand why shortly.
The club at which I do most of my wrestling is fabulous. It is private, all the members have money and good wrestling is highly respected. It pays quite well, even the undercard matches but the Club Manager is pretty selective when it comes to talent. We get a wide range of wrestlers and sometimes do theme matches like older versus younger. But ultimately, the wrestling has to be of good quality or better. There is the occasional stinker but it’s usually the first match of the evening while people are arriving and getting settled.
Some nights there is just one match but usually there are multiple. The manager tries to arrange the card in order of quality, the evening culminating in a feature. It may or may not be a championship match. I have appeared in far more than my fair share of the features. After all, I am the club champion and have been for quite some time.
This particular Saturday night, there were five matches scheduled. I never remember that many on a given card but this night the card was full. All the wrestlers showed up – no illness, car trouble, etc. Being in the fifth and feature match, I had a lot of time before I needed to be ready. I always like to arrive early though and I was there before the first match began. I slipped into my suit, did my hair and makeup and did some stretching. I was ready to go early in the second bout. Then, more stretching, fiddling with my hair and makeup and watching the seconds tick off on the clock.
The second match ended. Somewhat of a crowd reaction but not great - must have been pretty mediocre. There is always an intermission between matches. The club members chat, head to the bar and so I am told, make their bets with each other. I heard the third match announced. The first was at 7:30, the second at 8:00 and the third commenced at 8:30, right on schedule. Several minutes passed and the biggest cheer of the night went up. That was at 8:43 – must have been a pretty good match. At the stroke of 9:00, two polite ovations as the wrestlers were announced. Shortly after that, I could hear the excitement in the crowd. This must be a very good match. I heard the boards “boom” and then a cheer. The noise level remained rather high and increased slowly. Then came a very loud knock at my dressing room door and it persisted. I opened the door and one of the girls from an earlier match grabbed me by the arm and pulled.
“Come on Gabi, come on! You have to see this! If you don’t hurry, you’re going to miss it!”
I ran down the narrow hallway and we each peaked from behind a different side of the curtain. I arrived just in time to see Suzy tossed across the ring by Irish Whip. Her opponent backed herself into the ropes and sprinted across the ring. Suzy had barely bounced when the smaller wrestler delivered a flying drop kick that absolutely leveled her. She went down hard and lay there, hardly even stirring. “I know Suzy, but who is the other girl?” I shouted to my equally dismayed fellow wrestler.
“I don’t know – she’s new. All I know is her name is Kat. She’s amazing!”
Kat then dragged Suzy closer to the nearest corner and rolled her on her back. Suzy was clearly in trouble. Kat began to mount the ropes. With great agility, she made her way to the top buckle and perched herself there. She paused a few seconds, the crowd rose to its collective feet and Kat dove, landing a huge and perfectly executed body splash. She reached back and pointlessly hooked Suzy’s left leg. The Club Manager began the count over the PA and the folks in attendance joined in. He stopped at three and rang the bell, but everyone else kept going. Five, ten, fifteen and finally the counting dropped off. Kat let go of Suzy’s leg and kneeled at her side, arms raised. A HUGE cheer went up and the Club Manager stepped into the ring. “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of our semi-feature this evening, at two minutes and fifty-five seconds, The Kat-Tastic Katastrophe!!” The crowd went nuts again and I was sure I didn’t hear the time correctly. I located the time clock and sure enough, 2:55.
Suzy is a big bewbed, bubble butted blond and weighs about 170. Kat was clearly shorter and lighter. The two times Suzy and I wrestled she was tough. One went almost seventeen minutes and the other almost twenty and both times she had me in trouble before I turned it around for the wins. I watched as Kat took her victory lap and then I went back to my dressing room. I closed the door and sat down, a little unsettled. I had to talk to Suzy to find out what happened at the beginning of the match. She has never been run over like that.
I heard the commotion down the hallway as the attendants delivered Suzy to her dressing room. It quieted down, so I exited my room and went to see her. The door was open and the doctor assured her nothing was broken but to take it easy for a few days. I nodded at the doctor as he left and I closed the door. “Suzy, are you okay? All I saw was about the last thirty seconds of your match and I am in shock! What happened??”
She looked at me with eyes half closed and unable to focus. “Gabi, I really don’t know. There is so much I don’t remember. We started out well enough with a collar and elbow. Surprisingly, we were at a stalemate, so I broke it off. We went around a couple times and I went for the lockup again, but my arms caught nothing but air. She went low and drilled her shoulder into my gut. She got me moving and my back crashed into a corner. Before I could even react, she was delivering multiple shoulder blocks. She paused but only long enough to head butt me. I couldn’t help but slump in the corner. Next thing I knew, she snap mared me over to my butt and applied a body scissor from behind. She has some fucking strong legs, pardon my French.”
“Wow! You’re no easy match. So she got a great start. She had a great night and you had one that was off. It happens. I wish you’d have an off night next time we wrestle.” We both chuckled. “But then what happened?”
That scissor was murder. I don’t know how long she had me locked up but breathing was getting harder and harder. She doesn’t have your legs but watch out if you wrestle her. I was beginning to get lightheaded. My arms were heavy. My hands pressed on her legs but simply out of reaction. Then, out of the blue, she lets me go. I start to take in some air but she is up and has my hair. She pulls me up to my feet, bounces my back off the ropes and whips me across the ring. I saw the drop kick coming but that’s all I remember.”
“Bae, that drop kick was ferocious. She hit you like a missile. I don’t think I have ever seen a drop kick with that level of impact. You flew back into the ropes and crumbled. She then dragged you near a corner and headed to the top buckle, body splashing you. She hooked your leg and pinned you. The crowd got to fifteen before they stopped and she struck her victory pose. I never mind seeing you lose but that was amazing. Two minutes and fifty-five seconds. That was it.”
“That I know. When I came around and Steve sat me up, I saw a lot of people out of their seats and at the bar. I couldn’t figure out why. I looked at the clock and saw the time. I looked again and it hadn’t changed. That’s when it occurred to me it was over. I thought the clock was wrong or broken. No – it was correct. I can’t wait for the rematch. No way she does that to me again.”
“Nope. You’ll get her next time. I have to go though. My match is in a few short minutes.” I smiled, stroked her arm and headed for my dressing room.
When I walked in the door of my room, I was taken aback. There was Kat, sitting in my guest chair, legs crossed, top bopping up and down. A huge smile appeared on her face that lit up the room. She leapt out of the chair, yelled my name and threw her arms around my waist. She lifted, taking some of the weight off my feet and then set me back down. She pulled away, looked up into my eyes and said, “I hear you’re the one to beat around here.”
“Hey Kat, nice to meet you”, I replied. “And yes, I am the club champion.” Then it hit me. She was still in her ring attire. The match ended just minutes ago, yet, she was not overly warm and there was no perspiration. Her suit was bone dry. Her makeup was fresh and her hair hardly disturbed. It was as though she had not even stepped in the ring. She did really walk over Suzy as easily as it seemed. Then she bent over and slapped both my quads. “Hey! Hey! What’s up with that??”
“Gabi, your legs are the most amazing I have ever seen. I have a great scissor hold but has anyone escaped yours? I mean, those thighs are bigger around than most of me.” She giggled and I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or a dig.
“Well, thank you. No one here has ever escaped my legs, no. But hey, I have a match. I need to go. It was great meeting you. I am sure I will see you around.” She smiled and left. I closed the door and tried to focus. Watching what she did to Suzy was the beginning of getting in my head. Her bold appearance in my dressing room was another step deeper. I did my best to shake it off when the knock at my door came.
“Gabi - two minutes champ.”
“Thanks bae – I’ll be right out.” A few quick stretches and I headed out toward the ring for the second time. My opponent was announced, then me. I greeted less people than usual. I made my way down the aisle in a rather business-like manner. I marched up the steps and took my corner. The bell sounded and around we went. That’s when I caught Kat leaning against the wall, watching us. It must have distracted me because in short order I was in a side headlock. A hip toss takedown, a reverse chin lock, a knee in my spine. Despite being on the short end and in pain, I could not get Kat out of my mind. My opponent continued to dish it out and at the five minute mark, I was hurting. I made it to the ropes for a break. “C’mon champ, you’re better than this, aren’t you?” I looked up and Kat was grinning broadly. My blood pressure skyrocketed.
I took a deep breath and spun around to face my opponent. Now it was my turn. I was mad and it showed. I caught her in three successive arm drag takedowns and she headed for the ropes. I gave her no time. I took her left arm and pulled her away from safety and whipped her across the ring. Timing it perfectly, I met her in the middle of the ring, bent toward her and sent her up and over in a big back body drop. I helped her up, whipped her again and this time met her with a drop kick of my own. She rolled to her back and I was on the move, using a huge leg drop across her chest. I rested there for several seconds, technically pinning her, but no count. So I sat her up, positioned myself behind her and wrapped my legs around her body. I did not hold back. I locked my ankles, poured it on and she tapped. Bang, bang, bang, just like that. The bell rang and I caught Kat’s eye. She smiled and nodded her approval. I let loose of my opponent, stood up and took my victory lap. I looked over for Kat again but she was gone.
Leaving the ring I was more cordial. I greeted plenty of folks, did the small talk thing and accepted a lot of congratulations. I made my way up the aisle, finally freeing myself and going to my dressing room. To my dismay, there was Kat – again! Sitting in the same chair, legs crossed. “Great match Gabi! I can see why you’re the champ. You can take a pounding and come back. That’s really an ability not every wrestler has. Suzy doesn’t have it.”
I stood there trying to process what she just said. Again, was I being complimented or was she being condescending? I think the latter this time and maybe the first time too. “So you know, Suzy is a very good wrestler. She may not quite be championship material but she puts on a great show and is always competitive. I think you got off to a fantastic start tonight and did a wonderful job of finishing. That won’t happen if you wrestle her again. The two times she and I have met have been battles and she had me in trouble in both.” Kat nodded in agreement – or so it seemed.
She continued. “I enjoyed your match though. Probably not your best effort, but that scissor hold – she gave up in like three seconds – maybe two or less! I certainly don’t want to experience those legs around me but I can’t wait until we wrestle. I already talked to Steve and he likes the idea. I hope sooner rather than later.”
“Bae, you will have to earn a match with me. No offense – you were superb tonight – but we need to see several matches. We need to be sure tonight was not a fluke. We’ll see how you do. I look forward to watching your next several matches.”
She replied, “Yeah, that’s what Steve said. I have to prove myself. But what better way than beating the champ to earn a title shot, right? Just kidding. I know I’m the new girl. I was hoping for a match again Saturday night but Steve can’t pull a card together that quickly. I have another opportunity though so maybe I’ll take that.”
Her tone had me curious, but I didn’t pursue it. I wanted a shower. I was tired and sore and wanted to get home. My body language must have been obvious. She stood, moved in and gave me a cordial hug, whispering, see you soon Gabs.” I hugged her back and then pulled away. She left and I realized she was in my head again.
*******
