Bull Nakano
Encyclopedia
Keiko Nakano better known as Bull Nakano, is a professional golfer
and former professional wrestler
. She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
(AJW) as a teenager under the ring name
Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain
, who often teamed
with her mentor Dump Matsumoto
. In Japan, she held several of AJW's singles and tag team championships. After being phased out by the company in the early 1990s, she traveled to North America, where she first competed in Mexico's Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
(CMLL), becoming its first World Women's Champion
. In 1994, she made her way to the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF), where she had a feud
—a scripted rivalry—with Alundra Blayze
over the WWF Women's Championship
. After holding the title once, she also competed in World Championship Wrestling
(WCW). In 1998, Nakano began competing as a professional golfer, and in 2006, she joined a tour with the Ladies Professional Golf Association
(LPGA).
(AJW) organization in Japan
when she was 15 years old. After winning the AJW Junior Championship
at the age of 16 in 1984, her ring name
was changed to Bull Nakano. In July 1985, she won the AJW Championship
, which she held for the next three years. Meanwhile, she teamed with Dump Matsumoto
—who was also her mentor—as a pair of villains
. With Matsumoto as her partner, Nakano won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship
in August 1986. Nakano and Matsumoto briefly wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation
in 1986 against the team of Velvet McIntyre and Dawn Marie Johnston
.
After Matsumoto's retirement, Nakano won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship a second and third time, with Condor Saito in 1987 and Grizzly Iwamoto in 1988. As a singles wrestler, she won the 1988 Japan Grand Prix tournament in June. One year later in June 1989, she also defeated Mitsuko Nishiwaki to win AJW's All Pacific Championship
, which she lost to Noriyo Tateno
in November. Several months later in January 1990, Nakano won a tournament final to win the vacant WWWA World Heavyweight Championship. She held the title for nearly three years, before dropping it to Aja Kong in November 1992. Afterward, AJW's use of Nakano in storylines and matches decreased.
and later defeated Lola González
to become Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
's first World Women's Champion
. She lost the title to Xóchitl Hamada
in March 1993.
She then made her way to the United States and competed for the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) once again. Debuting as an associate of Luna Vachon, Nakano competed against the WWF Women's Champion
, Alundra Blayze
in August 1994 at SummerSlam
, but failed to win the title. Nakano, however, eventually defeated Blayze for the title on November 27, 1994 in Tokyo
at the Big Egg Wrestling Universe
event. Nakano held the title for approximately five months, until losing it back to Blayze on the April 3, 1995 episode of Raw
. The WWF had planned on bringing in Bertha Faye to feud with Nakano while Blayze got plastic surgery on her nose and breasts, but Nakano was found in possession of cocaine
and quickly fired from the company.
In 1995, Nakano also traveled to North Korea
, where she was part of the New Japan Pro Wrestling
event in Pyongyang
that set a record for attendance at a professional wrestling event with 150,000 spectators. At the event, Nakano and Akira Hokuto defeated Manami Toyota
and Mariko Yoshida
. Later that year, she competed at World Championship Wrestling
(WCW)'s World War 3 pay-per-view event, teaming with Akira Hokuto to defeat the team of Cutie Suzuki
and Mayumi Ozaki
. Nakano—with Sonny Onoo as her manager—continued her feud with Blayze, who was now known as Madusa, at WCW's Hog Wild event in August 1996; Madusa defeated Nakano in the match with the stipulation that she was then allowed to destroy Nakano's motorcycle. In subsequent years, Madusa called Nakano "a good-hearted person" and an "incredible talent", with whom she had some of her best matches. Although she retired from professional wrestling in 1997, Nakano teamed with Dump Matsumoto in wrestling matches in 2001.
(LPGA). Nakano later qualified for the LPGA and joined the Duramed Futures Tour in January 2006.
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
and former professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
, nicknamed Zenjo was a joshi puroresu promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that year...
(AJW) as a teenager under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, who often teamed
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with her mentor Dump Matsumoto
Kaoru Matsumoto
Kaoru Matsumoto is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, known by her ringname Dump Matsumoto, who competed in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling as one of the leading female wrestlers during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei—which included Crane Yu, Condor Saito and...
. In Japan, she held several of AJW's singles and tag team championships. After being phased out by the company in the early 1990s, she traveled to North America, where she first competed in Mexico's Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
(CMLL), becoming its first World Women's Champion
CMLL World Women's Championship
The CMLL World Women's Championship is the top female professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...
. In 1994, she made her way to the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF), where she had a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
—a scripted rivalry—with Alundra Blayze
Debra Miceli
Debrah Ann Miceli is a Monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is best known under her ring names Madusa or Alundra Blayze. Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she held the AWA World Women's Championship one time...
over the WWF Women's Championship
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
. After holding the title once, she also competed in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW). In 1998, Nakano began competing as a professional golfer, and in 2006, she joined a tour with the Ladies Professional Golf Association
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
(LPGA).
Japan (1983–1992)
Nakano's career as a professional wrestler began in All Japan Women's Pro-WrestlingAll Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
, nicknamed Zenjo was a joshi puroresu promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that year...
(AJW) organization in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
when she was 15 years old. After winning the AJW Junior Championship
AJW Junior Championship
The AJW Junior Championship was a secondary singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title started in 1980 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed.-Title history:...
at the age of 16 in 1984, her ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
was changed to Bull Nakano. In July 1985, she won the AJW Championship
AJW Championship
The AJW Championship was a secondary belt contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling . The first champion, in 1980, was Rimi Yokota. During the title's history, no one held the belt more than two times. The belt was abandoned in 2005, after...
, which she held for the next three years. Meanwhile, she teamed with Dump Matsumoto
Kaoru Matsumoto
Kaoru Matsumoto is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, known by her ringname Dump Matsumoto, who competed in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling as one of the leading female wrestlers during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei—which included Crane Yu, Condor Saito and...
—who was also her mentor—as a pair of villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
. With Matsumoto as her partner, Nakano won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship
WWWA World Tag Team Championship
The World Women's Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling from 1970 until it closed in 2005...
in August 1986. Nakano and Matsumoto briefly wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
in 1986 against the team of Velvet McIntyre and Dawn Marie Johnston
Dawn Marie Johnston
Dawn Marie Johnston is a former professional wrestler, better known by her ring name, Dawn Marie. She was active in the 1980s and early 1990s...
.
After Matsumoto's retirement, Nakano won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship a second and third time, with Condor Saito in 1987 and Grizzly Iwamoto in 1988. As a singles wrestler, she won the 1988 Japan Grand Prix tournament in June. One year later in June 1989, she also defeated Mitsuko Nishiwaki to win AJW's All Pacific Championship
All Pacific Championship
The All Pacific Women's Championship was the secondary singles title in the wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977, and was renamed the All Pacific Championship in 1978.-History:...
, which she lost to Noriyo Tateno
Noriyo Tateno
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who is best known as one half of the tag team Jumping Bomb Angels with Itsuki Yamazaki...
in November. Several months later in January 1990, Nakano won a tournament final to win the vacant WWWA World Heavyweight Championship. She held the title for nearly three years, before dropping it to Aja Kong in November 1992. Afterward, AJW's use of Nakano in storylines and matches decreased.
North America (1992–1995)
After she stopped working for AJW, Nakano traveled to Mexico in June 1992, where she was a finalist in a 12-woman battle royalBattle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
and later defeated Lola González
Lola Gonzales
María Dolores González is a Mexican professional wrestler, known by her ringname Lola González, who has competed in the Universal Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Association for over three decades...
to become Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
's first World Women's Champion
CMLL World Women's Championship
The CMLL World Women's Championship is the top female professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...
. She lost the title to Xóchitl Hamada
Xóchitl Hamada
Xóchitl Guadalupe Hamada Villarreal is a semi-retired Mexican-Japanese, Luchadora, or professional wrestler. She is the daughter of professional wrestler Gran Hamada, the sister of wrestler Ayako Hamada and the sister-in-law of Tiger Mask IV. Hamada was once married to Mexican wrestler Silver...
in March 1993.
She then made her way to the United States and competed for the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) once again. Debuting as an associate of Luna Vachon, Nakano competed against the WWF Women's Champion
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
, Alundra Blayze
Debra Miceli
Debrah Ann Miceli is a Monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is best known under her ring names Madusa or Alundra Blayze. Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she held the AWA World Women's Championship one time...
in August 1994 at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1994)
SummerSlam was the seventh annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 29, 1994 at the newly-opened United Center in Chicago, Illinois, which had opened eleven days earlier.The pay-per-view had two main events...
, but failed to win the title. Nakano, however, eventually defeated Blayze for the title on November 27, 1994 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
at the Big Egg Wrestling Universe
Big Egg Wrestling Universe
The Big Egg Wrestling Universe was an professional wrestling event held at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 20, 1994 and attended by 32,500 fans. However, some sources claim the event was attended by over 42,000 fans...
event. Nakano held the title for approximately five months, until losing it back to Blayze on the April 3, 1995 episode of Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
. The WWF had planned on bringing in Bertha Faye to feud with Nakano while Blayze got plastic surgery on her nose and breasts, but Nakano was found in possession of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and quickly fired from the company.
In 1995, Nakano also traveled to North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, where she was part of the New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
event in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
that set a record for attendance at a professional wrestling event with 150,000 spectators. At the event, Nakano and Akira Hokuto defeated Manami Toyota
Manami Toyota
is a professional wrestler best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling wrestling promotion. Following AJW's closure she has continued to work in other joshi promotions such as GAEA and NEO...
and Mariko Yoshida
Mariko Yoshida
, is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her work with the ARSION wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer.-Professional wrestling career:...
. Later that year, she competed at World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW)'s World War 3 pay-per-view event, teaming with Akira Hokuto to defeat the team of Cutie Suzuki
Cutie Suzuki
Yumi Suzuki better known by her ring name Cuty Suzuki is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who mostly wrestled for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. In 1990 she was featured in a all female wrestling game based around her titled Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel. Outside of wrestling she also...
and Mayumi Ozaki
Mayumi Ozaki
is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a tag match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 1993 to December 6, 1993 (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a...
. Nakano—with Sonny Onoo as her manager—continued her feud with Blayze, who was now known as Madusa, at WCW's Hog Wild event in August 1996; Madusa defeated Nakano in the match with the stipulation that she was then allowed to destroy Nakano's motorcycle. In subsequent years, Madusa called Nakano "a good-hearted person" and an "incredible talent", with whom she had some of her best matches. Although she retired from professional wrestling in 1997, Nakano teamed with Dump Matsumoto in wrestling matches in 2001.
Golf career
Nakano became a professional golfer in 1998. In November 2004, Nakano played in the Futures Tour Qualifying Tournament in Florida, but ended the tournament in 250th place of 251. The following year, she ended the tournament in 261st place of 271. As a result, she failed to qualify for the Ladies Professional Golf AssociationLPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
(LPGA). Nakano later qualified for the LPGA and joined the Duramed Futures Tour in January 2006.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Diving guillotine leg drop, sometimes while performing a somersault
- Signature moves
- Big splash
- German suplex
- Lariat
- The Moolah Whip
- MoonsaultMoonsaultA moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. Much of its popularity in American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being used in North America by "Leaping" Lanny Poffo years before Muta came from Japan.In a standard moonsault,...
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Luna Vachon
- Sonny Onoo
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Women's Pro-WrestlingAll Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, nicknamed Zenjo was a joshi puroresu promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that year...
- AJW ChampionshipAJW ChampionshipThe AJW Championship was a secondary belt contested in the Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling . The first champion, in 1980, was Rimi Yokota. During the title's history, no one held the belt more than two times. The belt was abandoned in 2005, after...
(1 time) - AJW Junior ChampionshipAJW Junior ChampionshipThe AJW Junior Championship was a secondary singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title started in 1980 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed.-Title history:...
(1 time) - All Pacific ChampionshipAll Pacific ChampionshipThe All Pacific Women's Championship was the secondary singles title in the wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977, and was renamed the All Pacific Championship in 1978.-History:...
(1 time) - WWWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWWA World Tag Team ChampionshipWWWA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Women's Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling from 1970 until it closed in 2005...
(3 times) - with Dump MatsumotoKaoru MatsumotoKaoru Matsumoto is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, known by her ringname Dump Matsumoto, who competed in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling as one of the leading female wrestlers during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei—which included Crane Yu, Condor Saito and...
(1), Condor Saito (1), and Grizzly Iwamoto (1) - Japan Grand PrixJapan Grand PrixThe Japan Grand Prix was an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling to determine the number one contender for the promotion's highest achievement, the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship. The tournament was held in the summer every year from...
(1988) - AJW Hall of Fame (1998)
- AJW Championship
- Consejo Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
- CMLL World Women's ChampionshipCMLL World Women's ChampionshipThe CMLL World Women's Championship is the top female professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...
(1 time)
- CMLL World Women's Championship
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameThe Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not...
(Class of 2001)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
- World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWF Women's ChampionshipWWE Women's ChampionshipThe WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
(1 time) - WWE.com placed bull nakano #24 on their list of top 25 most impactful women
- WWF Women's Championship