User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Sorcerer Magazine, Issue 41: May 2015/@comment-1153699-20150601171105/@comment-3290324-20150601175109

-_____- Please don't be ridiculous. When I said that no one beats Erza, you know very well that I wasn't literally implying that Erza can't lose. I'm saying that she often comes out of battles that she shouldn't logically win (i.e. Kyouka) because the plot dictates, so judging someone for losing against her isn't accurate. And yes, Laxus is stronger than Erza (how much so is a debate for another time), but again, Erza's fights are never good judges for her opponents strength for reasons previously stated.

Abilities do indeed matter. Laxus is a brute force fighter, through and through. And brute force and power can defeat a variety of powerful opponents, but if an opponent is powerful, smarter than you, with abilities that counteract yours, then the chances of you coming out the victor decrease substantially.