Still bloody impressive - a solitary animal, the size of a small dog, can kill a moose. Wolves tend to go for prey in a poor physical condition, and it normally takes a few of them to do the same job.
Regarding it being hunted by cougars, I’d still say it boils down to which animal has the element of suprise. I just can’t imagine a cougar (or any other animal) risking going against one without using an ambush.
Wolverines are not quite as psychotic as is often portrayed, but are bloody strong. It’s regarded as the strongest mammal in relation to it’s size - A quick Google for “stongest mammal wolverine” will give some good cites for that.
“A [(huge)pack of(gentically enhanced)] wolverine[s] (with guns) has been known to kill (or irritate) a [newborn sickly (legless)] moose [that was sleeping (and in a coma).]”
I still stand by my boys Wolverine, girls Hyena theory. The Wolverine has specifically evolved to attack/fend off larger animals solo , I think that will be the difference in the closer sized males. For the females, the Hyena will be so much bigger that it would just crush the little girl Wolverine.
Just remembered and thought I’d mention it because they’re related to wolverines: Couple of weeks ago, I saw a documentary about honey badgers in Africa. A big cat (I think it was a leopard) attacked an elderly female badger. Took the cat an hour to kill it - that old thing put up one hell of a fight.