Chigusa Nagayo

Chigusa Nagayo
Ring name(s)	Chigusa Nagayo ZERO
Billed height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Billed weight	87 kg (190 lb)
Born	December 8, 1964 (1964-12-08) (age 46) Omura, Nagasaki
Trained by	All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW)
Debut	August 8, 1980
Retired	April 10, 2005

Chigusa Nagayo (長与千種, Nagayo Chigusa^?) is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team The Crush Gals with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organization (known simply as GAEA). She briefly competed as alter-ego Lady Zero in GAEA. Nagayo appears in the 2000 documentary Gaea Girls made for the BBC by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams.

Career

AJW (1980-1989)

Formed in the early 1980s, the Crush Gals were possibly the most famous and beloved women's tag team of all time. During the mid-'80s they had four runs as WWWA World Tag Team Champions at All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), and were pop culture sensations. They had several top 10 pop singles, and their main event feud against Dump Matsumoto's heel stable, the Atrocious Alliance, drew consistent ratings over 12.0 for AJW's weekly television program on Fuji TV. The feud was highlighted by events such as the first women's hair vs. hair match in Japan between Nagayo and Matsumoto on August 28, 1985, and a vicious run-in on September 10, 1986, when Matsumoto and her gang interrupted as the Crush Gals performed a concert in the ring, and proceeded to cut up Nagayo's clothes, leading to a second hair vs. hair match. The success and popularity of the Crush Gals inspired many young Japanese women to enter professional wrestling. Later in the decade, Nagayo achieved the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship, finishing Yukari Omori with a moonsault, on August 22, 1988. Nagayo lost the belt to her best friend and Crush Gals partner, Lioness Asuka, on January 22, 1989, after a historic and emotional feud.

In 1989, Nagayo reached age 26, the mandatory retirement age for female wrestlers in Japan at the time; however, she came out of retirement in 1995 to form GAEA Japan.

GAEA (1995-2005)

She wrestled as one of GAEA's main eventers and top faces. 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, the Crush Gals were 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 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, Meiko Satomura in the main event of GAEA's Eternal Last Gong Show, the promotion's farewell card.

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

• AJW Junior Championship (2 times)
• All Pacific Championship (2 times)
• IWA World Women's Championship (2 times)
• WWWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• WWWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Lioness Asuka
• Japan Grand Prix (1987)
• AJW Hall of Fame (Class of 1998)^[1]

• Cauliflower Alley Club

• Other honoree (1996)

• GAEA Japan

• AAAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• AAAW Singles Championship (1 time)
• AAAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Lioness Asuka

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1997)

References

1. ^ "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/hof.html. Retrieved 2007-10-09. 

Links

Professional wrestling portal

• A Brief History of The Crush Gals

Persondata
Name	Nagayo Chigusa
Alternative names
Short description	Japanese professional wrestler
Date of birth	December 8, 1964
Place of birth	Omura, Nagasaki
Date of death
Place of death