There are many different types of armbars in women’s professional wrestling, but they’re all about putting pressure on the elbow joint, essentially causing pain by forcing the arm to bend the way it’s not supposed to.

An armbar can be applied in several different ways. As far as I’m concerned, there are two different versions: the pro wrestling one and the grappling one.

A typical example of a pro wrestling armbar is in the image below where Su Yung is trying to wring a submission out of Josie. For this armbar, the attacker uses her arms only, the legs aren’t involved (unless there’s a malevolent knee to the face to further deepen the victim’s distress). Essentially, the attacker puts her right arm around the victim’s arm, then places her hand with a 4-finger grip on her other lower arm. The then puts the palm of her left hand on the victim’s shoulder socket and the hold is on.

The grappling armbar is about isolating one of the victim’s arms. The attacker then grabs that arm with both hands and puts her legs across the victim’s chest. He can then pull back on the arm and thrust her hips upward to pour on the pressure. This type of armbar is sometimes used in women’s professional wrestling too (I once saw PGWA champ Tracy Taylor lose a match by submitting to such an armbar).

Possible escape: the grappling style armbar is quite inescapable. You should try to prevent your opponent from slipping it on, because if she does, you will submit in a matter of seconds.

Rating: Pound for pound, the armbar is one of the most efficient submission holds ever. Yes, it can be used as a finisher in women’s professional wrestling matches too, despite the fact that the above described “pro style armbars” are mostly used to soften the victim up and not to bring about a fall.