>>19075841Inmediately rolling off Karna as she heard her tap, Maria rolled onto her back, looking at the lights, breathing heavily as the first few tones of her music played, a smile creeping up on her face before covering them with her hands for a second, the referee quickly checking on both competitors if they were alright. Which in the case of Maria was at least a cautious 'yes' for now. Not raising to her feet she asked for a microphone as she remained kneeling for the moment, the referee laying the Intercontinental Title over her shoulder.
>"Karna."Maria breathed out, still completely gassed out after that long match.
>"You may consider this a defeat. But you shouldn't look at it that way. This was your first title challenge, Karna, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. Over 15 minutes we fought all over this ring, inside and out. In your short wrestling carreer you've already taken me to my limit. You've taken a champion and a 15 year veteran of this business to the furthest she can go. If this match would have lasted any longer, you would have had me."Maria could barely get out the words in between heavy breaths.
>"There is no shame with how you preformed today. There is no shame in loss. In this match you showed how good of a wrestler you are, and how much talent you have for this."Maria motioned to the crowd.
>"In the last 20 minutes we've had that crowd at the edge of their seat, knowing it was anyone's game up until the referee declared the match over. In the last 20 minutes we've shown everyone watching what wrestling is ABOUT. So for that Karna, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you."The intercontinental champion kneeled in front of Karna for a bow before with a groan only the two of them could hear, rose herself back up, offering a fist bump to the challenger.
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