Still more magic from the Walkin' Dude...
Scene from a submission wrestling match: Daisy Ridley vs. Danielle Panabaker.Identical old school pro-style one pieces for both ladies, cut high on the hips and scooped low across the back. Gleaming ‘Rebellion’ white and matching pads / boots for Ridley, ‘Flash’ Red and heroic yellow pads / boots for Panabaker.
******
Stretched out almost full length on her opponent’s back, Danielle Panabaker squeezed her laced fists even tighter and pulled back on the Chinlock to bend the other brunette’s neck at a vile angle. “Give up, Daisy.” she panted. “I’ve got you.”
Daisy Ridley waggled a finger ‘no’, slapped her splayed palms against the mat and draaaaaaaaaaaagged herself perhaps three inches closer to the ropes. It’d been easier if she had both legs at her disposal, but Danielle had her left leg folded up and pinned between their bodies in a perfect STF. Even so, the limber Briton bore the pain without complaint even as the small crowd groaned at curve in her neck and spine.
Weary yet determined in her snug perch, Danielle noted the other brunette’s stubbornness and made an abrupt decision. Unhooking her legs from Ridley’s trapped stem, Panabaker slid around in a quarter circle so that she was stretched perpendicular to her foe’s left shoulder. In the next instant she scissored her thighs around Daisy’s left arm and wrenched it backward while simultaneously transforming her Chinlock into an S-grip Crossface.
“NNNNNGGGHHHHHHH!” Daisy groaned through clenched teeth, planted her remaining right hand and pushed up as far as she could to better alleviate the wicked pressure.
“Told you, girl.” Danielle huffed, her tone almost as strained as Ridley’s. “I don’t wanna hurt you, I just need to hear it!”
Ridley shook her head’ no’ as best she could. “Yuuuuuhhhhh….. you’re not gonna get it.” Daisy rasped. “Not tonight. Not ever!”
She jammed her right elbow into the canvas, forced herself up that much higher and slid a full foot closer to the bottom rope. Her fingers were less than four inches from sanctuary when Panabaker halved the Crossface and reached over with her left hand. Snatching control of Ridley’s right elbow, she pulled that arm back as sharply as she could and trapped it under her left armpit. In the same breath she threaded her left leg over Ridley’s head and drew it toward her, thus resuming the agonizing torque on her adversary’s neck.
“AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!” Daisy wailed in frustration as much as pain, though make no mistake, the pain was exquisite. Denied her arms and head, she wriggled her knees in a final attempt to reach the ropes and--
“GIVE. UP!” Danielle poured it on with everything she had left, lifting the Englishwoman’s upper body off the mat by a good six inches.
Ridley still managed to hold on for another fifteen seconds before she smacked her left foot against the mat three times. “Yield.” she moaned. “I yield.”
The applause was polite albeit shocked, not a one of them had expected a small screen starlet, let alone a second banana genre girl like Danielle Panabaker to hang a loss on the new face of the biggest franchise on the planet. And yet, after forty-five minutes of what was unquestionably the most flawless display of mat wrestling in her burgeoning career, that’s what she’d done.
Still oblivious to how her own fortunes might change in the wake of such a victory, Danielle released her hooks and sat up, allowing the other brunette to curl up on one side. Silent for a nearly half a minute, Panabaker laid a gentle hand on Ridley’s shoulder and asked, “Gonna be ok?”
Daisy sat up, pulled that aching left arm to her chest and nodded. She looked disappointed and angry, though none of it was directed at her opponent. It was the look of a proud, honest young woman forced to admit that she’d been bested by a superior foe. Hurt though she was, Daisy didn’t hesitate to meet the American’s gaze when she replied. “Yes, thank you for asking.” A pause. “The executives will scream at you for a rematch, in fact I’d wager they’re dialing your management even now. I wouldn’t blame you if you made them jump through hoops, but I’m asking you as a personal favor not to refuse them. I would very much like the chance to avenge this loss.”
Danielle mopped some sweat from her brow, tucked some damp hair behind her ears. “Screw the suits. Call me whenever you’re ready and we’ll set it up ourselves. They’re probably already calling this a fluke. I want to prove it wasn’t.”
“I wouldn’t dare call it that. But I won’t let it stand. Believe me when I tell you that.”
Panabaker gave her a competitive smile. “Who says you’ll have a choice?”
Daisy matched the American with a grin of her own. “I say.” She extended a hand. “See you on the mats, Danielle.”
Danielle returned the gesture, gave her new rival’s hand a sturdy squeeze. “See you on the mats, Daisy.”
Finishing sequence: Rings of Saturn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh4lvlDMhigNote: For those that wondered, the preceding shouldn’t be taken as a lack of faith in Daisy Ridley’s potential as a femfight image. Indeed, I’m of the mind that she’s got an impressive career ahead of her and would look great in the ring against the likes of Melissa Benoist and Troian Bellisario, the latter of whom I consider to be the benchmark for the current crop of bendy-backed fighters.
That said, if the scope / media presence of a franchise is tied to the combat schedule of its leading lady, that would make Ridley the busiest young fighter on the planet right about now. Amidst all of the box office record smashing, the whirlwind appearances and a growing string of victories, it’s not hard to imagine she might stub her toe against an opponent neither she or her handlers had ever anticipated.
Enter Danielle Panabaker. I’m guessing that anyone judging her based solely on picture reference would be quick to apply the ‘jobber’ tag (a label I find obnoxiously limiting, but that’s beside the point) but regular viewers of The Flash and anyone who’s seen her turns on Grimm or the Piranha sequel will note she’s possessed of a fightin’ frame that’s rather at odds with her geekish, perennial second banana status.
Of course, her winning this first encounter is no guarantee of future victories against Daisy, but I don’t see her quitting after a loss either, which could lead to an increasingly spirited ‘Best of (insert number of your choosing)’ between the pair of lissome brunettes.
As for the sportsmanship demonstrated post-bell, your mileage may very, but it felt more appropriate then cattiness considering the rest of the piece. Yet I certainly wouldn’t argue (or indeed complain) if they got meaner with one another as the series rolled on, especially if one young lady started running up the score on her rival.
