| Chigusa Nagayo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nagayo in December 2022 | |
| Born | December 8, 1964 Omura, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
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| 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] |
| Retired | 2016 |
Chigusa Nagayo (長与千種, Nagayo Chigusa, born December 8, 1964) is a Japanese retired 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]
- ^ a b Molinaro, John (2002). Marek, Jeff; Meltzer, Dave (eds.). Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time. Toronto, Ontario: Winding Stair Press. pp. 134, 167. ISBN 1-55366-305-5.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (December 22, 2016). "Yumiko Hotta replaces Shinobu Kandori in Rizin fight against Gabi Garcia". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer (26 March 2024). "Wrestling Observer Radio: RAW with an incredible final angle, Wheeler Yuta, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Podcast). Event occurs at 4:17. Retrieved 27 March 2024.