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 ...

. She started her career in 1995, working for the

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 ...

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 founding members of the

Oz Academy is a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is . In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy has also employed some of the top freel ...

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 ...

. Following the folding of Gaea Japan in 2005, Nagashima affiliated herself with Oz Academy, now a full-time promotion, where she has become a three-time Oz Academy Tag Team Champion and a one-time Oz Academy Openweight Champion, holding the record for the longest reign in the title's history. Nagashima remained with Oz Academy until August 2015, after which she became a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

Early life

Nagashima grew up a fan of

professional wrestling 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 o ...

and began practising

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

and

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, finishing third at the class of the All Japan Women's Open Championship games.

Professional wrestling career

Gaea Japan (1995–2005)

Instead of continuing her amateur wrestling career in a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, Nagashima took part in an audition held by professional wrestling promotion,

, which she passed with flying colors. Nagashima eventually made her in-ring debut at Gaea Japan's inaugural event on April 15, 1995, wrestling

Toshie Uematsu is a female Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. She was one of the members of the first class of wrestlers trained by Chigusa Nagayo when Nagayo formed the GAEA Japan promotion. Uematsu fi ...

to a twenty-one-minute draw. On April 29, 1996, Nagashima defeated

Sonoko Kato is a Japanese professional wrestler. She made her debut in April 1995, working for Gaea Japan, where she became one half of the inaugural AAAW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. After becoming a two-time winner of the High Spurt 600 Tournam ...

in the finals of a tournament contested between Gaea Japan's rookies. On July 31, Nagashima turned on the Gaea Japan Seikigun ("regular army") and joined forces with

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 ...

Carlos Amano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Amano made her debut for JWP Joshi Puroresu in December 1994 and early on began also making appearances for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she most notably became one o ...

and Sugar Sato, forming a

, which later became known as

. As a result, Nagashima began working as a villainous character for the first time in her career. Nagashima also made guest appearances for the

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 ...

promotion, where she and Sato won the

AJW Tag Team Championship The AJW Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title was introduced in 1986 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed. Title his ...

, Nagashima's first title in professional wrestling, on September 1, 1996. From 1998 to 2001, Nagashima and Sato also won Gaea Japan's tag team championship, the

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 ...

, three times. In May 2000, Nagashima and Sato ended their longtime partnership with Mayumi Ozaki by quitting her Himiko stable, the most recent incarnation of Oz Academy, and returning to Gaea Japan Seikigun. On June 2, 2002, Nagashima first won a tournament during an afternoon show to become the number one contender to Gaea Japan's top title, the

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 ...

, and later that same day, during an evening show, defeated

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 ...

to become the new champion, while also becoming the lightest champion in the title's history. She lost the title to

Manami Toyota is a retired professional wrestler, best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion. She is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Following AJW's closure, she continued to work ...

on October 20. During the next two years, Nagashima went on to win the AAAW Tag Team Championship two more times, once with Meiko Satomura and once with old partner Sugar Sato. Nagashima's five tag team title reigns are a Gaea Japan record. On April 10, 2005, Gaea Japan held its final event before going out of business, during which Nagashima and Sato defeated

Ran Yu-Yu Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) * ...

and Toshie Uematsu, the final AAAW Tag Team Champions, in a non-title match.

Oz Academy (2005–2015)

Following the folding of Gaea Japan, Nagashima affiliated herself with Mayumi Ozaki's Oz Academy promotion, which she now had turned into a full promotion. During 2005, Nagashima also made several appearances for the Hustle promotion, working under a

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

as "Blanca X". In early 2006, Nagashima, along with several other Oz Academy workers, made her first trip to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, taking part in events held by

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

. Back in Oz Academy, as representatives of the Oz Seikigun, Nagashima and fellow Gaea Japan alum Sonoko Kato became three-time

Oz Academy Tag Team Champions The Oz Academy Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the Oz Academy professional wrestling promotion. The championship was introduced on July 13, 2008, when Carlos ...

. In early 2008, Nagashima returned to Mexico's AAA, taking part in the Reina de Reinas Universal Tournament, from which she was eliminated by

Mari Apache Mariella Balbuena Torres (born October 19, 1979) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mari Apache (sometimes written as "Mary Apache"). She is the daughter of ''Luchador'' Gran Apache and th ...

. On September 23, 2011, Nagashima turned on the Oz Seikigun (正規軍) and joined the villainous Seikigun (正危軍), another incarnation of the original Oz Academy stable, after the stable's leader Mayumi Ozaki had announced that she was only going to be defending the

Oz Academy Openweight Championship The Oz Academy Openweight Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Oz Academy promotion. The reigning champion is referred to as the " Wizard of Oz". The championship, which is situated at the top of Oz Academy's ...

against her stablemates. On February 26, 2012, Nagashima defeated Seikigun stablemates

Hiroyo Matsumoto (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other w ...

, Ran Yu-Yu and

Yumi Ohka , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Originally trained by the now defunct JDStar promotion, Ohka now works for Oz Academy and Pro Wrestling Wave. She is a former two-time Wave Single Champion, while also being ...

to become the number one contender to the Oz Academy Openweight Championship. On March 25, Nagashima defeated Ozaki in a Dress Up Wild Fight 30 minute Time of the Trial match to become the new Oz Academy Openweight Championship. Initially a reluctant member of Seikigun, Nagashima embraced her "dark side" only after cheating to successfully defend the Oz Academy Openweight Championship against Hiroyo Matsumoto on August 19. Nagashima made her second successful title defense on January 13, 2013, against Seikigun's newest member,

Mio Shirai is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current professional wrestling referee. She started her career in March 2007, working alongside her sister Io Shirai on the Japanese independent circuit for promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Jo ...

. On April 24, Nagashima lost the Oz Academy Openweight Championship to Akino in her third defense, ending her reign at 395 days, the longest in the title's history. Afterwards, Nagashima came to odds with her Seikigun stablemates, which led to 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 ...

on September 15, where Maymi Ozaki, waging both her own and the stable's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Mika Nishio's hairs, defeated Nagashima, forcing her to have her head shaved. Nagashima finally turned on Ozaki and the Seikigun on January 12, 2014. On February 9, Nagashima suffered a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...

rupture in her left knee, forcing her to undergo surgery on February 18. After a full year of being sidelined, Nagashima returned to the ring on March 1, 2015, in a match, where she was defeated by

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...

. On July 19, Nagashima announced she was leaving Oz Academy and becoming a

following August 23. In her final match under an Oz Academy contract, Nagashima defeated

Ayako Hamada is a Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Libre ...

Freelancing (2015–present)

Nagashima's first major match since becoming a freelancer took place on September 23, 2015, when she unsuccessfully challenged Ayako Hamada for

Pro Wrestling Wave , is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDStar booker Tatsu ...

's Single Championship. On September 19, 2016, Nagashima and

Megumi Yabushita is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka. She has participated in several Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions. She is a Japanese national judo champion and a form ...

, representing the Crysis stable, defeated Keiko Aono and

Kyoko Inoue is a Japanese female professional wrestler. She has held the WWWA World Single Championship three times, and is the first woman to win a men's title in Japan. Inoue performed in the World Wrestling Federation at Survivor Series 1995 in an all ...

to win World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana's

vacant Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is th ...

World Tag Team Championship.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – with Sugar Sato *

( 1 time) ** AAAW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship / AAAW Tag Team Championship ( 6 times) – with Sugar Sato (4),

(1) and

Takumi Iroha is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling. She also competes in Seadlinnng, where she is a former Beyond the Sea Champion. Iroha was trained by Fuka Kakimoto and made her debut in April 2013 fo ...

(1, current) **AAAW Single Championship Next Challenger Tournament (2002) **Rookie League (1996) **Tag Team Tournament (1996) – with Sugar Sato *

( 1 time) **

Oz Academy Tag Team Championship The Oz Academy Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Oz Academy professional wrestling promotion. The championship was introduced on July 13, 2008, when Carlos Amano and Dynamite Kansai defeated Chik ...

( 3 times) – with

**Iron Woman Tag Tournament (2004) – with

Amazing Kong Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...

**Best Bout Award (2013) vs.

on September 15 **Best Tag Team Match Award (2011) with Sonoko Kato vs.

and

Tomoka Nakagawa is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. After being trained by Taka Michinoku, she started her career in his Kaientai Dojo promotion in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underwent ...

on January 9 *

** Catch the Wave Best Performance Award (2015) As part of the Wonderful World Fairy Family *World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana **WWWD World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with

¹During Nagashima's first reign with Sugar Sato, the title's name was changed from AAAW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to AAAW Tag Team Championship.

Luchas de Apuestas record

Footnotes

References

External links

Oz Academy profile

Hustle profile

Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagashima, Chikayo 1976 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Japanese female professional wrestlers Living people People from Matsudo Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture Oz Academy Openweight Champions Oz Academy Tag Team Champions AAAW Single Champions AAAW Tag Team Champions