is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

''Crush Gals'' with long-time partner

Lioness Asuka is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by her ring name . Along with long-time tag team partner Chigusa Nagayo she formed Crush Gals, known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and for being one of the most successful ...

. She was the founder of the

GAEA In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes partheno ...

Women's Professional Wrestling organization (known simply as GAEA). She briefly competed as alter-ego Lady Zero in GAEA. Nagayo appears in the 2000 documentar
Gaea Girls
made for the BBC by

Kim Longinotto Kim Longinotto ( Sally Anne Longinotto-Landseer; born 8 February 1948, London) is a British documentary film maker, well-known for making films that highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination. Longinotto has made mo ...

and Jano Williams. Nagayo has been called "the most popular woman wrestler of all-time".

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (1980-1986)

Nagayo debuted on August 8, 1980, for

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...

against Yukari Omori. She cried upon losing and was scolded by Tommy Aoyama, a member of the Queen's Angels, who was retiring that night. Through 1981, she only wrestled eight times due to the promotion having too many wrestlers. On January 4, 1983, Nagayo was matched against her future partner and one half of the future Crush Gals, Lioness Asuka. They had a standout performance and got a good reaction, which lead to them becoming partners. The Crush Gal name was created from a combination of a nickname of

Akira Maeda (born Go Il-myeong (Hangul: 고일명, Hanja: 高日明), January 24, 1959) is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter, writer and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist of Korean descent. Maeda was also known by the ring name K ...

and a Japanese magazine called, "Gals". The team gained popularity after a losing effort on August 27, 1983, in a WWWA Tag Title match against Yukari Omori and Jumbo Hori. The teams wrestled again in January 1984 to a 60-minute draw. They then wrestled to another 60 minute draw against

Jaguar Yokota (born July 25, 1961) is a Japanese professional wrestler and later wrestling trainer, who wrestled under the name . She is widely considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time, and, during her heyday in the early 1980s, was conside ...

and

Devil Masami Masami Yoshida (吉田雅美，born January 7, 1962) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her appearances in All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, GAEA Japan and JWP Joshi Puroresu under the name Devil Masami. She is a member of the All ...

in June 1984 to a crowd of 5,000 fans. The team released their first music single on August 21, 1984, called "Bible of Fire", eventually selling over 100,000 copies. Nagayo claimed to have never sang in public prior to this single. On August 25, 1984, Crush Gals finally defeated their rivals Omori and Hori, capturing the

WWWA World Tag Team Championship The World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA) World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. During those years the title was held by many of the most famo ...

. In 1985, Crush Gals began their rivalry with

Dump Matsumoto , better known by her ring name , is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler. She came to prominence as one of the leading female wrestlers in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei ...

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, Gokuaku Domei ("Atrocious Alliance"). The feud drew consistent ratings over 12.0 for AJW's weekly television program on Fuji TV. Nagayo claimed she had to move frequently during this time due to large amounts of fans waiting outside her home. On February 25, 1985, Matsumoto and Crane Yu defeated Crush Gals for the WWWA tag titles. In June 1985, Nagayo competed in the 1985 Japan Grand Prix, losing in the semi-finals to Matsumoto. On August 28, 1985, Nagayo and Matsumoto met in a

hair vs. hair match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. Nagayo lost the highly acclaimed match, having her head shaved which shocked the crowd. Soon after, Nagayo was able to get some revenge when The Crush Girls defeated The Atrocious Alliance to win the 1985

Tag League the Best __NOTOC__ The was an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament, founded by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), which held it from 1985 to 2004 (with no tournament taking place in 1990). After the folding of AJW in 2005, the tournament wa ...

. However, Nagayo suffered a knee injury in December 1985, which caused Crush Gals to vacate the WWWA tag titles and for Nagayo to miss some of early 1986. On March 20, 1986, Crush Gals re-captured the WWWA tag titles from

The Jumping Bomb Angels The Jumping Bomb Angels were a female Japanese professional wrestling tag team. The members were Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki. History Japan Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki formed one of the most well-known teams on the Japanese Woman' ...

, who had won the vacated belts. Nagayo and Matsumoto continued April 5, 1986 match against Matsumoto at

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...

where Nagayo won.

End of Crush Gals (1986-1989)

In May 1986, Crush Gals suspended all non-wrestling activities and soon after broke up. Nagayo competed in the 1986 Japan Grand Prix, losing in the finals to rival Yukari Omori. The feud between Nagayo and Matsumoto still continued on though and the two met in a second hair vs hair match after an incident where the Atrocious Alliance cut up Nagayo's clothes after a performance. The rematch was held on November 7, 1986, with Nagayo gaining revenge and cutting Matsumoto's hair. On February 26, 1987, Nagayo and Asuka clashed in a #1 Contender's Match for the

WWWA World Single Championship The was the top singles women's professional wrestling championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. It was also known in ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' and other London Publishing wrestling magazines as ...

. The match went to a 30-minute draw. They were given an additional five minutes but when no winner was decided, the match went to a referee's decision where Asuka was awarded the victory. Nagayo won the 1987 Japan Grand Prix.The tournament was marred by multiple wrestlers leaving the tournament prematurely but it featured another Nagayo vs Asuka match before Nagayo defeated Matsumoto in the finals. On October 20, 1987, Nagayo met rival Yukari Omori in title vs title match, with Nagayo putting up her

All Pacific Championship The All Pacific Championship was the secondary singles women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977 and was renamed the All Pacific Championship ...

against Omori's

with Nagayo winning. After winning both the 1987 Japan Grand Prix and the WWWA title, Nagayo was awarded the 1987 All Japan Women's MVP award. Nagayo finished off the year on December 26, 1987, by competing against Devil Masami in Devil's retirement match. On January 5, 1988, Nagayo and Omori had their last singles match against each other for the WWWA title with Nagayo winning. On February 25, 1988, two of Nagayo's main rivals, Matsumoto and Omori retired. To mark this occasion, Nagayo and Asuka teamed up to take on the oddball pairing of Dump Matsumoto and Yukari Omori. Later that night, Nagayo pleaded with Matsumoto to team together one time before they retired. They wrestled a five-minute exhibition against Asuka and Yukari Omori. The show drew a 13.3 rating, making it the most watched wrestling event in Japan in 1988. Nagayo held the WWWA title throughout August 25, 1988, when she lost the title to Lioness Asuka, who vacated it upon winning it due to Nagayo's arm injury. Nagayo toured North America in October 1988, wrestling for World Class Championship Wrestling's 5th Annual Cotton Bowl Extravaganza, Stampede Wrestling and for

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

. Nagayo and Asuka met in a WWWA title rematch on January 22, 1989, with Asuka winning. On March 4, 1989, Crush Gals won the WWWA Tag Titles for the last time from The Calgary Typhoons of Yumi Ogura and Mika Komatsu. They vacated the titles in May. In 1989, Nagayo reached age 26, the mandatory retirement age for female wrestlers in AJW at the time. Nagayo claimed to be getting married, however later admitted that it was a lie. Nagayo retired at WrestleMarine Piad '89 on May 6, 1989. In Nagayo's retirement match, she teamed with Lioness Asuka against Mitsuko Nishiwaki and

Akira Hokuto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known as . Career Born Hisako Uno, Hokuto became a professional wrestler in the wake of the enormous popularity of tag team the Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka), and was responsib ...

. However, four impromptu exhibition matches followed including the final Crush Girls vs Jumping Bomb Angels match and one final match between Nagayo and Asuka.

First Retirement

Nagayo did work in theatre and in 1991 performed in a play called, "Ring! Ring! Ring!", which was about women's wrestling. She also appeared on a television show as a physical education teacher. She said was encouraged by

Kōhei Tsuka was a Korean-Japanese playwright, theater director, and screenwriter. He was one of Japan's most influential theater figures, to the extent that recent Japanese theatrical history has been divided into pre-Tsuka and post-Tsuka periods. He died o ...

to return to wrestling.

Return to Wrestling

Nagayo returned from retirement at

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that y ...

Dream Slam 1 on April 2, 1993, losing to

. She also wrestled at All Japan Women's

Big Egg Wrestling Universe The Big Egg Wrestling Universe was a professional wrestling event held by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) inside the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 1994 and was attended by 32,500 fans. However, some sources claim the event was at ...

on November 20, 1994, defeating

Reggie Bennett Reggie Bennett (born January 24, 1961) is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known for her work in ''joshi puroresu'' organizations such as All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Bennett began wrestli ...

Gaea Japan (1995-2005)

Nagayo made her full-time return at Gaea Japan's first show on April 15, 1995. She wrestled as one of GAEA's main eventers and top

faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

. Nagayo appeared for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

in 1996, competing in the tournament for the

WCW Women's Championship The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Women's Heavyweight Championship (referred to mostly as the WCW Women’s Championship) was a title for the women's professional wrestling division in World Championship Wrestling. It lasted from 1996 until ...

as she would be defeated by Madusa on the December 14 edition of ''Nitro''. After the departure of then champion

, she would appear on the September 20, 1997 edition of WCW Japan competing for the vacant title though would be defeated by

. In December 1998, Asuka debuted in GAEA and played a heel, allying with Nagayo's rivals and winning the presidency of GAEA from Nagayo in their first match together in ten years, on April 4, 1999. Eventually, however, on December 27, 1999, Crush Gals re-united, and went on to win their fourth tag team championship together in spring 2004. On April 3, 2005, Nagayo and Asuka teamed up for the last time, defeating

Chikayo Nagashima is a Japanese professional wrestler. She started her career in 1995, working for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she became a one-time AAAW Single Champion and a record five-time AAAW Tag Team Champion. She was also notably one of the four fou ...

and Sugar Sato on GAEA's 10th Anniversary Show; Asuka retired afterwards because of neck injuries. Nagayo retired a week later after losing to her

protégée Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Meiko Satomura Meiko Satomura (里村明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...

in the main event of GAEA's ''Eternal Last Gong Show'', the promotion's farewell card.

Post-retirement

Following her retirement, Nagayo began producing her own independent events. She wrestled her return match at the second event on April 15, 2005, where she,

Ryuji Ito (born April 8, 1976) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently competing in Big Japan Pro Wrestling in the Deathmatch division. He is well known for his death match style of wrestling. Career Big Japan Pro Wrestling (1999–present) It ...

and

Sanshiro Takagi , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Takagi's gimmick is that he is Stone Cold Steve Austin. He is known in Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and around the micro-indy scene for his hilarious promos and natural charism ...

defeated

Mayumi Ozaki (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently working for Oz Academy. Career Ozaki debuted in a tag team match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 19 ...

Abdullah Kobayashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his ring name after Abdullah the Butcher, who was one of his trainers. Professional wrestling career He began his career in 1995 as one of the main wrestlers in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in ...

and

Shadow WX is a professional wrestler best known for his time in Big Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name Shadow WX. He debuted in 1995 in IWA Japan and moved to Big Japan in 1996, where he became a protege of Mr. Pogo and won the BJW Deathmatch Heavy ...

in a Fluorescent Lighttubes & Barbed Wire Alpha Death match. She also produced and wrestled at Devil Masami's retirement event in December 2008. For the next five years, Nagayo did not produce another event and remained outside of professional wrestling circles, before returning in late 2013 to take part in a storyline at

Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling , often called , is a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. It is based in the city of Sendai, Miyagi in the Tohoku region. History Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling was founded in 2005 by Meiko Satomura, a female professional wrestler ...

, where she took Meiko Satomura trainee Kagetsu under her wing. On December 11, 2013, Nagayo announced that she would return to the ring at her self-produced event on March 22, 2014, when she would face Dump Matsumoto in a six-woman tag team match. In the match, Nagayo, Kagetsu and Takumi Iroha defeated Matsumoto, Kaoru and Yoshiko with Nagayo pinning Matsumoto for the win. At the end of the event, Nagayo announced she was planning on starting her own promotion named Marvelous. Nagayo began signing wrestlers for Marvelous in early 2015. In May 2015, Nagayo revealed that Marvelous was also scheduled to feature male wrestlers, while also announcing that she was returning to the United States to hold tryouts for the promotion, which was scheduled to launch in the spring of 2016. On September 12, Nagayo and

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

defeated

and Taru to become the inaugural Bakuha-ō ("Blast King") Tag Team Champions. The title was promoted by Onita as part of his Chō Hanabi Puroresu shows. Marvelous held its first event on May 3, 2016.

Championships and accomplishments

AJW Junior Championship The AJW Junior Championship was a tertiary singles title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title started in 1980 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed. The prize was contested among wrestlers with less than two years of e ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) **

(

) **

IWA World Women's Championship The IWA World Women's Championship was a major women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. It had its origins with Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta in 1987. Title history See also * List of professional wr ...

(

) **

( 1 time) **

( 4 times) – with

Japan Grand Prix The Japan Grand Prix was an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) to determine the number one contender for the promotion's highest achievement, the WWWA World Single Championship. ...

(

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) **

(

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

) – with

Yumiko Hotta is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Hotta was trained by and started her career in the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion in June 1985. She worked for the promotion until 2003, becoming a three-time WWWA W ...

(

) – with Lioness Asuka **AJW Hall of Fame (Class of 1998) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Other honoree (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

) *Chō Hanabi Puroresu **Bakuha-ō Championship (1 time) **Bakuha-ō Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

**Bakujoō Championship (1 time, current) *

GAEA Japan Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. GAEA's name comes from the Greek mythological goddess of the Earth, Gaea or Gaia. History GAEA was founded in 1995 by Chigusa Nagayo, a professional wr ...

**AAAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **

AAAW Single Championship The AAAW (All Asia Athlete Women's) Single Championship or AAAW Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion Gaea Japan until 2005 after the promotion w ...

( 1 time) **

AAAW Tag Team Championship The AAAW Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion Gaea Japan Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wr ...

( 1 time) – with Lioness Asuka *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...

'' ** Best Tag Team Award (2015) with Atsushi Onita *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...

( Class of 1997)

References

External links

A Brief History of The Crush Gals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagayo, Chigusa 1964 births Japanese female professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestling executives Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers AAAW Single Champions AAAW Tag Team Champions