Classic Match, LWS ERA, America’s Ariel Vs Hungary’s Suzie, Championship Form

September 24, 2023,

They’ve built up incredible resumes and great reputations from two different sides of the world.

We’ve actually had the honor of meeting Ariel, who once wrestled extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area. A group of us dined together for lunch in Berkeley and one of our associates related his experience of how he enjoyed listening to her wrestling experiences.

We have also seen her extensively over the years on video, racking up one victory after another. Pound for pound, Ariel is one of the best competitive female submission wrestlers in history.

Today, she will be meeting Hungary’s legend in Suzie.

Suzie has a long and respected resume wrestling in Europe and has often faced many of the Hungarian girls like Jenna, Antscha, Tia and Kyra. She has also competed at the great Femwrestle Events in Germany.

This affair takes place in London, years ago, during the London Wrestling Studio era. Given both of their styles and intestinal fortitude, we expect this to be a good match.

Given her stellar techniques, we give the nod to Ariel to win this one.

ARIEL VS SUZIE

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetititor.com grapplingstars.com, Female Wrestling Zone screen shot, photo credit, Editorial use

There is great anticipation in the air and a London audience sitting there, excited to take it all in.

After the two female warriors are introduced, it is time for battle.

They begin with a mild upper torso struggle that doesn’t last long as Ariel clasps Suzie in a headlock and takes her down to the mats with a hip toss. As Suzie lies on her back, Ariel mounts her and sits, bent over, on top of Suzie’s chest. She then ties to roll the Hungarian star into a floor to sitting body scissor but Suzie is way too experienced and athletic to be submitted by that.

Ariel now rolls on top of the dark haired brunette but this time Suzie scissors the American’s right leg to prevent a full mount. It is Suzie who now becomes more aggressive as she applies a floor to sitting body scissor on Ariel. She then tries to morph that into a leg Triangle Choke, but the champion Ariel easily breaks out of that. Suzie is trying hard but is making the mistake of fighting on her back.

She needs to fight from the top.

Ariel soon seizes control.

From the top, Ariel begins to apply a powerful choke of her own. It is always better to be on top. Suzie can’t break the choke and taps out.

1-0 for Ariel (2:00).

They begin the next round standing and fighting from the upper torso.

This time Suzie secures a headlock, takes Ariel down but she is fighting more from the side than the top. Allowing Ariel a better chance to escape. But she doesn’t.

Yet.

They are starting to tumble around and Suzie is doing everything she can to hold on to that headlock.

Ariel breaks open the headlock.

More important, Suzie has given up her back and with a titan like Ariel; that is a submission death sentence. Ariel wastes no time in rolling Suzie into a side body scissor, squeezes hard while she clasps Suzie’s head and neck area, and the power of the combination hold forces Suzie to tap out.

2-0 for Ariel (3:00).

They begin circling one another. Ariel is the aggressor and pulls Suzie’s head and neck downward. She then smoothly transfers it into a headlock and takes Suzie down. For Suzie?

It’s all downhill from here. Ariel submits her with ease.

3-0 for Ariel (3:53).

Okay, time to take a pause.

We felt Ariel would win but we didn’t expect a landside and that is exactly where this joust appears to be heading.

When FCI did a summary review of Suzie’s match history, we felt it was a cautionary tale. That she could have been better, given her strong MMA skills and yet her resume was very inconsistent. She had some standout matches.

She really battled ferociously at the great Femwrestle Events and completely dominated a solid wrestler in the beautiful Jenna, winning easily, 5-0. Having said that, stars like Tia and the elite appeared to have her number.

So, here, this could get brutal but we are going to stay the course and review all of it anyway.

It is a part of our industry’s history.

As they fight, this time? Suzie gets the headlock first. Ariel is now beginning to let her hair down.

Literally.

It was tied up, but not anymore. Our point? We’re getting a little Freudian here but she is so confident that she’s going to win, little details like her hair getting in her face, is no longer an issue.

Maybe.

They struggle around and though it is tenuous, Suzie is fighting to hold on to that headlock.

More struggling.

There is good news and bad news for Suzie.

Which one do you want to hear first?

Let’s start with the good news.

Suzie still has the headlock.

The bad news?

She fighting from the bottom position.

Ariel is relentless in trying to break open that headlock.

Give the Hungarian star credit. At ground level, they are struggling and circling around and Suzie is still trying to hold on to that headlock. The problem is, from the bottom position, she’s hanging on for dear life. Her arm is “over and around” Ariel’s neck, which makes it tentative. Now, had Ariel given up her back and Suzie is going to apply that choke from behind the neck, it could be curtains. Having said all of that?

Ariel virtually never gives up her back.

She continues to struggle from the top and then Suzie makes a big mistake. As Ariel is mounting her, she doesn’t scissor one of her legs. That was crucial. Now, Ariel can open up the playbook, sitting atop Suzie.

Ariel breaks open the headlock.

Okay, time to get after it.

From the top, Ariel slides Suzie into a brutal arm bar. Suzie taps out.

4-0 for Ariel (6:11).

The bell sounds, so we interpret that signals the end of round one.

Time to begin again.

Ariel clasps Suzie from behind the neck and takes her down. This time, as Ariel fights from the top, again, she is in complete control. She is working Suzie’s head and neck area as they twirl around and, once again, Suzie submits.

5-0 for Ariel (7:16).

They begin again and struggle around. Even when Suzie is temporarily on top, Ariel does not appear to be threatened. The San Francisco Bay Area star now takes the approach to react to what Suzie is attempting to do. She finally gets her opening, mounts Suzie from the top, has Suzie’s arm in an awkward position and the European star taps out.

Ariel leads 6-0 (8:38).

They stand to engage and circle one another. Though Suzie is noticeably taller, Ariel controls the head and neck area again. She takes the statuesque athletic woman down to the mats and is right on top of her. Suzie is trying to mount a defense but Ariel focuses vehemently on the head and neck area and Suzie taps out.

Ariel leads 7-0 (9:28).

Time to begin, again.

Give Suzie credit that she still has some fight in her. We respect that she is not starting to talk and distract. Many do.

Her hard work might pay off.

This time as she and Ariel struggle for upper dominance, Suzie is controlling the headlock from the standing position.

Finally.

She takes Ariel down, but Ariel is so strong, she lands on top. Suzie begins to struggle underneath. Again. In her desperation, Suzie makes another big mistake. She does not scissor either of Ariel’s legs so the super star climbs through the open window and performs a full mount on Suzie’s upper area.

Now, they begin to fight over wrist control.

With many weapons in her arsenal, Ariel surprises Suzie and rolls her into a side body scissor, squeezes mightily and that’s all she wrote. Suzie taps out.

8-0 for Ariel (10:54).

They circle one another standing, vying for the top position. Suzie somewhat achieves it and takes Ariel down. As the Hungarian star is bent over a well-defended Ariel, she uses her legs to keep Suzie at bay, the bell sounds ending round two.

Time to begin.

They ignite in the standing position and something that is becoming clear is that Ariel, though smaller in size, is stronger than Suzie. She takes Suzie down and once again the tall brunette is fending off and fighting from the bottom. Circling around in desperation.

Ariel seizes the head and neck area, lies on top of her prey and soon slides Suzie into a brutal head scissor. The Hungarian warrior immediately taps out.

Ariel leads 9-0 (13:03).

Apparently it is a warm day in London as both beautiful women are glistening with sweat. The fight takes them down to their knees. Suzie tries to apply a floor to sitting body scissor as she grasps Ariel’s right arm. The American star doesn’t give an inch. She breaks Suzie’s hold and does her one batter. In the position of strength, she cradles Suzie against her body and grabs Suzie’s right leg, hoists it up in the air and pulls backwards on it. Ariel tightens the grip on Suzie’s head and wrists, pulls the gorgeous woman back into a painful one leg folding pin and Suzie immediately taps out.

Ariel is ahead 10-0 (13:56).

The fight begins again.

As they fall down to the mats, Suzie captures Ariel in a Guillotine Choke, pulls her forward. That alone is not going to do it. Suzie needs to supplement it with a scissor.

She does.

For a moment, the audience comes alive. This is the best submitting opportunity we have seen Suzie have all match. The audience knows it. We know it and Suzie seems to know it. She is desperately trying to keep Ariel locked up.

But can’t.

Ariel is too strong and removes herself from the upper choke. Suzie still has the scissor but Ariel is positioning herself from the top again. Suzie forgets the basics of the bottom position. She must scissor one of Ariel’s legs to prevent a full mount. She doesn’t.

Ariel is in complete control once again. From the top position. They struggle. Suzie manages to break Ariel’s control but from the bottom, the only thing she can do is lie flattened out, in the turtle position, while Ariel mounts her from behind, up top.

They struggle more with Ariel in the superior position. Finally Ariel captures Suzie’s right arm in an arm bar and Suzie submits.

11-0 for the American champion (16:34).

Time to start.

As they tumble down to the mats, Ariel secures a front one arm Guillotine Choke and supplements it with a floor to sitting body scissor. Suzie refuses to tap and eventually breaks the choked but is still locked in a scissor. They continue to grapple as Ariel slides Suzie into a Triangle Choke. Will she get one more submission?

The bell sounds.

Ariel wins 11-0.

A very impressive victory by Ariel. One of the lessons here is to not trust your memory. When we pulled this video off the shelf, a match closer to the days of the London Wrestling studio era and the beginning of the Femwrestle Event era, given how Suzie wrestled very good wrestlers so competitively, we thought this match would be much closer.

With the passing of time, we have forgotten why Ariel, was and is, one of the greatest champions in our industry’s history and just how dominant she can be, in such a quiet way.

Beside our San Francisco Bay Area experience with her, we’ve also seen her wrestle “live” at a small event in the Southern California region. She’s a real classy person. Another of the many aspects to her wrestling that we respected is that she could thoroughly dominate female wrestlers without hurting them.

This is one of the reasons why we continue to research and unearth the past, similar to Video Archeologists.

Like Europe and her architecture, walk with the past.

Not on it.

We commend Suzie for fighting hard, right up until the end.