They met on the mats in mid-July, 2002: Tia (5’2 “, 103 lbs), Nadege (5’2”, 109 lbs), Hurricane Havana (5’4”, 118 lbs) and Amy O. (5’3”, 120 lbs). They thought they were in L.A. for a wrestling match. They did not foresee Trial by Ordeal. Soon they were embroiled in two hours of topless pin/submission style wrestling of incredible intensity.
Round One of this four-way elimination tournament begins as “David vs Goliath”-petite novice Tia against the woman some call “pound for pound the best combatant in the world today”-Belgium’s Nadege. It should have lasted three minutes: forty minutes later we were all asking-“Who is this ‘Tia’?” The tiny New Yorker had trained a little with Helen of Virago; Nadege had spent 7 years in Beatrice Goffin’s camp. We thought they both were good, but who knew they’d be this good?
Amy takes on Hurricane Havana for a spirited fight in Round Two.
As in the tournament tradition the losers of each match meet each other in Round Three for the consolation prize, and the winners of Rounds One and Two battle it out for first place. And battle they do-for close to an hour. Here are two very skilled and incredibly stubborn combatants in a duel to remember.
An amazing two hours and ten minutes of hot wrestling action!
