Chigusa Nagayo

[9.0] "Before the 90s, there was the 80s, and before the AJW peak, there was the Crush Gals. Chigusa Nagayo's career is perhaps one of the most underrated ones in the entire history of wrestling, especially her iconic rivalry vs Dump Matsumoto"

[8.0] "Her tag work with Lioness Auska and her babyface singles work in AJW in the 80s was pretty brilliant, she worked at pace and had fantastic grappling, striking and power moves. Her later work in GAEA mostly falls flat for me. As a booker and company owner, she was really a mixed bag. A very good wrestler in her prime but not a career of consistency and not someone who I regularly decide to search out matches from."

[10.0] "Chigusa was an asshole and not a good person but she's one of the greatest babyfaces and heels in Joshi Puroresu, Unbelievable worker, crowds will never react to any other woman as loud as they did for her, she's on the Ricky Morton level of being able to hold the crowd in the palm of her hand."

[10.0] "I understand that by all accounts Chigusa is not a great person. But my god was she an unbelievable worker. I've never heard crowds react to someone the way they did to her. One of the best babyfaces of all time."

[10.0] "Was Chigusa Nagayo a massive asshole? From all accounts yes. Was Chigusa Nagayo probably the best in-ring babyface ever? Also probably yes. Such a fascinating balancing act wrestling makes us undergo sometimes"

"She was one of the best wrestlers in the 80s, psychology, selling, working the crowd, and once she learned how to wrestle at a high level in 1985 she was unstoppable. However, she was horrible in GAEA, when she couldn't go anymore, and had ruined the style by making everything a 10 minute sprint. But at her peak in the 80s she can't be denied. Also ridiculous comments from people who don't really know anything about Chigusa, and just saw the GAEA girls documentary (which was intentionally hammed up) and probably read a fictional post on wreddit (read interviews with Satomura, Hirota and others who were actually there, and you can learn what she was really like - she was no saint, she was no monster)"

[10.0] "The most popular Joshi in the history of wrestling, one-half of the most popular tag team in history, Nagayo's importance to the sport in Japan cannot be understated. Incredibly versatile, a great brawler, technical wrestler, single and tag artist, amazing seller, insanely charismatic and loveable between the ropes. She was not as loveable as a trainer, but the truth is she is a symptom of the overall culture of Joshi Dojos and the amount of abuse and bullying going on, of which she herself was a victim of. Its a problem way bigger than her. And overall, it doesnt deter from how good she was."

"A pure scumbag of a woman, Go and watch the documentary about the GAEA promotion (GAEA Girls) and see for yourself what Nagayo was really like, She doesn't deserve the respect that the simps on here give her."

[10.0] "I mean, match catalogue, popularity, especially in the Crush Gals time, to then being a trainer and a promoter with a largely very good promotion in Marvelous even if their roster is a bit thin. She can't be anything less than 10. An absolute legend and pioneer of the business."

[10.0] "Pro-wrestling would be less bright without her.She was making the crowd go crazy during her matches back then, everyone was travelling from abroad just to see her.She had a very difficult childhood but still managed to shine after all.She didn't take much, she just wanted to give and still does.A truly kind spirit.A living Legend.Do yourself a favor and watch her matches."

[10.0] "One of the most influential and popular figures in wrestling history. From the massive, massive popularity and mainstream success to Crush Gals to training a mile long list of future legends, Chigusa Nagayo's impact on pro wrestling can't be over stated enough. From star power, in ring prowess and building the future of joshi with her various promotions after the end of AJW, few have given their all the way she has for as long as she has."

[10.0] "THE pinnacle of popularity for Japanese women's wrestling, and for good reason: she was a fantastic babyface and was quite rightly regarded at the time as one of the best in the world not in terms of just women's wrestling, but of wrestling in general. Infinitely versatile in how she could seamlessly go from selling a beating to giving her own, could work any format of match from a pure brawl to a technical masterclass, to tag bouts or singles. In her prime, she could do it all and then some more on top of being a fairly big star outside of the wrestling business as well, and she probably would be in contention for GOAT status if the AJW mandatory retirement age hadn't kicked in and slowed her momentum significantly. She was still very much over in the 90's but not perhaps as much, regardless of her still having really solid bouts. Even when I checked out her "retirement" bout in 2019, I was surprised by how strongly she carried herself as a babyface to the crowd despite being way outside of her prime and battered physically, as well as going up against a far more capable talent. Not the most fantastical wrestler I've seen but as a total package, very few could surpass her at her prime as both a wrestler and as a rather fearsome trainer to boot, producing some top level talent. Legendary for sure."

[10.0] "Chigusa is quite simply one of the most legendary Joshi of all time. Her tag team with Lioness Asuka was not only the biggest act in AJW at the time, but probably the biggest in all of Japanese wrestling next to the original Tiger Mask. Without her, who knows where Joshi is today?"

[10.0] "One of the most popular wrestlers to ever come out of Japan as a member of the Crush Gals, Nagayo often had stadiums full of fans screaming her name. Not only was Nagayo incredibly popular but she was a talented wrestler who has continued to evolve her style throughout her career and can still bring the goods in 2020."