Lioness Asuka
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese professional wrestler from Tokyo
. Along with long-time tag team
partner Chigusa Nagayo
she formed The Crush Gals, known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and the most successful women's tag team
of all time.
(AJW) in 1980, and had her professional debut on May 10 of that year. She was an immediate success, winning her first title, the AJW Junior Championship, the following year, and the AJW Singles Championship in 1982. In 1983 she formed a tag team, called the Crush Gals, with Chigusa Nagayo
. The Crush Gals were huge stars for the (AJW), in the mid-1980s. They feuded with Dump Matsumoto and the Jumping Bomb Angels
. Thanks to their fame, AJW's weekly television broadcast consistently brought in ratings over 12.0. Their fame also carried over into other media, including recording top ten singles.
In the late 1980s, the Crush Gals broke up, and Asuka began a lengthy feud with Nagayo, which culminated in her achievement of the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship
in 1989. She retired later that year, but came out of retirement in 1994 and formed the Rideen Array, a faction consisting of fellow freelance wrestlers Jaguar Yokota
and Bison Kimura. She subsequently wrestled for many of the new women's promotions that arose at that time, such as Jd'
and ARSION. In 1998, she made a significant move when she joined GAEA Japan
, the promotion run by her former partner, Nagayo. Asuka began her GAEA career as a top heel
, feuding with Nagayo, and, in one storyline, winning control of the organization from her and eventually creating the Super Star Unit (SSU), a faction composed of veteran stars such as Akira Hokuto, Aja Kong, and Las Cachorras Orientales, among others. However, near the end of 1999, Nagayo and Asuka united against a common rival, the Mayumi Ozaki
-led faction Team Nostradamus, and, the next spring, reformed the Crush Gals. The storyline was huge news in Japan, and GAEA's April 4, 2000 show, featuring the debut of the reunited team, now called CRUSH 2000, was the biggest in the promotion's history.
Due to a neck injury, Asuka announced her retirement on November 3, 2004. Her retirement was made official on April 3, 2005.
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...
ese professional wrestler from 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...
. Along with long-time tag team
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...
partner Chigusa Nagayo
Chigusa Nagayo
is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team The Crush Gals with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organization . She briefly competed as alter-ego...
she formed The Crush Gals, known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and the most successful women's tag team
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...
of all time.
Career
Born on July 28, 1963, Asuka joined 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) in 1980, and had her professional debut on May 10 of that year. She was an immediate success, winning her first title, the AJW Junior Championship, the following year, and the AJW Singles Championship in 1982. In 1983 she formed a tag team, called the Crush Gals, with Chigusa Nagayo
Chigusa Nagayo
is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team The Crush Gals with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organization . She briefly competed as alter-ego...
. The Crush Gals were huge stars for the (AJW), in the mid-1980s. They feuded with Dump Matsumoto and the Jumping Bomb Angels
Jumping Bomb Angels
Jumping Bomb Angels were a female Japanese professional wrestling tag team. The members were Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki .-Japan:...
. Thanks to their fame, AJW's weekly television broadcast consistently brought in ratings over 12.0. Their fame also carried over into other media, including recording top ten singles.
In the late 1980s, the Crush Gals broke up, and Asuka began a lengthy feud with Nagayo, which culminated in her achievement of the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship
WWWA World Heavyweight Championship
The WWWA World Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling from 1970 until it closed in 2005. It was also known in Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other London Publishing wrestling magazines as the All-Japan Women's International Championship...
in 1989. She retired later that year, but came out of retirement in 1994 and formed the Rideen Array, a faction consisting of fellow freelance wrestlers Jaguar Yokota
Jaguar Yokota
is a Japanese professional wrestler and later wrestling trainer, who wrestled under the name . She is widely considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time, and, during her heyday in the early 1980s, was considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, irrespective of...
and Bison Kimura. She subsequently wrestled for many of the new women's promotions that arose at that time, such as Jd'
JDStar
JDStar , was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. In the wake of the joshi puroresu boom of the early 1990s, several different groups opened with distinct approaches...
and ARSION. In 1998, she made a significant move when she joined GAEA Japan
GAEA Japan
Gaea Japan was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. (Japanese female professional...
, the promotion run by her former partner, Nagayo. Asuka began her GAEA career as a top heel
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...
, feuding with Nagayo, and, in one storyline, winning control of the organization from her and eventually creating the Super Star Unit (SSU), a faction composed of veteran stars such as Akira Hokuto, Aja Kong, and Las Cachorras Orientales, among others. However, near the end of 1999, Nagayo and Asuka united against a common rival, the 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...
-led faction Team Nostradamus, and, the next spring, reformed the Crush Gals. The storyline was huge news in Japan, and GAEA's April 4, 2000 show, featuring the debut of the reunited team, now called CRUSH 2000, was the biggest in the promotion's history.
Due to a neck injury, Asuka announced her retirement on November 3, 2004. Her retirement was made official on April 3, 2005.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- K Driller (Reverse piledriver)
- LSD II (Leg hook sitout suplex slam)
- LSD III (Cut-throat leg hook sitout suplex slam)
- Towerhacker Bomb (Backbreaker rack dropped into a sitout powerbomb) – innovated
- Signature moves
- Bridging fisherman suplex
- Fisherman driver
- Giant swing
- Iconoclasm
- Rolling wheel kick
- Sitout powerbomb
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...
(2 times) - 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) - Unified Global Championship (1 time)
- WWWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipWWWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe WWWA World Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling from 1970 until it closed in 2005. It was also known in Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other London Publishing wrestling magazines as the All-Japan Women's International 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...
(4 times) – with Chigusa NagayoChigusa Nagayois a retired Japanese female professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team The Crush Gals with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organization . She briefly competed as alter-ego... - 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...
(1985) - AJW Hall of Fame (Class of 1998)
- ARSION
- Queen of ARSION (1 time)
- Twin Star of ARSION (3 times) – with Mariko YoshidaMariko 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:...
(1) and GAMI (2)
- GAEA JapanGAEA JapanGaea Japan was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. Gaea Japan (trademarked as GAEA Japan) was a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. (Japanese female professional...
- AAAW Tag Team ChampionshipAAAW Tag Team ChampionshipThe AAAW Tag Team Championship was a title in the GAEA Japan promotion. The title was abandoned when GAEA closed in 2005.-Title history:-External links:*...
(1 time) – with Chigusa Nagayo
- JDStarJDStarJDStar , was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. In the wake of the joshi puroresu boom of the early 1990s, several different groups opened with distinct approaches...
- TWF World Women's Championship (4 times)
- Ladies' Legend Pro Wrestling
- LLPW Six Woman Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Eagle Sawai and Shark Tsuchiya (2)
- NWA PacificNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Pacific Women's/NEO Singles ChampionshipNWA Pacific Women's/NEO Singles ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific Women's/NEO Singles Championship is a professional wrestling women's championship contested in the National Wrestling Alliance, NEO Japan Ladies' Pro Wrestling, and NEO Spirit Pro Wrestling....
(1 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- 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 1999)