WWC WVR AJPW DEVIL MASAMI VS CHIGUSA NAGAYA AUGUST 22 1985 JAPAN REMASTERED SD 4K 60FPS

Chigusa Nagayo (長与千種, Nagayo Chigusa; born December 8, 1964) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the Crush Gals with long-time tag team partner Lioness Asuka. In 1995 she founded GAEA Japan and in 2014 created its successor Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling. Nagayo is often regarded as the most popular and one of the greatest and most influential female wrestlers of all time.[1][2][3] Wrestling Journalist and historian Dave Meltzer has stated that in the 1980s, the Crush Gals reached a level of popularity in Japan equatable to Hulk Hogan in the United States in the same period,[3] and thereafter Chigusa Nagayo was the most popular woman in wrestling for an extended period until her first retirement in 1989.[3] Chigusa Nagayo Nagayo in December 2022 Born December 8, 1964 (age 60) Omura, Nagasaki, Japan Professional wrestling career Ring names Chigusa Nagayo Zero Lady Zero Billed height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) Billed weight 87 kg (192 lb) Trained by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Debut August 8, 1980[1] Professional wrestling career edit All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (1980–1989) edit Early career (1980–1983) edit Nagayo debuted on August 8, 1980, for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) against Yukari Omori.[1] She cried upon losing and was scolded by Tomi Aoyama, a member of the Queen Angels, who was retiring that night.[4] Through 1981, she only wrestled eight times due to the promotion having too many wrestlers.[4] On May 15, 1982, Nagayo won the vacant AJW Junior Championship by defeating Itsuki Yamazaki.[1][5] Crush Gals (1983–1986) edit On January 4, 1983, Nagayo was matched against her future partner and one-half of the future Crush Gals, Lioness Asuka.[4] They had a standout performance and got a good reaction, which led to them becoming partners.[4] The Crush Gals name was created from a combination of a nickname of Akira Maeda and a Japanese magazine called Gals.[4] The team gained popularity after a losing effort on August 27, in a title match for the WWWA World Tag Team Championship against the Dynamite Girls.[citation needed] The two teams wrestled again in January 1984 to a 60-minute draw.[citation needed] The Crush Gals then wrestled to another 60-minute draw against Jaguar Yokota and Devil Masami in June to a crowd of 5,000 fans.[4] The Crush Gals released their first music single on August 21, called Bible of Fire, eventually selling over 100,000 copies.[4] Nagayo claimed to have never sang in public prior to this single.[4] On August 25, the Crush Gals finally defeated their rivals, the Dynamite Girls, to capture the WWWA World Tag Team Championship.[1][6] In 1985, the Crush Gals began a rivalry with Dump Matsumoto's heel stable, the Atrocious Alliance.[1] The feud drew consistent ratings over 12.0 for AJW's weekly television program on Fuji TV.[1] Nagayo claimed she had to move frequently during this time due to large amounts of fans waiting outside her home.[citation needed] On February 25, 1985, Matsumoto and Crane Yu defeated the Crush Gals for the WWWA World Tag Team Championship.[1][6] In June, Nagayo competed in the 1985 Japan Grand Prix, losing in the semi-finals to Matsumoto.[citation needed] On August 28, Nagayo and Matsumoto met in a hair vs. hair match. Nagayo lost the match, having her head shaved which shocked the crowd.[1] Soon after, Nagayo was able to get some revenge when the Crush Gals defeated the Atrocious Alliance to win the 1985 Tag League the Best.[citation needed] However, Nagayo suffered a knee injury in December, which caused the Crush Gals to vacate the WWWA World Tag Team Championship and for Nagayo to miss some of early 1986.[citation needed] On March 20, 1986, the Crush Gals re-captured the WWWA World Tag Team Championship from The Jumping Bomb Angels, who had won the vacated belts.[citation needed] The Nagayo and Matsumoto feud continued in a match at Ryōgoku Kokugikan on April 5, where Nagayo won.[citation needed] Post-Crush Gals (1986–1989) edit In May 1986, the Crush Gals suspended all non-wrestling activities and soon after broke up.[why?] Nagayo competed in the 1986 Japan Grand Prix, losing in the finals to rival Yukari Omori.[citation needed] The feud between Nagayo and Dump Matsumoto still continued, 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.[citation needed] The rematch was held on November 7, with Nagayo gaining revenge and cutting Matsumoto's hair.[1] On February 26, Nagayo and Lioness Asuka clashed in a #1 Contender's Match for the WWWA World Single Championship. The match went to a 30-minute draw.[4] 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.[citation needed] Nagayo won the 1987 Japan Grand Prix.[