The pretzel hold is another difficult-to-categorize women's wrestling move. The pretzel is a submission hold and a pin in one. The victim suffers pain in her legs while she is pinned, so she's basically faced with the choice of picking her own poison: submitting or being pinned.

The attacker flips the victim onto her stomach, so she's lying face down on the mat. She then puts a double toed leglock on her, threads her leg through her opponent's legs to secure the hold (just like in the case of the Indian deathlock) then she sits back and grabs hold of her opponent's wrists. She then rolls onto her back holding on to the victim's wrists and pushes her legs forward and up. This way, the victim will find herself with her shoulders firmly planted on the mat and with her legs tied up in a painful submission hold. The attacker can then lift her legs up higher to increase the pressure on the hold if needed and to deny any possibility for escape.

Possible escape : a well locked-on Pretzel hold is pretty damn near impossible to escape. Because you only really have 3 seconds to do anything about it, your perspective is pretty bleak indeed.

Rating : The pretzel hold is a very efficient women's wrestling move. It's effective both as a pin and a submission hold. Due to its spectacular nature and to its efficiency, the pretzel can be used as a finisher anytime.