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Japan's top female pro wrestler is no pushover
by Sachie Kanda.
TOKYO — In the ring, Chigusa Nagayo is a real fireball, hurtling through the air,
kicking her opponents and subduing them in scorpion deathlocks.
But today, the 38-year-old Nagayo, who stands 166 cm tall and weighs 83 kg,
is taking a break from the action.

Self-confident and polite, she is always the consummate professional.
For those who have watched America's Playboy-like
entertainment pro wrestling shows,
it may be hard to imagine that Japanese female pro wrestling
is just as skillful as male pro wrestling.
But one look at Nagayo in action leaves no doubt.

The No. 1 drawcard and founder of GAEA, Japan's female pro wrestling federation,
the charismatic Nagayo holds a sort of spiritual power over her growing
legions of fanatic female fans in Japan. As soon as she gets into the ring,
they let out a roar and then go into raptures when she lunges
through the air at her opponents, overwhelming them with her wild fighting techniques
with names such as superfreak, running three, sleeper hold
and of course the scorpion deathlock.

Her road to fame and fortune had an unusual beginning.
Born in Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture,
Nagayo said her childhood dream was to become a doctor
because she used to go to the doctor every day for a checkup
as she suffered from tuberculosis and asthma.
Unbelievably, it was the karate lessons her mother forced her to
take that dramatically improved her health within a year.

Just before she entered high school, her family,
which owned seven restaurants, ran into huge debt.
"The family was forced to split up and live separately.
That was the end of my dream," Nagayo said.
Then a wanted ad for female pro wrestling caught her eye.
"At a time when most 15-year-old girls in Japan were
enjoying themselves with their friends,
I joined the female pro wrestling world in order to support my family."

In the early days, the practice and exercise schedule
was grueling but it paid off. Nagayo won her first title on May 15, 1982.
Since then, she has bagged many titles, including the All Japan junior,
IWA world female, All Pacific, WWWA tag-team, WWWA single and AAAW single titles.
In 1989, she formed the Crush Girls with Lioness Asuka in 1989
and the two went on to win many tag-team titles.

But being in the spotlight took its toll.
"The more titles I earned, the more pressure I felt to hang onto those title belts.
Just before a bout, I would be backstage and hearing the audience scream
and the sound of the gong would make me nauseous," she said.
"Sometimes, I wished I could run away but I knew I had to
face my fear and told myself never to give up."

Majority of athletes 'cowards'

Despite all her titles, Nagayo is still learning.
"I never have a perfect match," she said. "Every time I fight,
I find something I could not do or something I could do.
The majority of athletes are cowards. By that, I mean they don't want to face
their weaknesses. That's true of life in general. However, I think
that by finding one's weakness, a person becomes stronger because
they are not afraid to try again when something goes wrong. That is why they
can smile like a sunflower and be kind to others despite the
many twists and turns of life. On the other hand,
a person who is blind to his or her own weakness
tends to be arrogant toward others and self-indulgent."

Yet, Nagayo draws a clear line between training,
wrestling and her private life. As an instructor,
she is tough and manipulative, hurling insults at trainees to ignite
their fighting spirit and test their guts and motivation.
It is like being in a military boot camp.

"The reason I push them is so that one day a trainee will beat me and force me
to realize that it's time to step down. As I get older, I think about such things.
But even if I leave the ring in that way,
I will train another wrestler to beat whoever dethrones me."

In the meantime, Nagayo is trying to change the style of
Japan's female pro wrestling 180 degrees.
Her first goal is to take GAEA, which she founded in 1994,
worldwide. Her wrestlers are learning English to be able to compete overseas.

"When I wrestled in the U.S., I recognized the importance of communications skill,"
said Nagayo. To help accelerate her globalization strategy,
she invited four male wrestlers — whom she calls the GAEA Boys
— from America, Canada and France.

Nagayo is also anxious to tone down the blood-and-guts image
of pro wrestling which has long been considered vital to pumping up the audience.

"An injury scar used to be regarded as a gold medal but now I think that's nonsense.
What's most important are a wrestler's health and techniques, not the blood."
In addition, Nagayo has practically revoked the retirement age,
which used to be 25, when most female wrestlers were at their peak.

Despite her energetic nature, Nagayo admits to sometimes feeling depressed.
Such times, she often drives to shrines to summon up the spirit of the deceased.
"The atmosphere of the shrine, the smells and sounds of nature calm me down.
All I need is some positive thinking and my can-do spirit returns."

For a look at Nagayo and the world of GAEA,
check out the 2002 award-winning documentary
"GAEA Girls" by British filmmakers Kim Longittio and Jano Williams
on DVD (Pioneer, 4,700 yen) and video. Or visit http://www.gaea-inc.com

CREDIT:photos used on this site are from Ladies Gong Magazine,
Puroresu weekly, and Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

Photos used in this section are for internet fan information
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